Planning Your Cycling Holiday in Israel and Palestine

Talk of Israel or Palestine or talk of both countries at the same time and one thing is sure to spring up – religious conflict. This is extremely unfortunate because it blurs what the two countries are all about. They are beautiful, rich with history and full of beautiful and good people. It therefore makes perfect sense to visit the countries for a vacation. It gets even better for cycling enthusiasts as the two countries are awash with cycling routes. There are a few things one should keep in mind though, before visiting either Israel or Palestine. They include the following.

Keep off religious arguments

Avoid by all means taking sides when in either Israel of Palestine. Politics and religion happen to be extremely delicate if not sensitive issues in these two territories.  Avoid them. Take not sides even when cornered by locals. The best way to keep off arguments is to comment on how little you know about the local politics of the country you are in. Then keep your chats on politics very brief. Keep in mind that this is the thumb rule for anyone visiting either Israel or Palestine.

Note that you may be in one route where a certain political or religious stand is popular. You could be in a totally different territory the next minute. That is why taking sides can be dangerous.

Traffic issues

Traffic can be hectic in both Palestine and Israel. Friday mornings are for instance, a bit hectic in specific West Bank roads. Getting into and outside Jerusalem can therefore be hard. There is a reason for this. People from Al Aksa go to the mosque for prayers on Fridays. The streets swell with people making it hard for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to move.

Then there is the road that leads to Jericho from Jerusalem. Thousands of Israelis use the road going to Dead Sea with their loved ones for the weekend. They leave on Friday mornings or early in the afternoon. Fortunately, afternoon hours usually experience light traffic.

Be sure to take advantage of Saturdays in Israel. Shabbat, as the Israelis call it experiences light traffic. Things change late in the afternoon though with heavy traffic. Do your business early in the day if you want to enjoy what Jerusalem has to offer.

Be keen on local news

One moment can be peaceful with everything going on well in either Israel or Palestine. The next can be chaos. This does not happen every day, but it is worth noting. With that in mind, always be keen on the local news. That is, get to know if there are planned protests or if the route you wish to use is known for insecurity issues. One good thing about these two countries is how easy it is to find alternative routes. So do not call your journey quits simply because a given route was impassable.

Comply with security personnel

Anyone who has ever been to either Israel of Palestine will tell you for a fact that the two countries are awash with security checkpoints. The worst thing one can do is to give the security officers at these checkpoints a hard time. Comply with their request to inspect your luggage. Then by all means avoid showing any officer in the checkpoints that you take certain religious or political stands as far as Israel and Palestine are concerned. Most officers are friendly and may not ask you any questions beyond the usual ‘Where are you headed to’ question.

There are checkpoints though that should be avoided altogether. That means avoiding certain routes. The Checkpoint into Jericho is for instance, one of the best checkpoints. You get cleared within a few minutes. The same cannot be said of the Qalandiya checkpoint. The checkpoint always experiences delays and long queues of people waiting to be cleared. You might want to consider routes that pass through Chekpoint 300, otherwise referred to as Bethlehem or Gilo Chekpoint. Like the Jericho checkpoint, they are usually quiet with friendly officers. By the way, Qalandiya is the main entrance to the North of West Bank.

Conclusion

You will love cycling around Israel and Palestine.  Jerusalem, West Bank and so many other places in both Israel and Palestine are awash with sites to behold. A few mistakes can however ruin your day. The most common ones have already been mentioned. Note too that language can be a big factor. There are people who speak and understand English so well in Israel and Palestine. But then again, there are those who do not. Your best bet here is to learn the basics of Hebrew which is widely spoken in Israel and Arabic which is widely spoken in Palestine. Learn how to ask for directions and a few phrases that can come to your rescue during emergencies.