Going to Israel - Spending Money (New question: Passport)

Reckless

Heyo,

I'm headed to Israel this summer on a Birthright program. I'll only be there a week and a half, and my meals will be pretty much covered, so I'll only have to bring some cash to spend on extra meals, cigarettes, and souvenirs. About how much should I look to bring?

Thanks for any help.

EDIT: New Question. See post.

mts

have fun. i did a birthright trip in oh, 2000-2001 or something like that. great trip

i think i only brought a couple hundred dollars. there really isn't all that much you need to buy on those trips, an occiasional dinner, booze etc.

i am sure if you have a credit card you can deal with a lot of things that way. any vendor/street cart you would need cash

Organichu

Have you travelled internationally in the past? You're not going to spend substantially more or less than you would in any other first world country. Figure out what you plan on buying, bring about 150% of that to be safe, and you'll be fine.

Reckless

This will actually be the first place I've gone to outside the United States, save Canada. I'm fairly damn excited.

Organichu

Reckless wrote: »

This will actually be the first place I've gone to outside the United States, save Canada. I'm fairly damn excited.

Ok. You're going to encounter a lot of interesting things, some good, some bad- but don't expect the world to be upside down. You're going to Israel, not the Sudan. You won't have any trouble affording stuff unless you're a total epicure without any sense of control.

mts

get ready for the shock of teens walking around toting m16's it was weird at first.

israel is really pretty. what birthright trip are you doing?

Reckless

I'm doing the Hillel campus connection trip, and a friend of mine should be coming along with me, so I'm pretty excited about that.

I'm an International Relations major with a focus on Middle-East politics, so despite the fact that the trip is going to be extremely one-sided, I'm looking forward to getting to see some of the situation I've studied for the past two years. Also, it's kinda sad for an IR major to only have a Canadian stamp in the passport.

Dibs

A lot of left-wing students I went with were very impressed at how the situation was presented, and felt that their education at home was letting them down.

The only thing you really need to spend money on is booze, snacks, water (I'd suggest buying a huge bottle or two on the first day and refilling them) and gifts/memoribilia crap.

The number '$300' is popping out at me, and I don't know if that's how much I spent + a large gift, or how much I spent in total. Remember: There are banks there - you'll pay a bit of a fee, but you can top up when you need to, and use a credit card for large purchases (DO try to bargain everything).

Have a great time, that was my first trip out of Canada as well and I can't wait to go back.

Duffel

IIRC the exchange rate for the shekel is pretty good, so your money may actually be worth a little more over there than it is in the US.

Still, it's always best to pack a little extra money on any trip, because you don't want to be in a situation where all your friends are going out to party and you're broke. So take a little extra, just because you take it doesn't mean you have to spend it. I always bring money back when I come home from a trip.

NotYou

Just have an ATM card that can withdraw money from banks overseas.

Reckless

Thanks for the help guys. I've got a new question for you. On the Passport application, there's a spot for "Travel Plans." Can I leave this blank, or should I bother to enter in the rough date for Israel?

The thing is, I'd like to visit some countries eventually that might frown on a bunch of "Israel Israel Israel" in my book.

Thanatos

If you're planning on visiting countries that are going to frown on travel to Israel, you should decide what is more important to you: visiting those countries, or visiting Israel for a propaganda tour.

admanb

Thanatos wrote: »

If you're planning on visiting countries that are going to frown on travel to Israel, you should decide what is more important to you: visiting those countries, or visiting Israel for a propaganda tour.

Are there really countries that will block travel plans just because you've visited Israel?

That doesn't sound much better than blindly supporting Israel, but that's just me.

Thanatos

admanb wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

If you're planning on visiting countries that are going to frown on travel to Israel, you should decide what is more important to you: visiting those countries, or visiting Israel for a propaganda tour.

Are there really countries that will block travel plans just because you've visited Israel?

That doesn't sound much better than blindly supporting Israel, but that's just me.

Yup. Mostly Arab nations. It's an effort to keep out Mossad operatives, I believe.

admanb

Thanatos wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

If you're planning on visiting countries that are going to frown on travel to Israel, you should decide what is more important to you: visiting those countries, or visiting Israel for a propaganda tour.

Are there really countries that will block travel plans just because you've visited Israel?

That doesn't sound much better than blindly supporting Israel, but that's just me.

Yup. Mostly Arab nations. It's an effort to keep out Mossad operatives, I believe.

Oh. Well, that makes sense.

hdenton

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293985-i2131-k1011046-How_to_Travel_Jerusalem_w_o_Getting_Israeli_Passport_Stamp-Jordan.html

Could help with the passport thing.

Reckless

Thanatos wrote: »

If you're planning on visiting countries that are going to frown on travel to Israel, you should decide what is more important to you: visiting those countries, or visiting Israel for a propaganda tour.

I realize what they present on the trip is going to be extremely one-sided, but somehow I feel that I know enough about the entirety of the situation to be able to take absolutely everything with a grain of salt.