בזמן הפנאי

 

As a participant in a Mount Carmel Hebrew Immersion program, you may relax in your beautiful host community itself, or explore the surrounding area on foot. The nearby city of Haifa and Carmel-Galilee region provide a plethora of activities to do and sights to see, whether you seek mountain or beach, archaeological sites or nightlife. Our staff will happily direct and advise on how to get to specific locations from your host community.

Hiking trails
The Carmel range is full of trails used for hiking and mountain biking, where nature enthusiasts can immerse themselves in trees and meadows, and overlook the surrounding countryside. The Carmel range is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world. Hiking enthusiasts may obtain a topographical trail map of the region.

Beaches
Beneath the Carmel, several sandy Mediterranean beaches are in close reach. At the southern edge of Haifa, the beautiful Carmel Beach is easily accessible by public transportation. Within Haifa city limits there are at least eight recognized beaches, and numerous scuba diving sites.
Closer to Zichron Ya'aqov are Dor and Nahsholim beaches, ideal for a day trip combining beach and history. Between the two, the site of the ancient port city of Dor juts into the Mediterranean, surrounded by sea on three sides.

Sightseeing
For those with a taste for ancient cities, architecture, mosaics, culture and history, the options are nearly limitless. Within the nearby surroundings one may visit prehistoric caves in the Carmel, the ancient port city of Caesarea, the imposing biblical city of Megiddo, ancient Jewish catacombs at Beit She’arim, exquisite Greco-Roman mosaics at Tzippori (Sepphoris) and various other sites, mostly included within the national park system.

The nearby city of Haifa has numerous streets, sites and parks to explore, as well as fascinating museums, including Haifa University’s nearby Hecht Museum.

Less than an hour away, Nazareth, the cultural and commercial capital of Israel’s Arab population and an important Christian center, is another great place to wander the streets and markets, and enjoy a range of cafés, restaurants, churches and historic sites.

While in the beauty and calm of the Carmel, you are within an hour or so of most destinations in northern Israel and the central coast, including the fast-paced Hebrew-speaking metropolis of Tel Aviv, and not much further from anything you would like to see in the rest of the country. Jerusalem, with its inexhaustible array of sights and experiences, is about 1.5 hours away by car.


Nightlife
Zichron Ya'aqov has an array of restaurants, cafés and bars, some tucked aside in the town's historic courtyards.
Also nearby is Haifa’s hopping Merkaz ha-Karmel (Carmel Center) district, where there are restaurants, discos, pubs, cafés and other nightspots in which Hebrew is the primary language spoken, and Tel Aviv with all it has to offer.