SAS has recently opened a direct route from Stockholm to Eilat in Israel, making it possible to fly to Eilat with no changes in just under five hours. We flew yesterday at 10:00 in the morning and landed at the airport outside Eilat (Ovda) at four in the afternoon local time. Then it took about an hour by bus to get to Eilat.
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ShareEasy to Fly to Eilat
The flight from Stockholm to Eilat went smoothly, with a new fresh SAS plane. We were offered coffee, tea and a mini-pizza, and if you wanted something in addition to that, there was an assortment to order.
When we landed at Ovda airport outside Eilat, we were greeted by desert landscapes, mild fresh air, guards with submachine guns and ... a guard who wanted to question us already on the runway. Have we been to Israel before? Do we have any relatives in Israel? Where do we intend to live? Do we plan to make any excursions, and where?
Even though we had a lot of questions, the guard was nice. And the next guard was even nicer! His job was to welcome us to Israel and give us each a "goodie bag". I (as a woman) got a hand cream and Peter got brochures and maps ...
Bus trip to Eilat
If you booked a transfer, there were special buses for this. We who had not booked a transfer had to take a regular local bus, but it was probably just as well. The bus took about an hour, through desert landscapes, and then we stopped at the bus stop in the centre of Eilat. To our hotel it was only a few minutes walk, but if you lived further away, the driver could apparently drive on.
Rimonim Central Park hotel
Finally, we could check in at Rimonim Central Park hotel, which is centrally located in the middle of Eilat. We will return with a review of the hotel when we have had time to get a better idea. So far we can note that WiFi works really well, but that the aeroplanes outside (another airport) are quite loud. This may be due to the fact that we have rooms on the outside.
So far, it is at least really nice to be here! We will check out both the hotel and Eilat a little better soon. We will return!
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Laila MA - Around the Equator says:
So good with direct flights from Stockholm. Last time I was there we had to fly to Jordan 🙂 .
Happy New Year 🙂
31 December 2017 - 8:18
Helena says:
Yes, apparently that's how it used to be! Now it's easy and convenient to fly here! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 8:28
Liniz Travel says:
Have a nice holiday. Hugs
31 December 2017 - 8:21
Liniz Travel says:
Curious which charter company you are travelling with?
31 December 2017 - 8:21
Helena says:
Thank you very much! We booked the flight and hotel through Solfaktor. However, we feel more and more that we are not really satisfied with the hotel, which according to Solfaktor would be 4-star. Many others seem to go with Airtours and I think you can also go with Resia, but when we searched for tickets, almost all were available through Solfaktor.
31 December 2017 - 8:30
Across the board says:
It will be exciting to follow your week. When I left Eilat, we flew from a military airport that was out in the desert, on the Egyptian side, so it has become better 😉 But now that you write that there was another airport, I remember that I also lived very close to it.
31 December 2017 - 8:40
Across the board says:
Had to check where I live 🙂 Here it was http://www.americanahotel.info :
Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 11:55
Lisa in the village says:
Wishing you a happy ending, and a happy new year!
31 December 2017 - 9:02
Helena says:
Thank you very much Lisa! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 15:31
Husis blog says:
It is convenient to have an airport in your home town. When owners are travelling on their own, they only look at flights from their home town. Now Stockholm has a much better offer, but even the owners' city can offer good deals.
Hope your feeling for the hotel changes during the trip, and don't forget to enjoy the warmth. With the owners it was at zero and those heavy clouds that were low, hazy and really boring New Year's weather.
31 December 2017 - 9:02
Helena says:
Of course there are flights from several different destinations in Sweden, and it is nice when you can fly directly! We will return about the hotel, but even though it may not be perfect, it may not be the most important thing either, so it will certainly be good!
31 December 2017 - 16:09
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Have fun now!
31 December 2017 - 9:36
Helena says:
Thank you, we will! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:09
Ama de casa says:
A room on the outside? Isn't it better to live indoors? 😉
Happy New Year to you!
Hugs
31 December 2017 - 9:37
Helena says:
Haha, yes, we mean we have a room with a terrace facing the airport ... 😉 Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:10
Fantasy Dining says:
Exciting, I have long been looking at Israel. So fun Helena that you got a hand cream ?
31 December 2017 - 9:51
Helena says:
Glad you looked at Israel Maria! Haha, well, I'm not a big consumer of hand cream directly ... 😉 .
31 December 2017 - 16:11
Lena & Jan says:
Smooth as it should be to fly 🙂 Enjoy the warmth and light AND the new year 2018...
31 December 2017 - 10:05
Helena says:
Thank you very much! And Happy New Year!!!
31 December 2017 - 16:11
Marina says:
Have a great New Year's Eve!
31 December 2017 - 10:23
Helena says:
Thank you very much Marina! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:11
Ia says:
Happy New Year and have a great week!
31 December 2017 - 11:58
Helena says:
You too, Ia! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:12
Ann-Louise says:
How exciting about Eilat and Israel! It will be interesting to read about your experiences there.
31 December 2017 - 12:20
Helena says:
Glad you're following Ann-Louise! We will of course report further! 🙂 Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:12
Lennart says:
happy ending and happy new year!
31 December 2017 - 12:46
Helena says:
Thank you very much! We wish you a Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 16:13
FlyingDryden says:
Neo is nice!
31 December 2017 - 13:00
Helena says:
Yes, Neo is the name of the aircraft! 🙂 Happy New Year Daniel!
31 December 2017 - 16:13
Anonymous says:
But how nice to be able to fly directly, and also depart during the day. It is all the changes that discourage me from flying, as well as being in place, like at 6 am at the airport. Take care, we are travelling remotely.
31 December 2017 - 14:23
Anonymous says:
It's nice to be able to fly directly and start during the day. I'm a little apprehensive about changes and mid-morning departures. We are also travelling remotely. Take care!
31 December 2017 - 14:26
Helena says:
Changes can be really hard! Even having to be very early at the airport. 10 o'clock was quite ok time to fly! 🙂
31 December 2017 - 16:14
Petra says:
Fun with Israel, a country that is on my "bucket list" It will be fun to follow your trip 🙂 .
Happy New Year!
Hug Petra
31 December 2017 - 15:18
Helena says:
Wishing you a Happy New Year Petra!
31 December 2017 - 16:14
Goatfish says:
Oh, how lovely with Israel! Happy new year to you 😀.
The thing about stars in hotels doesn't really tell you much.
I hope you have a good time anyway.
Hugs!
31 December 2017 - 19:44
Helena says:
You may be right about stars and hotels. Unfortunately, one sets one's expectations after the stars ... And we have a great time anyway! Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 20:15
BP says:
Welcome to Israel! The guards thing is typical of Israel - obviously. You will probably see lots of soldiers with submachine guns there. You get used to it very quickly and feel very safe. At least it was for us.
Change your hotel room if you can, because you want to get a good night's sleep.
There is very little desert in Tel Aviv, but there are mountain ranges between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Looking forward to the next report.
31 December 2017 - 19:53
Helena says:
Thank you!!! 🙂 Yes, we have probably already started to get used to the k-guns ... 😉 The first night we slept very well despite the aircraft noise (and refrigerator noise), we were probably tired haha 😉 Happy New Year!
31 December 2017 - 20:17
åsa in åsele says:
Thank you for the past year and all the best for the future.
Guards/military with weapons are probably part of everyday life in Israel and are probably a security, it seems to me that both Israel and North Korea are "powder kegs" where it can happen both the one and the other ... if various countries move their embassies to Jerusalem, there will be further trouble between Israel & Palestine.
Despite my views on the country itself and its government, you seem to be having a pretty good time even if the hotel is not quite what you expected.
And as I said, you do good advertising so even I almost want to book a trip to Israel 🙂 .
Have the best time in the world and take care of each other.
01 January 2018 - 12:57
Helena says:
Of course there are conflicts in Israel, which can turn into unrest! Right here in Eilat, I don't think you need to worry at all, though. If you are going to more "sensitive" areas of the country, you should probably check the UD's travel recommendations before. However, it should be possible to travel around Israel (except e.g. the Gaza Strip) so we will try to look around a little more. We will get back to you.
03 January 2018 - 6:14
Anna, Travel on a Cloud says:
So smooth with direct flights and nice that the trip went well! Now have a wonderful stay. Looking forward to the continuation.
Happy New Year!
01 January 2018 - 22:47
Helena says:
Very smooth with direct flights! And thank you very much, this is a trip we have been looking forward to! 🙂
03 January 2018 - 6:14
Lena - good for the soul says:
It sounds like a smooth journey down to your location!
Hug Lena
03 January 2018 - 6:07
Helena says:
Always convenient when you can fly directly! 🙂
03 January 2018 - 6:15
Anna in Dubai says:
They also check that you are not coming from an Arab country. For example, I can't fly directly from Dubai (or any other airport nearby) to Israel because of all the politics etc.. Palestine etc. And if I fly there, through a stopover somewhere, they don't stamp my passport but give the stamp on a separate piece of paper because otherwise they won't let me into the UAE again....
06 January 2018 - 11:50
Helena says:
Very interesting! Yes, I can imagine that it is more sensitive to enter from an Arab country...!
06 January 2018 - 15:00