There are a lot of shared taxis from Hebron to Jerusalem. It takes around one hour to travel the 30 km to Hebron. Many internationals spend the weekend in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Akko, Yafo, and other cities. As an international, you can easily travel. You just need to have your passport with you.
There are Israeli checkpoints that separate Palestine and Israel. At the entrance of each city there is an Israeli checkpoint. As an international you can cross these checkpoints anytime you want without any problems. Bethlehem is only around 20 km from Hebron and it takes about 40 minutes to be arrive there. Many internationals like to go to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity and spend time in the Old City.
It takes about an hour and a half to go to Ramallah from Hebron via shared taxi. Taxis begin running from early morning to around nine o’clock in the evening. The Dead Sea is only one and a half hour from Hebron. You can travel to Jericho via shared taxi and then take another taxi to the Dead Sea which takes about 10 to 15 minutes from Jericho.
Traveling to the northern West Bank from Hebron is also possible. If you would like to visit Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya.etc you first travel to Ramallah and then from the Ramallah bus station, you are able to go wherever you want, generally taking around two to four hours travel time.
Patrick Magge from Ireland who participated in the Volunteer in Palestine 2015 program commented: “During the two months I was here I was able to make use of the Friday and other day off I had from volunteering at the Center to explore the beautiful country that is Palestine. From lying by the Mediterranean Sea at Jaffa, to climbing the hills of Nablus, to exploring the Old City of Jerusalem there was always something I was doing in Palestine. Travelling was a great joy during my stay here as Palestine is a place full of history and beautiful things to see and do. Even sitting in the transport as I moved across the country was a pleasure, just to be able sit and look out at the gorgeous scenery.”
Additionally, the Palestinian Center organizes trips to various historical, cultural, business, governmental (and non-governmental) venues around Hebron city. As international participants in the Palestinian Center’s programs, you have plenty of destinations to travel to.
Ines Silmi from the Netherlands who participated together with De Grefte in the Volunteer in Palestine program remarked “In my free time we had many options to travel. My boyfriend and I traveled to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Tiberius, and Ramallah during our time at the Center. Sometimes we traveled with other volunteers or my host brother. The program is very flexible and the staff is happy to help you plan trips. The center also organizes trips to, for example, refugee camps, small villages, and other cities. Do not miss those as they are very interesting and they get you to places you wouldn’t be able to visit without locals”.
In conclusion, traveling around Palestine and Israel is quite safe and not very expensive. Palestine is a small country, and it does not take a long time to travel from one city to another. Additionally, it is really very interesting to see how each city in Palestine is different from one another when it comes to culture, diversity, climate, and nature. We highly recommend that our international volunteers and interns, and our students travel around Palestine and Israel to explore and discover the land and see the differences in both.
