How to decide which spot to chose?
Where to swim North of Krivine Guesthouse – the Annex on the Sea
The religious separated beach
It is not particularly beloved but it has the advantage to be the closest supervised beach from the flat with shower/toilets facilities. It is open and supervised everyday between 8.00 and 18.00 except on Shabbat. It alternates between days for women and days for men. Outside of these hours, there is no lifeguard but the place is still open and the showers are working so you can go there with your better half.
It is good if:
– You are religious and/or don’t want to share your space with people the other sex and if you would rather be surrounded by a large fence so that no-one will see you in your swim gown.
– You don’t want to go too far (but I personnaly think you can do much much better)
Island beach
The pools right before Achziv
Achziv public beach, also called Banana beach
Achziv national park
Betzet stretch
Betzet public beach
Approaching Rosh HaNikra
The perfect bicycle outing on a beautiful winter day
Where to swim South of Krivine Guesthouse – the Annex on the Sea
The public beach in Nahariya
A 5 to 10 minutes walk on the promenade in the direction of the city will take you to the public beach of Nahariya where you will find all the usual facilities (lifeguards, shower, toilets, diving and boating club, ice cream vendor and even a pier for fishermen..).
You won’t find there your usual beach cafe, but it is only because it is so close to the center of the city and the busy Ge’aton boulevard that cafes and restaurants are everywhere around.
The public beach is all sand and is divided in three area.
– Semi open to the waves area
The one closest to our flat is semi protected from the waves and is ideal when the sea is calm. It is not as busy as the main beach and you can still enjoy a bit of waves.
– The main beach with it’s wave breaker
A few meters from it, facing the opposite direction is a beach completely protected by a wave breaker. This is where you will find all the Russian grand-mothers with their flowery bath caps, especially very early mornings. It is by far the busiest part of the beach and during the summer, it can be a bit overcrowded, especially in the evenings. But if you have young children, it is just perfect.
– The completely open area
Walk a bit further South for maybe two minutes and you will reach the third area with sand, showers and lifeguard. This one is totally open to the waves and mostly empty. But when the waves are high, this is the meting point of all the surfers in the area.
One thing that might like (or not) on this specific strip is it’s proximity to a row of beach cafes with their animation, food, bevarages and music.
– Many public spaces around the beach
The whole area is surrounded by a plethora of public spaces, children and adults playgrounds, football, basketball, hockey fields, you name it. And when the evening comes, the place is bustling with activity, especially in the summer, of course. Outdoor yoga classes, free zumba and israeli folk dancing twice a week in season… You can also see how much Naharians like there promenade, be it on foot, bicycle, skateboard or rollerblades… They surely seem to enjoy it a lot.
– The public beach in Shavei Tzion
To get to the next beach in Shavei Tzion, you will need our bicycles or a car unless you are up for an hour of walking.
The promenade stops about two hundred meters from the beach (a bit abruptly if you ask me, first time I went, I was taken by surprise by the very sudden end of the
asphalt path and the 6-7 centimeters gap between the asphalt and the sand. But you have been warned!)
On the last two hundred meters, you ride on a little hill full of vegetation (maybe not so much at the end of the summer when all the vegetation is burnt out by the sun, but in the winter or spring when it is luxuriant and green,
it actually reminds me very much of Brittany which, as you must know, is by far the most beautiful area in France, there you have been warned). The hill might be a little too much for the bikes we keep in the flat, so I prefer to walk it. But it is absolutely charming, especially as it overlooks the Shavei Tzion beach.
Once again, it has all the facilities you can expect from a public beach, including quite a bit of sea sports. it has the reputation of being particularly beautiful and a bit more exclusive. If you ask me, I prefer Akhziv Beach by far, but it might have to do with the fact the first (and so far last) time I went there to actually swim, the sea was really rough
and it was bringing all kind of rubbish, probably from Akko beach which is right on the other side of the bay. We were litterally swimming between empty bags of Bamba, the beloved Israeli snack.
Anyway, this is my personal trauma and I have been told that it is highly unusual. I am, of course, enclined to believe it since you just have to pronounce the name of Shavei Tzion beach to see some delight in the eyes of many Israelis. So I will make sure to go back there to experience it in better conditions. Therefore take notes: if you can spot some serious waves before leaving the flat, you already know that Shavei Tzion is NOT your spot for the day!
One excellent reason to try Shavey Tzion is to go to a place called Breakfast Club for… you can’t invent it… breakfast (although apparently, they also serve lunch).
My advice is to arrive early, right when they open as it is very popular (and for good reasons, the food is fresh and excellent) and it gets very busy.
I was told that the hilly path starts again south of the beach and goes all the way to Akko. I hear it is a beautiful hiking/riding path but make sure you go there with proper riding gear… The bicycle we provide in the flat definitely won’t take you this far!
