Summer Fun at the Sea of Galilee TALY’S TRAVEL Fun Adventure
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THE JERUSALEM POST . SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 TRAVEL TRENDS 7 Summer fun at the Sea of Galilee TALY’S TRAVEL fun adventure. The water park is divided into four areas: • BY TALY SHARON The Family Park (ages 6 and up), The Extreme Park, The Kids’ Park (easy obsta- he Sea of Galilee is one of the top cles, ages 3-6), and The Olympic Park (for destinations in Israel. During the groups – volleyball, basketball, water polo, summer, this lake attracts young etc.). people and families who come to Visitors enter the park in sessions. Each Tenjoy the beaches and water activities. Here session is 45 minutes and it takes two ses- are a few of its attractions. sions to explore all the areas. But note that it is an effort, so unless you are very fit, I Nof Ginossar Hotel suggest starting with one session, and at Nof Ginossar has been a popular vaca- least getting some rest before the next one. tion resort in Israel for many years, since Website: www.aquakef.com Kibbutz Ginossar established it. This hotel Phone: 1-700-555-079 is the first kibbutz hotel in Israel, built Price: NIS 35 to95 in 1964. With a private beach, swimming Hours: Sunday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 pool, dining services and 650 dunams of p.m. (extended hours on some the days and groomed lawns and flora alongside the separate bathing for the religious commu- Tsalmon Creek, it is a vacation paradise. nity afterwards – contact Aqua Kef for info). Add to this the proximity to Tiberias and Children up to the age of 10 need in-wa- many of the attractions around the Sea of ter (paying) adult supervision. Life vests Galilee – and you have the perfect holiday mandatory for everyone, and there is a destination. lifeguard on duty. We came to Ginossar with two teens. We spent two nights there and quickly formed Gai Beach Water Park a fun routine – breakfast, water attraction, One of the well-established water attrac- lunch, museum, swimming pool, dinner tions in Tiberias is Gai Beach Water Park. and card games. This was a superb family With seven types of water slides, a wave retreat; our teens, who are often difficult to AQUA KEF (above) is an inflatable water pool and a 750-square meter kiddies’ world, park on the Sea of Galilee. Below, the Nof entertain, enjoyed it and did not complain it is the ultimate place for families. The Ginossar Hotel is one-stop vacation spot. even once – a major success! affiliated beach nearby offers water sports. (Taly Sharon) Nof Ginossar has two areas: a hotel and Well-organized showers on premises. village. The hotel is closer to the lobby, Gai Beach Water Park is well furbished, and suits couples and Address: 1 Eliezer Kaplan Blvd, Tiberias small families. The village is a separate entertainment programs. There is a play- Open: 7 days a week during the summer area, across the parking lot, and serves ground and table games such as table ten- 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. mostly families looking for simpler coun- nis, and basketball and tennis courts; and a Price: NIS 70 to 99 try lodging, yet enjoying all the services of new gym will be opened any day. Phone: +972-4-670-0713 the hotel. All the rooms of the hotel were Besides being a nice place to stay at, Gino- refurbished and are of high standard, with sar provides all the services and amenities Nahala Bateva (“Estate in Nature”) quality facilities and flat-screen TVs. The needed to make a vacation successful! Druse Experience newest rooms are the Delux rooms, suit- Prices vary, starting from NIS 600 for a The Galilee is one of the authentic loca- able for a couple+1 with some connecting double room off season, including break- tions to experience some Druse culture and rooms – very fancy. fast. cuisine. Nahala Bateva is a restaurant and We got a Grand Delux room. These rooms Nof Ginossar Hotel campsite featuring Druse hospitality with are spacious and have a small balcony, Website: www.ginosar.co.il ethnic food such as Makloubeh (upside- comfortable renewed bathroom, bathrobes Phone: 972-4-6700-300 down chicken, vegetable, and rice dish), in the closet for in-room use, and terry bath Mensaf (lamb stew on rice), stuffed vine towels. The room had a small safe and cof- Yigal Alon and Jesus’ Boat Museum leafs, local salads and other dishes. fee and tea-making facilities. Just off Nof Ginossar’s parking lot is the Seating is outdoors, under the trees where Settled, we went down to the pool. The Yigal Allon Museum. When the water of the children can roam around and enjoy a pool is open throughout the summer and the Sea of Galilee withdrew because of the playground and animal corner. We met Kas- is partially shaded. It is adjacent to the drought of 1986, something caught the The boat museum documents the exca- cafeteria and clean toilets. Boat rides on the sem and Farha, the owners. Kassem served beach and surrounded with eucalyptus and eyes of two fishermen from Ginossar: the vation and restoration, and presents addi- Sea of Galilee take off from nearby docks, so in the Israeli army and when he retired, he banana trees. remains of an ancient boat submerged in tional archeological remains found in it, the place may be very busy at times. built this farm with his own hands, until We ate breakfast and dinner at the hotel’s the mud. The boat, dating back to the days including original metal screws. Yigal Allon Center and the ancient boat, he fell ill and is now in a wheelchair. The dining room. The food was good and very of Jesus, was excavated in a complex oper- The Yigal Allon museum, in which the Ginossar farm was deserted for a few years, and he diverse, served in buffet style. Breakfast fea- ation and preserved. Rotem Yaakov, from boat museum is housed, is a museum for Hours: Saturday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 reopened it a few years ago. Farha, his wife, tured eggs and pastries, cheeses and vegeta- the boat’s excavation team, tells us that the memory of IDF commander and pol- p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. is in charge of the cooking here; everything bles, and local dishes such as shakshouka. this was a community operation that took itician Yigal Allon, a member of Kibbutz Website: bet-alon.co.il she makes is fresh and tasty. Don’t expect For dinner, there were many salads, and 12 days in which all the kibbutz members, Ginossar. Very small, it is visited mostly Phone: +972-4-672-7700 fast food here, just come to enjoy the fresh always a variety of fish, chicken and beef. including children, helped dig the boat out by groups of students as well as a meeting Admission: NIS 20 (including the muse- air and breeze. You are highly likely to meet There was also children-friendly food and from the mud with their bare hands, pull- place for Jews and Palestinians. It is best um and the boat). Kassem and Farha in person and find them an interactive stand with hamburgers. ing it out of the water while making sure it to visit there with a guide, but if you come to be good interlocutors. In the evenings, after dinner, there were did not collapse due to the weakness of the for a self-guided tour, I think the second Aqua Kef (Aqua Fun) Nahala Bateva is open all week all day; pric- singers at the bar, where light dairy meals old timber. floor is the most exciting, with a temporary Perhaps the newest, and for sure the hot- es are 45-90 for main courses. and varied beverages were served. The While there is no evidence that this was a exhibition of the Israeli radio “Kol Israel” test attraction today in the Sea of Galilee, is Facebook: www.facebook.com/kassem.ib lobby also features a large souvenir shop boat that Jesus sailed in, this is the type of and an exhibition of the artwork created Aqua Kef, an inflatable floating water park. Address: Tsalmon that reminded me of a museum shop – boat used for fishing and transportation two together in Jewish and Palestinian meet- If you like activities and find Wipeout excit- Phone: Kassem +972-50-309-5250 many nice articles and Judaica items. millennia ago. It is about eight meters long ings. If you are already in the building, ing, then this is the playground for you: The hotel also offers activities for families and is made of 12 different types of timber, don’t miss the panoramic view of the area obstacles, trampolines, jumping platforms, The writer was a guest of Ginosar, Aqua and children, such as a yellow bus tour with the original timber being the Lebanon from the upper-level balcony. There is also climbing areas, flips, slides and swings – all Kef and Nahala Bateva with the assistance of of the kibbutz, boat rides and children’s cedar, a very expensive type of wood. a large souvenir shop, an air-conditioned made to be conquered. It will take you on a Emek Hayarden Regional Council. Of Air Koryo and Turkish Airlines, despots and dictators have to be a lunatic to travel to North Korea. The fact 10. Garuda Indonesia food and also a fruit bar, all spread over two floors. THE TRAVEL ADVISOR that 5,000 Westerners – with almost 800 Americans – 11.