Interested in heading to the Dead Sea while you’re in Israel? Here are a few Dead Sea tips that will help you decide which beach to go to.
I’ve got separate posts about what to bring with you to the Dead Sea and some Dos and Donts for going into the water.
Most people head to the Dead Sea on the same day that they go to Masada. Usually, on this day you’re staying either in Jeruaslem or in Tel Aviv and doing it as a day tour. If possible, do it from Jerusalem, it cuts out an hours worth of driving in each direction.
At the Dead Sea you want to do two main things:
- Float
- Mud
There are actually quite a lot of beach options when it comes to bathing in the Dead Sea.
So lets break it down by geographical region.
There are the beaches on the northern tip of the Dead Sea and there are beaches in the southern section of the Dead Sea.
And as usual, each has it’s advantages and disadvantages.
Lets take a look.
The Northern Beaches of the Dead Sea
One of the main advantages of the northern beaches is that they’re on the way to Jerusalem from Masada. So if you’re staying in Jerusalem, you’re not wasting time driving further south in order to experience the Dead Sea before heading back to your hotel. This is also an advantage because it breaks up the drive on the way back, which is also nice. Another reason I like this is because then you’re only about 45 minutes away from a shower as opposed to coming from the southern beaches, where you’re almost 2 hours away from your shower, assuming you don’t stop on the way to Jerusalem to break up the drive.
Another thing I really like about the northern beaches is that there is mud in the ground. You just stick your hand in the ground, pull out mud, and lather it all over your skin.
And the third thing that the northern beach have going for them are that the facilities are generally nicer than the facilities of the southern beaches.
The main disadvantage is that the northern beaches are private beaches, meaning they cost money. You need to pay to get in. This depends on the beach, but it generally starts around 60NIS per person, or a little less than $20 per person.
If you’re a large family, this can add up rather quickly. And it doesn’t include any souvenirs you’ll be purchasing.
The Southern Beaches of the Dead Sea
The main advantage of the southern beaches is that they’re free.
The International Beach even has decent facilities that you can use — changing rooms, showers, and restrooms. For free.
But you have to buy the mud. Now, this can be an advantage for multiple reasons. One, the mud you purchase is finer grained than the stuff you pull out of the ground, so it’s a gentler exfoliant. And two, purchasing the mud is still cheaper than paying to get into the northern beach of the Dead Sea. Though, for me it definitely takes away from the authenticity of the experience.
The southern beaches are also south of Masada, so it doesn’t really make too much sense to go there unless you’re continuing your journey south. It’s only about a 20 minute drive, but that adds almost an hour to your drive if you include both directions, and that’s on top of a drive that’s already about an hour and a half long in each direction. That makes your total driving time almost 4 hours instead of 3. And that’s assuming you don’t stop for a bathroom break on your way back. So this is the major disadvantage of the southern beaches.
If we’re already talking about the beaches of the Dead Sea, there are two other categories I want to talk about.
The Hotel Beaches
These beaches are a part of the southern beaches of the Dead Sea, but they’re attached to a hotel.
This is the most expensive option for bathing in the Dead Sea, but if you’re making a half day, or even a full day out of it, it’s definitely worth the investment.
You get access to the hotels SPA facilities, lunch is usually included, and you get towels, and depending on the hotel and the package you’ve chosen, maybe you’ll get a robe, flip flops, soap and shampoo for your post Dead Sea rinse, etc. Make sure mud is included in your package, or else you’ll need to buy it separately.
If eating well is important to you, this is the option I recommend. The food at Masada, and at the rest of the beaches of the Dead Sea, is okay but not more than that.
If you’ve got the budget for it, I’d definitely recommend contacting a few hotels at the Dead Sea to see what they have to offer.
The Ein Gedi SPA
This beach is just north of Masada, giving it the advantages of a northern beach in that it’s on your way to Jerusalem. It’s also the closest thing we have to a day SPA that isn’t attached to a hotel.
That being said, it is more expensive than the northern beaches, yet less expensive than the hotels.
The main advantage that this SPA has over the rest of the options is the hot sulfur pools on the premises. The water is from natural sulfur springs, and once you get used to the smell, it’s amazing.
The main disadvantage of this beach is that it’s a 15-20 minute walk from the facilities down to the beach. There’s a shuttle service, but it’s a very basic, open air sort of service, which comes every 15 minutes. Approximately. So if you’ve just missed the shuttle, you might as well walk…
Dead Sea Hotel Tips Summary
If you have the budget for a hotel beach package, then I highly recommend doing this. You’ll get the best overall experience, even though you don’t get to pull mud out of the ground.
If you don’t have the budget for a hotel package, that’s totally okay. I don’t either. I usually go to a northern beach, because I feel like I get the most authentic Dead Sea experience here.
But if budget is your main concern, you’ll still have a great time at the southern beaches for free! Or at least for the price of a bag of mud.
Have YOU been to the Dead Sea? Which beach did you go to? Let me know in the comments!