Shabbat in Tel Aviv: transport and shopping

From Friday afternoon until Saturday night, public buses and trains stop running in Tel Aviv, but free weekend buses, shared taxis, regular taxis and bikes keep the city moving.

The short version

Shabbat runs from Friday sundown to Saturday nightfall. Israel's weekend is Friday and Saturday, and Sunday is a regular workday.
Regular public buses and Israel Railways stop. Trains stop on Friday afternoon and restart after sunset on Saturday [3].
Free weekend buses, called Naim Basofash, run in Tel Aviv and nearby cities on Friday evening and Saturday during the day [3][4]. Since February 2026, line 711 has also stopped at Ben Gurion Airport [1][2].
Sherut shared taxis and regular taxis still run, for a higher fare [3].
Most supermarkets close, but plenty doesn't: convenience stores, many cafes, restaurants and bars, and the Tel Aviv Port area stay open.

USD conversions in this guide use the European Central Bank reference rates of October 29, 2026 (about ILS 3.12 per USD, a cross rate from the ECB's euro rates).

What stops, and when

Think of Shabbat as a 25-hour Sunday from your childhood in a small town where the stores closed, except Tel Aviv is the most secular city in Israel, so plenty stays open anyway.

What	Friday	Saturday
Israel Railways trains	Stop in the afternoon	Restart after sunset [3]
Regular city and intercity buses	Wind down in the afternoon	Restart in the evening
Red Line light rail	Stops before Shabbat	Restarts on Saturday evening
Naim Basofash free buses	About 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.	About 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. [3]
Sherut shared taxis	Run	Run [3]
Taxis and ride-hailing apps	Run	Run
Government offices and most banks	Closed or short hours	Closed

Exact times shift with the seasons, because Shabbat follows sunset. In winter, buses can wind down by mid-afternoon on Friday. Check your route in an app like Moovit before you head out on Friday.

Naim Basofash: the free weekend buses

Naim Basofash (roughly "Nice Weekend") is a free weekend bus service that started in late 2019 with four cities [2]. As of February 2026, it was funded by 12 local authorities, including Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ramat HaSharon, Givatayim, Kiryat Ono, Herzliya and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut [1][4]. It carried about 1.8 million passengers in 2025 [1].

How it works, according to the Tel Aviv municipality [3]:

Hours: Fridays from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with buses about every half hour.
Cost: free, and you can transfer between lines.
Rules: no food or alcohol on board, though water is fine.
Schedules: use the Basofash website or apps like Moovit. Stop signs don't show these lines.
Accessibility: passengers with mobility disabilities can book in advance by phone; the city lists the numbers [3].

The lines are numbered in the 700s, from 705 to 717 and 721 to 723 [4]. Hours have varied a little between sources, and the network has grown every year, so check the current schedule before you rely on it.

The airport run

The big 2026 change: line 711, which runs between Tel Aviv and Shoham, now stops at Ben Gurion Airport's Terminal 1 [1][2]. Tel Aviv's deputy mayor announced in February 2026 that the ride is free, and it was described as the first direct public transport to the airport on Shabbat [1][2]. Buses leave about every two to three hours, with 17 trips each weekend, and a free Israel Airports Authority shuttle connects Terminal 1 to Terminal 3, where most international flights leave [1].

That's a real money-saver if you're flying out on a Saturday, though with buses that far apart, a taxi is still the safer bet for a tight connection.

Sherut, taxis and bikes

Sherut shared taxis

Sherut (moniyot sherut) are shared minivans, usually yellow, that carry about 10 to 12 passengers along main roads. They run on Shabbat, for a few shekels more than usual [3]. The most common routes in Tel Aviv are lines 4 and 5, both leaving from the Central Bus Station [3]. You flag one down anywhere along the route, pay the driver, and call out when you want to get off. It's part bus, part carpool, and a very Israeli experience.

Taxis and apps

Regular taxis and ride-hailing apps work all weekend. Expect a higher fare on Shabbat and holidays than on a weekday daytime ride, and insist on the meter. Friday evening around dinnertime and Saturday night when Shabbat ends are the busiest times.

Bikes, scooters and your own two feet

Tel Aviv is level, compact and made for biking. The city's Tel-O-Fun green bikes and plenty of rental e-scooters and e-bikes work on Shabbat. Walking along the beach promenade from Jaffa to the Port is about 5 km (3 miles), and on a Saturday morning it feels like the whole city is doing it.

A note on Rav-Kav

Rav-Kav is the smart card for public transport across Israel. An anonymous card costs ILS 5 (about USD 1.60), and ILS 8 (about USD 2.60) gets you unlimited bus rides within Tel Aviv for 90 minutes [3]. You won't need it on Naim Basofash, but have it loaded for Saturday night, when the regular buses come back.

Shopping and eating on Shabbat

Tel Aviv has the most relaxed Shabbat in Israel, but it's still different from a Saturday Costco run back home.

Big supermarkets: most close from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. Do your weekly shop by Thursday night or Friday morning, and expect long lines on Friday.
Convenience stores and minimarkets: many stay open, including 24-hour chains and neighborhood corner stores (makolet). Prices are higher.
Markets: Carmel Market is busiest on Friday mornings and closed on Saturday. Friday is also when farmers' markets and flea markets fill up.
Restaurants and bars: many stay open, especially in central Tel Aviv, the Port, Sarona and Jaffa. Kosher-certified restaurants close, so a "kosher" sticker in the window usually means closed on Saturday.
Malls: most close on Shabbat. Open-air spots like the Tel Aviv Port and Sarona are the exceptions.
Pharmacies: a rotation of on-duty pharmacies covers weekends. Your health fund's app or the municipal 106 hotline can help.

Friday morning is the city's unofficial Saturday: brunch, the market, the beach. Many Americans who've lived here a while will tell you it's the best few hours of the week.

Holidays: when everything really stops

Jewish holidays work like Shabbat, and when one falls next to a weekend you can get two or three days of reduced service in a row. Holiday eves (erev chag) run like Fridays.

Yom Kippur is in a league of its own. Almost all traffic stops, including in Tel Aviv. Shops, restaurants, TV and radio go quiet, and Ben Gurion Airport shuts down for the holiday. Families bike down empty highways. Plan your groceries, and don't plan to drive.
Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot run on Shabbat rules on the main holiday days, with reduced service on the days in between.
Check the calendar early. The Hebrew calendar moves against the US one, so the holidays fall on different dates each year, the way Easter does back home.

For flights, remember that El Al doesn't fly on Shabbat, while many foreign airlines do. If you're booking a trip home for Thanksgiving, a Thursday or Sunday departure avoids the Shabbat transport question entirely.

Want Saturday plans with other expats? Ask in our community group for Americans in Israel.

Shabbat in Tel Aviv: what stops, what runs and how to plan your weekend