Caesarea (Hebrew: Qeysarya, קיסריה) is an national park located on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, in the northern part of the Sharon region. The park encompasses a vast archaeological site that showcases the remains of the ancient city of Caesarea. Herod, the king of Judea, reconstructed and developed the city from 13-25 BC, making it a hub of commerce, culture, and government. He named the city in honor of Augustus Caesar. The site is located 50 km north of Tel Aviv and several kilometers north of Hadera.
During the Roman period, Caesarea served as the capital of the holy land until the late Byzantine era, playing a crucial role in the region's history. Nowadays, the park offers the visitors a glimpse into the city's grandeur and its significant role in the past.
The nearby picturesque Mediterranean coast also has some of the most beautiful beaches in Israel, attracting tourists from far and wide.
Adjacent to the national park, there is a small and affluent town called Caesarea, which had a population of approximately 5,300 residents in 2019.
Caesarea became known in the first century BCE, when Herod the Great built one of the largest ports in the eastern Mediterranean on the spot. The city continued to flourish through the Byzantine era. For most of the Muslim period it was a notable city, and the Crusaders built impressive city walls which still stand. However, by the Ottoman period Caesarea was either uninhabited or home only to a small village.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild purchased much of the land around Caesarea. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Rothschild family gifted these holdings to the Caesarea Foundation. Caesarea is therefore the only locality in Israel which is managed by a private organization (the Caesarea Development Corporation), rather than a municipal governmental organization. Today Caesarea is considered one of the most upscale residential developments in Israel. The current Baron de Rothschild still maintains a home in Caesarea, as do many other wealthy and influential individuals and foreign residents. It is also home to Israel’s only 18-hole golf course, a luxury hotel, a vacation village, miles of sandy beaches, and a series of attractive restaurants, galleries and boutiques huddled around the Mediterranean cove.
And, of course, visitors marvel at its extraordinary archeological attractions, not least of which is the Roman theatre, where concerts, entertainment extravaganzas and the annual International Opera Festival are held.
Hitchhiking to Jisr az-Zarqa 📍 or Caesarea is possible and rather easy.
Caesarea National Park is on the coastal road, near the city of Caesarea and Kibbutz Sdot Yam and west of Or Akiva. Take the coastal road or the old Tel Aviv-Haifa highway number 2 to the interchange near the Orot Rabin power station. An alternate route is to drive to the park via Or Akiva.
The simplest and fastest way is to take an intercity bus to Or Akiva interchange 📍 on the Route 2 motorway. From Tel Aviv (or intermediate points), take bus 910, running about hourly. From Haifa, take bus 910 or 947 from the Carmel Beach CBS. When you get off the bus, walk 20 minutes west (towards the sea) along the road, and you will be at the Caesarea ruins. There is a pleasant bike/foot path for this walk, separate from the road.
If this is too much walking (which it might be on a hot summer day), then you can take one of the buses that stop right at the ruins - routes 9, 76, or 80 from Binyamina (7 km), Hadera, and Pardes Hana respectively. (You can also catch the 9 and 80 at Or Akiva interchange.) Beware that these routes are very slow, as they make a circuit through all the neighborhoods of Caesarea before reaching the ruins. They are also infrequent - each route runs no more than 10 times a day.
The main ruins form a single national park which is easy to walk around (though lacking in shade, so bring a hat).
The other sites are far enough apart that a vehicle can be useful, particularly on a hot day. But walking between them is also a reasonable option. Even the distance between Caesarea and Jisr az-Zarqa, if you stay there, can be managed on foot - 5 km along the beach.
Some small shops can be found in Jisr az-Zarqa and a supermarket right next to Juha's Guesthouse.
The Caesarea National Park holiday area has several restaurants that cater for the visiting folks.
In Jisr az-Zarqa inexpensive falafel (₪8) and shawarma can be found.
Juha's Guesthouse has got beer in the fridge for its guests, even though the town is pretty much alcohol free due to being Muslim.
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