Eilat, for newcomers and locals
Places checked against their own sources, this week's Shabbat times and weather, what's on, and the practical answers newcomers ask for.
346 Checked places17 Neighbourhoods mappedCandle lighting Friday 16:25
Photo: Oyoyoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
This week
This week in Eilat
ב׳ בְּכִסְלֵו תשפ״ז
Shabbat
Parashat Toldot
Friday 13 November
- Candle lighting
- 16:25
- Havdalah
- 17:23
Ben-Gurion Day
- Parsha:Parashat Toldot (opens in a new tab)
- Haftarah:Malachi 1:1-2:7 (opens in a new tab)
- Daf yomi:Bechorot 55 (opens in a new tab)
Readings from Hebcal (Israel schedule); texts open on Sefaria.
Chanukah is coming
Get ready for Chanukah
The first candle is lit at nightfall on Friday 4 December. 22 days to go.
On Friday, light before the Shabbat candles, with candles that will burn until half an hour after dark.
Light the chanukiah
Candles go in from right to left. You light from left to right, the newest candle first, with the shamash.
Spin the dreidel
- Your coins
- 10
- Pot
- 2
You start with 10 coins and 2 in the pot. In Israel the letters stand for נֵס גָּדוֹל הָיָה פֹּה, "a great miracle happened here".
Who are you?
Start where you are
Pick the page that fits you: the first steps, the right places in the directory and the people to ask.
Explore
Everything for life in Eilat
Local directory
Places checked against their own source
Every listing links to where its details came from and shows the date it was last checked. Filter by language spoken, kashrut and neighbourhood.
- Urgent care, hospitals & emergency1 place
- Kosher restaurants & cafés89 places
- Groceries & bakeries17 places
- Shuls36 places
- Schools23 places
- Community & youth2 places
- Shops53 places
- Pharmacies5 places
- Parks, trails & springs1 place
- Yeshivot, seminaries & colleges1 place
- Council & government offices4 places
- Buses & getting around1 place
New in town
Your first weeks in Eilat, step by step
The paperwork, the health fund, the bank, the bus card and the arnona office, in the order that saves you trips. Your progress stays on your device.
- 1
Before you land
- Gather original documents
- Check your aliyah file is complete
- Compare the four health funds
- 2
First week
- Install Home Front Command and find your shelter
- Get a Rav-Kav or a payment app
- Open a bank account
- 3
First month
- Register for arnona at the municipality
- Sign up for ulpan
- Meet your absorption adviser
- 4
First three months
- Ask your employer about tax credit points
- Check your National Insurance status
- Decide on health fund supplementary cover
Guides
Practical guides, with the common questions answered
- 01Your first weeks in EilatWhere to start in Eilat: city hall, the hospital, banks, VAT-free shopping, and what living on the Red Sea is really like.
- 02Eilat's neighbourhoodsThe hotel area and North Beach, the south coast, and the residential neighbourhoods climbing the hills behind the city.
- 03Getting to and around Eilat: flights, buses and roadsRamon Airport flights, the long bus ride north, and the two roads out of Eilat.
- 04Health care in EilatYoseftal Medical Center, with a hyperbaric chamber for divers, plus the health funds' clinics and pharmacies.
- 05Schools and colleges in EilatTen elementary schools, three six-year high schools, the university campuses and the SPNI field school.
- 06Things to do in Eilat: reefs, desert and the baySnorkelling at Coral Beach, the Dolphin Reef, the Underwater Observatory, bird migration, Timna and VAT-free shopping.
The place
A city on the Red Sea
- Residents (2024)
- 56,004Residents (2024)Source (opens in a new tab)
- Became a free trade zone
- 1985Became a free trade zoneSource (opens in a new tab)
- Ramon Airport opens
- 2019Ramon Airport opensSource (opens in a new tab)
Coral and fish in the Coral Beach Nature Reserve, Eilat
Photo: Mboesch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
Useful apps
The apps people here actually use
Organisations newcomers use
From our network
Good people I work with
A few organisations from the Consult With Ari network whose work reaches people in Eilat.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Common questions
About this site
Run a business or a community here?
Get listed free, or get a website that works
I'm Ari, and I built this site. Listings here are always free and never paid placement. I also build websites for businesses, shuls and organisations. If you'd like one, book a free call or message me.