Israeli Coastal Plain

The Roman bathhouse in Caesarea

The coastal plain (Hebrew: מישור החוף) is a flat region in Israel that runs along the Mediterranean coast.

Regions

The Sharon Plain the region extends along the Mediterranean Sea shoreline for 50 km, from the Carmel Range in the north to the Israeli Southern Coastal region in the south, and inland for circa 16-18 km until it reaches the West Bank. The urbanization of the Sharon plain region has intensified as the Gush Dan metropolitan continues to grow northward into the Sharon plain. The Sharon plain also consists of many natural beaches with sand dunes, limestone cliffs, and several streams. The region also has various archaeological sites, including Caesarea.

Gush Dan The Tel Aviv metropolitan area is often referred to as Gush Dan, because the Biblical tribe of Dan lived here.

Southern Coastal Plain The Israeli South Coast (Hebrew: מישור החוף הדרומי), extends along the Mediterranean Sea shoreline for 60 km, and is bound by the Sharon plain in the north, the Shfela region in the east, and the Negev region and the Gaza Strip in the south. Most of the Gush Dan metropolitan area is in this region of the country. Nowadays the population in the Gush Dan metropolitan area consists of about 1.8 million residents. Unlike the rest of the coastal regions of Israel, the region contains a significantly larger desert area and is the climate in this region tends to be more hot and dry.

Cities

From north to south, the Israeli Coastal Plain can be roughly divided into three groups:

Tel-Aviv's area is also called "Gush Dan", after the biblical Tribe of Dan. This map shows cities in the Gush Dan area, and beyond

The Sharon plain

• 1 Hadera – Mostly known by the landmark Orot Rabin Power Plant chimneys, where 19% of Israel's electricity is generated.
• 2 Netanya – Many people from Tel Aviv come here for its beach.
• 3 Ra'anana – A regular city in the Sharon region.
• 4 Kfar Saba – Another regular city in the Sharon region.
• 5 Herzliya – Its upscale suburb called Herzliya Pituach is home to many beachfront hotels and expensive residences - a big industrial and commercial center as well as home to many high-tech companies.

Gush Dan

• 6 Tel Aviv – Main center of the country for economy and clubbing.
• 7 Bnei Brak – The city's major focus is chareidi Jewish life.
• 8 Petah Tikva – Less touristic and points of interest for those into early Zionist history.
• 9 Ramat Gan – An eclectic town famous for many things totally unrelated to each other, including diamonds, football, malls, chocolates, Iraqi restaurants, a religious university, and an open-space African safari with lions.
• 10 Givat Shmuel – A small suburb in between Bnei Brak and Petah Tikva.
• 11 Holon – Has one of the biggest water parks in Israel.
• 12 Bat Yam – A working-class suburb.
• 13 Rishon LeZion – Its amusement park is often visited by people from Tel Aviv seeking better thrills than the ones at Luna Park Tel Aviv.
• 14 Ramla – You may stop here on your way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and visit the Tower of Ramla.
• 15 Lod – Next to the airport.

Southern Coastal Plain

• 16 Rehovot – An academic city and home to the Weizmann Institute of Science.
• 17 Ashdod – Meeting point of the yellow sand dunes from the south, the green lowland from the east (including the small Lachish river), and the blue Mediterranean Sea from the west.
• 18 Ashkelon – One of the oldest cities in Israel. Included some untouched dunes.
• 19 Mazkeret Batya

Other destinations

• 20 Caesarea & Zarqa Bay – Extensive archaeological site north along the coast, and beautiful but not crowded beaches.

Understand

The coastal plain stretches from south of Haifa in the north to the Gaza Strip in the south. It is the main economic centre of country, including the Tel Aviv metropolis as well as a number of smaller cities. But the region also contains other sites of interest, including beaches, nature reserves, and archaeological sites.

Historically, the coastal plain was an agricultural region. The northern half of the coastal plain, known as the Sharon, was known for its citrus orchards which exported the famous "Jaffa orange". The southern half, south of Jaffa, mostly consisted of sparsely populated sandy areas. Starting in the early 1900s, the coastal plain was the main destination of Jewish immigrants and refugees who came by boat. Over time this led Tel Aviv to become Israel's most economically important city, while the southern coastal plain became an intensely used agricultural area dotted with many villages, kibbutzim, and moshavim. Nowadays, the fields and orchards of the coastal plain are still present, but they have become economically insignificant compared to the commerce and industry of the Tel Aviv region.

Geographically, in much of the Sharon region, the beaches are lined with cliffs, and agricultural settlements begin immediately above these cliff. There are a number of permanent streams winding through the Sharon region. In the south, there are usually large sand dunes along the coast, with agriculture several kilometers inland. The south is drier, and all the streams are intermittent, flowing only after winter rains.

Get in

By train

Most cities in the coastal plain are served by train lines connecting to Tel Aviv. However, the train stations are often inconveniently located on the outskirts of cities.

By bus

There are many bus lines coming from or going through major cities in the Sharon plain region (especially going through Hadera, Netanya and Herzliya) from many places outside the Sharon plain region. There are also express bus lines to various major cities in the Sharon plain region whom head out from Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tiberias.

By car

Highways 2, 4, and 6 cross the coastal plain region from north to south. Highway 6, the Trans-Israel Highway, is a toll road. Highways 2 and 6 are motorways.

Get around

Buses and sheruts are the options of choice. Bus stops can be found at almost every junction and intersection.

Hitch-hiking is possible, but due to the many large highways, it can be quite difficult to find an appropriate place to catch a ride – best to try the slip road that leads to the highway, otherwise at a three lane highway you might wait forever.

See

Besides the sites mentioned for each city, the following are worth mentioning in this region.

• 1 Dor HaBonim Beach Nature Reserve, ☏ +972 4-8252266. Besides the beach, the Tel Dor National Park can be found here with the antique Dor mentioned in the Bible. Has camping options in summer. ₪22/9 adult/child (parking ₪36/120/240 private/minibus/bus).  
• 2 Atlit Detention Camp, ☏ +972 4-984-1980. A camp along the coast where British authorities held illegal Jewish immigrants in the 1940s, now a museum.  
• 3 Nahal Taninim (Crocodilopolis), ☏ +872 4-626-5151. Winter 08:00-16:00, summer 08:00-17:00, closing one hour earlier on Fridays and eve of holidays. Named for the crocodiles that in the past inhabited the nearby Kebara swamps. The remains are still visible today. It is inhabited nowadays by many different birds. ₪22/9 adult/child.  
• 4 Turtle Bridge (HaTzabim Bridge) (along Alexander river 150 m east across the train tracks and 1 km just west of Geulei Teiman (along highway 4), or drive there from highway 5720, which is east of Hofit). You can see 1/2 to 1 meter-long African soft-shell turtles in the water under this bridge and in front of the park. Any season is good to visit except winter - turtles are less active then. It is forbidden to feed them, and they can bite, so don't get too close. Nevertheless, the main reason why they come here is probably because people feed them. There is also a car park, rest area & viewing tower. Also, if you are into delicious grapefruit, there is a convenient (open) plantation just south of the rest area.
  
  The Turtle Bridge is part of the Alexander Stream National Park - Bet Yanai Beach and national park rules apply, although this sight requires no admission. The national park has camping options, but you might even consider camping at the rest area or on top of the viewing tower near the turtle bridge if you arrive late and leave early – review the relevant signposts. 
• 5 Palmachim Beach. Nice beach, and a kibbutz of the same name nearby. Nearby are the ruins of ancient Yavne's seaport, Yavne-Yam. Its archaeological findings are displayed in the nearby kibbutz's museum.  
• 6 Babylonian Jewish Heritage Center, 83 Mordechai Ben Porat, Or Yehuda. M W Th 09:00-15:00, Tu 09:00-19:00, F 10:00-01:00, Sa Su closed. A museum exhibiting the culture of Iraqi Jews.  
• 7 Ecological Maze. Located in Ayanot youth village (updated Jul 2017)
• 8 Hefer Park (Agmon Hefer). A lake which attracts masses of birds during migration seasons. Paths and boardwalks have been set up in order to see the birds easily. 

Do

• Beaches. Almost all of the Sharon, as well as the cities south of Tel Aviv, have publicly accessible beaches. The swimming season is usually between June and September, and lifeguards are only available during this season. (updated Sep 2020)
• 1 Tekhelet marine tour. Tekhelet is the blue dye which was used in ancient times to dye the fringes of the tallit (Jewish ritual cloak). Since the late 1980s, some scholars and scientists have claimed that they have identified the snail which produces this dye, the Hexaplex trunculus. You can go on a tour where you snorkel off the coast looking for these snails, and then participate in dyeing wool fabric with the blue dye. 

Eat and drink

Mostly covered by the cities mentioned above.

Sleep

Mostly covered by the cities mentioned above, but for camping options review the national parks of that region and read the information on the Turtle Bridge and Dor HaBonim Beach above.

Go next

• Carmel Range, Western Galilee and Lower Galilee (northeast) – All gateway to northern Israel, i.e. the Jezreel Valley (for Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) National Park and Mount Gilboa), the Upper Galilee with the interesting Safed, the Sea of Galilee region and the Golan Heights. Nazareth is the most famous city and a must see in the Galilee.
• Negev (southeast) – A huge and must-see desert with many amazing sites, including the Ramon Crater, the Small Crater, Ein Avdat and Ein Akev.

Routes through Israeli Coastal Plain

Haifa ← Atlit, Hadera ←	N  S	→ Netanya, Herzlia → Tel Aviv
Nahariyya, Akko, Haifa ←	N  S	→ Rishon Lezion, Ashdod, Ashkelon
Yokneam ←	N  S	→ Beer Sheva
Nahariyya, Akko, Haifa ←	N  S	→ Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Beer Sheva