just outside of the arrivals hall a few minutes after 9 pm. We had
missed the bus to Jerusalem by only 5 minutes and now had almost an hour
to wait for the next one.
There were alternatives available. The taxi office was right behind
us and there were plenty of taxis waiting for business and I had also
installed the Gett App (similar to Uber) on my phone just in case we
needed it but a taxi to Jerusalem would cost around 360 ILS (£80)
whereas the bus would cost only 16 ILS (£3.50) each so we waited.
Buying a ticket for the bus was easy enough. We just had to pay the
driver in cash and the bus left on time at 9:55 pm. The 485 bus
terminates right outside Jerusalem Central Bus Station alongside the
light railway (tram) stop.
We had also read about Nesher shuttles, 10-seater minibuses that
leave when they are full, but we didn’t see any of these while we waited
for the bus.
We arrived at the Central Bus Station at approximately 10:45 pm.
Fortunately, the hotel we had booked had advertised a 24/7 reception
because we still had a 15-minute walk to get there. We could have used
the tram but we did not know how frequently they ran or how easy it
would be to try and buy a ticket for it in the dark so we figured we
would just walk to the hotel.
Jerusalem, like many cities, is a city of two parts. The Old City is
the ancient, walled city that contains most of the sites that the
tourists go to visit and the New City is the modern city.
Our route to the hotel took us right through the centre of the New
City, following the tram line along Jaffa Street. It was Saturday night
and the streets were buzzing with people scurrying around in all
directions but with very few signs of partying until we reached the
Mahane Yehuda market and even then it was fairly low key partying.
Before long we had reached our hotel and even managed to locate a few
bakeries and mini-supermarkets along the way so that would know where to
buy milk and breakfast the next morning.
Getting Here
We took the 485 bus from the bus stop outside of the arrivals hall of
Terminal 3. The ticket to Jerusalem cost 16 ILS (£3.50) each and you buy
them from the driver. The bus departs Terminal 3 every hour at 55
minutes past the hour and also stops at Terminal 1 along the way. During
Shabbat (Friday afternoon until Saturday evening) this bus, along with
most other public transport, does not operate but you should always
check before you travel regardless of the day.
The 485 bus terminates just outside of the Central Bus Station where
you can get taxis, other buses or the light railway to your destination.
You can also walk. It is a ten minute walk to Davidka Square where the
Abraham Hostel is located and an extra five minutes to Yafo Centre.
Staying Here
Accommodation in Jerusalem is not cheap. We stayed at the City
Center
Hotel Jerusalem which is located in King George Street. They also
have an annexe nearby in HaHistadrut Street. At the time of booking, we
got the best deal for this hotel from Hotels.com.
The City Center Hotel Jerusalem is a small boutique type hotel with a
small reception that operates 24/7. We booked a small, budget studio
which came equipped with a mini-kitchenette, table, chairs, microwave,
kettle and a sink. Although small, it was perfect for our needs and very
quiet.