Staying on a kibbutz for all or part of your trip to Israel is a great way to touch base with the country’s past. Many of these kibbutzim, communal settlements that originally were farms, helped settle and develop Israel.
Some have photos displayed from the time they were founded, and there may even be some members who still can tell visitors about their community’s development.
Kibbutzim are no longer the Spartan places they were when founded. Now many are like upscale resorts, with all their amenities, like swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness centers, Internet connections, and even spas.
The majority of them are in the country, so you’ll have the benefit of fresh country air as well. They are fantastic places to go to with children.
Meals are bountiful on kibbutzim. Breakfast, and often lunch and dinner, are served smorgasbord style. Many kibbutzim offer their own products like fresh milk, bread baked on site, and even kibbutz made cheeses.
Breakfasts, which are included in the room price, are huge, with a multitude of foods, with offerings of as many as 30 different items.
Since Israel is a small country, kibbutzim can be used as bases from which to tour different areas. Many can be reached by public transportation as well.
Lavi and Ramat Rachel
Two very highly regarded kibbutzim, Lavi, a modern Orthodox kibbutz, and Ramat Rachel, are especially great places at which to stay. The same architect designed the hotels of both.
Lavi is perched on a hill about ten minutes by car or bus from Tiberias, so that staying there can be combined with a visit to that city. Buses stop at the base of the road leading up to the kibbutz.
The hotel is modern and luxurious. The grounds are lush with flowers and trees, and the views looking down on Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee are magnificent.
The kibbutz has a lovely garden with roses, olive trees, and an assortment of other trees and plants. There’s also a huge 2,000-year-old olive press in the garden.
At the foot of the garden are several playgrounds for children and an outdoor area with equipment for exercising. Watching a sunset while sitting on as wing in the garden is an extremely pleasurable way to end the day.
Lavi has a new very large indoor pool with a whirlpool in the pool itself. Floor to ceiling windows offer views of the outdoors. A smaller children’s pool sits just outside the pool building. The pool offers separate swimming times for women and for men, as well as co-ed swimming hours.
Horseback riding is also offered. One of the best pastimes is strolling around the area, in which flowers and bushes bloom seemingly everywhere, and stopping at the barns for the cows and the pastures for the horses. Guests can watch the milking. Bicycles are available.
Lavi is the world’s most prominent builder of synagogue furniture and the factory can be toured as well. Services are held in several area synagogues, as well as in the large synagogue on the grounds.
Ramat Rachel used to be a longer distance from Jerusalem, but the city has crept up to its boundaries. Now it is just three miles from downtown Jerusalem, which makes it a great place to use as a base to tour the city. Several buses leave from its grounds every hour.
Ramat Rachel, like Lavi, is on a hill, which gives 360-degree magnificent views of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It, too, has a modern and luxurious hotel.
Its dining room is extremely spacious and airy with floor to ceiling windows. Small birds fly in and out continually, which makes you feel that you are part of nature.
The kibbutz has a semi-Olympic sized swimming pool, which is covered and heated in the winter. A pool for children, a sauna, and a whirlpool are also on the grounds. There’s even an outdoor water slide for children, or adults for that matter.
The kibbutz’s farm is a perfect place for a family outing. Small animals are on the farm and there are workshops in compost making, creating mud sculptures, or learning about the flora and fauna of the kibbutz.
Both kibbutzim have workout places, with Ramat Rachel’s occupying a large portion of a building. Workout classes are also offered here.
A 3,000-year-old archeological site is on the grounds of the kibbutz as well, and visitors can either meander around it alone or with an organized tour.
If you want to see how the kibbutz developed, a series of photos on the history of the kibbutz is displayed in the hotel lobby. Ramat Rachel also has a sophisticated spa for guests.
A kibbutz stay is definitely an excellent way to go on your first or tenth trip to Israel.
Arlene Becker Zarmi is a freelance writer whose work has been published in more than 40 publications nationwide. She was also the producer and host of a travel TV show for Viacom, and is a Jewish genre and portrait artist. She lives with her husband, Rabbi Avi Zarmi, in Shorewood.
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