Eilat Travel Guide

Introduction

243km (151 miles) S of Beersheva; 356km (221 miles) SE of Tel Aviv

This city of 70,000 at the southern tip of the Negev is the country's leading winter tourist resort. Eilat's chief claims to fame for the tourist are busy beaches with almost no wave action, coral reefs filled with exotic fish, and year-round sunshine. What was once a small, relaxed desert and Red Sea resort town now hosts 50 gargantuan upscale hotels and a downtown waterfront lined with jewelry shops, sneaker stores, and hawker's booths where visitors can while away their evenings. It's easygoing, fun, and mindless -- and Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, flock here to forget the pressures of daily life. Lots of European package tourists jet directly into Eilat (and see nothing else in Israel), but most of the Scandinavian swimmers and snorkelers who were the mainstay of Eilat's winter season have moved on. The architectural style of Eilat's hotels and shopping malls has been agreed upon -- new buildings are...