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Narrow coastal plain along Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast
Photo: Ilush3042, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The coastal plain (Hebrew: מישור החוף) is a flat region in Israel that runs along the Mediterranean coast.
the region extends along the Mediterranean Sea shoreline for 50 km, from the Carmel Range in the north to the Israeli Southern Coastal region in the south, and inland for circa 16-18 km until it reaches the West Bank. The urbanization of the Sharon plain region has intensified as the Gush Dan metropolitan continues to grow northward into the Sharon plain. The Sharon plain also consists of many natural beaches with sand dunes, limestone cliffs, and several streams. The region also has various archaeological sites, including Caesarea.
The Tel Aviv metropolitan area is often referred to as Gush Dan, because the Biblical tribe of Dan lived here.
The Israeli South Coast (Hebrew: מישור החוף הדרומי), extends along the Mediterranean Sea shoreline for 60 km, and is bound by the Sharon plain in the north, the Shfela region in the east, and the Negev region and the Gaza Strip in the south. Most of the Gush Dan metropolitan area is in this region of the country. Nowadays the population in the Gush Dan metropolitan area consists of about 1.8 million residents. Unlike the rest of the coastal regions of Israel, the region contains a significantly larger desert area and is the climate in this region tends to be more hot and dry.
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Besides the beach, the Tel Dor National Park can be found here with the antique Dor mentioned in the Bible. Has camping options in summer.
A camp along the coast where British authorities held illegal Jewish immigrants in the 1940s, now a museum.
Hamizgaga
This building served as a glass workshop ("mizgaga") when it was built in 1891. It has since been converted into a museum with exhibits related to glassmaking, local archaeological finds from Tel Dor, and more. Close by are the Nahsholim beach with its unusual tidepools and Tel Dor, both worth visiting.
Crocodilopolis
Named for the crocodiles that in the past inhabited the nearby Kebara swamps. The remains are still visible today. It is inhabited nowadays by many different birds.
A Lego museum with some displays related to Israel's history. Good for kids.
Park HaTractorim
Full of toy construction vehicles of various type for little kids to ride and enjoy.
HaTzabim Bridge
You can see 1/2 to 1 meter-long African soft-shell turtles in the water under this bridge and in front of the park. Any season is good to visit except winter - turtles are less active then. It is forbidden to feed them, and they can bite, so don't get too close. Nevertheless, the main reason why they come here is probably because people feed them. There is also a car park, rest area & viewing tower. Also, if you are into delicious grapefruit, there is a convenient (open) plantation just south of the rest area.
The Turtle Bridge is part of the Alexander Stream National Park - Bet Yanai Beach and national park rules apply, although this sight requires no admission. The national park has camping options, but you might even consider camping at the rest area or on top of the viewing tower near the turtle bridge if you arrive late and leave early – review the relevant signposts.
A care center for sea turtles which nest on Israel's beaches. Tours are normally possible, but as of 2025 it is closed to tours due to renovations.
Nice beach, and a kibbutz of the same name nearby. Nearby are the ruins of ancient Yavne's seaport, Yavne-Yam. Its archaeological findings are displayed in the nearby kibbutz's museum.
A museum exhibiting the culture of Iraqi Jews.
Located in Ayanot youth village
Agmon Hefer
A lake which attracts masses of birds during migration seasons. Paths and boardwalks have been set up in order to see the birds easily.
Almost all of the Sharon, as well as the cities south of Tel Aviv, have publicly accessible beaches. The swimming season is usually between June and September, and lifeguards are only available during this season.
Tekhelet is the blue dye which was used in ancient times to dye the fringes of the tallit (Jewish ritual cloak). Since the late 1980s, some scholars and scientists have claimed that they have identified the snail which produces this dye, the Hexaplex trunculus. You can go on a tour where you snorkel off the coast looking for these snails, and then participate in dyeing wool fabric with the blue dye.
By bus
There are many bus lines coming from or going through major cities in the Sharon plain region (especially going through Hadera, Netanya and Herzliya) from many places outside the Sharon plain region.
By car
Highways 2, 4, and 6 cross the coastal plain region from north to south. Highway 6, the Trans-Israel Highway, is a toll road. Highways 2 and 6 are motorways.
Buses and sheruts are the options of choice. Bus stops can be found at almost every junction and intersection.
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Tel Aviv · International · TLV
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Hadera (Hebrew: חדרה) is a city in the Israeli Coastal Plain, about halfway from Tel Aviv to Haifa. It is mostly known by the landmark Orot Rabin Power Plant chimneys, where 19% of Israel's electricity is generated.
Netanya or Natanya (Hebrew:נְתַנְיָה) is a city in Israel. Many tourists come to visit its beach.
Ra'anana (He. רעננה) is a city in central Israel, north of Tel Aviv.
Kfar Saba (He. כפר סבא) is a city in central Israel, northeast of Tel Aviv.
a big industrial and commercial center as well as home to many high-tech companies.
Tel Aviv (Hebrew: תל אביב, Arabic: تل أبيب) is the second largest city in Israel (after Jerusalem), and the largest metropolitan area. It is on the Mediterranean coast, about 60 km northwest of Jerusalem and 100 km south of Haifa.
Bnei Brak, also spelled Bene Beraq, is an Israeli city. It lies in the Gush Dan district of which Tel Aviv is the largest city, between Ramat Gan and Petach Tikvah.
Petah Tikva (פתח־תקוה) is an eastern suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel, population 248,000 (2019). For those into early Zionist history, a number of the old buildings have been preserved, though they can be hard to find, and the signs describing them are only in Hebrew.
Ramat Gan (Hebrew: רמת גן) (Translation: Garden heights) is a city in Israel, to the immediate east of Tel Aviv, which almost acts as an extension of it. Ramat Gan is an eclectic town famous for many things totally unrelated to each other, including diamonds, football, malls, chocolates, Iraqi restaurants, a religious university, and an open-space African safari with lions.
Givat Shmuel (Samuel Hill) is a small city of nearly 30,000 in Israel. It is in the Center District, which also includes Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, and Petah Tikva.
Holon is a city in Israel and a suburb of Tel Aviv.
Bat Yam is a city in Israel and a working-class suburb of Tel Aviv. It has a population of about 130,000.
Rishon LeZion, Rishon LeZiyyon or just Rishon (Hebrew:ראשון לציון) is a city in Israel on the Coastal Strip, just south of Tel Aviv. Rishon is Israel's fourth largest city with a population of 221,500.
Ramla is a city in central Israel, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Lod is a small city in central Israel, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Rehovot (Hebrew: רחובות) is a fairly small city in the southern Coastal Plain region of Israel. It is about 20 km (12 mi) south of Tel Aviv.
Ashdod is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, halfway between Tel Aviv and Gaza. One of Israel's two industrial ports is here.
Ashkelon or Ashqelon Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן Arabic عسقلان ˁAsqalān; is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, 50 km (40 minutes by bus) to the south of Tel Aviv.
Mazkeret Batya is a town in the Israeli Coastal Plain, about 26 kilometres southeast of Tel Aviv.
Caesarea (Hebrew: Qeysarya, קיסריה) is a national park 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 Roman Imperial city of Caesarea Maritima.
Articles and travel topics about Israeli Coastal Plain and Israel.
ItinerariesThe Israel National Trail (Hebrew שביל ישראל, Shvil Yisrael) is Israel’s best-known long-distance hiking trail. It runs for about 1,000 km from the northern edge of the country near Kibbutz Dan to Eilat on the Red Sea,…
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Culture & historyThe Roman Empire was the greatest ancient empire of Europe. At the height of its power in 117 AD, it ruled over considerable parts of Europe, as well as much of North Africa and the Middle East.
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Travel tipsBuses are the most common form of public transportation in Israel for Israelis and foreigners alike. They are generally frequent and modern, but often slow.
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Nature & adventureIsrael's national parks and nature reserves, of which there are about 75, are managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
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