With a great climate and a multitude of diverse natural sites, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place for camping than Israel. Thanks to a developed camping and Glamping scene, with a huge variety of campgrounds and a great community that revolves around it, camping in Israel is truly one of the best experiences you can have during your trip here. Here’s everything you should know before going camping here.
Camping in Israel: important things to Know
Wild camping rules
While wild camping is generally legal, there are a few strict and important rules to keep in mind:
- Wild camping is prohibited on private land and near army bases
- Wild camping is not allowed in a national park or nature reserve territory. In those, you can find an organized campground where you can camp freely.
- Camping on beaches is prohibited unless it specifically says otherwise
Safety rules
- When camping in forests, if you’re not in a regulated campground, it is forbidden to light a fire.
- It is not recommended to spend the night under a eucalyptus tree, as it has already happened in the past that collapsing eucalyptus branches have injured and killed travelers who set up tents at the foot of the giant tree.
- Do not camp near or beneath sand cliffs, as they may collapse during the night.
Do I need a tent?
Unlike most countries in the world, thanks to the mild Israeli climate, most travelers spend the night in sleeping bags only and don’t carry a tent. The only exception to that is on rainy days, but generally, you don’t have to have a tent when camping in Israel.
Most beautiful campgrounds in Israel
Mekorot Hayarkon Campground
A national park located in central Israel, not far from Petah Tikva, which offers wonderful hikes and picnic spots alongside the Hayarkon River. Mekorot Hayarkon campground is a perfect place for a family night out for anyone interested in traveling in the center of the country, as the place offers spacious lawns and wooden tables throughout the park. All this, of course, alongside the many trees that grow in the national park, such as the eucalyptus, carob trees, and Tabor oak.
In the overnight parking lot, there are showers, toilets, firewood for sale, picnic tables, drinking water taps, mobile phone charging points, and a field kitchen that includes refrigerators, gas stoves, and sinks. You can stay in a private tent or rent a family camping tent that includes mattresses.
Castel Campground
The Castell National Site is located at the top of Mount Maoz at an altitude of 790 meters/2,600m feet, on the way to Jerusalem near the Mevaseret Tzion. It was declared a national park in 1980 and is known mainly for the fierce battles fought over it during Israel’s War of Independence, as well as great mountain views.
When staying here, you will enjoy a peaceful environment with a natural Mediterranean forest, pine trees, common cypress, and cedars, and a unique flowering of orchids, blood of the Maccabees, cornflowers, and more.
In the overnight parking lot, you can enjoy hot water showers and toilets, electricity points, drinking taps, mobile phone charging points, and fire pits. There you can find a field kitchen with work surfaces, sinks for washing dishes, refrigerators, and gas stoves. Just like in most equipped campgrounds, you can stay here in your own tent or rent a family camping tent with mattresses.
Horshat Tal Nature Reserve
Horshat Tal is a great natural campground with flowing water streams and wonderful blooms. The park covers a huge area with spacious lawns, rivers, and a lake you can swim in. It’s located right next to the orchid reserve, where you can see a rare variety of orchid species that cannot be seen anywhere else in Israel. In addition, the grove includes ancient oak trees, Persian donkeys that live in the reserve, and spectacular views of Mount Hermon.
In the overnight parking lot in Horshat Tal, you can choose between several accommodation options: a fully equipped bungalow, which includes a refrigerator, fan and/or air conditioner, 4 beds and electricity, or a private tent, or an RV.
The parking lot itself has a wide variety of services and facilities, including hot water, toilets, refrigerators, lighting, electrical points, picnic tables, barbecue stations, sinks, and more.
Mount Yehoram Campground
At a distance of a few kilometers from the city of Eilat, the Mount Yehoram Campground is a free camping site in the mountains of Eilat. The campground is part of the “Eilat Mountains Trail” route that crosses one of the most spectacular areas in the Negev, which looks out in front of the Gilead and Eilat Mountains, providing travelers with an epic desert experience.
The campground is in a perfect location, overlooking 3 countries from one spot. In addition, from here, you can explore the great natural sites of Eilat, like the Red Canyon, Eilat’s Reef, and much more.
Best Glamping Sites in Israel
Maayan Resort – Maayan Baruch
The Maayan resort is located in one of the most stunning locations in Israel, at the heart of the Galilee, with several streams running right through the center of the complex. The resort has a camping complex and a B&B complex, and recently it was also renewed with a glamping complex, offering nine air-conditioned white tents.
Each tent is suitable for a couple with a maximum of three children and is equipped with mattresses with bedding and a refrigerator. Next to each tent, there is a sitting area with a table, and in the common area, there is a place to do a barbecue, sinks, toilets, and showers.
Although you can find more luxurious Glamping sites than this one, it will provide you with a great nature experience, as the beautiful tents are cozy and equipped with everything you need for a vacation in nature. Another bonus of the place is its great emphasis on quietness and cleanliness. The complex is very close to the Gan Hatzafon Mall, where you can find many restaurants, so if you don’t want to cook, you won’t have to go far.
Ein Te’ena Camp lodge- Giv’at Yoav
This is without a doubt the most glamorous site on our list, thanks to high-end fittings, a style reminiscent of an African lodge, the immediate proximity to nature, and the stunning landscape. The sense of adventure begins already with the drive on the dirt road that leads to the place and passes between the pastures where the family’s flock of sheep graze, in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. When you get close, you can see the four new safari tents that are located near the Nahal Te’ena Gorge, right on the Golan Heights Trail.
Each tent is raised above the ground using a thin floating platform, and while you swing on the attached hammock you can look out not only on the mountains opposite and a piece of the Sea of Galilee but also on the wild animals that frequent the gorge, including foxes, rock rabbits, and wild boars. From sunrise to sunset, you will see lots of birds in the sky here, and at night you will fall asleep to the sound of the croaking frogs. All in all, if you’re searching for a fancy nature experience, it doesn’t get better than this.
Alpacas Farm Glamping – Mitzpe Ramon
The old alpaca farm, which is located a few minute’s drive from Mitzpe Ramon and serves as a home for a herd of alpacas and llamas (along with other animals), also offers a variety of accommodation options that will keep you very close to the farm animals.
One of the best of them is the Glamping complex, which includes ten tents that can accommodate up to four guests. All the tents are tiled with wooden floors, air-conditioned, and equipped with beds, mattresses and sofas, electrical sockets, and even flower pots that will give you a homely feeling.
In the common complex, there are toilets and showers with hot water, a kitchen tent equipped with refrigerators, freezers, ovens, and cooking utensils, and many sitting areas and campfire areas.
But of course, above all, the main attraction of staying here is the intimate meeting with the alpacas and llamas of the farm. Apart from that, the complex’s guests are entitled to significant discounts on the complex’s numerous great activities.
