Tweens (and Teens) Love Israel!

So, it’s vacation time and suddenly your children are growing up and while in some ways they can be harder to please, this also opens up so many varied and interesting things to do in Israel. All these ideas have come directly from our website’s group members so they come highly recommended and tried and tested by Anglo parents.

The first, obvious and most exciting option if all your children are older is to choose fantastic tiyulim that are available often for little or no cost all over the country. A couple that come specifically recommended are Nachal Snir in the north and Nachal Barak in the south, but if you are staying in a zimmer or hotel I am sure that they will be able to direct you to nearby unknown delightful hikes that suit your family and the time of year.

On the water theme, are of course the water parks. Mainly situated in the center of the country, you can enjoy great rides and family fun at Meymadion, Nachshonit, Yamit and some other smaller ones around the country. It’s highly recommended to get there as early as possible and be sure to bring footwear such as flip flops that you don’t care too much about in case someone mistakenly takes yours…Another interesting water-based activity is snorkeling on Chof Dor for the P’til Techelet – interesting and fun and younger children can play on the beach while the older ones snorkel for the special snail.

For indoor activities, factory tours are often aimed at older children and are either free or at a low price. For example the Coca Cola tour is for age 8 and up. The Osem Bamba factory tour is for age 5 and up and is free. Chocolate making is always fun – try De Karina and Galita who offer suitable workshops for all ages. For something slightly different, learn how to make Angry Birds out of fondant at Metukaya.

Wood workshops are also appropriate for a range of ages and your young adults can use proper tools and make something they can be proud of – try Soosagala in the center of Israel or Saba Yossi’s in the north. For something very different try doing a tour at the Dialogue in the Dark in Holon, or have a meal at Na Laga’at – either in the Blackout restaurant – served by blind waiters, or at the Café Kapish run by deaf staff – all of which will teach your kids so much and are sure to be experiences they will take with them in the future.

For some action, there is Dov Halavan in Emek Hefer which caters towards the more adventurous, including wall climbing and bungee jumping and tight-rope walking and is suitable for a large range of ages. The zip line in Gush Etzion’s Deerland is also popular for older children as is indoor wall climbing near Malcha in Jerusalem and around the country. While in Jerusalem, the Kotel Tunnel tours come highly recommended as well as the ramparts walk. For another different way to experience Jerusalem do a scavenger hunt in the old city or a tasting tour in Machane Yehuda Market.

In the north, you can’t beat kayaking in Kfar Blum and the cycling at Park Hammayanot and Agamon Huga comes highly recommended.

To end this post, don’t forget the fantastic museums including the Palmach museum, Latrun – armored corps museum, Tzahal museum and the Ayalon institute – an underground bullet factory museum.

Of course there are so many more wonderful experiences to be had in this amazing country – please feel free to add your ideas other wonderful days out!