Israel’s Top 5 Wheelchair-Accessible Tourist Attractions
November 17th 2014
If you’re planning a trip to Israel with someone in a wheelchair or dependent on a walker, it’s easy to get discouraged by how many sites are not accessible. Don’t be disheartened. There are plenty of places to visit that are comfortable for tourists in wheelchairs. Here are our top five picks, but we’ve got plenty more, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Inside this theme park, which extends over 15 acres, visitors step into a 1:25 scale version of Israel, with over 385 exact replicas of some of the country’s most important historic, architectural, religious, social and archeological sites. Motorized carts are available for visitors who can’t walk long distances, and the park is completely wheelchair accessible. Mini Israel is located near Latrun, not far from Ben Gurion airport.
With ten separate exhibition areas and off-site installations, there is no larger, more comprehensive art and history museum in Israel than the Israel Museum. Wheelchair-accessible places include the museum’s entrance pavilion, the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display, and the amazing Model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. Wheelchairs are available in the Entrance Pavilion. The Israel Museum is located in Jerusalem, just one block away from the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
This Jerusalem museum tells the story of the Holocaust, with an emphasis on individual victims and survivors. It makes Holocaust history come alive through personal stories, original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions. Yad Vashem welcomes mobility-challenged visitors, and wheelchairs are available for loan here. Special parking is available as well.
If you’re looking for an outdoor activity, try the Afrikef Monkey Park. In all, there are 250 species of monkeys living in the Ben Shemen Forest’s Monkey Park. There is even a specially designed section, a large area that has been fenced in, where monkeys from South America and visitors to the Monkey Park can commune with no bars between them. All sections of the Money Park, located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, are accessible to those in wheelchairs.
The mission of this institution is to tell the 4,000-year-old, worldwide story of the Jewish people. The entire museum is accessible to mobility-challenged visitors, including special wheelchair-friendly parking and elevators. The Diaspora Museum is located on the campus of Tel Aviv University. 
Don’t let accessibility concerns keep you from enjoying an amazing trip to Israel. There are wheelchair-friendly sites and attractions here to match every interest.
