Where to stay in Tiberias

Tiberias ( ty-BEER-ee-əs; Hebrew: טְבֶרְיָה,; Arabic: طَبَرِيَّا, romanized: Ṭabariyyā) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 18th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed.

Tiberias was founded as a Roman city sometime between 20 CE and 44 CE, and named for the emperor Tiberius. It became an important regional center, so much so that the Sea of Galilee was sometimes called the "Sea of Tiberias". During the 3rd century it became the center of Jewish scholarship in Israel, and the "Jerusalem Talmud" was in fact composed in Tiberias. From the 8th to 10th century, Tiberias was home to the Jewish Masoretes who recorded the definitive text, vowels, and pronunciation of the Bible which are used to this day.

Many cheap hotels can be found along the shore and on the main street. If you do not have a booked reservation, consult any taxi driver (if you want to be ripped off).

Getting in

There are intercity and local buses from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth, and other cities, which depart from and arrive at the Central Bus Station. They usually make additional stops at certain points in the city too, ask your accommodation. Local buses, e.g. to Nazareth, are cheaper but take slightly longer. From Jenin (and consequently Nablus and Ramallah) you can take a shared taxi (sherut/serviis) or hitch-hike to the border north (₪5-15 depending on the start) and cross on foot. Afterwards a taxi to Afula is ₪40-50.

Getting around

Most of Tiberias' attractions are easily walkable. For most of the others, you can take a bus (from the central station) north or south along the Sea of Galilee coast. Bus lines 5 and 15 stops at most tourist attractions, most hotels, and Big Fashion Danilof Mall.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.