Surfing in Israel: Definitely Worth It

Jul 20 2009

Surfing in Israel: Definitely Worth It

Posted by Tyler at 9:21 am on July 20th, 2009 to Israel, Surf Trips.

While Israel may attract thousands of tourists a year, very few people make the trek to the Holy Land in search of the perfect wave. I myself spent seven weeks traveling through the Middle East last summer, and it was not until the day before my plane flight home that I finally surfed.

We got the idea from the publicity around Kelly Slater’s involvement in the 2007 Surfing For Peace event. Unable to find any real clear information on where to surf in Tel Aviv other than names of surf spots that most Taxi drivers did little more than blink at, we decided to check out Old Jaffa (the ancient port where Tel Aviv is now located) in the morning and search for a surf spot in the afternoon. This was our first mistake.

The main touristy part of Old Jaffa is not only closed and way lame in the morning, it is also the farthest beach south from where you can surf. However, the walk was informational. We spent a good half hour walking up the coast in search of surfable waves and board rentals. Tel Aviv’s main strip of beach could probably be described as somewhere in between Huntington Main and Waikiki: Lots of people, sand, hotels, and just a lot going on.

Renting Boards - Avoid getting scammed

We discovered that just about everyone trying to rent you boards from a shop or shack on the sand is trying to rip you off. They have a tiny thirty yard sectioned-off “surfing area”, and want to charge you anywhere from $50 to $100 to rent a board for the day. In fact, once they discovered that we had surfed before they wouldn’t even rent anything to us because they knew we would be dissatisfied. So, we continued on up the coast until we met the only legit looking surf instructor who accordingly gave us the low down.

There is a large building located on the northern corner of the main strip, right in front of the jetty that separates Hilton beach from the rest of main. You really can’t miss it, it can only be entered on the second floor by the large staircase in front that leads to the main boardwalk. As you walk up these stairs take a left and you find a few hidden shops. One of them is a small surf shop/school that rents boards. They were almost as surprised as we were that we found them, and it seemed like they made up the price on the spot. But we were stoked on $20 a board for the day. They were so excited to meet surfers from other parts of the world I thought for a second that they might give them to us for free. The whole deal was really mellow. We paid them the money up front, they lent us the boards and we dropped them off in a locker outside the shop because we turned them in after the store closed. The simplicity of the transaction made you hate all the complications of Western Society. The trick was just finding the shop. They usually have some people along the beach in front of the hotel wearing matching rash guards, so they can direct you if you ask, as they did us.

I highly recommend renting instead of bringing your own board. The waves don’t demand high performance boards. Hopefully you have made the trip to Israel for more than just the surf, which means transporting a board while you travel would be a huge pain. The rentals are decent, your choice of soft tops or hard boards, both short and long. Not an extensive choice, but definitely options.

Hilton Beach - Locating It

So, at the very north of Tel Aviv’s main beach is a small rock jetty, and just to the north of this rock jetty is Tel Aviv’s most famous surfing spot, Hilton Beach. Apparently (and proven with my own eyes) Hilton beach gains fame for three interesting characteristics:

1) surfing
2) it is a gay beach
3) it is supposedly one of the only beaches that allows dogs

Who would have thought, huh? As for pertinent information, both the gay and canine population on the beach congregate near the snack bar and restaurant on the far north part of the beach, leaving the southern part of the beach where the better waves break to surfers.

Hilton Beach – Surfing It

As for the waves, they are knee to waist high all day, with rumors of better shape the earlier you get there. It is a reef break, mostly to the right, with the occasionally sectiony left. Not overly powerful or fast, the wave is great for beginners (one girl we were with popped up her first try on a long board) and still enough fun for the more experienced surfers. There is a sharp rock bar on the inside that calls for extreme care at the end of every wave, as sometimes you end up in only a foot or two of water. But it can be avoided fairly easily. While not really the best waves in the world, definitely not worth planning a surf trip around, a trip to Hilton Beach is worth adding to your adventure in the wonders of the Middle East.

To tell you the truth, after a summer of wandering through the hot deserts of the Middle East and seeing some of the most amazing natural and manmade wonders of the world, surfing the Mediterranean was still what I was talking to everyone about when I got home. There is just something about surfing I guess. A word of advice to travelers of all kinds, find a way to surf wherever you can.