Beaches

The Hebrew word for beach is bof. Familiarize yourself also with the flag language of the beach: black means swimming forbidden, red means swimming is dangerous, white means swim at will. Most beaches have lifeguards on duty until 4pm.

Israelis with cars head north for a less crowded and slightly more pristine waterfront, such as the one near Glilot junction on the road to Herzliya, behind the Mandarin hotel (admission NIS7). There is no real reason to do that, however; the beaches within the city are sandy, clean, and free, and all have basic amenities such as showers, toilets, and changing rooms. The beaches are, from north to south: Sheraton, Hilton (behind the Hilton hotel), Gordon, Frischmann (at the ends of those streets), and the Jerusalem beach at the end of Allenby Rd.-the last three are practically one continuous beach. The southern coastline, with fewer amenities and no luxury hotels, tends to be quieter during the day. All of Tel Aviv’s beaches are rife with theft; if possible, lock your valuables away before you hit the sands.

Avoid the grossly overpriced refreshment stands in the Kikkar Atarim (also known as Kikkar Namir), the expansive plaza just north of the promenade; Ben-Yehuda St., with cheap food and drink, is never more than a two-minute walk from the beach. Near Kikkar Atarim, a marina rents sailboats, surfboards, and windsurfers. The marina also has an outdoor roller-rink gym. (Tel. 29 85 55; open daily 4:3Oam-6pm; admission NIS12, children NIS8, NIS2 extra on Sat.) Surfers ride the waves between the Carlton and Hilton Hotels. Near the marina is the outdoors Gordon pool, open year-round with sea water pumped from the deep waters off the beach.