Tel Aviv by bike
Tel Aviv is flat, compact and warm, which makes it close to an ideal cycling city, and the network of separated lanes has grown steadily for years. For a visitor it is the fastest way to cover ground without working out a timetable.
The short version
- The city is flat. There are no hills to speak of anywhere you will want to go.
- There is a bike-share scheme and plenty of rental shops; e-scooters too.
- The seafront path and Yarkon Park are the two rides worth doing for their own sake.
- Helmets, lights and where you are allowed to ride are worth five minutes of attention.
Getting a bike
Two routes. The city has a docked bike-share scheme with stations across the centre, which suits short hops - pick up near us, drop off near wherever you were going. For a longer ride or a few days, a rental shop is better value and gives you a bike that fits.
Shared e-scooters are everywhere as well. They are quick and convenient, and they are also the thing most likely to get you into an argument with a pedestrian, so keep them on the road or in the lanes and off the pavement.
Operators and apps change. Ask us when you arrive and we will tell you what people are using this year.
The seafront ride
The obvious one, and it starts 200m from our door. A path runs alongside the promenade for the length of the city, flat the whole way, with the sea on one side.
Ride north and you reach the Tel Aviv Port in about fifteen minutes. Ride south and you end up in Jaffa, past the beaches and along the old sea wall. Neither needs any planning. Late afternoon is the hour to do it, with the light coming off the water.
Yarkon Park
The long green park along the river at the northern edge of the city. It is much bigger than it looks on a map and has proper cycle paths running its length, away from traffic entirely.
From here you ride north up the seafront and turn inland at the port, which makes a straightforward half-day loop. The park has lawns, water and places to stop, so most people end up spending the afternoon in it instead of riding through.
The rules worth knowing
- Use the lanes. Where there is a marked cycle lane, that is where you belong. Riding on the pavement is not welcome and in places is not allowed.
- Lights after dark. Enforced, and sensible regardless.
- Helmets. The rules differ by age and by road type. If you are renting, ask the shop what applies to you.
- Watch the scooters. The lanes are shared with a great many of them and they are faster than you expect.
- Lock it properly. Ordinary city precautions apply.
Where to leave it
There is bike parking around the building and along the streets nearby. If you have rented for several days, ask Yehuda where to put it overnight. He gets asked most weeks.
Geva Talmor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Photograph: Dana Friedlander, Israel Ministry of Tourism · PESP, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons