Tel Aviv sits in the centre of a small country and the day-trip options run in every direction. Jerusalem is forty-five minutes by direct train and an obvious priority for any non-Jerusalem visitor — half a day is the absolute minimum, a full day is more realistic, and an overnight is better still. The Old City, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and the Mahane Yehuda market are the standard stops.
Caesarea, with its Crusader fort and beachside Roman aqueduct on the coast, is half an hour north by train. Haifa and the Bahai Gardens are an hour and a half. Beit She'arim and the Galilee start at about two hours. South, the Dead Sea is about two hours by car (no direct public transport), and Masada and Ein Gedi can be combined as a single long day.
For something lighter, Herzliya (north Tel Aviv suburb) has a beach and the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, twenty minutes by suburban train. Givatayim and Ramat Gan, the city's eastern suburbs, hold the Diamond Exchange district and the Safari Park.
