Family Travel – Northern Israel with Kids

Our last trip with my parents was to the North Coast to see Akko and Haifa. This was the first trip I’d planned where we just weren’t able to do everything we’d hoped, simply because everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) took longer than we’d planned.

My parents left early on Friday morning with the kids to go see Haifa while I was working. I joined them that evening at the apartment we’d booked in Nahariyya (this time through booking.com, as AirBnB for the same apartment was almost 50% more expensive). We unpacked, then walked to the beach to put our toes in the Mediterranean and eat dinner on the beach.

Dad and Grace at the beach

Akko

Saturday morning, we drove to Akko to see the Hospitaler castle and the ruins (and the souk, of course). I’d visited Akko previously, but it was a different experience with kids and my parents.

“ROAR”

The first thing we did after coffee was walk through the recently discovered Crusader Tunnel. Dad was a little surprised to discover that he had to duck in some places, but both my parents and the kids thought it was very cool.

After the tunnel, we got lost in the Old City walking to the castle, and everyone was hungry and crabby by the time we finally got there. At the entrance to the fortress, there’s a pretty shaded garden where we sat and ate a big snack. The kids thought the castle was cool, but it wore on them quickly. My parents really enjoyed it, though.

After the castle, we had lunch at Ouda’s, an excellent seafood restaurant in the souk that had been recommended by a friend. The service was typically Israeli; however, the fish was pretty good (and the price was excellent). At that point, we were actually exhausted and ready to go home, but we’d left our drivers licenses at the Hospitaler castle in exchange for our audio guides, and they were, of course, waiting for us at the next stop in the tour, the Turkish baths.

Best Fish in Akko

I took the kids back to the car so they could nap in the air conditioning, and my parents continued on their own.

Once we were back in Nahariyya, we had dinner at the Penguin, a Nahriyya institution. The restaurant was cute, the service was good, and the food was excellent.

Hov Anchiv

I had big plans to visit the Israel-Lebanon border and a winery on Sunday, but we were tired and my parents wanted to spend some peaceful time with the kids. Instead, we went to the Hov Anchiv nature reserve outside of Naharriya. On the way, we had what I expect will be the nicest gas station breakfast we will ever have.

The beach at the nature reserve was beautiful. Stunningly clean sand and even better, the water was enclosed by a natural rock barrier, reinforced by the Isreali Park service. It was a perfect place for the kids to enjoy the sand and the sea.

Roman Ruins, according to our guidebook

Yes, another picnic lunch (I love picnics! I can’t help it!), and then we piled back in our cars to drive back to Jerusalem.