Afula is medium-sized town in the northern Israel. It is the largest city in the Jezreel Valley and the capital of that region.
Understand
Get in
By bus or by taxi
You can use buses from Tel Aviv (825, 840), Haifa (300, 301), Jerusalem (953) and Tiberias (541, 840). From other cities in the valley (Migdal Ha'emek, Bet Shean, Nazareth) you can get to Afula by Superbus buses or by sherut (shared) taxis. Sherut taxis also available from Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Tiberias. Note that buses departing from Afula to bigger cities stops at 22:00.
From the West Bank
From Jenin (also applicable to Nablus and Ramallah): Take a shared taxi (sherut/serviis) or hitchhike to the border, and cross on foot. From the Israeli side of the border, taxis to Afula cost ₪40-50. Alternatively, you can take bus 52 from the roundabout after the border into Afula (₪7.40).
By Train
- Afula Railway Station, 32.621667°, 35.295278°. There is a train every one hour from/to Haifa. There are 4 local buses that their schedules are synced with the train arrivals and departures.
Get around
By bus
Superbus operates 10 internal bus lines (2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20) inside Afula.
Lines 10 and 11 have a nearly identical route except the section at city center and both have very high frequency of every 10 minutes combined.
Line 20 is a special line to the market and it operated on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday only. The line's frequency is every 30 minutes.
Line 19 has few stops in the city but it continues to the towns Marhavia and Sulam. The line's frequency is every 60 minutes.
Line 6 is a special line to the cemetery and it has only 5 trips per day each direction.
See
Do
- Culture Hall (Heichal Ha'Tarbut). Located in the center of the city. Here you can watch theater shows, opera and films.
- Art Gallery. In the same building as the Cultural Hall. Displays works by local artists.
- Givat HaMoreh, 32.61765°, 35.34893°. The largest mountain within the Jezreel Valley; Afula's eastern suburbs are built on its slopes. Nice place for easy hike. It's highly recommended to go all the way up to the mountain viewpoint in order to watch the beautiful landscape from above. You can go up with Kavim buses from Afula (Lines 3, 14, 2). Bus ticket costs ₪4.40 for a single ride ticket or ₪6.70 for a ticket for the whole day. For the second option - a purchase of Rav Kav card from one of the central bus stations across the country in advanced is required) 2016-05-13
Buy
- 'G' BaEmek (Ha'Mitham), 32.61949°, 35.31294°. A large shopping center on the road from downtown Afula to Givat HaMoreh. To get there you can use any bus from Afula to Givat Hamoreh or to Afula Ilit - 10, 3, 2, 9, 14 and 13 (Bus ticket costs ₪3.80 or ₪5.80 for all day). In this large and modern shopping center you will find cafes, restaurants, clothing stores and many other shops. The 'G' is pronounced as an English letter.
Eat
- Falafel Golani, 32.61080°, 35.28831°. Locals say this is the best falafel in the middle east. Near Falafel Golani you will be able to find many other falafel and kebab shops such as Falafel Ha'Nasi, Baguette Nir and Shawuarma Al'Fasi as well as few bakeries and pizzerias
- HaTzarfatia HaKtana (The Little Frenchwoman), address: 5 Shprintsak St, Afula, 32.64948°, 35.29124°, +972-4-6526516. a caf'e and restaurant in Afula, open since 1991. HaTzarfatia HaKtana has been managed for the last 12 years by Tami and Dganit, who have turned it into a well known spot in the Afula area. This is a place to celebrate birthdays, weddings, other specials events, and of course, a place to come spoil yourself any day of the week.
- Spoons - coffee shop. Located at the center of the city, Near Karmel Hotel.
- Aroma Espresso Bar - There are two branches of this chain in Afula. One is at the center of the city by the end of Arlosoroff Boulevard (Near the city hall), the second is located inside the G-Ba'Emek open mall (on the road from Afula to Tiberias).More information about Aroma Esspreso Bar. (dead link: January 2023) Also inside G-Ba'Emek you will find branches of BBB Burgers Bar, Cafe Greg and other coffee shops and restaurants.
Drink
Sleep
Stay healthy
Go next
- Tel Megiddo is located nearby (10 minutes drive) in the Jezreel Valley.
- Mount Tabor is a natural site and Christian holy place in the Lower Galilee.