Bar Mitzvah Trip to Israel: Arrival and Tel Aviv-Yafo

We recently got back from an almost 2 week trip to Israel and I’d love to share some highlights with you. I already wrote a post about how we traveled internationally with my child with Type 1 Diabetes, but this post will be about our experiences traveling as a group of 8. It wasn’t always sunshine and roses, but we ended up having an amazing time. 

We left from JFK on a late Saturday night flight (El Al doesn’t fly on Shabbos). Our youngest child fell asleep before we got on the plane and while it was a long flight, it was a good one. We had an older plane, which had TV and movies, but no games. 

The little man was a champ on the flight. 

I managed B and his Type 1 Diabetes and my in-laws sat in the row ahead of us with my daughter — who actually threw up due to a little turbulence. She was fine and felt much better after that. It’s an 11 hour flight and we got through it pretty well. For more on flying with a child with Type 1 Diabetes, I have a whole separate post on that here: https://www.themamamaven.com/traveling-internationally-with-a-child-with-type-1-diabetes/

We jumped in two cabs — in Israel, tell the cab driver your destination and ask how much. They will tell you. Bags may be extra. A cab to Yafo was around 40 NIS (new sheckels). I added in a small tip, maybe 15%. 

We stayed in Yafo, which is an old neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Here’s the Airbnb where we stayed – https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18121675?guests=1&adults=1 . We had a wonderful experience (this was my first time staying in an Airbnb). It slept all of us comfortably — we were 8. We did have to lug our luggage up a flight of stairs, but that was my only complaint. Rubi, our host, left us some essentials and a wonderful Nespresso Machine stocked with capsules. 

We went out to dinner that night and we ate outside. 

The next morning my husband and his father hit Abulafia to get us breakfast treats. Abulafia is 150 year old bakery in Yafo and is definitely worth a visit. 

Here’s what we saw when we walked around Yafo.

As we walked further into the older part of Yafo, we saw this breathtaking view of the Tel Aviv Beaches. 

Note: There are a lot of cats that we saw in Yafo and around Israel. Do not touch them! 

When it was lunchtime, we walked to Dr. Shakshuka. They only take cash, but there is an ATM nearby. 

The Shakshuka with meat and mushrooms was amazing!

Dr. Shakshuka
Beit Eshel St 3
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
+972 3-518-6560

After lunch we walked from around Yafo and ended up in Rabin Square. 

Our jet lag got the best of 1/2 of us and some of us went back to the airbnb and my mom, B, and I headed to the malls in Tel Aviv to buy B a Bar Mitzvah shirt (I had left the one I bought in NY).

That night we had dinner at Cafe Puaa in Yafo. 

I had the Siniya Corvina – grey mullet fish with tahini and tomato sauce. So good!

Cafe Puaa
Rabbi Yohanan St 8
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel