Summer Activities in the Galil

Every year, my husband is given the 3rd week of August as a holiday. Since going away is a fantastical dream, we have developed the tradition of a stay-cation. In other words, we do trips. The weather in the north is fantastic this time of year, and it’s a great place to be.  Since travelling abroad is the new thing here a lot of places are not as rammed as they used to be, so we have had a lovely week going to local attractions. There is so much to do here. Most of these attractions are discounted with a Coupon Nofesh voucher. Here is a round up of summer activities in the Galil.

Betset Beach

Sunday we took some British friends who were visiting us to one of the open beaches on the way to Rosh Hanikra. It’s not the most beautiful beach, but it has rock pools with wildlife and more gentle waves, which is nice for curious little boys. There are no life guards and no pagodas so it needs a bit of preparation, but it has a more private feel to it.

https://www.timeout.com/israel/attractions/betset-beach

Ein Kamonim – Cheese

Monday we were all exhausted after a few days of no sleep, plus I was preparing for a performance (more on that in another blog!) so we opted for a simple outing. We usually avoid dairy so we hadn’t been to Ein Kamonim in a long while but we decided to pop up there for lunch.  It’s on kvish 85 just past Karmiel, Tzfat direction. There’s a small goat pen and a terrific rustic restaurant. I think they sometimes do kids activities up there. The cheeses are fantastic and it’s all very fresh and delicious. A genuine taste of the Galil.

Mini Golf Farod

Tuesday dawned not too hot we we voted on Mini Golf at Farod. Farod (or Parod) is a kibbutz around half hour north of Misgav. Besides the crazy golf court there is also a small gymboree and a few things for older kids – mini outdoor bowling, giant connect 4. So you can make a full day out if your kids are small.  If you’re hungry the Australian geezer who runs the place will do you a simple pizza, but the ice cream is the main attraction of their cafe. Home made and delicious.

Haifa Maritime Museum and Thai

Wednesday we visited the Haifa Maritime Museum. I really like Haifa, despite it being somewhat tainted as the home of various hospital visits for me and all of Raviv’s clinical care. It’s an interesting city, which has some picturesque parts, and has culture but with far less headache than Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. The museum had a workshop for kids on heroes of the sea, which our 3 older ones took part in. Year round there are displays of boats, on board craftsmanship, navigational tools, cartography, weapons, and piracy throughout the ages. My kids all enjoyed it. After a wander along the port (for some reason Haifa has never managed to produce a thriving promenade) we found the best option to be where we had started (husband was thrilled) which was a small authentic roadside Thai restaurant, called Chang Ba. I haven’t had curry like that in years. Turns out the chef is Thai and moved out here roughly when we did. Everything was delicious, they have several strictly vegan options, good service and my kids loved it.  They are very accustomed to Asian food though, so don’t go there expecting nuggets and chips.

Ice Skating in Maalot

Today we finally got round to taking our kids ice skating. They have been begging us for years. We found a less expensive rink in Maalot, also with Coupon Nofesh. It’s small but ideal for younger kids. The older 3 were all fearless and determined on the ice. The younger two had a cracker-fest in the spectator seats and didn’t seem to care about not joining in. In fact, when I asked Yakir if he wanted to go skating next time he told me “it will hurt me!” Presumably this was from watching his brothers fall on their behinds for an hour. Husband remarkably, remembered how to skate after a 25 year hiatus. They all had great fun.

http://www.lakemonfort.co.il/he/articles/article.asp?articleID=4

Afterwards, my older son found the place outside where they dump all the “snow” from the ice-cleaning break. So there was a snowball fight, in Israel, in the summer. Bizarre. Since Maalot is a bit of a drive we decided to make a day of it and took them to the big park next to the football pitches, which has a pizza shop and a kosher cafe next to it called Patissier. It’s a bit of a tired restaurant but it’s OK if you’re into kid-style desserts.

That’s a round up of simple outings. In my opinion it’s too hot to hike this time of year but thankfully there are a host of things to do which have a little shade, and you don’t have to spend a fortune.  Feel free to add questions or comments below.