Caesarea, Akko and Rosh Hanikra: A Family Road Trip Along Israel's Mediterranean Coast

By Beni Levin · September 7, 2026

Caesarea, Akko and Rosh Hanikra make the best one-to-two-day Israel coast road trip for a family. You get a Roman harbor city, a Crusader port with a tunnel to walk through, and sea grottoes cut into white chalk cliffs at the Lebanese border. All three sit on the Mediterranean coast north of Tel Aviv, and the drive is easy enough for kids.

Here is how to link the stops, what each one is good for, and where the northern border changes your planning.

Caesarea: A Roman Harbor Built by Herod

Start at Caesarea National Park, about an hour's drive north of Tel Aviv. Herod the Great built the city and its deep-water harbor in the decades before the Common Era and named it in honor of Augustus. Caesarea later served as the Roman administrative capital of Judea, and the Crusaders fortified the harbor centuries afterward.

The sights sit close together, which suits children. You can see a Roman theater that still hosts performances, a hippodrome where chariots once raced, and a harbor area with Crusader-era walls. An inscription naming Pontius Pilate was found in the theater.

Let the kids run the length of the hippodrome before you tell them it was a racetrack. Then walk the harbor and the seafront promenade for a lunch stop with sea views.

For a swim, the Aqueduct Beach just north of the park has a Roman aqueduct arching over the sand. Swim only where lifeguards are on duty. Go early in the day, because exposed ruins are hard going in the September heat, and bring hats and water.

Akko: A Crusader City You Walk Through and Under

The old city of Akko is a UNESCO World Heritage site, inscribed in 2001, and it is still a working port town with a harbor, a fish market and a covered bazaar. The Crusaders made it their main port and, for about a century, their capital. Much of what you walk through today sits on top of that medieval city.

Two stops matter most for families. The Hospitaller Fortress, known as the Knights' Halls, is a set of vaulted medieval halls that give kids a real sense of scale. The Templar Tunnel is a narrow passage of roughly 350 meters that runs beneath the old city toward the harbor. The Old Akko visitor site lists the attractions and ticket options.

Walk the sea walls, then wander the market. Small boats at the harbor offer short rides along the old city walls, which breaks up a long day on foot.

For a fish lunch, Uri Buri is the old city's best-known seafood restaurant, run by chef Uri Jeremias. Book ahead and confirm its opening days before you go, since hours in the old city vary.

Rosh Hanikra: Sea Grottoes at the Lebanese Border

Rosh Hanikra is the payoff for the drive north. White chalk cliffs drop to the sea, and a short, steep cable car carries you down to tunnels the waves have carved into the rock. Inside, you walk along the grottoes while the water surges in and out beneath you.

Because the site sits right at the Lebanese frontier, its status depends on the security situation. It reopened in May 2025 after an 18-month closure. Before you commit a day to the far north, check Rosh Hanikra's official channels and the Home Front Command guidance for the area. Plan it as the last stop, so the rest of the route still works if it is closed.

The cable car and the walkways make the grottoes manageable for school-age children. Wet floors and low ceilings in places make strollers and very small children harder, so travel light.

How to Plan the Route

From Tel Aviv, Caesarea is about an hour, Akko is roughly another hour up the coast, and Rosh Hanikra is about 25 minutes beyond Akko. One long day works for families with older children: Caesarea in the morning, Akko for lunch, and Rosh Hanikra in the afternoon if it is open. Younger children do better with two days and a night in the north.

For the two-day version, sleep in Haifa, which lies between Caesarea and Akko. Our Haifa with kids itinerary covers the Bahai Gardens and Mount Carmel, so you can add a Haifa morning before heading on to Akko. To keep going inland afterward, the Nazareth and Galilee family guide picks up where this route ends.

If you want a slower stop, Zichron Ya'akov, a wine-country town a short detour from Caesarea, works for a coffee break and a stroll. Traffic on the coast road varies, so build a buffer into every leg.

Plan It With Us

A coast road trip looks simple on a map, but the order of stops, the northern border and the heat all shape how it works with children. If you would like it built into a longer itinerary with the right base and the right pace, reach out to our team to start planning your family's trip to Israel.