I plan on being there Tuesday the 11th.  I will post a bunch of pics 

So what's the verdict? Worth a visit?

I know lots of people who are booked, but no one who's gone yet. Look forward to seeing some more pics and hearing what the place (and neighbourhood) is like!

Not true in the slightest. Also, what is the POW blacklist worth now days? Maybe banned from not being on the VIP list ?

Simple to cancel and get a full refund including airport pick up and tour.

Do us a favour and get Andy a Walled Off salad will you? #smuggleasalad

http://instagr.am/p/BSt4xJohoX_

Reports of a young British woman being killed by a (reported) terrorist in Jerusalem this morning. These things can happen anywhere now, unfortunately, but as others have already stated if you are visiting for the Hotel (we are next month) travel carefully. Sad news to start the weekend with.  

Dreadful incident, take care anyone travelling out there.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39601337

As promised, I wanted to make a post about my Israel / Palestine / Walled Off experience to give those who might not get to go a feel for what I experienced, learned and even more importantly, I want to give those who are planning and/or considering making the trip vital information, contacts and tips that will not only make your visit go as smooth as possible but also take away as many of the unknowns and perceived fears of going to Palestine and this area. All and all if you read no further and wanted to take away one thing from this, I will easily say this trip was one of the most enriching and rewarding to date and I have traveled quite a bit of the world over the years.


The Trip There

Flying from the US there is only one non-stop option which is EL AL airlines which I took. I know many of you are from the UK so you have many other options and it's a much shorter trip. Regardless of where you come from I can say there is definitely an advantage to taking EL AL regardless of the stops and that is being an Israeli airline there security is just unmatched. While you will probably get a 10min interview on your trip and who you are before boarding, one you arrive you will most likely speed right through customs. Almost everyone I spoke to that was held up at Ben Gurion ( main airport in Tel Aviv) flew from other airlines but ultimately was just a small inconvenience and were then on their way.

Arrival

I never like to encourage being untruthful but in this case at the very least "withholding certain information" will definitely be your best bet when being questioned about your destination on the trip either before your departure or after arrival and make no mistake, you will be questioned. Odds are you will be staying at least a night or two in Tel Aviv, which I absolutely recommend anyway, so best to give those details of your trip to authorities. Know that if you are not Israeli it is 100% legal for you to visit any area in Palestine but that doesn't mean many Israelis may justy not like the idea you are going and will go out of their way to make things difficult for you in the way of interview delays ect. Ultimately you will be ok either way but I just recommend the path of least resistance.



Tel Aviv

Upon arrival and or or before leaving you should absolutely explore Tel Aviv. Great people, history, food and one thing I would highly recommend is a tour on foot called "Delicious Israel". This is a 6 hour on foot tour of Tel Aviv it's history and its amazing diverse cuisine. The tour is done by Avi who aside from speaking a mind boggling 12 languages, is an absolute library of knowledge and will give you one amazing experience of sightseeing, history and most of all local food. Doing this all on foot also gives you a great lay of the land. I'm not a fan of tours with large groups and this is not one of those and if you are lucky will end up with just 2-3 other people like I had. I will leave info and links to all things recommended at the end of this guide.



Getting to The Walled Off

So this is the item that probably caused me the most anxiety from the trip as I just could not get any concise answer on the best way to do this. I was given countless recommendations on everything from shuttles, taxis and car services, none of which were direct and all required getting dropped off at the palestinian border and then taking another ride into the "forbidden zone". First I will give you my trial and error experience and while my experience gave me one hell of a story and got the adrenalin up there for a bit, I'll give you the magic key to provide a worry free non-stop service to the hotel from anywhere in Tel Aviv which I figured out later.



The Way Not to Go

I was in Tel Aviv 5 days before heading to the Walled Off so had a good amount of time to ask around and try to figure the best way to get to the hotel. I even spoke to a few people that had already visited before my trip and was told to take a shuttle to the checkpoint and then transfer to a Palestinian cab to the hotel. One thing to note is that even discussing going to the Palestinian area with Israelis is awkward at best. Most don't know the best way because they simply have never gone and believe it or not it is actually illegal for them to go. So as you can expect most just have it out of their heads as an option, so to even discuss it seems almost uncomfortable to them. I have to note that while most don't, some Israelis do go and actually met several at the Walled Off who just are not swayed by the social norms and weren't going to be deterred.

The people working at my first hotel were actually very friendly and helpful so when I asked them the best way for me to go they said they would make a fw phone calls and arrange it for me which was great. I actually had to pull the destination up on google maps to make sure they knew exactly where I wanted to go. of course I was told numerous times "this is an area we can not go" as to explain their lack of knowledge on how to best do it. Finally they got back to me with a car service that would take me "as far as he could" and then I would take a Palestinian cab from there. I was quoted 400 shekels, about $100, and being a private car on my own schedule I felt it worth it. There are shuttles that can do this for as little as 50 shekels.

So on the day of my departure my driver is right on time, actually early, and loads my luggage and off I go. So after a nice scenic 90 min drive we finally get to an intersection which is obviously close. There is a ominous Israeli guard tower and a few even more disconcerting signs warning of the dangers of entering. So the driver just pulled over and says "OK". I'm thinking "OK what" where the fk am I supposed to go. He basically just points and keep saying "OK". I soon realized he just wanted me out at this point and wasn't going to provide any other assistance. So he drives off and there I am on the side of the road with a suitcase and backpack. Mind you there is absolutely no one on foot and cars are driving by, all arab, entering the zone. At this point I actually had a laugh at my situation and while I had no idea what I was going to do and was definitely worried this is what adventure is all about. So I'm wheeling my suitcase up to the sign above and just taking in my situation when I see an Israeli guard in the tower looking at me. I mean how can he not, I'm sticking out like a sore thumb and obviously just lost. I turn around and head over to the tower and when I'm sure I get eye contact I give the hands in the air "wtf am I supposed to go" to him. He motions me to come around to the tower so I do. I hear a few metal doors open and close and a young Israeli soldier emerges outfitted like a spec ops team member and his AR on the ready. Once I see his finger drop from covering the trigger I show him the Walled Off location on my phone and ask how do I get there. he takes the phone studies it and asks "You're not Israeli are you?" I say no and he remarks "hmmm...well you should be ok. Just walk over there and stop a car for a ride." So after thanking him off I go assessing cars driving by and the occupants. Most are full of people wrapped in keffiyehs with only their eyes showing giving me a quick glance and passing. Finally a van turns and the driver looks at me and I just wave him down. The van stops, door slides open and I jump in without a word said and sit next to three women with only their eyes visible. Another great moment for sure. So I get dumped again, give the driver a few shekels and I'm back to rolling my suitcase now deep in the border and in the center of what looks to be a small third world town . My phone is now on one bar with a weak 3G signal so I can just barely get my position and direction but am forging on, my suitcase wheels struggling on the dirt and gravel when I come to Ala. Ala is standing by a car converted to cab with a big friendly smile and asks "Where are you going my friend?" I say the Walled Off and he replies "No problem, I take you." he thrown my bags in the trunk and before we go he asks if I'm hungry. I probably would have been if it wasn't for my adrenalin level but even after saying no, Ala produces a tinfoil covered plate and says " My wife made me cake for my birthday, have some...she is best cook." he was right, it was an Egyptian dessert called Umm Ali so we both stood at the trunk, ate the pastry and off we went to the hotel which was a 5 min drive. I have to admit, even though Ala was great I was thrilled at the sight of the Walled Off and what a site it is. In true banksy fashion you are literally living in a corrupted oil. The juxtaposition of this towering war battered wall with guard towers literally 15 feet from the twinkling Walled Off Hotel sign , red curtain draped entry with a formal doorman at attention sporting a top hat. Just standing there was worth the trip.


The Way to Go

After being there and making many friend and connections I found Nabeel. Nabeel is quite the asset as he is actually Palestinian but lives in Israel, speaks Hebrew and is one of the few that can drive freely from Tel Aviv to palestine. What a score and I highly advise using him getting to and from the hotel as he can provide trouble free non stop service. He charged me 400 shekels ($100) for the entire trip back to my hotel in Tel Aviv and actually made a few stops on the way running some errands and was happy to do so. The shuttles charge per person anyway and are not direct so if you have 2-3 people you'll end up spending more and still have to hire another ride once in Palestine.







The Hotel

As you can imagine the hotel is truly an experience and as many pictures and stories I can provide will still not come close to the experience you'll have actually being there.The staff is extremely friendly, helpful and Wisam, the hotel owner, is fantastic and will help or arrange anything you may need. I spent a good amount of time with Wisam and he has actually been working with Mr B since Santa's Ghetto back in 07 so as you can imagine the stories are great and plentiful. I was lucky enough to book both the Banksy room and Presidential which truly was over the top. It's just surreal being there surrounded by Banksy art only to walk out on the balcony to see this ominous wall next to you snaking through the horizon as far as the eye can see and the sounds of the evening prayers echoing throughout. Other than the rooms the hotel has an exhibition off the lobby that banksy put together giving the history of what is going on in the area and with Palestinians. Up stairs is a gallery of local artists. Both are available all day to hotel residents and selected hours for non residents for a fee.











The Sights

Being in Bethlehem there is just a wealth of amazing historic and cultural things to see and do so if you have already chose the Hotel tour option that is great but if not, I have an even better way to go using two local guides there. One is actually Ali my driver that took me to the hotel. I ended up spending another full day with him and he took me everywhere and ended the trip with having a late lunch his wife cooked at his home with his 4 kids. Also an experience I will never forget. The other guide I highly recommend is Saeid who actually gives the Refugee tour for the hotel which is definitely a must. You can hear about what is going on there but nothing compares to seeing it yourself and hearing the stories from the people who live there. The Hotel tours are group tours but you can actually hire these guides yourself for a private tour for less than booking through the hotel. I actually ran into Saeid when visiting the Church of the Nativity and even though I wasn't with him that day he took me and helped me bypass all the lines and crowds to see everything in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Local guides can pretty much go anywhere and skip any lines or crowds. Things are also extremely inexpensive in Palestine especially when not going to the main tourist areas. Both Ali and Saeid both took me to great shops and hidden spots for things like hand carved works, knitted items and food as well.

Leaving


Definitely use Nabeel to get back to tel Aviv direct or at the very least have the hotel arrange it. Note the hotel can pretty much arrange anything for you but will just end up costing you more, sometimes almost double so I'd recommend using these people direct and getting the best price.

In Summary

All and all, as mentioned, this ranks up there as one of the best trips and experiences of my life. It is so much more than the Hotel and I absolutely believe this was Banksy's idea as well. Just get them there and let being there and the journey do and say the rest. There is so much more I could cover and so many things I learned and experienced but I'll leave the rest for you to experience.All I can say is go with an open mind and let the things you actually see, experience and feel form you own opinion. You will definitely be thrown everyone else's opinions, most who have never been there or seen what you will see so also keep that in mind as well. I am listing all the contacts mentioned below but if anyone might have any other questions please feel free to PM or email me direct.

Best,

Eric

Tel Aviv 

Avi - Stellar Tel Aviv guide for a food and cultural walking tour +972-54-545-4200

Arik - Fantastic guide for Jerusalem, Dead Sea and countless other sites. +972-54-224-0470


Palestine

Ala - Phenomenal guide for Palestine +972 52 273-1610

Saeid - Another great guide for Palestine and the Refugee camp +972 52-339-9862

Nabeel - Driver that can take you direct between walled Off and Tel Aviv +052 88 64232 

Wow. Props. This is incredible, thanks! Tbf, if i get the opportunity to go i prefer your route over the border than an easy one, what an experience

Great read! Thanks for sharing!

Great read thanks

Are you required to have to wear those thingys on your head though?

The head wrap (Keffiyeh) was actually a gift from a Palestinian I met there. He didn't speak much english but taught me how to wrap it. I found out later the white net patterned one I was given is actually very symbolistic of the Palestinian struggle and rebellion. I actually found having the wrap on extremely effective on keeping me cool and protecting from the sun on my day excursions. Also found most locals getting a kick out of me wearing it being a tourist. I actually ended up buying a few more of different colors and wore them on all of my guided trips in Israel and Palestine. As long as it is not covering your face it's definitely not an issue anywhere but I just wouldn't recommend wearing it in Tel Aviv or the airport