People in this wide-open town are not carefree. Handbags are checked at the entrances to department stores and mounted police patrol the glorious Mediterranean beach. Such is the price of peace in the Promised Land, a country of faith, hope and contrasts that is just 50 years old yet its capital, Jerusalem, observed its 3,000th birthday in 1996. Like so many other locales in the Middle East, the unrest is palpable. But the beauty and history of these biblical regions somehow outweigh the sense of danger, making a trip here unimaginably rewarding.
Rental cars are widely available.
Israel has good tourist bus services. Visitors can now travel across the Israel-Jordan border without changing vehicles. Summer temperatures hit 50C in the desert. Evenings can be cool. It usually snows once a year in the mountains and in Jerusalem.