A Dead Sea tour isn’t the best thing to do in Israel. You’re better off finding a beach to chill at by yourself. However, all the other stops on this one day tour were absolutely perfect. I’m referring to Masada National Park and Ein Gedi. I will share photos of all these locations and I will dedicate a separate blog post on the hikes at Ein Gedi.

Masada

My dad was quite dismissive of Masada National Park. It’s true that the only things on top of the hill are some dilapidated buildings (aka archaeological finds), but the surroundings if you’re on top of the hill are stunning. You can see all the way to the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert. Masada is known as the final stronghold of rebels who were fighting against Rome. Their desparate fight is now a symbol of the struggle of freedom. Nowadays, Masada is a UNESCO Heritage Site.

There are two ways to reach the top of the hill. The first is by cable car, which is the one I opted for. The other one is a walk way known as the Snake Path. This route takes approximately an hour to ninety minutes to climb, and thirty to forty minutes to descend, depending on physical fitness.

Opening times of the national park
Sunday–Thursday and Saturday: 08:00 – 17:00
Friday and holiday eves: 08:00 – 16:00

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea stop we made at Kalia Beach was my least favourite stop of the whole day. It was busy, enormously touristy with health spas, shops and bars. Not to mention the fact that [eople were crowding together to enter the water by gliding over the treacherous slopes of mud.

That having been said, floating around the Dead Sea is quite fun. It’s almost impossible to stand up once you’re floating which result in comedic scenes all around. Please take care that it’s super important to keep water out of your eyes. My mum had to wipe her eyes a few times with my hair.

I’m looking forward to my trip to Jordan next year. I’ll be staying at the Dead Sea again, and I hope I’ll have a better experience this time around.

Conclusion

The tours that are offered to visit Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea are really worth it. They are hassle-free and in my opinion the time at each sight is perfect. You can do tours both from Tel Aviv and from Jerusalem. You could even opt for a Masada sunrise tour. I initially chose this tour because of the visit to the Dead Sea, but I ended up loving Masada National Park and Ein Gedi Nature Reserve much more. I’ll tell you all about the hike at Ein Gedi in my next post.

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