Essential travel apps for your trip to Israel

When you’re planning a trip to Israel there are a few apps that will come in handy for exploring and navigating the country.

Getting around in Hebrew 

Google Translate

No matter how much Hebrew you speak, Google translate will come in handy for your trip to Israel. You can translate to and from Hebrew through text, speech and photo. The app even has a “conversation” feature that translates a back-and-forth conversation in real time. Just choose the two languages and tap the conversation icon. You can also ‘download the language’ to the app so you can access the translator without wifi access.

Navigating Israel

Gett Taxi/Yango

You can’t order an Uber in Israel, but there are a few similar ride-hailing apps.

With the Gett Taxi app, you can order a taxi straight to your door. Just like Uber, the app allows you to request a ride, and a driver will show up to drive you to your destination. Gett Taxi is available in dozens of cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Eilat. Just pack some patience, during off hours it may take a couple of attempts to get a driver to come to you.

The Yango app is a budget-friendly alternative to Gett Taxi. Available in 11 cities across the country, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Netanya, the rates are usually slightly cheaper than Gett Taxi.

Rav Kav

The Rav-Kav is Israel’s reusable transit card, which can be used to pay for public transportation (including buses, light rail trains and the national railway in Israel) across the country. You can purchase your card at the airport, train stations, and some buses also offer the option to purchase a Rav Kav from the driver. You can load your card at train stations and some bus stops, or using the app, Rav Kav pass by Hopon. 

The app also lets you pay for your rides directly, even if you don’t have a Rav Kav, and includes interactive maps to assist in navigating the bus lines and understanding how much your ticket will cost.

Bonus: If you’re looking specifically for train times and schedules, you can visit Israel Railways or download the Israel Railways app. 

Other must-have travel apps

• Google maps
• Moovit (Public transportation navigator)
• Waze (Traffic navigator)
• Lime/Bird/Wind Scooters
• Cellopark/pango (How to pay for parking)
• Bike app Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Meal delivery in Israel 

• Wolt
• TenBis

Other helpful tools

• Currency Converter (Bank of Israel has an app, but you can also just Google this)
• Whatsapp (everyone in Israel uses this to message each other)
• Red Alert (Red Alert notifies you if there is a rocket attack near you)