The Mediterranean side

Along the west coast of Israel runs the Mediterranean Sea. This keeps the temperatures moderate in those areas and provides tons of beaches to chill out. The beaches are all great to relax and the water is fun unless of course it is jellyfish season as I painfully found out last year. The sea stretches until Rosh Hanikra in the north which shares its borders with Lebanon. On the way there are a few places of mention.

Tel Aviv is the economic powerhouse of Israel. It is about an hour's drive from Jerusalem and lies on the shore of the Mediterranean. Along with the usual museums and zoo(its called a Ramat Gan safari there), there is a buzzing night life. Allenby street and the port have a number of pubs and discos which are open all night. The beaches there are also a nice place to watch the sunset, relax or to just party. All along the way you would see a number of recognizable international companies which have their branch offices there. The city itself is very different from Jerusalem and is the perfect place to unwind if you love the hustle and bustle.

Going north, you will eventually hit Haifa, another port city which houses the Bahaii shrine. There is another one in Acre as well, but somehow always landed up at Acre after it closed. The shrine is open for public until 12 though the gardens around remain open a little longer. In Haifa as the Bahaii shrine sits atop a hill, climbing(or driving preferably) gives you a lovely view of the shrine and gardens overlooking the port and the rest of the city. There are some naval museums as well for those interested and a cable car which I never rode on. Near Haifa are quite a few skydiving clubs and diving on the border of the Mediterranean sea does have its charm. Really expensive but worth it.

Going further up north passing a bunch of beaches, Rosh Hanikra serves as the border at Lebanon. There are grottoes created from the caves made by the sea. A cable car can take you down where a film is shown and the caves are open to visit. People also fish around here on the cliffs. The cities of Herzliya, Netanya, Neharia all have public beaches although my personal favorite was Herzliya. Acre for those interested has quite a few historical spots along with the Bahaii shrine.