Cruise port transfers in Israel
Cruise port transfers in Israel: one car and one English-speaking driver, from the passenger gate at Haifa or Ashdod until your ship wants you back. Acre is about 29 minutes from the Haifa gate; from Ashdod, Tel Aviv is about 47 minutes and Jerusalem about 66.
Cruise port transfers in Israel begin at the passenger gate at Haifa Port or Ashdod Port and end wherever your day ashore takes you. Haifa Port to Acre is about 29 minutes, from ₪160; Ashdod Port to Jerusalem about 66 minutes, from ₪370, one-way starting fares on the meter. We drive 24 hours a day, Sunday to Friday. Book on WhatsApp at +972-50-912-2133.
Price for a regular taxi (up to 4 passengers) : from ₪370 by day (tariff 1), about ₪420 at night and about ₪470 on Shabbat/holiday nights — official 2026 taxi-meter tariff.
From ₪370. An English-speaking driver on the public side of the passenger gate, holding your name · One car and one driver from the gate until you are back on board
Cruise port transfers in Israel: from the passenger gate to all-aboard
Your driver is the one on the public side of the passenger gate, holding a card with your name on it. His name and phone number reach you on WhatsApp before the ship ties up, so the first minutes ashore are not spent looking around for a stranger. Cruise port transfers in Israel work around one fixed point, which is the ship's clock: she sails whether or not you are aboard, so the first question we ask is never where you would like to go. It is how many hours you actually have.
A short call: what fits without watching the clock
When the ship is alongside for part of a day rather than all of it, distance is what hurts. The best of the short options is Acre, about 28 km around the bay from the Haifa gate and roughly 29 minutes, from ₪160 in daytime traffic: sea walls, a covered market and a working harbor, all within a slow walk of one another. Caesarea sits about 52 km down the coast, roughly 42 minutes, and gives the same shape of afternoon. Ashdod's short answer is a taxi to Tel Aviv, about 42 km and 47 minutes, near enough that an unhurried lunch by the sea is not a gamble.
A whole day ashore, and what the road takes out of it
Give the same ship a long call and the map opens. From Ashdod the obvious answer is Jerusalem, about 64 km and 66 minutes each way, the last stretch climbing off the coastal plain into the hills; our Ashdod Port to Jerusalem taxi page sets out the arithmetic. From Haifa that same city costs far more road, about 154 km and 110 minutes in each direction, which the Haifa Port to Jerusalem taxi page counts out in full. Northern alternatives are gentler on the day: Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee about 69 km and 53 minutes out, Nazareth about 46 km and 46 minutes. Southern ones are not gentle at all: Masada about 163 km and 118 minutes from the Ashdod gate, Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea about 148 km and 107 minutes.
From the ship to the car
No private vehicle is allowed onto a working commercial port, so the meeting point is always outside the passenger gate. A shuttle run by the line, or a port bus, normally brings you out to it, and the daily program in your cabin says which.
Seats, cases and which car we send
The calculator on our taxi booking page prices a regular taxi in seconds: four seats, the official meter tariff, a number you can see before anyone drives anywhere. Above four seats nothing is listed. A large taxi, a van or a minibus at six, ten or nineteen seats is quoted instead, and the figure comes back within minutes of your telling us the group and the date. On a disembarkation morning, send the suitcase count along with the head count: four people with four full-size cases are not a four-seat job.
What we need from you
Nothing here needs a form. Send four things to WhatsApp on +972-50-912-2133 and the answer comes back the same day.
- The ship, her line, and which of the two ports she calls at.
- How many of you are coming ashore, how many suitcases travel with you, and whether anyone needs a child seat.
- Where the day ends: back at the same gate, at a hotel, or at Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).
- The hour you expect to be clear of the gate, and the hour the ship wants everyone aboard.
When we drive
We are on the road around the clock from Sunday to Friday. Shabbat is the absolute exception: from Friday evening until Saturday night, and on the Jewish holidays, there is no ride to book at any price. A Saturday-night departure is possible when it is arranged in advance, leaving after Shabbat ends and metered on tariff 3, and holiday nights work the same way. If the meter itself is unfamiliar, our 2026 Israeli taxi meter guide explains what the display is doing while you ride.
Route facts
- Distance
- Haifa Port to Jerusalem about 154 km; Haifa Port to Acre about 28 km; Ashdod Port to Jerusalem about 64 km
- Travel time
- About 29 minutes from Haifa Port to Acre and about 66 minutes from Ashdod Port to Jerusalem, in normal traffic
- Price (regular taxi)
- Haifa Port to Acre from ₪160; Ashdod Port to Jerusalem from ₪370; Haifa Port to Jerusalem from ₪790, all one-way daytime starting fares
- Availability
- 24 hours a day, Sunday to Friday; no service on Shabbat or Jewish holidays, and Saturday-night departures by advance booking
- Capacity
- Up to 4 passengers; large taxi 6, van 10 or minibus 19 seats on request
- Booking
- Online calculator, WhatsApp +972-50-912-2133 or almaxpress.taxi@gmail.com
- Ports served
- Ashdod Port in the south and Haifa Port in the north; pickup on the public side of the passenger gate
- End-of-cruise transfers
- Ashdod Port to Ben Gurion Airport about 48 km, from ₪260; Haifa Port to Ben Gurion Airport about 122 km, from ₪610
What a shekel figure on this page covers
Every price here is a one-way starting fare for a regular taxi carrying up to four passengers, between the two places named and nowhere else: Haifa Port to Acre from ₪160, Ashdod Port to Tel Aviv from ₪240, Haifa Port to Tiberias from ₪360, Ashdod Port to Jerusalem from ₪370, Haifa Port to Tel Aviv from ₪540. Each is read off the official meter, the same instrument a resident rides behind, so there is no visitor rate and nothing to haggle over. A day that keeps the car and the driver with you between stops is a different arrangement, and we quote it as one once we know your hours and where you want to stop. Six, ten and nineteen-seat vehicles carry no published price at all.
How the Israeli week lands on a cruise itinerary
Check the calendar before you check the map. Sunday is an ordinary working day here, so a Sunday call behaves like a Tuesday one, with rush-hour traffic inland and everything open when you arrive. Friday is the short one: markets, offices and many sites wind down through the early afternoon, so a Friday plan wants a lunchtime high point rather than a late one. The Jewish holidays are what catches visitors out, since their dates move each year against the civil calendar and a spring or autumn call can land on one. Tell us your date and we will say which kind of day you are getting. A Saturday call we cannot serve at all, so whatever you do ashore that day goes through the ship rather than through us.
The southern day from Ashdod, and what it costs in hours
Passengers who have already had their Jerusalem day often ask about the Dead Sea, and the answer is yes, with the whole call spent on it. Masada is about 163 km from the Ashdod gate, roughly 118 minutes in each direction; Ein Bokek about 148 km and 107 minutes. There is no version of that drive that leaves room for a second stop somewhere else, and the basin is the lowest ground on earth, which in summer it behaves like. It suits a long call that starts early and very little else. When the hours are tighter the coast is the better trade, since Tel Aviv sits about 42 km from the same gate and gives you the afternoon rather than the road.
Documents, money, luggage and the ship's own delays
The questions that come up once you are standing on the pavement outside the gate.
Shekels, and a card from home
The fare is in shekels. Cash works, so does a credit card issued abroad, charged over the phone or through a payment link we send to WhatsApp, and so does a bank transfer arranged before the day.
Take both your passport and your ship card
Carry the two of them ashore, not one or the other. The card is what gets you back aboard at the end of the day, and the passport is the document to have on you at the passenger gate in either direction.
Your bags stay in the car
On a disembarkation morning the cases ride with you between stops, in the same locked car all day, so a last hour at a beach or a museum does not have to be given up to luggage.
When the ship comes in late
A delay at the previous port moves your pickup, not your booking. One message and the driver simply comes later; if the call is cut short we shorten the route instead of writing the day off.
- An English-speaking driver on the public side of the passenger gate, holding your name
- One car and one driver from the gate until you are back on board
- Regular-taxi fares read off the official meter, in shekels
- Child seats and boosters, if you tell us the ages when you book
- Cash, a card issued abroad, or a payment link sent to your phone
- Around the clock Sunday to Friday; Saturday is the one day we cannot drive
Estimated Prices
| Route | Price |
|---|---|
| Ashdod Port to Jerusalem (up to 4 passengers) | From ₪370 |
| Ashdod Port to Ben Gurion Airport | From ₪260 |
| Ashdod Port to the Dead Sea (Ein Bokek) | From ₪760 |
| Haifa Port to Jerusalem | From ₪790 |
| Haifa Port to Acre | From ₪160 |
| Haifa Port to Tel Aviv | From ₪540 |
| Night / Saturday night and holiday nights | By meter tariff 2/3 |
Need a larger vehicle?
Large taxi (6 seats), 10-seat van or 19-seat minibus — luggage included, 24/6. Book now and we confirm the price within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a taxi ?
Price for a regular taxi (up to 4 passengers) : from ₪370 by day (tariff 1), about ₪420 at night and about ₪470 on Shabbat/holiday nights — official 2026 taxi-meter tariff. The final price is confirmed in advance when you book; a large taxi (6 seats), 10-seat van or 19-seat minibus is priced per booking and confirmed within minutes.
What is the difference between the day, night and Shabbat tariffs?
Tariff 1 (day) applies Sunday–Thursday 06:00–21:00 and Friday until 16:00; tariff 2 (night, Friday afternoon and Shabbat daytime) runs 21:01–05:59 and 06:00–19:00 on Shabbat; tariff 3 (Thursday after 23:00, Friday night and Shabbat/holiday night) is the highest. For this route: ₪370 / ₪420 / ₪470.
How do I pay?
Cash to the driver at the end of the ride, credit card (charged by phone in advance or via a payment link), or bank transfer / payment app by prior arrangement. A deposit may be requested for some bookings.
What is the cancellation policy?
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the ride (business days); between 24 and 6 hours a partial cancellation fee may apply; less than 6 hours or no-show — full charge. Cancel in writing via WhatsApp or email.
Do you have a vehicle for a large group?
Yes — large taxi (6 seats), 10-seat van and 19-seat minibus, luggage included. Book the vehicle on the group-transfers page or in the calculator and the price is confirmed within minutes.
How much do cruise port transfers in Israel cost?
Everything is priced in shekels and read off the official meter, not agreed at the gate. The shortest run on this page is Haifa Port to Acre, from ₪160 in daytime traffic; Ashdod Port to Tel Aviv starts at ₪240 and Ashdod Port to Jerusalem at ₪370. After 21:00 the meter moves to tariff 2. Six, ten and nineteen-seat vehicles are quoted within minutes instead.
Our ship is in port on a Friday. Will you still drive us?
Friday is a working day in Israel, and a busy one, but it ends early. We run until Shabbat begins, and the meter steps up from tariff 1 to tariff 2 at 16:00, so a late-afternoon return costs more than the same drive on a Tuesday. Give us your all-aboard time when you book rather than on the morning itself.
Can Bethlehem be part of a Jerusalem day from the port?
Bethlehem sits in Area A, where Israeli taxis may not drive, and ours is an Israeli taxi, so please do not build a day around it or ask the driver to bend the rule at the gate. The rest of a Jerusalem itinerary is open to us, including the Christian sites inside the Old City on an Ashdod day; from Haifa, Nazareth is about 46 km away.
Will the driver speak English, and can he guide us at the sites?
We assign an English-speaking driver to port pickups, so you can agree the plan at the gate and change it during the day. He is not a licensed tour guide, though, and does not guide inside the sites themselves. If you want a guide, arrange one separately and we will carry you both all day.
Our cruise ends here. Can you take us from the port to the airport?
Yes, and a good share of our port work is exactly that. Haifa Port to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is about 122 km and roughly 80 minutes, from ₪610 by day; from Ashdod Port it is about 48 km, closer to 43 minutes, from ₪260. Send the case count with the booking, since four seats and eight suitcases do not travel together.
How much slack do you leave before all-aboard?
More than feels necessary, on purpose. The last stop of the day is planned close to the port rather than far from it, and the return time we agree leaves room for the shuttle, the queue at the gate and one site that runs long. Ships do not wait, and none of those three can be hurried.
We are traveling with small children. Are car seats available?
Tell us the ages and rough weights when you book and the right seat or booster comes with the car, so nobody has to carry one down a gangway. If the group is large enough for a van or a minibus, mention that in the same message, because the seating plan and the number of child seats have to be worked out together.
How far ahead should we book, and can we change the plan afterwards?
As soon as the itinerary is fixed. Route changes are easy; a change of head count on the morning is not, since the car is assigned. Cancelling is free up to 24 hours ahead on a business day, meaning Sunday to Friday here, with Friday only a half one. Inside that window up to half the fare may stand; inside six hours, or on a no-show, the whole fare does.
Does a pickup before dawn cost more than one at nine in the morning?
It does, because the meter follows the clock rather than the customer. Tariff 1 runs Sunday to Thursday from 06:00 to 21:00 and on Friday until 16:00; between 21:01 and 05:59 the meter is on tariff 2, and departures after Shabbat ends on Saturday night are on tariff 3. Every daytime figure quoted on this page is a tariff 1 starting fare.