Although traveling with kids can be a bit difficult sometimes, it’s also an incredible opportunity for plenty of quality time, for forming deeper connections in the family, and for amazing memories that will last forever. But of course, when traveling with kids, it’s very important to choose the right destinations and find the right activities. If you’ve wondered how suitable is Israel for kids, then you should know it is definitely one of the best countries in the world for traveling as a young family, with countless attractions which are perfect for families and kids. Here, you will find some of the best of them.
Attractions for Kids in Northern Israel
Madatech – Israel National Museum of Science
Madatech Museum, located in Haifa, is the best science museum in Israel, and a great visit for kids. The museum features several complexes with great activities for almost any age. On the first floor near the entrance is a complex that is suitable for ages two to seven, which combines a wide variety of activities related to science and technology. This part has a maze of sensations, a water complex, a mirror maze, and more. On the second floor, you will find the Nobel Energy Science Park: here there are various interactive representatives that you can touch, climb, experiment, and operate by yourself.
Generally, the Madatech Museum features exhibitions that are all about the ideas of the greatest scientists in history: Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel Bernoulli, Pythagoras, and more. In addition, in the center of the park, there are water fountains that the children can enter and play in during the hot summer days. On the park’s floor, you will also find very impressive changing exhibitions, which add great interest to your visit here.
Rafting and kayaking
The northern region offers many rafting and kayaking sites that offer a refreshing attraction for diverse ages. Most sites offer several routes that can suit different groups: you can find calm routes for all ages, alongside more challenging routes for adrenaline junkies. During this great experience in nature and you will usually come to beautiful and peaceful stops along the way, where you can rest and enjoy the beautiful nature of the Galilee.
There is a big selection of sites that offer the great experience of rafting in the north, including the Jordan River Rafting site, Kfar Blum Kayaks, and more.
Shulman Chocolate museum
Inside Kibbutz Dafna, located in the Upper Galilee, the small and beloved chocolate museum offers a great experience for the whole family. The place offers a display of works of art made of chocolate, a visit to a chocolate production factory, and also a small and special boutique shop. The visit here begins with a short explanatory video about chocolate, explaining how chocolate is made and where it comes from. From there, you will continue to the chocolate factory itself.
During your visit here, you can walk around among the chocolate sculpture models built here, such as a chocolate menorah, a chocolate model of the Land of Israel, and even a chocolate guitar. After you have finished walking among the models, you can go to the famous museum shop, that sells some of the most delicious chocolate you will ever have, in a variety of shapes and colors.
Things to do with kids in Central Israel
The Israel Childrens Museum
The Children’s Museum in Holon is considered one of the most enjoyable and experiential educational attractions for children in Israel. The museum includes several different exhibitions, including an exhibition on the life of butterflies, an exhibition on the life of the elderly, and more. All the exhibitions in the museum are presented through particularly active experiences, and the most famous exhibition in the museum, “Dialogue in the Dark”, is a guided journey that takes place in complete darkness, and simulates the lives of people with visual impairments.
Splash Sharonim
Splash Sharonim is a water attractions complex located in the Sharonim shopping complex in Hod Hasharon. The park offers a very attractive and unique entertainment experience for the summer season – among other things, you will find here colorful fountains spraying water from every direction, large water guns, and buckets filled with water that are ready to cool you down from head to toe. While the complex is a terrific attraction for children, we’re sure you too can have a great time here along with the children.
Of course, make sure to come here with swimwear and a spare set of clothes.
Steinhardt Museum of Natural History
The great Museum of Natural History, located in Northern Tel Aviv, presents the national natural treasures of the land of Israel from a collection of five and a half million items. The building in which the Nature Museum is located in Tel Aviv is reminiscent of a treasure chest in its design and has five floors of exhibition spaces with changing exhibitions. During your visit here, you can find various impressive exhibitions, like stuffed animals and skeletons. The museum uses an impressive combination of diverse multimedia means such as videos, games, touch screens, and more, which make it a very attractive visit for kids as well.
Best family-friendly attractions in Southern Israel
Mesheq 77
Located in Moshav Tkuma, near Netivot, the family farm Mesheq 77, is a great site with several activities for kids, including a fruit-picking site, where you can enjoy picking (and eating) strawberries, red raspberries, cherry tomatoes, and more. In addition to the picking experience, you can also go on a tractor tour that passes through the green agricultural areas and get an explanation of the pineapple cultivation that takes place right here.
When you arrive for the fruit-picking, you will receive a box that you can fill with strawberries. While you fill the box, you can taste and eat strawberries as much as you want, in a great experience for kids and families of all ages. In addition, at different times of the year, especially during holidays, you will also find here several food stalls such as popcorn, chips, shakes, and more. The place sometimes also operates various attractions and activities for kids, with different popular workshops, so it’s best to check the schedule of Mesheq 77 before you come here.
Alpaca Farm
The alpaca farm is located in one of the most beautiful places in Israel, close to the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon. Of course, during your visit here, you will get to see South American alpacas and llamas up close, as well as horses, donkeys, goats, and more. The farm is making use of the unique wool of the alpacas and is conducting the complete process of wool production here – raising and treating the animals, improving the wool fibers, and producing several products out of the alpaca wool. In the factory store located here, you can get an impression of the whole process and purchase special wool items.
Beyond the special appearance of the place, the farm offers a variety of attractions for the whole family, such as tutorials, feeding alpacas, and riding llamas or horses.
Underwater Observatory Park
The underwater observatory in Eilat is one of the most epic things to do in Israel for kids and is visited by tens of thousands of visitors a year. This unique marine attraction presents life under the sea in Eilat’s Reef in a spectacular and experiential way. The place conveys a very visual and tangible experience, so even the little ones will be captivated by the sight of dozens of fish swimming next to them while they’re touring the observatory.
During the trip to the underwater observatory, you will travel through several different complexes, such as huge aquarium tunnels, some of which will pass above you. In the aquariums, you can see up close dozens of species of fish and different marine animals that live in the depths of the Red Sea. The most impressive time to be here is during the feeding hours of the fish when you can see divers entering the aquarium to feed the fish and sharks of the observatory.
