April 20, 2015, Updated April 21, 2015
Beach season is open in Tel Aviv. (Kfir Bolotin)
Beach season is open in Tel Aviv. (Kfir Bolotin)

Swim season opens today at 140 officially recognized beaches along the Mediterranean, Sea of Galilee and Red Sea.

Twenty-five of Israel’s beaches will fly the international symbol of the Blue Flag, earned by upholding environmental and accessibility standards, for the 2015 beach season.

There are 96 recognized beaches on the Mediterranean Sea coast, 27 sandy strips around the Kinneret, 16 beaches at the Dead Sea and four beaches at the Red Sea.

The Ministry of Interior announced that some public beaches are allowed to charge an entrance fee of no more than NIS 12.

The Tel Aviv Municipality announced that it will offer games of chess and checkers free of charge at its beaches, all of which are wheelchair accessible and Wi-Fi enabled. Free lending libraries will be available at Jerusalem Beach, Gordon Beach, Metzitzim Beach and HaTzuk North Beach, and dogs are permitted unleashed, but supervised, south of Tel Baruch beach, north of the Hilton beach and south of the Charles Clore beach.

At Tel Aviv beaches, a small bottle of water costs NIS 7, while renting a beach chair will add NIS 6 to your day out.

Matador Network named Tel Aviv as the world’s best beach party spot. And National Geographic Magazine ranked the city as one of the planet’s Top Oceanfront Cities.

Beach season remains open for six months.

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