Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem: train, bus, sherut, car or taxi

Ben Gurion Airport station is on the lower level of Terminal 3, with lifts and escalators down to the platforms. Direct trains run to Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon station, next to Binyanei HaUma, the convention centre at the entrance to the city; some departures need a change at Modi’in Center instead. The national route planner marks the trains on this route as accessible, and help with boarding has to be arranged in advance.

You pay the official Israel Railways fare with a Rav-Kav card, a payment app or, for a single ride, a credit card at the station entrance. Validate when you enter and again when you leave. Check the fare and the timetable for your date on the Israel Railways site (opens in a new tab) or in the national route planner (opens in a new tab).

Shabbat is the main limit. On Friday the last trains to Jerusalem leave in the afternoon, and on Saturday the line starts again in the evening, after Shabbat ends. Holidays change the timetable as well. On weeknights the planner also lists night trains on this line, though not on every night, so look up the night you land. The steps from the aircraft to the exit are in our Terminal 3 arrival guide.

The Israel Airports Authority lists bus 485 as the airport’s line to Jerusalem, leaving from Terminal 3. It calls at Terminal 1, the Shoresh and Hemed interchanges and Givat Shaul, and ends at Binyanei HaUma, close to the train station. When we checked on 18 October 2026, the national route planner showed it running only in the small hours between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the hours in which it shows no train through to Jerusalem.

Other bus journeys to Jerusalem involve a change. Egged route 5 links the airport with El Al Junction on Road 40, where intercity lines stop. Each change means lifting the suitcases again, so plan the whole trip in the national route planner (opens in a new tab) before you land.

A sherut is a shared taxi: passengers heading the same way share the vehicle and each pays for a seat. The Ministry of Transport’s taxi price order (opens in a new tab) sets the official fares from the airport to Jerusalem, one to a central point (the city centre or the Central Bus Station) and a separate fare for a special service. Ask the driver which one applies to your address before you set off.

We could not find the departure point, the operating hours or the Shabbat arrangements on an official source, so they are not listed here. If a sherut is your plan, ask at an airport information desk when you land.

The Israel Airports Authority lists the car rental companies at Ben Gurion Airport (opens in a new tab). The drive is about 50 km, almost all of it on Road 1 as it climbs into the Judean Hills. A car gets you to the door and keeps working on Shabbat, when the trains and bus 485 stop, but you need parking at the other end, so ask your hotel before you arrive. If you collect the car late at night or on Shabbat, check the rental desk’s opening hours first.

A pre-booked taxi starts at the terminal and ends at your address, with the luggage in the boot the whole way. With us, you book on WhatsApp, by phone or with the online booking form and give the flight number. The driver follows the flight and, once you have your bags, contacts you by phone or WhatsApp to arrange where you meet. The price is fixed before you travel. The route, the Old City gates and the neighbourhoods we drive to are on our Jerusalem airport taxi page, and airport rides in general on the Ben Gurion Airport taxi page.

Families can ask for child seats for every age. A group with a lot of luggage travels together in a large taxi, a minibus or a coach, matched by phone to the number of passengers and suitcases. Passengers who use a wheelchair can book our vehicle with a lift in advance. A taxi costs more than the train or the bus, especially for one person travelling light.