Just returned from a family trip to Tel Aviv and had an urge to share this tip.
I found it quite a challenge to Google a credible looking and reasonably priced van service from the centre of Tel Aviv to the not so distant Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).
We traveled as a group of seven, including a child needing a booster seat, leaving for the airport at 2 am. I therefore did not feel like dealing with ordering regular taxis - we would have needed two, the child seat and large cars to fit our luggage. Their pricing, although heavily regulated, involves all sorts of separate charges (late night, luggage, number of passengers, child seat...). I could not find any sherut (shared van) service between Tel Aviv and the airport.
Upon a lot of searching I chanced upon a service called Satas. I phoned them at +972 3 532 7901. The person who answered spoke reasonably good English but transferred me on to Nadab, whose English was even better. He arranged a van for us (to fit seven but there were actually 11 seats) and quoted a rate of NIS 270 (about EUR 55 or USD 70 at exchange rates prevalent in October 2012).
I was actually incredulous and had him confirm it several times making sure there were no hidden extras. This rate was comparable to the ideal case scenario of two cabs not overcharging us.
Nadav emailed me a direct contact for the van driver. A nice large van showed up on time to pick us up in central Tel Aviv and drove us to the Ben Gurion Airport (serving both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as Israel's main international airport) in less than a half hour (of course this was in the middle of the night so with no traffic).
The helpful and patient driver asked for that NIS 270 (and earned a nice tip, too). Found this great and decided to blog about it to perhaps make this Tel Aviv airport shuttle service easier to find for those who need it. Please note the website actually quotes higher rate than what we were charged and they offer services all around Israel, not just to Tel Aviv.
Wednesday 17 October 2012
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