Caesarea · Getting there
Getting to Caesarea
Kavim line 80 links Binyamina railway station to the national park gate nine times on a weekday, and not once on a Saturday.
Bus calls at the park gate
27
Arrivals at the Caesarea National Park stop across Kavim lines 7, 9א, 76 and 80 on Wednesday 12 August 2026
Bus calls on a Saturday
0
Nothing at all at either park stop on Saturday 8 August 2026; the first train back into Binyamina was 18:53
Tel Aviv to the nearest station
48 min
Savidor Center 08:00 to Caesarea-Pardes Hanna 08:48 on the Ashkelon to Binyamina suburban service
Station to the park gate
20 min
Kavim line 80 from the terminal beside Caesarea-Pardes Hanna station to the Caesarea National Park stop
Caesarea has a railway station of its own and it is no use to you. Caesarea-Pardes Hanna sits at the eastern edge of the northern industrial park, several kilometres inland from the ruins, and the other candidate, Binyamina, is inland and north. The shore where Herod put his harbour is reached from either of them by one bus, Kavim line 80, which runs between the two stations and calls at a stop named Caesarea National Park on the way. Everything about arriving here without a car is really a question about that bus.
The park itself is easy to drive to. The Caesarea Development Corporation lists Highways 2, 4 and 6 as the approaches; the Israel Nature and Parks Authority says to come off the Coastal Road at the junction near the Orot Rabin power station, or off the old road, or through Or Akiva, and to type 'Caesarea National Park' into Waze rather than trusting the town name. From north Tel Aviv that is about an hour outside the peak.
The catch that ruins more visits than any other is the week's shape. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last train called at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna at 13:55 and the last bus left the park gate at 13:02. On the Saturday there were no buses at the gate at all, and no train touched either station until the evening. The national park was open that Saturday, from eight in the morning, exactly as the parks authority publishes.
7 ways in
Every realistic way to reach Caesarea
Door to door, in the order you actually do it, with the catch stated rather than buried.
| From | How | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tel Aviv | Train and bus | About 1 hour 45 minutes door to door on a weekday, including the wait for the bus and the walk down to the gate | ₪39 for a daily pass covering bus and train in the 40 to 75 kilometre band, in the fare table published for the July 2024 update |
| Tel Aviv | Car | About an hour from north Tel Aviv outside the peak | n/a |
| Ben Gurion Airport | Train and bus | About 2 hours 15 minutes door to door, with no train change and one bus | n/a |
| Jerusalem | Train and bus | Around 2 hours 45 minutes, most of the difference from Tel Aviv being the change and the two waits | n/a |
| Haifa | Train and bus | About 1 hour 15 minutes from Hof HaCarmel, most of it spent waiting rather than moving | n/a |
| Hadera | Intercity bus | About 40 minutes from Hadera Central Bus Station to the park gate, with no change | ₪6 for a single bus trip inside the 15 kilometre band, in the fare table published for the July 2024 update |
| Tel Aviv or Jerusalem | Organised tour | A full day, from a pickup before dawn in Jerusalem or after seven in Tel Aviv, with Caesarea as the first of several stops | n/a |
Tel Aviv to Caesarea
Train and busAbout 1 hour 45 minutes door to door on a weekday, including the wait for the bus and the walk down to the gate- 1From Tel Aviv Savidor Center, take a northbound suburban train on the Ashkelon to Binyamina line. Trains called at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna every 30 minutes on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- 2Stay on to Caesarea-Pardes Hanna, the last stop before Binyamina. The 08:00 from Savidor Center reached it at 08:48 in that timetable.
- 3Leave the platform for the bus terminal beside the station and take Kavim line 80, signed for Binyamina railway station.
- 4Ride 20 minutes to the stop called Caesarea National Park, on Rothschild Boulevard above the site, then walk down to the northern gate.
- 5For the Roman theatre instead, stay on one more stop to Amphitheatre.
The catch. The bus sets the day, not the train. Line 80 left Caesarea-Pardes Hanna seven times on Wednesday 12 August 2026, at 05:00, 07:00, 08:55, 11:05, 12:35, 14:05 and 16:05. Miss one and the gap to the next is between ninety minutes and two hours.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →Tel Aviv to Caesarea
CarAbout an hour from north Tel Aviv outside the peak- 1Leave Tel Aviv northbound on Highway 2, the Coastal Road. The development corporation also lists Highways 4 and 6 as approaches to Caesarea.
- 2Follow the parks authority's own instruction and navigate to 'Caesarea National Park' in Waze rather than to the town, which is spread over several kilometres.
- 3Come off the Coastal Road at the junction near the Orot Rabin power station, or off the old road, or in through Or Akiva.
- 4Follow Rothschild Boulevard down towards the shore and park at the gate you mean to start from: the theatre at the southern end, the harbour and Crusader walls at the northern.
- 5Drive north separately, on its own road, for the aqueduct beach. It cannot be reached from inside the ticketed park.
The catch. On Saturdays and holidays the parks authority says entry is on the basis of available space and recommends arriving early. Neither it nor the development corporation publishes a parking charge, so check at the gate rather than assuming.
Timetable and fares at en.parks.org.il →Ben Gurion Airport to Caesarea
Train and busAbout 2 hours 15 minutes door to door, with no train change and one bus- 1Go down to Ben Gurion Airport railway station beneath the terminal.
- 2Board a Modiin Center to Nahariya train, which runs through the airport and up the coast without a change. The 09:05 from the airport reached Binyamina at 10:01 on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- 3At Binyamina, leave the station on the HaTahana side, where the bus stops are.
- 4Take Kavim line 80 towards Caesarea-Pardes Hanna railway station. The 10:15 was at the Caesarea National Park stop at 10:36.
- 5Walk down from Rothschild Boulevard to the northern gate, or stay on one stop to Amphitheatre for the theatre.
The catch. The trains do not wait for the bus and the bus is thin. Line 80 left Binyamina nine times that Wednesday, at 04:15, 05:45, 07:50, 10:15, 11:40, 13:10, 15:10, 16:45 and 18:15. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last one was 12:00.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →Jerusalem to Caesarea
Train and busAround 2 hours 45 minutes, most of the difference from Tel Aviv being the change and the two waits- 1From Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon, take a Herzliya train. It calls at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv HaHagana, HaShalom and Savidor Center.
- 2Change at Tel Aviv Savidor Center. The 09:09 from Navon was there at 09:50 on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- 3Take the next northbound Ashkelon to Binyamina suburban train. The 10:00 from Savidor Center called at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna at 10:48.
- 4Cross to the bus terminal beside the station and take Kavim line 80 to the Caesarea National Park stop, about 20 minutes.
- 5Walk down to the northern gate.
The catch. No train out of Jerusalem runs north of Herzliya, so the change is unavoidable and the connection is what the day turns on: an arrival at 10:48 catches line 80 at 11:05, and the one after that is 12:35.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →Haifa to Caesarea
Train and busAbout 1 hour 15 minutes from Hof HaCarmel, most of it spent waiting rather than moving- 1Board a southbound train at Haifa Hof HaCarmel. Both the Nahariya to Modiin through trains and the coastal services call at Binyamina.
- 2Ride to Binyamina. The 08:03 from Hof HaCarmel was in at 08:26 on Wednesday 12 August 2026, calling only at Atlit on the way.
- 3Leave on the HaTahana side and take Kavim line 80 towards Caesarea-Pardes Hanna.
- 4Ride 21 minutes to the Caesarea National Park stop and walk down to the gate.
The catch. Egged line 202 runs all the way from Haifa Hof HaCarmel central station to Caesarea-Pardes Hanna and calls at Binyamina station on the way, but it took 40 minutes to Binyamina against the train's 23 and threads through Zichron Ya'akov to do it.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →Hadera to Caesarea
Intercity busAbout 40 minutes from Hadera Central Bus Station to the park gate, with no change- 1Go to Hadera Central Bus Station, or pick the line up at the Mix complex on Tzahal Street.
- 2Take Kavim line 76 towards Kibbutz Sdot Yam. It is the only line reaching the park gate that does not start at a railway station.
- 3Ride out of Hadera and down Rothschild Boulevard. The return leg from Sdot Yam to Hadera Central took 38 minutes on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- 4Get off at Caesarea National Park, or at Amphitheatre one stop later for the Roman theatre gate.
The catch. Line 76 called at the park stop six times towards Sdot Yam that Wednesday: 04:08, 06:03, 09:08, 12:23, 15:28 and 17:18. The 15:28 is the last arrival that can be admitted, because the parks authority closes entry an hour before the 17:00 summer closing time, and the 17:18 arrives after the park has shut.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to Caesarea
Organised tourA full day, from a pickup before dawn in Jerusalem or after seven in Tel Aviv, with Caesarea as the first of several stops- 1Book a coastal day tour. Bein Harim's Caesarea, Acre and Rosh Hanikra tour is the standing example and picks up in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Herzliya.
- 2Be at the published pickup point on time: the operator lists 07:15 in Tel Aviv, 06:00 in Jerusalem and 07:00 in Herzliya.
- 3Expect Caesarea first and briefly. The operator's itinerary lists the national park and the Roman theatre among six sites across the day, alongside the Bahai gardens in Haifa, the Rosh Hanikra grottoes and the Crusader city at Acre.
- 4Check the departure days before booking anything else around it. Bein Harim lists this tour on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The catch. A tour only solves the Shabbat problem if it runs on Shabbat, and this one does not. Egged Tours, the other name travellers often arrive with, has taken its website down and now says it takes enquiries by email only.
Timetable and fares at beinharimtours.com →
The car
A hire car buys the aqueduct and the timetable back
For one day out of a trip otherwise spent in cities, driving to Caesarea is the defensible choice, and the argument is not about speed. It is about what else the day contains. The high-level aqueduct on the sand lies north of the ticketed park on its own road, unreachable from inside the site. By car it is ten minutes and a decision; by bus it is Kavim line 7, which runs from Or Akiva to a terminus called Aqueduct Beach and called there six times on Wednesday 12 August 2026, the last return from the terminus leaving at 15:00.
The second argument is the shape of the site. Caesarea National Park runs along the shore with the Roman theatre at the southern end and the harbour and Crusader walls at the northern, and the walk between them is the visit rather than a chore to be avoided. A car does not shorten that walk. What it does is let you arrive at whichever gate suits, leave when the light goes, and drive north to the arches afterwards instead of watching the clock for a bus.
Against that: the parks authority warns that on Saturdays and holidays entry is on the basis of available space and recommends arriving early, which is a queueing problem a car does not solve. Neither the parks authority nor the development corporation publishes a parking charge on its own pages, so treat the cost as unknown until the gate rather than assuming it is nothing. And if the rest of the trip is car-free, hiring one for a single day to see a site that a train and a bus reach in under two hours is a real expense set against a modest gain.
The system
One card, five distance bands, and a weekend that closes early
Israeli public transport runs on the Rav-Kav, a stored-value card used on buses and trains alike. Since the Derekh Shava reform of August 2022 the fare is not a route price but a distance price: bands of up to 15, 40, 75, 120 and 225 kilometres, computed as air distance, with a separate column for rail. In the table published for the July 2024 update a single bus trip inside the shortest band was ₪6 and the equivalent train trip ₪9.50; in the 40 to 75 kilometre band the same two were ₪17 and ₪25.
That matters for Caesarea because a car-free day here is four legs, not one: train out, bus in, bus back, train home. The same table prices a daily pass covering bus and train inside the 40 to 75 kilometre band at ₪39, against ₪25 for a single train ride at that distance. Two train singles alone exceed the day pass, before either bus. Buy the day, not the journeys, and buy it before leaving the city rather than at a rural bus stop.
The weekend is the part no fare table shows. Intercity buses and trains stop through Shabbat, from Friday afternoon until Saturday night, and Caesarea is far enough from anywhere to feel it fully. In the timetable for Friday 7 August 2026 the last line 80 departure from Binyamina station was 12:00 and from Caesarea-Pardes Hanna 11:00; southbound trains from Caesarea-Pardes Hanna ran hourly at a quarter to the hour and finished at 13:17. Service resumed on Saturday evening, at 18:53 into Binyamina and 18:57 at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna, hours after the park had closed.
The railway
Two stations that are not interchangeable
Caesarea-Pardes Hanna opened on 1 July 2001 as part of the Tel Aviv to Binyamina suburban service, and that is still what it is: a suburban stop, with two side platforms, that most intercity trains run straight through. On Wednesday 12 August 2026 it saw 71 calls, southbound ones at eleven and forty-one minutes past every hour from 02:41 to 20:11. If you are coming up the coast from Tel Aviv, Rehovot or Ashkelon, this is your station, and the bus terminal is beside the platforms.
Binyamina is the opposite. It takes the through trains, including the Modiin to Nahariya service that runs via Ben Gurion Airport, and it saw roughly twice as many calls on the same Wednesday. If you are arriving from the airport, from Haifa, or from Jerusalem after a change, Binyamina is where the train you are already on will stop. The bus stops sit on the HaTahana side of the station.
Line 80 stitches the two together and passes the park gate in the middle, which is why it appears in every route below. Its weakness is frequency. On Wednesday 12 August 2026 it left Binyamina at 04:15, 05:45, 07:50, 10:15, 11:40, 13:10, 15:10, 16:45 and 18:15, and left Caesarea-Pardes Hanna at 05:00, 07:00, 08:55, 11:05, 12:35, 14:05 and 16:05. Nine and seven departures respectively, on a line running between two railway stations: plan the day around those figures and the rest follows.
On arrival
Which stop to get off at, and what walking distance really means here
The bus lines call at two stops that both serve the site. Caesarea National Park, on Rothschild Boulevard above the northern end, puts you a short walk from the Crusader gate, the harbour and the visitor centre in the vaults. Amphitheatre, one stop further south, is the one for the Roman theatre. Lines 7, 76 and 80 all call at both, in that order heading south, so the choice costs nothing but a minute and decides which end of the site you start from.
Start at the theatre and walk north and the day works: the arena, the promontory palace and the ancient city are behind you by the time you reach the harbour front, where the shade, the water and the food are. Start at the harbour and you finish at a theatre with no cafe, then walk back. The buses run in both directions past both stops, so either ending is a viable one.
The one thing that is genuinely out of reach on foot is the aqueduct. It is north of the ticketed park, on its own beach, and the only bus that goes is line 7 from Or Akiva, which terminates there. Everything else in Caesarea, the harbour restaurants, the beach, the shops on Rothschild, sits within the same corridor the buses already run down, so once you are here a taxi is a convenience rather than a necessity, at least until the last bus.
Practical
What to know before you go
- Work backwards from the last bus. On Wednesday 12 August 2026 the final line 80 call at the park gate was 18:36 heading for Caesarea-Pardes Hanna and 16:25 heading for Binyamina.
- The two stations are not interchangeable. Caesarea-Pardes Hanna takes the suburban trains up the coast; Binyamina takes the through trains from Nahariya, Modiin and Ben Gurion Airport.
- Get off at Amphitheatre rather than Caesarea National Park if you want to start at the Roman theatre. It is the next stop south on lines 7, 76 and 80.
- For the aqueduct, Kavim line 7 runs from Or Akiva to a terminus called Aqueduct Beach and calls at the park on the way. It ran six times towards the beach on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- Check whether the day you have picked is a Friday. Trains stopped calling at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna at 13:55 on Friday 7 August 2026 and did not start again until 18:57 the following evening.
- Load a day pass rather than singles. Four legs at the published July 2024 single fares cost more than the ₪39 daily pass for bus and train in the same distance band.
- The parks authority asks visitors to type 'Caesarea National Park' into Waze rather than navigating to the town, which spreads over several kilometres of boulevard and business park.
- Bring water and a hat for the bus stop as well as the site. The park gate stop sits on an open boulevard, and the site between the theatre and the harbour has almost no shade.
The figures
Numbers behind this page
Each figure carries the year it belongs to and links the source it came from.
| Measure | Figure | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kavim line 80 departures from Binyamina station | 9 on a weekday, 6 on Friday | 2026-08 | open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il |
| Line 80, Caesarea-Pardes Hanna station to the park gate | 20 minutes | 2026-08 | open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il |
| Last bus call at the park gate, Friday | 13:02 | 2026-08-07 | open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il |
| Train calls at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna, weekday | 71 | 2026-08-12 | open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il |
| Southbound trains from Caesarea-Pardes Hanna, weekday | Every 30 minutes, 02:41 to 20:11 | 2026-08-12 | open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il |
| Single bus fare, journeys up to 15 km | ₪6 | 2024-07 | ravkavonline.co.il |
| Daily pass, bus and train, 40 to 75 km band | ₪39 | 2024-07 | ravkavonline.co.il |
| Adult admission, Caesarea National Park | ₪46 | 2026-08 | en.parks.org.il |
The rest of the Caesarea guide
Sources and further reading
Every link below was opened and checked when this page was written. Official statements are marked as such: they are the subject's own account, not an independent one.
- OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityen.parks.org.ilCaesarea National Park
The park's own directions from the Coastal Road, the Orot Rabin junction and Or Akiva, the Waze instruction, the opening hours and the ₪46 adult price
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comGetting To and Around Caesarea
Names Highways 2, 4 and 6 as the approaches and lists lines 80, 9, 76 and night line 263 as the bus service to the town
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comTransportation
The same bus lines described for residents, with line 80 given as the link to both the Binyamina and Caesarea-Pardes Hanna stations
- OfficialNational Public Transport Authority, Ministry of Transportbus.gov.ilJourney planner and line search
The state journey planner, cited as the operator-side timetable for every bus and train route on this page
- OfficialRav-Kav Onlineravkavonline.co.ilPublic transport fare update July 2024
The fare table by distance band: ₪6 and ₪9.50 singles in the shortest band, ₪17 and ₪25 in the 40 to 75 km band, ₪39 for the combined daily pass
- OfficialRav-Kav Onlineravkavonline.co.ilThe Derekh Shava reform in public transport
How the August 2022 reform replaced route pricing with air-distance bands of 15, 40, 75, 120 and 225 km
- OfficialBein Harim Tourism Servicesbeinharimtours.comCaesarea, Acre and Rosh Hanikra Tour
Pickup times of 07:15 in Tel Aviv, 06:00 in Jerusalem and 07:00 in Herzliya, the six sites listed, and departures on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
- OfficialEggedeggedh.co.ilEgged Tours website closure notice
States that the Egged Tours website is no longer available and directs enquiries and bookings to email
- DataThe Public Knowledge Workshopopen-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.ilOpen Bus Stride API
The Ministry of Transport GTFS feed, queried for the stop-level departure times quoted here for Wednesday 12 August, Friday 7 August and Saturday 8 August 2026
- ReferenceWikipediaen.wikipedia.orgCaesarea-Pardes Hanna railway station
Opening on 1 July 2001 with the Tel Aviv to Binyamina suburban service, the two side platforms, and the station's position at the edge of the industrial park
- ReferenceWikipediaen.wikipedia.orgCoastal railway line, Israel
The line both stations sit on, and where Binyamina falls in the running order between Haifa and Tel Aviv
- ReferenceWikipediaen.wikipedia.orgBinyamina railway station
Background on the junction station that takes the through services from Haifa, Nahariya and Modiin
Getting to Caesarea: common questions
Can you get to Caesarea by train?+
Not to the park itself. The two usable stations are Caesarea-Pardes Hanna and Binyamina, both several kilometres inland, and both need a bus or a taxi at the far end. Caesarea-Pardes Hanna opened on 1 July 2001 as a suburban stop and sits at the eastern edge of the northern Caesarea industrial park, not near the ruins.
Which station is closer, Binyamina or Caesarea-Pardes Hanna?+
Close enough to be a wash, so pick the one your train actually serves. Kavim line 80 runs between the two and calls at the park gate in the middle, taking 20 minutes from Caesarea-Pardes Hanna and 21 from Binyamina in the August 2026 timetable. Caesarea-Pardes Hanna gets the suburban trains from Tel Aviv and the south; Binyamina gets the through trains from Haifa, Nahariya, Modiin and the airport.
Is there a bus to the entrance of the national park?+
Yes, and it is signed as such. The stop is called Caesarea National Park, and Kavim lines 7, 9א, 76 and 80 all called there on Wednesday 12 August 2026. The next stop south, Amphitheatre, is the one for the Roman theatre gate.
Can you visit Caesarea on Shabbat without a car?+
No. There were no buses at either park stop at all on Saturday 8 August 2026, and no train touched Binyamina until 18:53 or Caesarea-Pardes Hanna until 18:57, long after the park had closed for the day. The park is open on Saturdays, which is precisely the trap: the site runs and the transport does not.
How long does it take from Tel Aviv?+
About an hour and three quarters door to door by train and bus. The train from Savidor Center to Caesarea-Pardes Hanna took 48 minutes and the bus another 20; the rest is the wait for line 80 and the walk down from Rothschild Boulevard. Driving is about an hour outside the peak.
Do I need a Rav-Kav?+
Yes, for buses and trains alike. Since the Derekh Shava reform of August 2022 the fare has been set by air distance rather than by route, in bands of up to 15, 40, 75, 120 and 225 kilometres, with rail priced separately from buses. Load the card before leaving the city rather than at a rural stop.
Is a hire car worth it just for Caesarea?+
For a single day, probably yes, for two specific reasons. The aqueduct sits north of the ticketed park on its own road and is served by one thin bus line, and the bus timetable at the gate is sparse enough that a missed connection costs an hour or two rather than ten minutes. If the rest of the trip is car-free, weigh that against a day's hire for a site the train reaches in under two hours.
Is there a direct bus from Tel Aviv?+
Egged line 852 runs from the seventh floor of Tel Aviv Central Bus Station to the terminal at Caesarea-Pardes Hanna station, so in the narrow sense yes. In practice it took 85 minutes over 61 stops on 12 August 2026 and still leaves you needing line 80 to the gate. The train covers the same ground in 48 minutes.
Is a coach tour a reasonable way to see it?+
It is the realistic option for anyone without a car who wants Caesarea and the northern coast in one day. Bein Harim's Caesarea, Acre and Rosh Hanikra tour picks up at 07:15 in Tel Aviv, 06:00 in Jerusalem and 07:00 in Herzliya, and lists departures on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Egged Tours, a name many travellers arrive with, has closed its website and now takes enquiries by email.
Can you reach the aqueduct by bus?+
Yes, on Kavim line 7, which runs from Or Akiva and terminates at a stop called Aqueduct Beach. It called there six times on Wednesday 12 August 2026 and the last departure back from the terminus was 15:00, which is early enough to rule out the low evening light the arches are worth seeing in.