Vacation in Eilat during COVID-19

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Although another lockdown is approaching, we have decided to give you all of our tips for a great vacation in Eilat, and we hope that after this lockdown Eilat will return to be a ‘green island’.

We love going to Eilat this time of year. Most winter days in Eilat are sunny and beautiful compared to the rest of the country, so there is a really small chance that you will have a rainy day while in Eilat. Also, in the winter Eilat is less crowded, and the best part right now is that the hotels and restaurants are open! Although it is too cold to get into the water, there is nothing like spending the day by the pool or the beach 🙂

We stayed at the Royal Beach Hotel, our favorite hotel in Eilat. The hotel has a luxurious atmosphere, cozy, very spacious, and has a private beach for guest use.

Royal beach hotel Eilat

* COVID-19 tests:

At the entrance to Eilat, a negative corona test result from the last 72 hours must be presented.

We did COVID-19 testing three days before going to Eilat, at the corona testing complex in Rabin Square. (We did a test on Thursday night and got the result on Saturday at noon). We arrived in Eilat from highway 12 (which has an amazing view) and there was no queue at the entrance, in fact, we were the only ones, so entering Eilat went very fast.

* Restrictions:

You must wear a mask in all areas of the hotels (and also in all of Eilat) and all restaurants are open for outdoor seating only.

* Beaches:

We were looking for a relaxing vacation so we decided to spend most of our time at the beach.

Mosh Beach – A perfect place for those who like to spend the day in a laid back, fun India / Sinai atmosphere. The restaurant on the beach has two seating areas, the upper part of which the seating is around tables and you get full service from waiters and the lower part which is on the sand where you can order through their website and pick it up at the bar. The beach has no entrance fee.

Mosh beach eilat

Dolphin Reef – Our favorite place in Eilat! on this beautiful beach you can watch the dolphins, dive, or snorkel with them. You can just sit on the pier with your feet in the water and watch them pass under from time to time. A really fun experience in our opinion!
The enchanting ‘Stalbet Al Hamaim’ complex at the Dolphin Reef offers access to a number of warm pools and Watsu treatments. The place is currently only open for personal treatments that must be booked in advance through the website.
There are two restaurants in the dolphin reef, one, located in the ‘Stalbet Al Hamaim’ complex, designed in a magical laid back style, and offers light meals, drinks, and more. The second bar-restaurant on the waterfront offering richer meals, snacks, beer, etc.

Admission to the reef costs 69 NIS (unless you have scheduled treatment and then there is no need to pay an entrance fee).

The dolphin reef eilat

* Restaurants

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find good restaurants in Eilat, but we managed to find some places we really liked:

The last refuge: an excellent fish and seafood restaurant that has been here for decades. Located in the southern part of Eilat. This place has an old charm and remains as it has been since we were there many years ago when we were little.

The last refuge restaurant eilat

Hamburger at Whale: Whale Restaurant, before COVID19, was a fine dining restaurant but due to the restrictions, they changed it to a self-service quality hamburger place. They offer several types of burgers, among which you can also find a shrimp burger and a vegan version with a Beyond burger. We ordered the barbecue burger which was excellent, tasty, and juicy and we also added the fried artichoke which was very tasty and light.

Hamburger at Whale

Ranch House Restaurant: Meat restaurant, located on the promenade of the Royal Beach Hotel. Since it belongs to the hotel and some of the guests eat their dinner there, you can also sit inside which is a big advantage when it starts to get too cool to sit outside at night.

Ranch House Restaurant eilat

* Clothing and weather

December is very pleasant in Eilat. Warm and sunny during the day and cool at night. So in terms of clothing bring short clothes with a light top for the day and a coat and warmer clothing for the evening.

In our opinion, the best months to go on vacation in Eilat are May-June and October-November. We do not recommend going in July-August, on holidays and weekends because then the city and beaches get really crowded and it is impossible to enjoy the tranquility that the city has to offer.

You can find more photos from our vacation in Eilat in our highlights on our Instagram page @telavivcityladies

For reservation and more information: The Royal Beach Hotel Eilat