Why vaccinated Israel is worth a visit

Have you been watching Shtisel during lockdown? Or maybe you are just one of the hundreds (thousands?) of us eyeing vaccination rates and realising the obvious candidate for this year’s summer holiday green list: Israel. Land of mountains, sea, multiple religions, ancient and knotty history, and copious amounts of houmous.

Whether the 8,550 square mile country, just a fifth of the width of England and its widest point, can fit us all is another matter but if you are searching for more or less any type of holiday, it’s likely that Israel can provide.

Historic city break

No prizes for guessing Israel’s most storied city. Legends, tales and parables seem to hum from Jerusalem’s old town walls. Taking a walking tour (the Sandeman’s ones are free and excellent) is an advisable start to even begin to grasp the complexities of this uneasy hub. Browse an Edenic feast of Israeli produce and nibbles at the Machane Yehuda market and walk it off up the Mount of Olives and to the Garden of Gethsemane following Jesus’s last steps.