Packing Tips for Israel

Traveling throughout the world can be an exciting adventure for anyone. The excitement of meeting new people and exploring new places is certainly enough to encourage many people to board transatlantic (or pacific) flights that will last for many hours. However, for all of the anticipation and excitement of a trip to a new place, often a bit of apprehension comes along with it. For some these feelings are as simple as wondering about "what should I pack?" or "what should I wear?" For anyone who is traveling to the historic and wonderful land of Israel during the summer, here is a list of items to bring along for your traveling wardrobe.

1) It will be rather hot, so bring along summer clothes. In general, much of Israel is quite modern and accepting of normal Western wardrobes. Shorts and t-shirts or tank tops will suit you just fine as you travel through many of the towns or frolic about on some of the different hiking expeditions. For the different swimming areas, swimsuits of all styles are acceptable. Again, Israel is very accepting of different clothing styles in general, so just bring along items that you will be comfortable in outside in the heat.

2) The nights are often breezy. Because of this, bring along a light jacket to stay comfortable. You probably won't need it during the mornings or throughout the rest of the day, but once the night breezes set in around some of the hilly regions, you will definitely want a light jacket to keep you warm.

3) Know ahead of time if you will be traveling to any of the traditional holy sites around Israel. For these, it is required that guests and visitors always be dressed "modestly." This means wearing clothing that covers the knees and shoulders at all times (as well as the region of you body between these two segments). For comfort's sake, I would suggest wearing a longer skirt (for women) to fulfill these requirements, as well as a shawl covering to wrap around your shoulders. This way, you will be able to be dressed appropriately while still remaining relatively cool during the summer's heat. For men, the obvious solution would be to wear long pants and a shirt with sleeves, however, if you are planning on hiking around in other regions during the day, I would definitely suggest bringing along a pair of shorts to change into over the course of the day. Again, the weather during the summer is hot, so finding a way to fulfill the modesty requirements of the holy sites as well as staying comfortable is key.

As you travel to Israel this summer, just by following these guidelines for packing you should be set and ready to go!