EILAT, ISRAEL

A resort town of 20,000 and bustling port, combining sea and desert, Eilat lies at Israel’s southernmost tip. The sun always shines in Eilat (it rains about a half dozen days a year) and the average daytime temperatures rarely dip below 70°F (21°C), even in winter. During the summer, temperatures can soar well above 100°F and the water can feel almost like a Jacuzzi. Even in mid-winter, the average daytime water temperature stays above 68°F (20°C). Make sure to drink lots of water, keep your head covered and wear sun screen (your mother asked me to put this in).

Unless you’re going by plane from Tel Aviv (an hour flight), it’s a very long schlep (about a four hour drive from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem), but one you’ll be glad you took, especially if you’re into water sports. Eilat is a great place for water skiing and swimming. The calm surface of the sea is also ideal for boating activities: sailboats, rowboats, kayaks and motor boats.

The main attraction of Eilat is diving in the Red Sea (actually an inlet from the sea known as the Gulf of Eilat or Aqaba), one of the world’s most spectacular underwater preserves. You can see brightly colored coral and fish and may see everything from a venomous lionfish to a moray eel to a shark to a sea turtle to a manta ray.

Even if you’re not a diver, you can enjoy the magnificent coral reef from the surface with a snorkel and mask or on a glass-bottom boat ride (though you usually don’t see nearly as much). If you want a really unique view (and don’t mind spending the money), try an underwater safari in a submarine (yup, it’s a real one) that holds 50 people and takes you 200 feet below the surface.  And, if you’re really a landlubber, there’s the Coral World Underwater Observatory that lets you enjoy the wonders of the Sea as if it were an aquarium. One of only four in the world, the observatory offers a kaleidoscopic view of the reef and sea life 15 feet below the surface. One of the newer Eilat attractions is Dolphin Reef, where you can swim and dive with dolphins.

And there’s plenty of activities outside the water, including rappelling on craggy cliffs of the desert mountains, hiking in the desert and mountain biking.

Less well-known is the fact that Eilat is one of the best places in the world for bird watching. Approximately one billion birds traverse the area between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan mountains, making southern Israel the site of one of the greatest concentrations of migrating birds in the world. The migration from Europe to Africa takes place from September to November and the return flight begins in March and lasts through May. Eilat is the headquarters for the International Birdwatching Center.

If the searing heat hasn’t sapped all your energy, Eilat is also known as a great place to party at night with lots of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. It’s also a good place to shop because the city is a free trade zone with no VAT.