' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Fri Jan 16, 2015 4:45 pm
January 16th I have updated the blog to include ticket news, kick off times and transport from airport
http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/israel- ... -qualifier
Israel v Wales (Euro 2016 qualifier)
Paul CorkreyFSF Cymru’s Paul Corkrey (left) has been out to Israel ahead of Wales’ Euro 2016 qualifier (Saturday 28th March 2015, 7.45pm, Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa). Over the coming months he'll update this rolling blog with the latest information and images. Corky explains more below…
I have just come back from a reconnaissance trip to Israel and was really surprised to be honest; it was not what I expected. I have been to most European cities and this felt as safe or even safer than most of them. The fact that they were involved in a war last year cannot be dismissed and some fans may opt to give this game a miss but I can honestly say I would have no reservations taking my family there.
You should expect to travel to a coastal location with mid to high temperatures, there are great beaches to enjoy and you should pack your cases with that sort of trip in mind. It is expensive with London prices but there are many “happy hours” in pubs that ease the cost, but expect to pay at least £4 a pint.
Haifa is quiet in comparison to Tel Aviv and very hilly, although they do have a port and beautiful beach area. I would highly recommend fans stay in Tel Aviv and travel to Haifa on the day, possibly five or six hours before kick-off. It takes one hour by coach from Tel Aviv and due to the game being played on the Sabbath (Saturday) there will be very little open and hardly any public transport other than taxis.
We have organised coaches from Tel Aviv on matchday and some pubs who will do happy hour prices, they are even happy to open all night on our return to Tel Aviv after the match and we intend to make Mike’s Place our FSF base for the trip, this will also be the place to collect your tickets for the coaches. Email paul.corkrey@fsf.org.uk if you want to book places on the coach, it will cost £18 return. You can get a taxi and the cost will be approximately £80-£100 each way.
I have also met up with a travel agent to get hotel places at a reduced rate and she will contact me with prices for hotels ranging from the best to budget, if you want me to help you with this please get in touch. She will also be able to arrange excursions for groups to Jerusalem or the Dead Sea on the Friday or Sunday.
They are also discussing a charter plane for the fans from Cardiff to Tel Aviv, Thursday to Monday. I will have more information about this soon and we were looking at £400+ per person but nothing is finalised just yet. If that is still the case by the end of the year I think people should continue to get the best deals at the cheapest prices. Do not rely on this charter, it is very much in the planning stages and not guaranteed to happen.
Update - Friday 16th January:
The kick-off for this game is confirmed as 6pm British time which is 8pm local time in Haifa. Lucy Mason, ticketing and membership manager at the FAW, is in the process of finalising details with the Israel FA and is hopeful that tickets will be able to go on sale at the end of the month.
She is unsure at this moment if they will be able to sell it online or if we will send the application forms out by post again.
We have access to more than 2,000 tickets; but the FAW thought there would be more like 1,000-1,500 travelling over. The main thing is we have plenty of tickets and on a sale or return basis so we don’t have to commit to a smaller number.
There will be no sales in Haifa though, as normal, all sales for the Wales end must be in advance, through the FAW office. Only members can obtain tickets and the membership is still open and costs £10.
Mark Evans, head of the International Department at FAW, along with Lucy, is planning to visit Israel around the end of this month. If there are any more updates or changes to the above they will inform us on their return.
There will be no specific charter plane now as far as we are aware; most fans have booked up with easy jet from Luton or with British airways from Heathrow.
When you arrive at Tel Aviv airport you will receive an entry card that you keep with you, you will also receive an exit card on departure from the country, this means your passport will not be “stamped”.
Getting from the airport to Tel Aviv takes about 25 minutes and you can add another 50 minutes onto that if you are going directly to Haifa. Taxis are quite expensive, it’s recommended to avoid the use of taxi services that are not permitted to transport passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, and to approach the taxi dispatcher instead.
A ride to Tel Aviv from the airport should be around 250 NIS (£42) Make sure you ask the driver to put the trip on the meter. Taxi to Haifa would cost 553 NIS (£92) if there are two passengers and two suitcases. Every ride from Ben Gurion Airport incurs a surcharge of 5 NIS (90p).
Night fares include an extra 25% charge on night journeys. These run daily from 21:01 until 05:29 as well as on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. (Friday from 17:00 until 05:29 the following day.)
Trains are very regular and virtually 24 hours a day except on Friday when they run from 0.53 in the morning until 2.30pm - they resume Saturday at 7.26pm.
There is a train station at the airport, and there are several stops in Tel-Aviv. the "Tel-Aviv Savidor Centre“ railway station is also a central bus station so people could get on a bus to get closer to the hotels or grab a taxi which will cost less from there.
Train tickets cost 16 NIS (£2.70) Single to Tel Aviv, 25 minute trip. Or 41 NIS (£7) To Haifa which is a one hour, 25 minute trip.
Alternatively, fans could use a "sherut". A sherut is a shared taxi, a very popular way of travelling in Israel and in particular to and from Ben Gurion. From the airport, sherut run to Jerusalem and Haifa, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Please note Sheruts do not run from the airport to Tel Aviv. They can be found on Level G outside Arrivals, and there are minibuses which take around ten passengers either to the main bus station in the city, or direct to the passengers’ destination door. They will also pick you up from your front door for the return journey to the airport if you book in advance.
- See more at: http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/israel- ... vxE5e.dpuf
http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/israel- ... -qualifier
Israel v Wales (Euro 2016 qualifier)
Paul CorkreyFSF Cymru’s Paul Corkrey (left) has been out to Israel ahead of Wales’ Euro 2016 qualifier (Saturday 28th March 2015, 7.45pm, Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa). Over the coming months he'll update this rolling blog with the latest information and images. Corky explains more below…
I have just come back from a reconnaissance trip to Israel and was really surprised to be honest; it was not what I expected. I have been to most European cities and this felt as safe or even safer than most of them. The fact that they were involved in a war last year cannot be dismissed and some fans may opt to give this game a miss but I can honestly say I would have no reservations taking my family there.
You should expect to travel to a coastal location with mid to high temperatures, there are great beaches to enjoy and you should pack your cases with that sort of trip in mind. It is expensive with London prices but there are many “happy hours” in pubs that ease the cost, but expect to pay at least £4 a pint.
Haifa is quiet in comparison to Tel Aviv and very hilly, although they do have a port and beautiful beach area. I would highly recommend fans stay in Tel Aviv and travel to Haifa on the day, possibly five or six hours before kick-off. It takes one hour by coach from Tel Aviv and due to the game being played on the Sabbath (Saturday) there will be very little open and hardly any public transport other than taxis.
We have organised coaches from Tel Aviv on matchday and some pubs who will do happy hour prices, they are even happy to open all night on our return to Tel Aviv after the match and we intend to make Mike’s Place our FSF base for the trip, this will also be the place to collect your tickets for the coaches. Email paul.corkrey@fsf.org.uk if you want to book places on the coach, it will cost £18 return. You can get a taxi and the cost will be approximately £80-£100 each way.
I have also met up with a travel agent to get hotel places at a reduced rate and she will contact me with prices for hotels ranging from the best to budget, if you want me to help you with this please get in touch. She will also be able to arrange excursions for groups to Jerusalem or the Dead Sea on the Friday or Sunday.
They are also discussing a charter plane for the fans from Cardiff to Tel Aviv, Thursday to Monday. I will have more information about this soon and we were looking at £400+ per person but nothing is finalised just yet. If that is still the case by the end of the year I think people should continue to get the best deals at the cheapest prices. Do not rely on this charter, it is very much in the planning stages and not guaranteed to happen.
Update - Friday 16th January:
The kick-off for this game is confirmed as 6pm British time which is 8pm local time in Haifa. Lucy Mason, ticketing and membership manager at the FAW, is in the process of finalising details with the Israel FA and is hopeful that tickets will be able to go on sale at the end of the month.
She is unsure at this moment if they will be able to sell it online or if we will send the application forms out by post again.
We have access to more than 2,000 tickets; but the FAW thought there would be more like 1,000-1,500 travelling over. The main thing is we have plenty of tickets and on a sale or return basis so we don’t have to commit to a smaller number.
There will be no sales in Haifa though, as normal, all sales for the Wales end must be in advance, through the FAW office. Only members can obtain tickets and the membership is still open and costs £10.
Mark Evans, head of the International Department at FAW, along with Lucy, is planning to visit Israel around the end of this month. If there are any more updates or changes to the above they will inform us on their return.
There will be no specific charter plane now as far as we are aware; most fans have booked up with easy jet from Luton or with British airways from Heathrow.
When you arrive at Tel Aviv airport you will receive an entry card that you keep with you, you will also receive an exit card on departure from the country, this means your passport will not be “stamped”.
Getting from the airport to Tel Aviv takes about 25 minutes and you can add another 50 minutes onto that if you are going directly to Haifa. Taxis are quite expensive, it’s recommended to avoid the use of taxi services that are not permitted to transport passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, and to approach the taxi dispatcher instead.
A ride to Tel Aviv from the airport should be around 250 NIS (£42) Make sure you ask the driver to put the trip on the meter. Taxi to Haifa would cost 553 NIS (£92) if there are two passengers and two suitcases. Every ride from Ben Gurion Airport incurs a surcharge of 5 NIS (90p).
Night fares include an extra 25% charge on night journeys. These run daily from 21:01 until 05:29 as well as on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. (Friday from 17:00 until 05:29 the following day.)
Trains are very regular and virtually 24 hours a day except on Friday when they run from 0.53 in the morning until 2.30pm - they resume Saturday at 7.26pm.
There is a train station at the airport, and there are several stops in Tel-Aviv. the "Tel-Aviv Savidor Centre“ railway station is also a central bus station so people could get on a bus to get closer to the hotels or grab a taxi which will cost less from there.
Train tickets cost 16 NIS (£2.70) Single to Tel Aviv, 25 minute trip. Or 41 NIS (£7) To Haifa which is a one hour, 25 minute trip.
Alternatively, fans could use a "sherut". A sherut is a shared taxi, a very popular way of travelling in Israel and in particular to and from Ben Gurion. From the airport, sherut run to Jerusalem and Haifa, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Please note Sheruts do not run from the airport to Tel Aviv. They can be found on Level G outside Arrivals, and there are minibuses which take around ten passengers either to the main bus station in the city, or direct to the passengers’ destination door. They will also pick you up from your front door for the return journey to the airport if you book in advance.
- See more at: http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/israel- ... vxE5e.dpuf
Re: ' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Fri Jan 16, 2015 4:57 pm
Cheers Corky 
Re: ' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Fri Jan 16, 2015 6:25 pm
Shame about the charter plane from cardiff
It's ridiculous that we can't fly from anywhere in wales
It's ridiculous that we can't fly from anywhere in wales
Re: ' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:06 pm
that's a real shame, why not do a air day trip, its a good easy way to get as many fans to that game without staying over, I for one would go.
Re: ' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:03 pm
Went there with England a few years ago to Tel Aviv. Always hope for them to be England group again.
Top trip and felt very safe.
The only thing I could not get my head round was drinking in pubs with security guards inside fully armed.
Its a must trip
Top trip and felt very safe.
The only thing I could not get my head round was drinking in pubs with security guards inside fully armed.
Its a must trip
Re: ' Israel 2015 information for fans going to game '
Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:44 pm
I was waiting for news of the charter flight....disappointed 