Tel Aviv, Israel with Kids. What to see and do.

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It was always a dream of mine to take the boys to Israel. It’s where I was born and it holds a special place in my heart. Not to mention that all of my extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles) all live there, including a few childhood friends that I still keep in touch with. So when my brother and sister-in-law spoke of holding my nephew’s bar-mitzvah in Israel, I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to take the boys there.

For reference, my boys ages at the time of our visit were: 4, 6 and 8. I’m going to break up the review into small posts that focus on the major cities we visited since there’s so much information to share about each one. Here’s a recap of what we saw and did in Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv

We made Tel Aviv our home base for our 10-day trip. Not only is it the closest city to the airport, it’s also a beach town, which we knew would be where we would want to spend most of our time (especially when you are super jet-lagged). Also important to note, most stores and restaurants in Tel Aviv remain open during Shabbat (unlike Jerusalem which closes down for the Sabbath). However, it also means that a lot of Israeli’s flock to the beach on Saturday, so expect larger than normal crowds there.

The Beach Life

The obvious thing to do in Tel Aviv is to visit the beach. You can easily spend your entire vacation just doing this if you want to. We spent most of our time on Metsitsim Beach, close to the old port. This was the closest beach to where we were staying at, but it’s also not as busy as the other beaches along Tel Aviv coast. It has bathrooms / change rooms, showers on the beach to rinse off sand, first-aid station, a restaurant, beach chairs for rent (standard across all beaches in Israel – you can buy them from the machine but hang on to your receipts as they will come around and make sure you paid for them), a playground structure for kids and gym equipment. If you have a treadmill or other gym equipment you no longer use, you can explore the possibility to sell treadmill or any other items you have.

If you’re concerned about the safety of the playground, you can search for information about playground resurfacing near me.

Metsitsim Beach is also next to the old port of Tel Aviv which is now a beautiful area with a wide wooden boardwalk full of restaurants and modern clothing shops. We often came back here at night time for dinner & amazing sunset views.

Some of the other beaches that we visit are: Dog’s beach (which is full of seashells), Bograshov beach, Frishman beach and Gordon beach (the most popular beaches along with Jerusalem beach) that cover a 2km stretch. Here you will also find kids playground structures, various restaurants and gym equipment. Before you head to the beach I recommend that you find a grocery /convenience store near by to grab some snacks.

There’s electric scooters for rent all along the beach promenade. We rented one for 15 minutes and John took each of the boys for a ride on it.

Tip: we brought sand toys from the dollar store with us and we left them behind on our last day for others to enjoy. However, I would highly recommend purchasing a beach paddle ball, a staple beach toy in Israel. You can buy them at most street vendors or at one of the many local ‘shuk’ (local markets).

City Walks

Of course besides the beach (and the amazing food), there’s so much more to Tel Aviv. Explore the city by walking up and down Ben Yehuda street and Dizengoff street and zig-zaging through the side streets in between. Here you will get a true taste of life in Tel Aviv and seeing how the locals live (expect packed coffee shops and families with strollers out and about). A great place to stop and people watch is Dizengoff square. The fountain and the square is newly renovated but still an iconic landmark in Tel Aviv.

Shuk / Markets

The best way to see the traditional way of life in Israel is to visit a ‘SHUK’ or a local outdoor market (covered with tarp overhead to block out the sun). We took the boys to visit Shuk HaCarmel. Full of candy, spice, fruits, clothes, house wear, local food stalls (a must to eat at) and even toys. It’s an experience truly like no other. The boys loved running up and down the thin alleyway. Shuk HaCarmel is open Sunday to Thursday: 7am-7pm and Friday: 7am-4pm (closes earlier during winter). Other popular shuks in Israel include: Nahalat Binyamin Craft Market open Tuesdays and Fridays 10am – sundown. Levinsky Market, known for Mizrahi (i.e. Iranian, Iraqi etc…) food. It’s close to the vibrant Florentine, so make sure you visit that neighborhood if you’re in the area. The market is open Sunday to Thursday: 8am-6pm, and Friday: 8am-4:30pm (closes earlier during winter). Shuk HaPishpishim (also knows as Jaffa Market) is a flea market located in Jaffa. It’s open Sunday to Thursday: 10am-6pm and Friday: 9am-2pm. Sarona market is the most modern market in Tel Aviv and boosts lots of restaurants and food stalls and a playground structure for kids to play on. It’s also the only market open 7 days a week, even on Shabbat (Saturday).

Graffiti / Street art

While you can find graffiti all over Tel Aviv, the neighborhood of Florentine has the highest density of street art. While you could easily do this on your own while walking the streets, it might be more interesting (and efficient) if you do it through a tour. One of the best rated tour groups for this is ‘Grafitiyul‘ which also offers a workshop experience where the kids can learn the art of spray paint and create their own masterpiece at the end of the tour.

Jaffa / Yafo

This ancient port city was the first established town in what is now known as modern Tel Aviv. While completely different in its architect and atmosphere, it’s just as nice to visit and explore. Its cobble stone streets and maze-like corridors make it a fun place to roam around with kids in tow even though most of the stores are galleries. The boys had the best time playing around the big stones in the port and watching sailboats go in and out. This is also a great spot to get a panoramic view of Tel Aviv coastline and to watch fisherman fish.