Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur 2027

Why people travel then

Rosh Hashana opens the Ten Days of Repentance with the sound of the shofar, festive meals with apples and honey, and the Tashlich prayer by the water. They end on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a 25-hour fast spent largely in synagogue.

Few people travel for the holidays themselves, but they shape the calendar: Israelis take the days between them off, and Yom Kippur is a day like no other. Roads empty completely, and Tel Aviv’s highways fill with children on bicycles.

What you will see on the routes

• Jerusalem: A Walk Through the Old City's Four Quarters

  In the nights before the holidays thousands come to the Western Wall for Selichot, the penitential prayers, often after midnight. On Kol Nidre night the Old City is crowded with worshippers.

• Tel Aviv & Jaffa: From the Old Port to the White City

  On Yom Kippur (11 October) the city is silent and car-free: the walk from Jaffa to the White City is possible on foot, but everything is closed, so carry water and food from the day before.

• Nahal Amud — Springs, Canyon and the Pillar Rock

  Early October is the start of the comfortable hiking season in the Galilee, and the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are quieter on the trails than Sukkot.

How it changes travel

• On Yom Kippur Israel shuts down: no public transport, almost no private cars, Ben Gurion Airport closed to flights, shops and restaurants closed in Jewish areas, and radio and TV off the air.
• Rosh Hashana 2027 runs from Friday evening, 1 October, to Sunday night, 3 October, together with Shabbat, so plan three days without public transport or open shops in Israel.
• Flights to Israel are full and expensive in the week before Rosh Hashana; abroad, Jewish neighbourhoods are quiet on the holidays and synagogues may need tickets for services.

Travel window: 26 September to 11 October 2027. Rosh Hashana joins Shabbat in 2027 (Friday evening to Sunday night), making a three-day closure in Israel.