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Get around Haifa
Get around Haifa
Unlike other major cities in Israel, local buses (but not the Carmelit subway) run on Friday nights (between 10.30pm and 5am) Saturdays and other Jewish holy days; however, they only operate minimal and highly infrequent services during these hours. The "sherut" (taxi van with fixed routes and prices) also runs on Saturdays in parallel with some bus routes, and is much more frequent.
Haifa has two main bus terminals where passengers can switch between inter-city buses and trains to the local routes operated by Egged bus company .
The two stations are:
Mercazit HaMifratz ? (bay area hub) connecting Haifa with the Krayot (northern suburbs) and the Galilee. Located near Lev HaMifraz train station.
Mercazit Hof HaCarmel ? (Carmel coast hub) connecting Haifa with southern destinations, like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Located near Hof HaCarmel train station.
Bus in Haifa run regularly between 5am and midnight Sunday to Thursday (stops at around 4pm on Friday) and cost 6.40 nis per journey. Connecting bus fare is included if used within an hour and twenty minutes (ask for "kartis ma'avar").
A night bus route runs from midnight-5am and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30pm-5am. During the peak period (summertime) this route runs every night, but in the off-peak season it only runs on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
If you intend to use the bus regularly ask the driver for a "Cartisiyah" punch ticket (51.20 nis) which gives you 10 journeys for the price of 8. There are also monthly passes available if purchased during the first few days of the month, but there are no week or day passes.
Haifa has a subway: the Carmelit funicular. It is the only subway in Israel. It is useful for getting up or down the mountain from downtown, but it only extends to a small part of Haifa. If you need to go further, you can buy a ticket which includes a transfer to a bus for the remainder of your journey, though it's probably more convenient to just take a bus the whole way. However, the Carmelit is worth taking for fun, to see its weird angled structure (steps in the stations and train cars, made necessary by the steepness of the mountain). The Carmelit has few riders, so you'll always find a seat.
The Carmelit has six stations listed here as they go downhill:
Gan Ha'em ? in the Carmel Center, adjacent to the Haifa Zoo, the Louis Promenade (with a beautiful view of the Haifa Bay, the Haifa Auditorium and Cinematheque, and many shops and hotels.
Bnei Zion ? in Golomb street, near the Bnei Zion (formerly known as Rothschild) Hospital and the Bahá'í World Centre (see below).
Massada ? Upper Hadar HaCarmel, home to an up and coming artists' neighbourhood with many antique shops, second-hand book stores, bars and coffee shops. Also not far from Nordau Street, a pedestrian mall which has seen its better days. Close to the National Science Museum.
HaNevi'im ? near HaNevi'im, Herzl and HaHalutz streets, and their shops, offices. Close to the Haifa Museum of Art and Wadi Nisnas pedestrian area.
Solel Boneh ? near Ha'atzmaut park, and the Haifa city hall.
Kikar Paris (Paris Square) ? downtown. Near government buildings and courthouse, Ha'atzmaut street, walking distance to Haifa Merkaz train station and Haifa port.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Haifa
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Haifa - updated May 2024
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Haifa Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.