Mediterranean, with a pleasant spring and autumn. Winters in the north can be cool. Occasional light rain in winter is possible, particularly in Jerusalem, though recent years have seen insufficient rain. Snow is rare. Summers can be very hot, especially in the south. The Red Sea resort of Eilat has a good climate for beach holidays all year round.

Lightweight clothes for warmer months are required. Mediumweights are recommended for winters, although on the Red Sea coast they are unlikely to be necessary during the day.

Israel is on the eastern Mediterranean, bordered by Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic to the north, the Palestine National Authority (West Bank) and Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the south. Gaza, a small coastal strip between Israel and Egypt, is administered by the Palestine National Authority. Although only the size of Wales or Massachusetts, Israel contains a great variety of terrain and four climate zones. The north of the country is the fertile hill region of Galilee, rising to Mount Hermon and Golan in the northeast. The fertile Plain of Sharon runs along the coast, while inland, parallel to the coast, is a range of hills and uplands with relatively barren stony areas to the east. The country stretches southwards through the Negev Desert to Eilat, a resort town on the Red Sea. The Great Rift Valley begins beyond the sources of the River Jordan in the north and extends south through the Dead Sea (the lowest point in the world), into the Red Sea, continuing on into Eastern Africa.