$1 = 10 NIS at Toys R Us

The weak dollar is hurting us all. All of us except importers from the US, that is. So, on your next trip to the states - buy that nice box of lego or the Jansport back to school bags. They are priced in Israel according to:
$1 = 10 NIS or shekel = dime. Approximately.
I [...]

Zipcar - More Convenient and Greener than Avis, etc.

Recently tried Zipcar as an alternative to traditional car rental. It is worth it in cities that have good public transportation, expensive car rental and hard to find (expensive) parking. New York, Boston and Washington DC, definitely qualify. LA , San Jose and Dallas do not.
The idea is that most of your meetings and your [...]

Take My Wife, Please …….. or A Good ElAl Offer Does Not Come Every Day

Actually, your wife, or husband or kid, or ME.
What seems to be a good deal from ElAl has just been announced. Buy one business class ticket and get the second at a very reduced price. $499 to NY/ $699 to LA (plus give up 200 - 400 worthless points). Valid from now till the end [...]

Free Ticket for your Kids 18th Birthday

It turns out my readers like the free stuff - so here is our best one yet:

Your kid turns 18 and he or she is headed to the army or whatever. Time for a free trip. Step by step process would make Abbie Hoffman proud.
Step 1: Sign up for American Airlines (should have done that [...]

Free Mobile Phone in US

Probably most TLV2JFK readers live a double life - besides taking the kids to school in Ranana - offices in the city, house in Teaneck, family in Queens and of course, a US Cellphone. I don’t - my office, house, family and bank account are all in Ranana. But I needed a phone for a [...]

elal airfare increase

Just got an email from ElAl - due to $117 oil, fares go up on average 6.5% on May 1. This reflects the overal trend in the airline industry.
SO, if you have already booked a flight - buy it before May 1.
Of course, check cancellation policy and change fee if that may be a possibility.
And [...]

Cheap Dollar - Buy in USA

My parents would always return from US with 14 suitcases loaded with clothes, shoes, toys, tuna, plastic bags, etc. The zionist reality did not include purchasing low quality expensive stuff in Israel.
While I like a nice trip to the Galleria as much as the next woman - in the past few years buying in the [...]

Searching for cheaper airfare

I guess that looking for cheaper airfares is always a priority for the traveler even though there are quite a few parameters that are important too when making travel arrangements. But let us admit it once and for all - there is no thrill like the thrill you get when you know that the guy [...]

Priceline- Cheapest car rental in JFK- sometimes

Using Priceline to rent cars is the way to go in JFK- in the range of $25 to $35 per day- not including insurance- However despite the claim on Priceline site that cars can be picked up a few hours before the official time - in reality on my last trip to NY- the car [...]

Pesach Airfare Price Drop

I thought I was being smart ordering my Pesach tickets in advance (1 month ago). I paid $1200-$1300 a person (times 6!). I bought the tickets on Expedia, as an elite member and 2 days ago I found better flights for $1000 each. It seems like ElAl has taken the unusual step of dropping [...]

Great report on Turkish Airways (including electric outlets on planes)

I selected them because they were the cheapest by far when flying with only 3 days notice. They certainly have come a long way since I flew them from Bangkok with 400 Thai workers all smoking.
Plane was a brand new A330-200. Individual screens (Rain Main, The Fugitive) and electric outlets - so you can keep [...]

ElAl hidden bargains

It turns out that not only is the on-board security man well hidden, so are their good deals. Its only on the Hebrew version of the site. It is called “Spontani” and is kind of last minute. Kind of, since sometimes there are deals for the next 72 hours only and sometimes way in [...]

Car Rental Dropoff Charges

At $18 a day you don’t have to be Agatha Christie to figure out that Avis is not making money on the rental fee. We know they make it on insurance and gas (”we will refill for $7 a gallon” - if you are lazy enough). Now - beware the drop-off fee scam. You rented [...]

Turkish or Olympic to JFK - Best Price

Going to NY this week on short notice. All flights were in the $2000 range. Looked on Kayak and then booked on Turkish Airlines for under $1200. Flight is very convenient - leaves at 530a and arrives in NY 2p. Return 4p (next day). 2 hours in Istanbul. I did the booking on Turkish website [...]

Best Seats

More than any other airline, Elal seems to have a completely uneven seat distribution in their coach section. Some seats seem to have all the room (pitchwise) in the world and some wouldn’t hold my seven year old comfortably. I always seem to get the squished ones! Where are the good ones and how do [...]