Flying To Israel: How Much Cash Needed?

In My Humble Opinion
1

A family member is flying to Israel and plans to charge purchases as much as possible, but sometimes one needs cash. How much US cash should one bring? Consider this person is traveling with a group and may have to split the tab at restaurants, tips, and other such situations where cash may be easier. Also consider the going exchange rate is about 1 USD = 3.63 Shekels.

FYIs: This person is a young adult and was thinking of 50 USD to avoid coming back with too much Israeli money. (This sounds low to me. I would think at least 100 USD?) Also, this person is going for 10 days.

2

I’d take $300 and convert about $50 at a time.

3

Addendum: I should ask if anyone knows prices over there…is everything about 3x more expensive than in the US?

4

If the young person is old enough and informs their debit card company, they can just withdraw in local currency from the ATM. Charles Schwab has a card that doesn’t charge international transaction fees.

5

Based on my (single) trip to Israel about 9 years ago, I’d agree that 50 USD is low, I’d say 2-300 and a reminder to call the CC company ahead of time with the trip dates, they often want confirmation before a number of international purchases are made. It may not flag them, especially if small, but it pays to be careful.

As for costs, I found food to be 30-50% higher than expected in the states, but considering the climate and local situation, this didn’t surprise me. And if you go to areas that cater to former US or European residents, it can be much higher.

ETA - I would also advise to bring an unlocked smart or dumb phone, and while in Israel to buy a prepaid SIM, so if they need to call local businesses or their friends (who should do the same) they aren’t paying 1.7 limbs of choice.

6

It has been about five years for me, but I do not recall prices bring radically higher than the U.S., just somewhat.

Pastries of a quality that would be only found in expensive American bakeries are common.

Unless something has changed, if you like Ethiopian food, you can eat out well and more cheaply than in the U.S.

7

@Alessan should be able to help.

8

Some ATMs in Israel dispense US dollars and Euros in addition to Shekels… but why bring or withdraw US currency at all? You could withdraw shekels from an ATM (and it certainly would not hurt to have $50 worth on you) but you can just use contactless payments most of the time.

IME if you start eating and drinking out your tab will really add up… for example a (good) burger could easily run you $15. Nor are regular supermarket groceries cheap.

9

Who is the person traveling with ? Friends/relatives or people they don’t really know? If it’s friends/relatives, using Venmo/Zelle etc will probably work best for splitting restaurant bills. If payment apps won’t work for that , he’ll need at least $300 or so for ten days but I’d withdraw from an ATM while I’m there. I don’t recall most things being much more expensive - but I’m from NYC where things are either more expensive or less expensive than the rest of the US.

10

Because things can go wrong and financial cards can be rejected. So bring a credit card, a debit card, $200 plus in U.S. currency [and make sure the card companies are notified ahead of time to avoid being rejected for fraud.]

11

Speaking for myself, I’ve had the same 50 shekel note in my wallet for the past three months - but I don’t get out much.

Israel has gone mostly cashless. Contactless payment, either by card or by phone, is accepted virtually everywhere, unless you’re buying stuff from sidewalk vendors. I’d say you should have a few hundred shekels on you for miscellanea and emergencies; I don’t know what you’d do with dollars, as most places don’t accept them (although money changing/check cashing places are common).

Of course, all this applies to greater Tel Aviv and coastal areas. Jerusalem may be a different story… and possibly a different planet.

Prices are not cheap, although as in most civilized countries, taxes are included. Tips - in restaurants only - are 15%; they can usually be included in the bill.

Some useful apps:

Venmo/Zelle aren’t really known here - the most widely used payment system is a local app called “BIT”. It’s available in iOS and Android. The Apple app is also used, I think.

The most popular food delivery app is Wolt, although the local Grubhub affiliate, 10Bis, is an option…

There’s no ride sharing here, but there is an app called Gett, which basically works the same way except with actual taxis, at taxi prices. Tip for taxis in general (not through the app) - they’ll try to negotiate a price in advance, which will always be too high, but they’re required by law to use their meter. Insist on it.

For busses and trains, get a Rav-Kav card. You can buy them at the counter at train stations or in kiosks. There are weekly/monthly passes, or you can charge them at trian station terminals and many ATMs. Note that bus drivers will not accept cash.

12

This is a non-issue.
You can convert currency easily at the airport, or at the many small shops with a big sign saying “CHANGE”.

A meal at a cafe or restaurant ( similar to Panera or Applebees in America) costs 70 shekels , 12 shekels for the drink 15% tip, so about $30 , which is somewhat more than in the US.
Street food, like a felafel and coke, will cost 45 shekels.

Cards are very very common, but I would suggest that in a foreign country where you don’t know the language, cash is always simpler and easier…

13

While I hear there are a few Amazon Go-type automated stores in Tel Aviv, it’s not like the cafe or sabich place or AM/PM or flea market vendor won’t accept your cash, but it should be local currency. Exceptions are the aforementioned bus drivers, for which you will need a Rav-Kav, which is the local version of the Calypso smart card.

14

I’ve been to Israel twice in the last year for a couple weeks both times and did not use cash once. Every transaction was cashless.

You might want a little cash for roadside vendors or street performers, spending on your travel habits. But I’d just withdraw shekels from an ATM when you arrive. I think $50 is plenty of US cash to carry. More than that, and you’ll be worried about pickpockets the whole time. Really, you don’t need cash, so don’t go overboard with emergency funds.

15

Seems silly to bring USD you’ll then have to convert, which will cost a fee, and then convert it back to USD when you leave which will be another fee. Just withdraw small amounts at a time in the local currency from ATMs there so you’re not left with a huge amount.

16

One thing, I mentioned earlier around $200 in cash, but didn’t explicitly say shekels, which I do advise.

Again, not going to be often needed, but I found myself using cash most frequently for things like open markets and light meals/snacks. For using app and payment options, I don’t know but do expect that would require an internet connection, which may become expensive if you’re not using a local SIM - I would want to check that before that expectation.

As for withdrawing from an ATM, please check ahead of time your banks (I mean the family member for all of these pieces of advice) policy when it comes to fees for non-network ATMs especially overseas. Ditto for any credit cards. They may be negligible, they may be percentage based, or they can be terrifying. If so, the cost of currency exchange, even both ways, maybe be the far, far lesser expense.

But again, even 9+ years ago, I was able to schedule most events and pay at most restaurants with my VISA (after calling them to advise of the trip) with zero problems. And @Alessan is indicating things have gotten even easier since then.