Destinations on the Mediterranean Coast
Akko: The Ancient Port City
Napoleon tried to take Akko in 1799 and failed. Beneath the Ottoman streets lies a Crusader city preserved for 700 years. A UNESCO World Heritage Site with underground Crusader halls, Ottoman mosques, and a port that has been fought over for four thousand years.
Apollonia (Arsuf): A Crusader Fortress Above the Sea
The ruins of a Crusader fortress on a cliff above the Mediterranean, with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader layers and stunning sea views.
Ashdod: The Philistine City Where the Ark Humbled Dagon
One of the five Philistine cities, where the Ark of the Covenant caused the idol Dagon to fall, now Israel’s largest port city.
Ashkelon: Philistine City on the Mediterranean
One of the five Philistine cities, with a national park on the coast containing Canaanite, Philistine, Roman, and Crusader ruins.
Caesarea: Where Herod Built the Impossible and Rome Left Its Mark
Where Herod built one of the largest harbors in the ancient world and Pontius Pilate left the only physical evidence of his existence. Roman ruins, Crusader walls, and a harbor built by Herod the Great on the Mediterranean coast.
Keshet Cave: Israel’s Most Spectacular Natural Arch
A natural limestone arch framing Mediterranean views, a 20-minute hike from the parking lot, and one of the most photographed spots in northern Israel. A natural rock arch high on a cliff with views across the western Galilee.
Kibbutz Hanita and the Tower and Stockade Story
In one night in 1938, settlers built a kibbutz on the Lebanese border under fire. They exploited an Ottoman legal loophole and helped draw the borders of a future state. The museum preserves the original watchtower.
Habonim Beach: The Wild Coast and the Blue Cave
A wild stretch of Mediterranean coastline with a glowing blue sea cave, tidal pools teeming with marine life, a shipwreck on the reef, and rocky coves that feel more like a Greek island than the Levant. Nature reserve beaches.
Nahal Taninim: The Crocodile River and Roman Aqueducts
A nature reserve where a Roman aqueduct that once supplied Caesarea crosses a river that was home to crocodiles until the early 20th century.
Park Alona: Forests and Springs on Mount Carmel
A beautiful park of forests, springs, and archaeological ruins on the southern slopes of Mount Carmel.
Rosh Hanikra: Where Israel Ends and the Sea Crashes Through White Cliffs
White chalk cliffs, turquoise sea grottoes, the steepest cable car in the world, and a border with Lebanon. Rosh Hanikra is where Israel meets the Mediterranean at white chalk cliffs with sea grottoes carved by the waves.
Tel Dor: Where the Sea Peoples Landed
An ancient port city on the Carmel coast where Phoenicians, Sea Peoples, and Crusaders left their mark.
Akko Citadel: Prison of the Ten Who Went to the Gallows
An Ottoman fortress that became a British prison for Jewish underground fighters. The daring 1947 breakout became a symbol of the struggle for independence.
Al-Jazzar Mosque in Akko
The largest mosque in Israel outside of Jerusalem, built by the Ottoman governor who defeated Napoleon.
Aqueduct Beach at Caesarea
One of the most photographed beaches in Israel, where Roman aqueduct arches stand in the sand beside the Mediterranean waves.
Knights’ Halls of Akko: A Crusader City Beneath a City
Beneath the streets of Akko lies the Hospitaller fortress, a massive Crusader complex buried for centuries and remarkably preserved. Walk through 800-year-old Gothic halls beneath the streets of the Old City.
Or Torah (Tunisian) Synagogue in Akko
A dazzling synagogue decorated entirely with mosaics, one of the most beautiful and unexpected interiors in Israel.
Templar Tunnel in Akko
A secret underground passage built by the Knights Templar connecting their fortress to the port of Akko, rediscovered in 1994.
Yehi’am Fortress: A Crusader Castle in the Galilee Hills
A Crusader castle built by the Teutonic Knights, expanded by an Ottoman warlord, and named after a fallen 1948 convoy. Yehi’am Fortress is one of the western Galilee’s most dramatic hilltop ruins, with Crusader, Ottoman, and 1948 history.
Zikhron Ya’akov: Wine, Pioneers, and the Founders’ Street
Founded in 1882 and saved by Rothschild, Zikhron Ya’akov is home to the first Israeli wineries, a charming pedestrian street, the NILI spy museum, and Ramat HaNadiv gardens overlooking the sea.
Ramat HaNadiv: The Baron’s Garden Above the Sea
The memorial gardens and burial place of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the man who financed the survival of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, on a hilltop overlooking the coast from Zikhron Ya’akov to Caesarea.
Explore this site and 65 more in Sacred Steps in the Holy Land
225 pages · The Life, World, and Footsteps of Jesus · Maps, photos, and Scripture references
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