Top 6 Bargains in Israel (and the runner-ups)
After being in Israel for over 3 years, I think I have established the top 6 bargains in Israel. But please, if I forgot any, leave a comment and tell me all about it.
- Tablecloths for 18 shekels 10 shekels
I found pretty Shabbat tablecloths that just about everyone seems to have for 18 shek. This deal is so good, it turns out, that every time my mom comes to visit, it is the only thing she stocks up on.
Where: Agrippas St in Jerusalem, coming up from King George toward the Mahane Yehuda shuk. It is on the left hand side and they usually have the tablecloths displayed on the street.
Update: The store on Agrippas went out of business. But you can find an even better deal at Bazar Strauss in Talpiot across from the Achim Yisrael mall Haircut for 35 shekels
We previously wrote about how you can get a 35 shekel haircut by a hair-cutting student at Shuki Zukri Diri in downtown Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.Turns out that Mr. Zikri owes millions on the grey market and therefore has shut down his beauty salons. Real bummer. The only thing I can recommend now is to wait for a good deal to show up on group deal sites like Groupon or the like.
Phone: 02-624-0171- Nesher Shared Taxi Sherut for
4558 shekels
For 455058 shekels you get door-to-door service from anywhere in Jerusalem to the airport. My friend said he had a hard time finding Nesher’s phone number online so I thought I’d post them. Make sure to call a day or two before to reserve a spot. Here’s a Nesher-specific “Did you know”. Did you know that they don’t have Nesher in Tel Aviv? I mean, I guess it makes sense since it’s so close to the airport but… how do they survive?
Phone numbers: 02-623-1231, 02-625-7227 - Iced Coffee for 5 shekels
Personally, I like the smooth iced coffee without the icy chunks. But the Iced Coffee from Marzipan in the shuk is so cheap that I just wait for it to melt.
Where: The Legendary Marzipan bakery is on Agrippas St. but you probably already knew that and just got up to check the fridge to see if you have any rugalech left over. - Autenti clothes 20-50 shekels.
Autenti sells hippie-ish clothes between 20 and 50 shekels and usually have cute skirts.
Where: Stores on Yaffo St. and Agrippas St. - 30 pitas for 10 shekels
Stop by the shuk at night around 8-9:30 as it’s closing to find good deals on pita and other stuff they’re trying to get rid of.
Where: Try on Yaffo St by the entrance.
Runner-ups
- Stove Lighters for 5 shekels from the dollar store. Obviously the conversion rate of the dollar needs a little update.
- Duvsheinit Challah for 6 shekels from the shuk
Soup Festival at the David Citadel for 48 shekels. The all-you-can-eat soup is from 10am to 11pm every day until the end of March for 48 Shekels. They also have wireless internet, so you can pretty much just move in and set up your office right next to the soup buffet.
These deals are updated as of January 18, 2012, so they are likely to change due to inflation. No guarantees.
The Big Felafel 
great list!
| Posted 16 years, 2 months agoyou left out eluna.com, an english site which provides discounts for kosher restaurants throughout israel and http://www.2eat.co.il, which also provides restaurant discount coupons (hebrew only);
the (clothing and lots of other stuff) shuk on mondays opposite the hadar mall on rechov gen. pierre koenig
| Posted 16 years, 2 months agoMy best bargain in Jerusalem is membership in the Jerusalem Cinamateque for 420 shekels a year. They show over a thousand quality movies a year and admission is free with memebership. In no time at all, you get your money’s worth.
| Posted 16 years, 2 months agoRafi – Thank you!
Michael – Welcome to the big felafel. I’m a big fan of eluna and rest.co.il and mentioned them in my recent post about sushi and about cafes to go to. I didn’t know about 2eat.co.il so thanks for the tip!
Fredi – That seems a little steep, but it looks like your getting a lot out of it.
| Posted 16 years, 2 months agoHi Rebecca,
It’s a great blog and I was very pleased to see the top six. The only thing I can think of to add so far is the 1 shekel place (on agripas and yaffo) which last year used to have more upscale items even up to 20 shek(!!!) (I have only been here 1 1/2 years) but even with 1 shek has many useful items. For example, velvet ponytail (or bun) holder or military camouflage changepurse.
There are also two low priced stores, one just off Yaffo across from the Davidka that is a 5 shek store and the other on Yaffo that is just a huge cheapo store. Both have multiple bargains.
There is also the Yellow Door Gemach in Har Nof at Agasi 6 050 6976987 which has incredible bargains but of course you cannot tell if there will be one when you go there. Today I got a Henri Bendel apple green unlined wool jacket in mint condition for –I am not sure, it was part of a few things I bought but tops it was 5 shek. Wow, talk about New York.
Keep trucking,
best–BL
| Posted 16 years, 2 months agoYou forgot to mention that falafel are like 2-3 shekels in the West Bank. In fact, nearly every “deal” that you list is eclipsed by the bargain prices in Ramallah: cigarettes 7 shekels, Falafel 3, lighters 1, coffee 1, haircut 20, pita by the kilo for cheap. Think about it – go visit! You should see more here and then the blog will really have depth.
| Posted 15 years, 10 months agoWoody: The cigarettes in Ramallah does sound tempting – too bad I don’t smoke and don’t plan on a trip to Ramallah anytime soon.
| Posted 15 years, 10 months agolove the list thanks so much!
| Posted 15 years, 8 months agothanks for the list of bargains, I just got to Jerusalem and had been looking for some, love this site!!
| Posted 15 years, 8 months agoRebecca: Love good deals, can’t get enough. If you find any, please post ’em and I’m so happy you like the site 🙂
| Posted 15 years, 8 months agoHey, I made aliyah in November and had an easy time with all the red tape and ‘balagan” because I hired Shmulik Cohen “What a Sabra Knows” (www.whatasabraknows.com) to help with all the meetings, decisions, translations etc. A totally honest guy and super helpful! His services were really affordable and saved me a lot of time and energy, not to mention anxiety. (I came on my own.) Anyway, in ten days, I had all the “essentials” in place and could start enjoying the less institutional side of this wonderful city (Jerusalem) and country. While exploring the web for interesting aliyah/Israel blogs, I found your
| Posted 15 years, 1 month agosite. It’s great! Hope lots more people “stumble” across it, and I’ll talk it up to people who’ll check it out. Kol Tuv, DD
whats the name of the dollar store where is it located??
| Posted 14 years agoThere’s one in the Central Bus Station on the second floor. And one in the Kenyon Achim Yisrael in Talpiot. I think they are called HaKol B’Dollar.
| Posted 14 years ago