Afula

Afula is a medium-sized town in the northern Israel. It is the largest city in the Jezreel Valley and the capital of that region.

Understand

Dating back at least since the 11th century, but possible several thousand more years. Afula remained a small village but became somewhat of a logistics node when the Jezreel Valley railway was inaugurated in 1904. The whole town was bought in 1925 by American Zionist Commonwealth as part of the Sursock Purchase, the largest Jewish land acquisition during Mandatory Palestine. About one hundred Arab families who had lived in the area either accepted compensation for their land and left voluntarily or were evicted. In the following decades Afula saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants and it has grown into a modern and well-developed town, however lacking in tourist sights.

Get in

By bus or taxi

You can use buses from Tel Aviv (825, 840), Haifa (300, 301), Jerusalem (953) and Tiberias (541, 840). From other cities in the valley (Migdal Ha'emek, Bet Shean, Nazareth) you can get to Afula by Superbus buses or by sherut (shared) taxis. Sherut taxis also available from Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Tiberias. Note that buses departing from Afula to bigger cities stops at 22:00.

From the West Bank

From Jenin (also applicable to Nablus and Ramallah): Take a shared taxi (sherut/serviis) or hitchhike to the border, and cross on foot. From the Israeli side of the border, taxis to Afula cost ₪40-50. Alternatively, you can take bus 52 from the roundabout after the border into Afula (₪7.40).

• 1 Afula central bus station. (updated Aug 2023)

By train

There is a train every one hour from Haifa and from Beit She'an. Local buses are synced with train arrivals and departures. Notice that buses from Nazareth does not stop directly at the railway station.

• 2 Afula railway station (תחנת הרכבת עפולה). (updated Aug 2023)

Get around

By bus

Superbus operates 10 internal bus lines (2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20) inside Afula. Lines 10 and 11 have a nearly identical route except the section at city center and both have very high frequency of every 10 minutes combined. Line 20 is a special line to the market and it operated on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday only. The line's frequency is every 30 minutes. Line 19 has few stops in the city but it continues to the towns Marhavia and Sulam. The line's frequency is every 60 minutes. Line 6 is a special line to the cemetery and it has only 5 trips per day each direction.

See

• 1 Beth Shalom synagogue. (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Old Afula railway station. (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Tel Afula. (updated Aug 2023)

Do

• Culture Hall (Heichal Ha'Tarbut). Located in the center of the city. Here you can watch theater shows, opera and films. 
• Art Gallery. In the same building as the Cultural Hall. Displays works by local artists. 
• 1 Givat HaMoreh. The largest mountain within the Jezreel Valley; Afula's eastern suburbs are built on its slopes. Nice place for easy hike. It's highly recommended to go all the way up to the mountain viewpoint in order to watch the beautiful landscape from above. You can go up with Kavim buses from Afula (Lines 3, 14, 2). Bus ticket costs ₪4.40 for a single ride ticket or ₪6.70 for a ticket for the whole day. For the second option - a purchase of Rav Kav card from one of the central bus stations across the country in advanced is required) (updated May 2016)

Buy

• 1 'G' BaEmek (Ha'Mitham). A large shopping center on the road from downtown Afula to Givat HaMoreh. To get there you can use any bus from Afula to Givat Hamoreh or to Afula Ilit - 10, 3, 2, 9, 14 and 13 (Bus ticket costs ₪3.80 or ₪5.80 for all day). In this large and modern shopping center you will find cafes, restaurants, clothing stores and many other shops. The 'G' is pronounced as an English letter. 

Eat

• 1 Falafel Golani (Located in the center of the city, in Ha'Nasi St. (opposite to the police station)). Locals say this is the best falafel in the middle east. Near Falafel Golani you will be able to find many other falafel and kebab shops such as Falafel Ha'Nasi, Baguette Nir and Shawuarma Al'Fasi as well as few bakeries and pizzerias 
• 2 HaTzarfatia HaKtana (The Little Frenchwoman), address: 5 Shprintsak St, Afula, ☏ +972-4-6526516. a caf'e and restaurant in Afula, open since 1991. HaTzarfatia HaKtana has been managed for the last 12 years by Tami and Dganit, who have turned it into a well known spot in the Afula area. This is a place to celebrate birthdays, weddings, other specials events, and of course, a place to come spoil yourself any day of the week. 
• Spoons - coffee shop. Located at the center of the city, Near Karmel Hotel.
• Aroma Espresso Bar - There are two branches of this chain in Afula. One is at the center of the city by the end of Arlosoroff Boulevard (Near the city hall), the second is located inside the G-Ba'Emek open mall (on the road from Afula to Tiberias).More information about Aroma Esspreso Bar. Also inside G-Ba'Emek you will find branches of BBB Burgers Bar, Cafe Greg and other coffee shops and restaurants.

Sleep

• 1 Malon Karmel (Karmel Hotel), 7 Zalman Hoz st, Afula (located in the center of the city), ☏ +972 -4- 6522106. 
• 2 Malon Nof Tavor (Nof Tavor Hotel) (5 minutes drive from afula), ☏ +972-4-6408000, hotel@nof-tavor.com. 

Stay healthy

• 1 Ha'emek Medical Center. An advanced hospital, on the main road to Givat HaMoreh and Tiberias (5 minutes drive from the center of the city) 

Go next

• Tel Megiddo is located nearby (10 minutes drive) in the Jezreel Valley.
• Mount Tabor is a natural site and Christian holy place in the Lower Galilee.

Routes through Afula

Hadera ←

SW  NE

→ Tiberias