Check out this post — Expense Report: Pre-Trip Costs — for a better understanding of other costs associated with a RTW trip, as well as a definition of my travel style and how it impacts my budget.

My time in Israel is markedly different from the rest of my trip because I spent most of the time traveling with my sister and our uncle. As such, my budget breakdown is skewed by shared costs and a different level of accommodation and dining, as I detailed in this post. I’ll explain more below about how these numbers vary from a typical flashpacker’s Israel budget, and what you can expect to pay if you’re traveling there solo.

Here’s what I spent in U.S. dollars over 12 nights in Israel:

• Accommodation = $76.50 … $6.37 per night
• Food =  $107.10 … $8.92 per day
• Groceries =  $22.65 … $1.88 per day
• Coffee =  $57.30 … $4.77 per day
• Activities =  $394.80 … $32.90 per day
• Cell & Wifi =  $47.70 … $3.97 per day
• Transportation =  $90.15 … $7.50 per day
• Miscellaneous =  $51.30 … $4.27 per day

And the grand total for 12 nights in Israel is…:

$847.50 USD, which works out to $70.62 per day.

Here’s how those numbers compare with other countries I’ve traveled to:

• My daily average in Cook Islands: $157.05
• My daily average in New Zealand: $88.56
• My daily average in Australia: $83.37
• My daily average in Singapore: $78.86
• My daily average in Indonesia: $51.34
• My daily average in Malaysia: $117.09
• My daily average in Palau: $160.91
• My daily average in Philippines: $49.21
• My daily average in Japan: $89.55
• My daily average in Nepal: $75.42
• My daily average in Jordan: $68.88
• My daily average in Israel: $70.62

All worth it to float in the Dead Sea!

A few notes:

• I used xe.com in early November to calculate the exchange rate and at that point in time, 1 NIS (Israeli Shekel) = .30 USD.
• I received two discounts in Israel in exchange for my photography services and blog coverage: a day-long tour of Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea with Abraham Tours, as well as a day-long tour of Hebron and other parts of Palestine with Green Olive Tours. Total discount: $175 USD.
• I did not include my flight departing Israel, as I will note international flights on a separate RTW airfare budget at the end of my trip. I did not fly into Israel but rather walked across the border from Jordan at the Aqaba/Eilat crossing. I did not take any domestic flights within Israel.
• I purchased an Orange SIM card at a shop in Eilat which was pricier than I would’ve liked. For just under $50, I got a generous data plan plus calling and texting. Cheaper plans either skimped on data or didn’t include calling and texting, which was important to me because we spent time with friends in Tel Aviv who have Israeli cell phones so it was nice to coordinate plans that way. I continue to use the Viber app to communicate for free with my friends and family back home.
• I continue to use my Charles Schwab debit card to avoid international ATM fees.
• As I mentioned above, this budget is quite different from my other expense reports. For the bulk of this trip, my sister and I traveled with our uncle (who works in the hospitality industry) and our accommodation was significantly more upscale than my usual hostel stays. It was also generously covered by our uncle, which is why the Accommodation slice of my budget pie is so skewed. But the first four nights of my Israel trip I stayed in a hostel dorm room in Eilat — which cost about $20 USD per night, to give you an idea of Israeli hostel prices for that part of the country. The other numbers in this budget are similarly inconsistent, as both my sister and I paid for things when we could (like entrance tickets to museums / sites and occasional tips or taxi fare), but for the most part our uncle very, very kindly treated us to a fabulous vacation. It was unequivocally the best food and accommodation of my entire RTW trip. THANK YOU, UD!!
• I did not buy any souvenirs in this country.
• A few items under the miscellaneous slice of the pie include… laundry ($10), an overpriced paperback book: Junot Diaz’s This is How you Lose Her ($20), nine postcard stamps for loved ones back home ($28).

If you’re planning your own trip to the Holy Land or just curious about the costs of visiting this part of the world, I hope that parts of this budget breakdown have been helpful!