When I signed up for Birthright, I had assumed it was 10 days IN Israel. Did I look very closely at the itinerary for 2 seconds? I’ll give you two guesses, but you should only need one.
No, I didn’t. I had thrown all caution to the window and assumed that I’d be gone for ten days, took the days off from work, and only realized when looking at my return flight time and date that I’d only be there for 8 days.
WELL. That just won’t do. I called the travel agency and hoped I could still extend my trip by a day or two. They were one day away from confirming the plane tickets with the airline, so yes, I could still extend for a small fee.
Phew. When she called back today to ask if I wanted to extend through the 20th or the 21st, I was paralyzed with uncertainty. Would I really want to hang out for another TWO whole days in Tel Aviv after my trip was over? Wouldn’t I just be exhausted and want to fly home?
Two of my good friends told me that I should definitely extend for two days instead of one since it was the same price either way.
So I did.
And now I’m there for two days and two nights by myself with nothing to do. My first order of business? Google “Israeli Animal Sanctuaries.” I found one named Freedom Farm about 40 minutes outside of Tel Aviv that looks amazing. There’s also the Zoological Center of Tel Aviv, which among it’s 1,200 species has sandcats. I’ve never seen these amazing sandy colored felines in person and they’re so cute. My friend, who spent his childhood summers in Israel, sent me a link to an article with the best restaurants currently in Tel Aviv, but also said that since I enjoy hummus and pita, that I’d also be just as happy eating only that during my entire stay in Israel. There’s also this list of 20 things that you must do in Tel Aviv.
What else do I have to do? Find somewhere to stay. So what did I type into my browser? “Best Hostels + Tel Aviv.” I’m also going to check out cheaper hotels but if I’ve learned anything in the past, I’ve learned that cheap hotels are often really shitty and it’s a better deal to pay for a private room in a good hostel than to pay for a room in a shitty hotel.
Do you have any suggestions for off the beaten path things that I should do while hanging out in Tel Aviv by myself? Or where the best hostel is? Or even what part of town I should stay in in said-best-ever-hostel? Let me know below!
Guess I gotta go download Triposo now. I’m usually not into last-minute plan changes, but this time, I’m really digging it.
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