Price of trip in Shekels: 200

How long did this trip take? (From start to finish): 3 Days

What Bus/Train Routes did you use: :

Train to Haifa, Bus to Akko, Bus to Achziv Land, Bus to Kiryah Shmona, Cab to Metula, and same back. Details below:

In what large cities does the bus or train stop in? (Seperate with Commas): Haifa, Akko, Kiriyah Shmona

This trip is great for winter!

The adventure begins in Haifa. I stayed over in Haifa on Thursday night and went to “X Park” near the Haifa Mall/Hof Hacarmel. It\’s the largest rock gym in Israel and it also has a skate park, high ropes course, paintball, and other extreme activities. The rock gym is about 35 shekels for unlimited climbing.

The next morning take the train or the bus to Nahariyya. You can walk around Nahariyya for a while, or go straight to Ahzivland. Ahzivland is an independently operated micronation run by the eccentric Eli Avivi. For the cost of some manual labor he will tell you the story of how he came to acquire this small piece of paradise (complete with lagoon and museum). After enjoying the beach and maybe getting your passport stamped, you can have Mrs. Avivi call you a cab and go back to the Nahariyya bus station, or to Akko.

We decided to go to Akko and we enjoyed a few hours in the old city. You MUST stop at a hummus place, it\’s the best in Israel. I also recommend the Templar tunnels as a fun little excursion through the thick history of this ancient city. I recommend you acquire a map because it\’s very easy to get lost in the winding streets.

After this we boarded a bus at the Akko Tachanat Merkazit (central bus station), and went north to Kiryat Shemona. From Kiryat Shemona it\’s a 40 shekel cab ride to Metulla. In Metulla I stayed at Renuar, which you can find in the “Places to Stay” section (HIGHLY recommended).

We went to an Irish pub in Metulla on Friday night, explored the border with Lebanon, and got a good sleep. The next morning we woke up and walked to Merkaz Canada. A gift from the Canadian government to Israel, this building is an entire day\’s worth of entertainment. An olympic size ice-skating rink, a giant indoor swimming pool with 2 hot tubs and a water slide, a shooting range, a spa, a bowling ally, pool tables, ping pong tables, snack bar, and that\’s just what I can remember. It\’s very reasonably priced, and very fun.

From there, cab back to Kiryat Shemona and take the bus to Haifa (I recommend going to see a movie at the Cinemall if you have time, it\’s right near Tachanat Merkazit Lev Hamifratz).

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This post was submitted by Shawn.