Plan around Shabbat
From Friday afternoon until Saturday evening much of the country slows to a stop. Public transport largely ceases, a lot of businesses close, and the practical shape of your weekend changes completely. Visitors who have not planned for it lose a day. Checking what is actually running, booking the shared taxi that still operates, or finding the one place open nearby, all of that is phone work, done at exactly the point when you are least able to sort out a local SIM.