🧭 Palestine: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Palestine feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 10 written places.
Hospitality arrives before you ask - tea, coffee and dinner invitations from people you met minutes ago.
Cost level: Budget One of the friendlier destinations for a travel budget - daily costs sit well below western Europe. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Accept tea or coffee from shopkeepers - it is genuine welcome, not a sales tactic
- Dress modestly, men and women alike - shoulders and knees covered, more so in Hebron and Nablus
- Greet with Marhaba or Ahlan - a few Arabic words are met with delight
- Try knafeh in Nablus - locals insist their city makes it best, and they are right
✗ Better avoided
- Refuse hospitality flatly - if you must decline, do it warmly and expect to be asked again
- Show affection publicly - couples keep it low-key
- Eat, drink or smoke on the street during Ramadan daylight hours
- Photograph women without clear permission
💡 Worth knowing
- The shekel is the everyday currency and cash is preferred in markets and shared taxis
- Friday is the main day off with shops closing around midday prayers; Bethlehem's Christian quarter quiets on Sunday
- Shared service taxis - servees - are the standard ride between towns, leaving when full
- Haggling is normal in souks but not in grocery stores or restaurants
Plugs and voltage
Type C, H · 230 V travel adapter →
CurrencyNew shekel (ILS), Jordanian dinar
LanguagesArabic
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.