Tiberias is a beautiful, but quite neglected town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (which is the “Kinneret” in Hebrew). I got there without any early intention.
We were looking for a cheap place to stay near Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights (“Ramat A-golan”), but we thought about it only a day before we wanted to go. We phoned some places, amongst them Golan Heights Hostel, but they were all fully booked! We wanted to stay on Friday night and on a wintery weekend everyone wants to go to the Golan Heights, so yeah… everything was booked. The closest place we found was in Tiberias, an hour and a half drive from Mount Hermon.
We got to the Tiberias Hostel late. There’s a blue sign indicating the place. We parked in front because the parking was empty and there are no inspectors giving away parking reports on Friday evenings. Usually you need to ask the hostel for a code for the back parking lot.
We buzzed at the entrance and made our way up all of the stairs, until we got to the lobby. The man behind the counter greeted us with a surprised smile:
“Hey,” he said, “How did you get here so late?”
There’s no public transportation during Friday evening and Saturday, until Saturday night, because of the Shabbat. “We came with the car,” we told him.
“Ah, great!” he said and helped us with check-in.
Our room was a 4-bed room, with two twin beds, situated at the end of one of the corridors. The A/C worked perfectly, the water in the shower was hot and the sheets were all clean, so it was great all in all. The beds are very basic, but at least there’s electricity next to each one. There are also lockers, if you need them. The bathroom door was a bit creaky, and we accidently locked from the outside during the night, but overall the place was worth the price. We paid only 105 Shekels per person, which means you, as tourists, will pay less for a night.
Our room at the Tiberias Hostel
As we left early for the Hermon, I couldn’t really see all there is to see in the hostel. In the lobby there’s a cooler, where you can fill up your water bottles, and there’s a small amount of snacks and drinks for sale. There are plenty to sofas to sit on in the living area. The kitchen is very small and I couldn’t see any refrigerator, but maybe I didn’t look well enough. There’s a place to make tea or coffee.
I tried looking for the shared showers and bathrooms, but couldn’t find anything on our floor. I tried going up, but got to a dead end and didn’t find anything on the lower floors. I suppose they will let you know everything you need to know when you arrive.
I can’t tell you anything about the breakfast either, because we left at around 6:00 a.m and breakfast starts only at 8:00.
But I can tell you that Tiberias Hostel is a great place to stay at, with friendly and helpful staff and basic rooms. It’s a short walk away from the Sea of Galilee shore and the promenade, which is truly beautiful at every hour of the day.
If you want to enjoy the beautiful Kinneret and just chill, or if you want to learn a bit more about Jesus Christ, you should make your way to Tiberias and stay at Tiberias Hostel!
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Want to book a room? Take a look at their site: Tiberias Hostel.