Ben Gurion Airport sits outside Tel Aviv, so every option involves a road or rail journey rather than a short hop. What really decides your choice is the day and time you land, then how many people and bags you have.

Which is best: train, bus or taxi?

The table below combines the operating rules from the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) with the fares and hours published by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality's tourism site. Costs are per person unless stated.

Option Cost Runs Best when
Israel Railways train 13.50 NIS each 24 hours Sunday to Thursday; not Friday to Saturday evening You land on a weekday and are staying near a Tel Aviv station
Kavim bus 445 Fare not published on official pages Hourly, not on Shabbat You are staying on a street the bus serves and the train stop is far
Licensed taxi Metered; tourism site quotes 150 NIS; 25% more at night, Saturdays and holidays 24 hours, every day Shabbat arrivals, groups of 3–4, heavy luggage
Free route 711 (Saturdays) Free Every 2–3 hours on Saturdays, via Terminal 1 only (news report) You land on a Saturday and can reach Terminal 1

The municipality's tourism page gives the taxi price as a "flat rate" of 150 NIS, while the IAA taxi page says that "payment of the taxi fare is by meter only". Treat 150 NIS as a guide to the likely meter reading, not a price you can insist on.

How does the train from Ben Gurion work?

The station is on the lower level of Terminal 3, according to Visit Tel Aviv. Trains serve four Tel Aviv stations: HaHagana in the south, HaShalom and Savidor Center in the middle, and University in the north. Pick the one nearest your hotel, because walking from the wrong station can easily double your door-to-door time.

Visit Tel Aviv lists the service as running 24 hours from Sunday to Thursday. After midnight, trains stop only at Tel Aviv-HaHagana and Tel Aviv-Savidor Center, so a late arrival heading for a hotel near HaShalom or University should plan a short taxi ride from one of those two.

If you fly out of Terminal 1, the IAA says train passengers can ride the free internal shuttle from Terminal 3. The airport shuttle page puts its frequency at about every 15 minutes, with no wait longer than 20 minutes.

What changes on Shabbat and Friday nights?

This is the one rule that catches first-time visitors. Visit Tel Aviv says train service is suspended from Friday morning until Saturday evening; the municipality's public-transport page describes it as stopping on Friday afternoon and resuming after sunset on Saturday. Either way, do not plan on a train if you land after about midday on a Friday, and check the Israel Railways timetable for the exact last departure on your date.

Bus 445 also runs "except Shabbat", according to Visit Tel Aviv. That leaves three options on a Friday night or Saturday:

  1. A licensed taxi from the official rank, which runs 24 hours. Visit Tel Aviv notes that night, Saturday and holiday rates are 25% higher.
  2. A pre-booked private transfer. The IAA lists Bon Tour, Limo Circle Line and Tal Limousine as advance-booking transport companies at the airport.
  3. On Saturdays only, a free route. A February 2026 Ynetnews report said the weekend "Na'im Busofash" scheme, funded by 12 local authorities, had added route 711 between Shoham and Tel Aviv with a stop at Terminal 1, with a bus every two to three hours and 17 trips a weekend. The stop is at Terminal 1, not at the Terminal 3 train station, and we could not confirm the current timetable on an official page, so treat this as a backup rather than a plan.

Bus 445 to central Tel Aviv

The IAA lists Kavim bus 445 to Tel Aviv from Terminal 3, Level 2, Exit 21. Visit Tel Aviv describes it as an hourly service that stops along major streets in central Tel Aviv, with wheelchair ramps and designated spaces, and suggests checking the live schedule in the Moovit app.

Neither the IAA nor the municipality publishes a fare for the 445, so check the amount in your payment app before boarding. An hourly bus makes the most sense if your hotel is on its route and far from a railway station. If you have just missed one, the train is usually the faster fallback.

Taking a taxi from the official rank

At Terminal 3 the licensed taxis wait along the pavement on the ground floor at the exit from Gate 03; at Terminal 1 they wait outside the domestic-flights welcomers' hall. The IAA says the service runs 24 hours a day and the fare is by meter only.

A taxi is the only option at every hour of every day. It is the natural choice for Shabbat arrivals, for anyone with more luggage than hands, and for groups whose combined train fares add up.

Worked examples: one traveller and a group of four

These examples use the 13.50 NIS train fare and 5 NIS card price from Visit Tel Aviv, the IAA's meter-only rule, and the municipality's 150 NIS taxi guide figure with its 25% night and Saturday uplift. Taxi amounts are estimates, because the meter decides the actual fare.

Scenario Train Taxi Better choice
1 person, Tuesday 14:00, one suitcase 13.50 + 5 card = 18.50 NIS About 150 NIS Train, by a wide margin
4 people, Tuesday 14:00, four large cases 4 × 18.50 = 74 NIS About 150 NIS for the car Train if your hotel is near a station; taxi if the last walk is long
4 people, Saturday 11:00 No trains About 150 + 25% ≈ 188 NIS Taxi, the only direct option
1 person, Wednesday 01:30, hotel near HaShalom 18.50 NIS to Savidor, plus a short taxi About 150 + 25% ≈ 188 NIS Train to Savidor, then a short ride

The group example shows where the balance shifts. Four train fares still come in at about half the guide taxi price, but four people with large bags on a train plus a walk from the station is hard work. If your accommodation is more than a short walk from the nearest station, the taxi's door-to-door convenience is worth the extra 75 NIS or so.

Before you leave the arrivals hall

Check the day and time first. If it is Friday afternoon or Saturday before dark, go straight to the Gate 03 taxi rank. Otherwise, make sure your Rav-Kav or payment app is ready and follow the signs down to the station.

If you are picking up a rental car instead, read our guide to Highway 6 tolls in a rental car before you drive out of the airport.