Hi there!
I was invited by the Ministry of Tourism to another trip to Hadera and although I had previously written about the historical sites on the list, I saw that there were a few summer attractions that I thought would be of interest to you. Therefore, following that visit, I arranged to go back with my daughter and her friend to try out the family attractions and include them in this post.
Trip Agenda Options
Mul Hahof Village – a new shopping and entertainment center
Citywave – The first surf pool
Technoda – a science museum
Nahal Hadera Park
Historical Sites
The first kiosk
Ehad Ha’am School
Beit Olga Hankin
Trip Anchors
Mul Hahof Village
Address: 10 Shechtman St., Hadera
‘Mul Hahof Village’ is a new shopping and entertainment center in Hadera. In Hebrew it translates into ‘Opposite the Beach Village’, an apt name due to its location at the entrance to the city and not far from the beach.
The nice thing about it is its open space concept of a pedestrian mall. The complex was designed by the architect Avner Sher in a style reminiscent of a shopping street. The complex is expected to house 120 stores and restaurants from leading chains in Israel. It also has 1,600 free parking spaces that will be available to the public.
The main public attractions include a fountain inspired by the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas with music and light water show that will be displayed every hour. Also, for children, a 6.5-meter outdoors playground imported from South Korea on the upper level and a uniquely designed indoor gymboree on the lower level. However, the highlight of the attractions is the Citywave surfing pool from Germany that I will discuss below.
‘My Gymboree’ opening hours: Sunday - Thursday 9:00-20:00 and Friday between 8:30 - an hour before Shabbat begins.
Citywave
‘Citywave’ is a surfing pool that allows novices to learn how to surf in controlled conditions or for professional surfers to practice. The pool was designed by the German Citywave company and is one of ten such pools in the world, with the pool in Israel being the largest pool (10x20 meters). The advantage is that it allows surfing throughout the year. Surrounding the swimming pool complex are wooden tribunes for those interested in watching surfers and events that are planned to take place there.
Using a unique deep-water technology, the Citywave pool generates an endless 1.5 meter high pressure wave with back flow and soft side walls for safety. The stable conditions allow a safe and controlled surfing experience for amateurs although the amount of water and volume can be adapted to suit the level and skill of more advanced surfers. The pool can hold up to 15 surfers at a time. Each session lasts 45 minutes and is suitable from the age of 8 and height of 1.1 and above.
When we arrived, the girls were provided with T-shirts to keep and a helmet and surfboard for the lesson. It began with a slight adjustment period in which the pool was fitted with a bar to hold onto. After a while the bar was removed, and the kids were allowed to surf freely. When they were done, I caught the instructor giving it a go. You’ll enjoy it too! I added a few shots from the Technoda as well.
Open: Sunday to Thursday: 09:30-21:30, Friday 09:00-15:00 and Saturday from about half an hour after the Sabbath - 22:00.
I don’t write prices since I can’t update them, but currently there are opening prices.
Technoda
The Technoda is a center for science and technology education located at the center of Givat Olga, Hadera. Technoda, has one of the largest star gazing observatories in the country including a planetarium with simulations of the sky located in its large silver dome on top. On the lower floor it houses a ‘Museum of Science’ with a multitude of interactive exhibits for children to learn through play. The outer grounds contain a large ‘Science Park’ with additional exhibits that teach the principles of physics and energy sources. Finally, the Technoda has a unique ‘Medical Simulation Unit’, that is opened for visiting groups and enables them to actively experience the medical world. The Marketing and Project Manager, Aynat Mazursky extends her welcome to you.
With respect to English, currently most of the plaques are not in English. However, the guides in the room can assist with explanations in English. An audioguide will be available within the next few months. My current recommendation is to reserve a group tour and request that it be in English. The minimal amount for groups is 20 people. As noted, groups can also enjoy the ‘Medical Simulation Unit’ that is not available to single visitors.
Nahal Hadera Park
The park is located near the ‘Orit Rabin’ power plant where originally it was established in order to create a steady flow seawater into the station to cool the turbines. The park evolved since then and now has lawns and seating areas throughout the 1.5 km of the stream, a pier and walkover bridge connecting the two banks. During the summertime, the park is home to several outdoor concerts and events. You may want to look up the ‘Boombox Festival’ that will take place on Sept. 22nd, 2018 this year including our one and only, Netta Barzilai.
Additional Options
The historical sites in this trip are part of a much larger and beautiful walk. My recommendation is to dedicate a separate visit to it as I did in my previous post.
The First Kiosk
Address: Hertzl St. corner of Ehad Ha’am St.
This is where we stopped over for our morning soda. The first kiosk is a reconstruction of Hadera’s first that was active between 1926-1956. The story is that a member of the settlement David Sharashov, who owned a fish stall used a large amount of ice to cool the fish and as a businessman, he thought of another way to utilize it once the fish were sold in order to generate an additional income. That is how he came to set up the kiosk and the first soda fountain, which of course became a hit! In 2016, the Municipality of Hadera restored it and you can get your soda there till this day and either sit in the kiosk or in the lovely award- winning boulevard behind it dedicated to Lt. Colonel Amir Mei-Tal who died in Lebanon.
Ehad Ha’am School
Address: 21 Ehad Ha’am St.
Hadera, one of the first colonies was founded in 1891. After the population grew, it was decided to erect a school and in 1922 the first school was inaugurated with the participation of High Commissioner Herbert Samuel. The school had three classrooms and a small room for teachers and nurses. Today, the building serves as a home for the city council and as an educational heritage center to instill the legacy of education in the colony that became a city.
Beit Olga Hankin
Address: 1 Menachem Begin, Givat Olga
Open: Sun-Thurs 9:00-last customer, Fri 9:00-one hour before Shabbat
Phone: 04-6214424
The Hankin family is one of the founders of Hadera. On the cliff above the sea, facing the sunsets, stands an old house built in the ‘Bauhaus’ style from the 1930's of the last century.
For many years it was a mystery as to why the house was built up on the cliff, and the common assumption was that the reason was romantic. The truth however, is that during the events that began in 1936, the Bedouins who lived on the southern coast claimed ownership of the land that Yehoshua Hankin had bought for the settlers of Hadera. As a declaration of ownership, Yehoshua Hankin built a house made of concrete with an inner spiral staircase and flat roof enabling him to watch over and preserve the soil of Hadera.
Unfortunately, the couple themselves never lived in the house and it stood deserted for many years until rehabilitated by the Municipality of Hadera and the Council for the Preservation of Sites.
Today it serves as a lovely intimate restaurant with panoramic sea views. The restaurant is kosher and dairy and is even capable of hosting events of up to 140 guests.The house is located about five minutes from the coastal road and for those who have difficulty climbing up the cliff staircase, there is a shuttle service to the top.
Since we had lunch here, I took some photos of the dishes served.
Food
This post is all inclusive.
It is recommended to book at Beit Olga Hankin in advance by phone.
Accomodation
We visited the ‘Ramada Resort Hadera Beach’ hotel for a last photoshoot of the beaches since it is near the ‘Olga Hankin House’ and has a spectacular view from its balcony on its 22nd floor. The same gorgeous coastline views can be seen from each of its rooms.
The CEO, Ami Elram came to extend his greetings to you.
The Ramada hotel belongs to the worldwide Windham hotel chain of over 7,500 hotels in 72 countries. It has 173 spacious and luxurious rooms, 102 of which are luxurious suites, rooms with connecting door and all with a balcony facing the sea. Other facilities include: a beautiful spa with 10 treatment rooms, an outdoor swimming pool and an indoor swimming pool heated in the winter months, a Jacuzzi and a dry and wet sauna. The dining room overlooks the magnificent lagoon and sea.
The conference halls also have sea views and are equipped with extremely rich technical specifications and there are three private meeting rooms. As you can see, the hotel serves both vacationing families and business guests from Israel and abroad.
My Timeline
This trip filled up a day and a half in two visits. I visited the ‘Citywave’ and ‘Technoda’ in one half and the rest of the sites in the other half.
This is what it looks like on the map:
Lastly, you are welcome to use a free tool called the Israel Travel Budget Calculator to help plan your visit.
Have a great summer!
Talma
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