Eilat is one of the few short-haul destinations where you can rely on average temperatures from December to February of 21C-24C and should therefore be a major winter sun destination in the UK market.
In reality, the resort suffers from a lack of awareness among agents who are more familiar and inclined to promote the Canaries or mainland Spain’s Costa Blanca or Costa Del Sol, even though average temperatures in these destinations are around five to 10 degrees lower.
But Egypt’s Red Sea resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada are also proving to be strong competitors.
Eilat has had a hard time trying to shrug off the bad publicity it suffered last season when Thomson evacuated its clients from the resort. The action was taken on Foreign Office advice against travelling to Israel after military escalation in the Gulf.
Tour operators say it is too early to judge how well the resort will sell this winter, but most echo JMC group product manager Alex Babic’s view that bookings are slow.
Longwood Holidays managing director Rafi Caplin said:”People are asking about Eilat but I don’t think it will be an early-booking market.”
Peltours managing director Stuart Lewis added: “The problem will be convincing agents that it is safe to sell. We are trying to get that message across but it is also good news that Thomson has renewed its programme to the region. We need them in to act as an anchor.”
Apart from the reliable weather and wide choice of hotels – a building boom in the past three years has added hundreds of new rooms and there are still several hotels due to come on line .
But activities are one of Eilat’s biggest selling points. The resort is best known for its scuba diving which gives visitors the opportunity to explore the colourful coral and vast array of fish in the Red Sea. Agents can get advice about diving from ground operator Red Sea Sports Club’s new UK-based sales and marketing manager Samantha Scarpa and courses for both beginners and experienced divers can be pre-booked with most operators.
Regal Diving Holidays has added the resort for this winter, offering the Ambassador and Red Sea Sports Club Hotels from £439 for one week and six-day dive packages for experienced divers from £75.
A five-day Professional Association of Diving Instructors learn-to-dive package with Unijet costs £142, plus £60 payable locally for a medical, X-ray, certification and log book. Holidaymakers can also see below the waves from one of the glass-bottomed boats, go snorkelling, visit the Coral World attraction and go to the bottom of the Red Sea in a yellow submarine for £43 per person.
Water sports available include windsurfing, jet skiing, waterskiing and parasailing, and you can hire canoes, paddle boats and motorboats. Cost for a 30mins waterskiing lesson is about £38.
Away from the water, visitors can explore the Negev desert, either by camel or horse, or take a four-wheel-jeep safari. Activities can be booked in resort with Red Sea Sports Club – a half-day guided jeep safari costs £23 per person.
Eilat is also a good base to visit other parts of Israel, Petra in Jordan, or Egypt’s Sinai Desert and Cairo.
Peltours offers a day trip to Petra for about £85 – prices are based on dollars so they fluctuate – plus about £45 for a visa, border taxes and tips. A two-day trip to Jerusalem, including one night’s accommodation, costs about £122 per person. Both tours can be pre-booked.
Thomson offers a seven-night Holyland Tour from Eilat that visits the Dead Sea, the Galilee and Jerusalem from £559 per person half-board.
Flights: scheduled – El Al twice a week from London and Manchester. Charters – Monarch weekly from Luton; Air 2000 weekly from Gatwick; Britannia weekly from Luton, Manchester and Gatwick.
Check-in time: 3hrs required by El Al to give it time to complete the security check, otherwise two hours. Passengers upgraded to El Al’s Club Eilat (£298 return with Peltours) have 1hr check-in.
Flight time: 5hrs from London.
Transfer time: 45mins from Ovda Airport.
Season: October to April.
Average daily temperature: October – 34C; November – 27C; December – 25C; January – 22C, February – 23C, March – 27C, April – 30C.
Accommodation: sample five-star deluxe hotels* include Royal Beach, Dan Eilat, Herod’s Sheraton Resort, Eilat Princess. Sample five-star hotels*: King Solomon’s Palace, Sheraton Moriah Plaza, Howard Johnson Plaza Neptune. Sample four-star hotels*: Lagoona, Sport (both all-inclusive), Sheraton Eilat, Orchid. Sample three-star hotels*: Patio, Reef, Vista.
Visa: none needed.
Vaccinations: none needed.
* Please note: Israel does not have an official star rating. Samples are based on operators’ own ratings.