Eilat Red Sea Resorts, Diving and Winter Sun

October to May is the high season, with days in the 70s and 80s °F and very little rain. Summer is intensely hot, often above 100°F, though the sea stays inviting and resort pools are busy with families. Spring and autumn bring the bird migrations.

Ramon Airport (ETM), about 11 miles north of the town, receives domestic flights from Tel Aviv of about an hour, as well as seasonal flights from Europe. Many visitors simply fly into Ben Gurion, connect domestically and transfer to their resort in 20 minutes. Private aircraft can use Ramon, and a private driver can make the four-hour desert drive from Tel Aviv a scenic part of the trip. Our pages on private jets and arriving privately have more.

Eilat is one of the easiest places in the world to learn to dive: the water is calm and clear, the reefs start close to shore, and the dive centers are long established. Beginners can take an introductory dive at the Coral Beach area, while certified divers visit sites such as the Japanese Gardens and the wreck of the Satil, a former naval vessel sunk as an artificial reef. The Coral World Underwater Observatory lets non-divers see the reef from a glass-walled room below the surface.

On land, hike the colored sandstone of Red Canyon, visit Timna Park with its towering rock formations and ancient copper mines, or take a sunset camel ride in the hills. Dolphin Reef offers supervised encounters with a resident pod in an open sea enclosure. For more ideas, see our pages on diving and the outdoors and desert camps and lodges.

Across the gulf, Aqaba's Red Sea resorts and the Wadi Rum desert make Eilat a natural part of a wider Red Sea journey. Back north, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are about an hour away by air via Ben Gurion Airport.