Budgeting:

First off, when budgeting for your trip you should expect that prices in the West Bank will be significantly cheaper than in Israel or Jerusalem. However, the prices you should expect during your trip will largely depend on where in the West Bank you plan to live and your lifestyle while you are here.

In terms of a basic ranking, you can expect the highest prices in Ramallah, followed by Bethlehem, Jericho, then Nablus/Hebron/villages.

Additionally, imported goods are expensive here due to the double taxation (taxed both by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority), likewise alcohol tends to be quite expensive. Below you will find a price list that is largely based on prices in Hebron and Nablus, so expect slightly higher expenses in Bethlehem and Ramallah. 

Basic Price List:

Food:

  • a small shopping: milk, a box of cereal, 12 eggs, small container of hummus, labneh, and babaganoush, and 4 pieces of pita bread: 45 NIS
  • a large can of coke: 2 NIS
  • a large water bottle (1 Liter): 2.5 NIS
  • A piece of Knafeh (the local famous dessert): 5 NIS
  • Falafel: 3-4 NIS
  • Shwarma (a wrapped meat sandwich): 12-16 NIS
  • Fresh juice (at a café or restaurant): 8-15 NIS
  • Half a Kilo of Fresh Pita: 2-4 NIS
  • small container of hummus, labneh, mtabal/babaganous: 4-7 NIS
  • Fruit and vegetables: what is available varies depending on the season but they are relatively quite cheap and each city and most villages will have a central fruit and vegetable market where you can pick out what you want from the stands
  • Traditional Palestinian Rice and Chicken dish at a restaurant: 15-30 NIS
  • Traditional Palestinian Rice and Meat dish at a restaurant: 40-60 NIS
  • Shisha/Arguila/Hookah: 15-25 NIS
  • Pack of Cigarettes (local are much cheaper than imported): 15-25 NIS
    • You can also buy singular cigarettes from most Dukans (small grocery stores)

Clothes:

  • Note: most brand names you see here (i.e. Nike or Adidas) are fake, so don’t pay brand name for anything you can’t verify is real, but many of the knock off brands are still high quality.
  • Clothes at the souqs/open markets will be much cheaper than traditional clothing stores which sell mostly imported clothes. Bartering is okay, but more difficult to do at the traditional stores.
  • Winter Coat: 100 NIS
  • Winter Sweater: 30 NIS
  • Winter Boots: 50 NIS
  • “Nike” Sneakers: 50 NIS
  • Traditional embroidered dress (thobe): 80-150 NIS (hand embroidered dresses can sell for several hundreds or thousands of shekels)
  • Scarf: 5-15 NIS
  • Summer T-shirt: 10-20 NIS
  • “Adidas” Sweatshirt: 25 NIS

 

Souvenirs:

  • Traditional Palestinian Scarf/Keffiyeh: 15-20 NIS (summer weight) or 45-50 (winter weight)
    • make sure you buy Palestinian made, because some sellers are importing Chinese keffiyehs
  • Traditional glass/ceramics (best deals at the glass/ceramic factories in Hebron-reference our Hebron city guide):
    • Ceramic Mugs: 10-20 NIS
    • Ceramic Magnets: 5 NIS
    •  Ceramic Ashtray: 15 NIS
    • Large Ceramic Decorated Plate: 40 NIS
    • Ceramic Pomegranate: 20 NIS
    • Medium Sized Glass Vase: 50 NIS
    • Traditional Palestinian/Egyptian Rug (depending on size): 50-200 NIS
    • Hand-embroidered purse (depending on size) 20-50 NIS

Technology:

  • Don’t plan to buy any large electronics in Palestine because they are very expensive due to the double taxation policy of the Occupation.
  • Reference our “Daily Needs” page for information on phone plans and costs.
  • You can find phone/technology stores in every city and village to cover your basic needs:
    • IPhone Charging Cord (not Apple): 10-15 NIS
    • USB Wall Plug: 10 NIS
    • Universal Adapter: 15-20 NIS
    • Headphones: 10-20 NIS

 

 

Budgeting

First off, when budgeting for your trip you should expect that prices in the West Bank will be significantly cheaper than in Israel or Jerusalem. However, the prices you should expect during your trip will largely depend on where in the West Bank you plan to live and your lifestyle while you are here.

In terms of a basic ranking, you can expect the highest prices in Ramallah, followed by Bethlehem, Jericho, then Nablus/Hebron/villages.

Additionally, imported goods are expensive here due to the double taxation (taxed both by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority), likewise alcohol tends to be quite expensive. Below you will find a price list that is largely based on prices in Hebron and Nablus, so expect slightly higher expenses in Bethlehem and Ramallah. 

 

 

 

Basic Price List:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothes

A small shopping: a box of cereal, milk, 12 eggs, hummus, labneh, babganoush, and 4 pieces of pita bread cost 45 NIS.

A large can of coke: 2 NIS.

A large water bottle: 2.5 NIS.

A large piece of knafeh (local, famous dessert): 5 NIS.

Falafel: between 3-4 NIS.

Shwarma: between 12-16 NIS.

Fresh juice at a cafe/restaurant: 8-15 NIS.

Half a kilo of fresh pita bread: 3 NIS.

Small container of hummus, labaneh, mtabal/babaganoush, etc: 4-7 NIS.

Fruit and vegetables vary depending on the season but are very cheap at the outdoor markets (every city will have a fruit and vegetable market).

Traditional Palestinian meal at a restaraunt: 30-60 NIS (lamb/sheep is of course more expensive than chicken).

Shisha/Argila/Hooka: 15-25 NIS.

Pack of Cigarettes: 20-25 NIS (local cigarettes are cheaper, you can also buy singular cigarettes). 

Clothes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: clothes and shoes here with brand names like Adidas and Nike are fake 99% of the time. They still have many high quality fake products, but don’t play brand-name price unless you are sure it is authentic.  

  • Clothing in the souq/open street markets will be very cheap, but stores tends to be more expensive (again imported products are expensive). You can always try to barter for clothing at the souq but at a traditional clothing store this would be unusual.
  • Winter coat: 100 NIS.
  • Winter sweater: 30 NIS.
  • Winter boots: 50 NIS.
  • “Nike” sneakers: 50 NIS.
  • Traditional Palestinian embroidered dress (thobe): 100 NIS.
  • Scarf: 10-15 NIS
  • Summer T-Shirt: 10-20 NIS.
  • “Adidas” sweatshirt: 25 NIS.

  • Souvenirs:

  • Traditional ceramics/glass (best deal at the factories in Hebron):
  •  Ceramic Mugs: 15-20 NIS.
  • ceramic ashtray 15 shekels,
  • ceramic magnets 5 shekels,
  • large ceramic plate 40 shekels,
  • glass pomegranate 20 shekels.
  • Medium size glass vase 50 shekels
  • Keffiyehs (made in Hebron) 15-20 NIS for summer weight, 40-45 for winter weight. 
  • Traditional Palestinian/Egyptian rugs between: 40-100 NIS depending on size.
  • Hand sewn/embroidered purses: 20-50 NIS depending on size.

Technology:

 

  • Wifi is easily accessible in most homes, cafes, and restaurants. Purchasing a sim card can be done at any Jawal store which are common in the cities and villages. You can purchase just a sim card and make phone calls/text messages which you can load with credit at any Dukan (grocery store), or you can purchase 3G at the Jawal store. 
  • Don’t plan to buy any large electronics in Palestine because they will be very expensive. General phone and tech stores are easy to find in the cities for any basic needs:
    • Iphone charging cord: 10-15NIS
    • USB wall plug: 10 NIS.
    • Universal Adaptor: 20 NIS
    • Palestinian SIM Card: 10 NIS.
      • 3 GB of Data 25 NIS.
      • 18 GB of Data 50 NIS