Ashdod

Introduction

Ashdod sits on Israel's Mediterranean coast in the Southern District, roughly midway between Tel Aviv to the north and Ashkelon to the south. It is one of the country's larger cities, and its port is the busiest in Israel, handling the majority of the nation's imported goods.

For a visitor, that means a working port city with a Mediterranean shoreline as its setting — a place defined as much by maritime trade as by the sea itself.

Before you go

Getting there

Buses connect Ashdod with Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and other places, with most routes starting or ending at the central bus station. That station sits in the middle of town and includes a shopping mall, so you can arrive and run errands in the same stop.

• By train: Ashdod Ad Halom railway station has a train every 30 minutes from Tel Aviv, with connections onward to most other Israeli cities. The station lies outside the city, so plan on a local bus to reach anywhere interesting in town.
• By boat: the port's main business is freight, with a large container-handling facility, but cruise ships call frequently, giving closer access for trips to Jerusalem than Haifa does. There are no ferries to Ashdod. If you arrive in a private small craft from abroad, head for Ashkelon marina ten miles south and call ahead before entering Israeli waters to arrange immigration and customs clearance.

Getting around

Buses are the workhorse of getting around Ashdod, with an urban network operated by Electra Afikim covering all quarters of the city. Most lines run at intervals of roughly fifteen to thirty minutes, so waits are rarely long during the day. The central bus station sits in the middle of town and doubles as a shopping mall, making it a useful landmark and a place to wait indoors. For visitors, Line 1 is a circular express service linking the Ad Halom railway station with the central bus station via Begin Boulevard, Line 2 connects the port area with the outer quarters via the central bus station, and Line 10 is an express route running via Herzl Boulevard and the central bus station. Some lines reach neighbouring towns such as Gan Yavne and Bnei Ayish, and intercity buses connect Ashdod with Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva, Ashkelon, Rehovot, Rishon LeZion and Yavne. Pay the driver or use a stored-value transit card, and check fares and live schedules in a transit app.

Taxis, called moneet in Hebrew, are available throughout the city and can be hailed on the street or booked in advance; they make sense for late nights, luggage, or destinations the buses do not reach directly. Shared minibuses, known as moneet sherut, offer a cheaper middle ground, and the Yango ridesharing service is also available. The train station, Ashdod Ad Halom, is served by Israel Railways with trains from Tel Aviv roughly every half hour and connections onward to most other Israeli cities, but it lies outside the city centre, so you cannot step off and walk to the beach or marina — take a local bus into town, with lines 1 and 4 linking the station to the central bus station and line 35 connecting it to the light industrial area. There is no metro or tram in service yet, so plan around buses. The terrain is flat, which makes walking and cycling comfortable, and the city has a well-developed system of bike routes, so renting a bike is an ideal option — though summer heat can be intense, so plan outdoor movement for the cooler parts of the day and carry water.

Where to stay

Ashdod keeps its accommodation simple, with the main choices clustered around the beaches. In the northern beach area you'll find two hotels, while a large hotel stands near the south beach.

Bear in mind that meals are typically not included in your stay, so plan to eat elsewhere in the city.

Food & drink

You will find plenty of places to eat in Ashdod, with a particular concentration of restaurants along the beach. A cheap snack meal is widely available, and a full meal in a mid-level restaurant sits in the middle range of Israeli dining prices.

• Beachfront restaurants — the main cluster of places to eat
• Cheap snack meals — the budget option
• Mid-level restaurants — full meals at moderate prices

For drinking, there is no shortage of options: you will come across a decent variety of pubs and clubs. Do bear in mind that Ashdod's nightlife serves mostly the locals, so the scene is oriented towards residents rather than visitors.

What to see and do

Ashdod's sights are spread between its hilltop, its coastline and its southern approaches. On Givat Yonah, the city's highest point, you'll find the lighthouse and the traditional burial place of the prophet Jonah. Lachish Park runs along the southern bank of the Lachish river where it meets the Mediterranean, and combines ordinary park facilities with a small zoo and good birdwatching. Down by the shore, the Ashdod Yam ruins preserve the ancient port, including a large fortress built in the 7th century and used until 1260; it is impressive from outside but fenced off, so you cannot go in. Inland, the Corinne Mamane Museum of Philistine Culture explains the civilisation that made Ashdod one of its five main cities, while the Ashdod Museum of Art in the CBD Quarter spreads across thirteen exhibition halls and is entered through a glass pyramid. South-east of the city, the Ashdod Sand Dune reserve protects the last surviving dunes in central Israel, along with deer, rabbits, birds and jackals, and Ad Halom Memorial Park marks the northernmost point reached by the Egyptian army in the 1948 war, with memorials, the old bridge and military relics.

Much of what you'll do here revolves around the water. The coast runs long and pretty, with several public beaches and a marina open to the public; because it is neither crowded nor heavily touristed, it suits a calm trip. From the marina you can take glass-bottomed boat rides or speed-boating in small groups, with reservations required. The Musical Fountain in the Sea Park near the beach puts on a sound and light show several times an evening, except on Friday nights and when it rains. For music indoors, the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra performs a repertoire rooted in southern Spain that blends Western and Arabic traditions, and the MonArt centre houses art schools, studios and performing arts events. Further afield, in Bizron village east of the city, there is a buffalo farm, along with horse riding and 4X4 rental.

When to go

Ashdod has a Mediterranean climate, which means your visit will feel very different depending on the season. Summers are hot and dry, with rain essentially absent, but because the city sits on the coast the humidity stays high year round and the heat often feels muggy. Winters are cool and rainy, with most of the annual rainfall arriving between November and March. Temperatures in that stretch seldom drop to freezing and are more often mild, so snow and hard freezes are not part of a typical visit — though humidity remains high even then.

• Summer: Hot, dry and frequently humid, so the seaside heat can feel muggy.
• Winter (November to March): Cool and rainy, with the bulk of the year's rainfall; mild rather than freezing, but still humid.

Three days in Ashdod

Day one: Start in Ashdod itself, a city in Israel's Southern District on the Mediterranean coast. Wander the boulevards that give the place its shape, Begin Boulevard and Herzl Boulevard, and get a feel for a port city whose population draws on Jewish communities from Morocco, Georgia, Ethiopia, France and Argentina, alongside Orthodox residents. The beachfront is the obvious place to slow down, with the Mediterranean warm and humid in summer and mild for much of the year. For an easy first evening, stay local and eat simply.

Day two: Use Ashdod as your base for the southern coast. Buses run to Ashkelon and to Tel Aviv, and the railway station, Ashdod Ad Halom, connects you north to Haifa and Jerusalem and east to Beer Sheva. Ad Halom is also the name of the junction where the Israeli advance halted in 1948, so the stop carries more than transport history. If you prefer to stay closer, Gan Yavne is within easy reach. Electra Afikim and other operators run most of the local and intercity lines, so check schedules before you set out.

Day three: Turn to the deeper past. Lachish lies inland, and the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant and the Jewish story of this landscape all belong to the region you have been moving through. That history is what gives the Southern District its weight, and it is worth a half day before you leave. By late afternoon, head back toward the coast, take one last walk along the Mediterranean, and let the city's mix of communities and its port atmosphere settle as your final impression of Ashdod.