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Where’s the beach?
The beaches of Tel Aviv
Like in San Sebastian and Barcelona, the meeting point between the city and the sea is the true heart of Tel Aviv, and any visit to Tel Aviv would be incomplete without seeing them. As one who grew up in the landlocked city of Jerusalem, the beaches are the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Tel Aviv. The city boasts great city beaches, each unique in its ambiance and inhabitants. In the summer, the beach is the place to be, with cool water and a refreshing sea breeze. In the winter the weather shapes the water and sand into the best and most dynamic artwork in the city. This is the city boundary where nature can still be felt full force.
The weather in Tel Aviv is well suited for enjoying the beaches. During the summer heat it’s either A.C or the beach, but you can start tanning as soon as March. Even during December and January there are usually a few days when you can play Frisbee in shorts on the beach!! If you are coming from cold Europe you will find the Tel Aviv winter delightful. If you plan of coming to Tel Aviv, bring a bathing suit. All year-round.
The important thing to know about beaches in Tel Aviv is where and when to go. Different beaches attract different crowds and create different experiences. Here is a listing of Tel Aviv’s beaches from north to south:
Tel Baruch Beach - northernmost Tel Aviv Beach
This beach is actually outside the urban part of the city makes it unique in its natural and relatively unspoiled feel. The beach is wide stretched and sandy, well kept and has ample paid parking. It lingers from the Sede Dov airfield to the south up to the border of Hertzlia in the north. Tel Baruch area used to be notorious for its nighttime prostitution scene, but today it is a nice family oriented beach. This beach has been protected from development due to the small Sede Dov airfield located close by. Today the relocation of that airfield is at hand and there are plans for massive building which will change the face of the area for good. Come get it while it’s still natural.
Metzitzim Beach
The northernmost of Tel Aviv’s city beaches is probably its most urban feeling one. Tucked away near the old city port, and overlooking the Reading chimneys and Sede Dov airfield, Metzitzim has no pretensions of being a nature beach. Even so, this is one of the coolest beaches in Tel Aviv, the queen of the north. Metzitzim (peeping) beach was immortalized in an early seventies cult movie of the same name, and something of that wild bohemian feeling has stuck with the beach. The crowd is young and trendy, a good place to tan and look at beautiful people. There is a run down basketball course on the north side of the beach.
The religious, dog and Hiltons beaches Hof Hadatiyim, Hof Haclavim, Hof Hilton
Just south of here are three special and small beaches. The first is hof Hadatiyim (the religious beach) which offers separate bathing areas for men and women, day in day out. South of that is a narrow concrete lined beach known as hof haclavim (the dogs beach), where many people bring their dogs over. This is also a good beach for surfing and kayaking when the swell is up. This beach is also known as the Hilton beach. Good for meeting interesting people.
Gordon-Frishman beach
This beach is named after the street that leads from it and the salt water pool and marina that boarder it from the north.. This beach is just below Dan Tel aviv hotel and other yarkon st. hotels and is about as central as you can get in Tel Aviv. On its northern side is the Gordon salt water pool which is a Tel Aviv monument. Every morning as early as 6:00 you can find many people young and old starting their day with a workout here. This area also houses many small boats in its marina. The beach here is very wide and sandy, with a pedestrian boardwalk and a few cafes. During the day this is the hippest place to be in Tel Aviv with beach bars and DJs, volleyball games, and slim tanned bodies swimming and lazing in the sun.
Hof Yerushlaim
Jerusalem beach was named so in honor of Teddy Kolek Jerusalem’s long time mayor. Here are wide beaches with few cafes and restaurants (which are conveniently located across Herbert Samuel st.). These attract many high schoolers and families. This is a good place to toss a Frisbee, or pick up a beach soccer game.
Jacky Says...
Tel Aviv has strong sunshine so I watch not to sunburn my white ass…
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Banana Beach
This beach is named after the café restaurant which resides there. This is a great beach. The restaurant has low tables out on the sand where you can enjoy a morning coffee or an afternoon beer (not to mention a sunset dinner). Often, sports events are shown in the evening on a screen. The beach is inviting and very popular with hip mothers and the bohemian crowd. Great place to meet people, play backgammon, relax and read a book. The staff is nice and friendly, good looking too. The food is simple and perhaps a bit overpriced, but all beachfront food is. During the summer there are movies shown here on a huge screen free of charge.
Hof HaDolphinarium
The Dolphin beach is named after the old dolphin tank that used to be there (now a club). The beach snugs the building from its northern side. On the other side there is no swimming beach for about 700 meters. There is a water sports club here where you can rent surfing, windsurfing and Para-surfing equipment as well as get lessons. On the rocks at the end of the beach you will usually find people playing music, smoking or meditating. This is an excellent place to sit out jutting into the surf and feel the sea around you. On Friday afternoons this beach hosts a huge jam session with many drummers and other instruments (including a guy who plays on a can). This event is open to all, and is usually accompanied by many jugglers, dancers and capoeira players.
Alma Beach – southernmost Tel Aviv Beach
This is the southernmost of Tel Aviv beaches, further south are the Jaffa beaches. The Alma beach is located south of the Charles Clor Park which separates it from the Dolphinarium beach. The park has many open spaces and a park for kids. You can often find Arab families from Jaffa BBQ tasty meat dishes here. During the summer the park hosts many festivals such as the beer festival and the love parade. South of the park is Alma beach, which is dominated by the view of Old Jaffa. This is my favorite city beach; it is long if not wide, stretching all the way to Jaffa. There are no lifeguards here, and the beach is notorious for its currents so beware. Even so this beach is good because it is less crowded and I can let my dog run free. The restaurant on the north side is Manta Ray a beautiful upscale restaurant with good food. On the back side of the restaurant is a kiosk which serves simple beach food and drinks. The kiosk has a small relaxation area which is worth checking out. This is a good place to meet diverse people: Arabs from Jaffa, Yogis, artists, surfers, and many even stranger people.
Jaffa beach
The main strip of the Jaffa coast is a beautiful beach. I usually don’t go so far south to swim but these beaches are quite nice. Recently the central beach has been redone with a proper promenade and good parking facilities. Don’t leave valuables in your car as unfortunately this area is frequented by pickpockets.
The A-Z Glossary of Tel Aviv beaches
Artick- Kartiv: Ice cream!!! Many ice cream vendors walk the beaches in the summer shouting this.
Avatiach: Watermelon, perfect for the beach, usually served with Bulgarian cheese.
Bira: Beer
Bachurot: Girls, pretty if possible.
Chasakeh: Ask someone what a chasakeh is..
Degel: Flag. White is free bathing, Red means dangerous conditions, Black means the beach is closed (either big waves or a lifeguard strike)..
Dayagim: Fishermen. From Dag (fish). A popular hobby in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Good catches sometimes too. Try the area below old Jaffa.
Gal: Wave.
Golshim: Surfers. They look the same everywhere.
Locus: A very tasty sea fish.
Mangal: BBQ. A beach time favorite, especially on the Jaffa beaches.
Matkot: Beach paddles, a true Israeli game, with no rules, no winners or losers but a lot of noise and quick flying balls. Look out for the pros who often hit the ball 15 meters up in the air…
Medusas: Jellyfish. Every year millions of Jellyfish appear along the Israeli coast. These have stingers on their bottom side. When the invasion is at its worst (you will know by the jellyfish washed up on the beach) the water can be quite stingy..
Metzilim: Lifeguards. Israeli lifeguards are a far cry from the Baywatch ideal. Tanned to the bone they are some of the funniest characters in Tel Aviv. Lifeguards are one of the highest paid sectors of the public service, they work only six months a year and yet are somehow always on strike. Most beaches in Tel Aviv have lifeguard facilities, and if the surf is up better to stay on these beaches. Check out the lifeguard on Frishman beach who sometimes sings and plays the guitar over the speaker system…
Tayelet: Promenade. You can walk from northernmost Metzizim beach all the way down to Alma beach and Jaffa. The promenade proper starts at Frishman beach. Here is a great place to stroll, jog, bike or rollerblade. During the summer this one of the best places to cool off in the evening, and make artists and street performers line the promenade. There are many cafes and restaurants along the Tayelet, most serving similar food and generally a little overpriced.
Zefet: Tar. A curse of Israeli beaches. Can be removed with diesel. There are tar removal stations at most beaches that look like a shoeshine brush in a metal container.

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