The Dead Sea is one of the most famous lakes in the world due to its high salination and low elevation. It’s actually the lowest land based elevation on Earth and that’s just the shoreline. The lake itself is almost 1000 feet deep at its deepest points making it the deepest saltiest lake in the world. The shores are 1400 feet below sea level and the salinity of the water is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean’s. The Dead Sea is split by both Israel and Jordan and can be enjoyed from both sides. It’s a popular place for tourists and locals alike to swim, float, relax, and cake on some mineral rich dead sea mud for your skin.
Tips for visiting the Dead Sea
There are several public beaches and resorts along the shore on both Jordan and Israel’s side and I would absolutely recommend choosing a location that has fresh water showers as a minimum necessity.
- Keep in mind not all beaches have the “mud” although most of the resorts will gather it in a bucket for you.
- Bring towels, sunscreen, and plenty of drinking water with you.
- If you have bangs- try to pin them back before getting in the dead sea.
- Water sandals are also very useful if your chosen location doesn’t have nice sand
Where we visited for our Dead Sea swim:
Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea– We didn’t stay the night but the resort offers days passes that include towels and use of the poolside restrooms/ showers/ and of course- pools. We got an armband that allowed us to get the towels and prove we could be there. The resort also has little cabanas and beach chairs, showers, and waiters for drinks down by the lake itself.
About our experience:
We visited in summer so it was HOT and the sea was really warm too (not exactly refreshing.) We floated for a while and definitely did the coat yourself in mud thing (It does make your skin super soft!)
After a couple of rinses and swims, my hair had a lot of the salt water in it and I kept having issues of my bangs dripping into my eyes… which I then couldn’t wipe away because my hands also were covered in super potent salt water… so we didn’t last too long in the dead sea itself.
Luckily we had another hour after swimming in the dead sea to enjoy the resort pools and cool off before taking our full showers and getting ready to jump back on the road towards Petra for the night.
The drive along the Dead Sea is super beautiful and our driver pulled over in a couple spots to point out neat salt pillars or other natural and beautiful spots along the shore. It was really cool having some Biblical places or stories pointed out to us such as the city Jericho which is easily visible from Jordan. We definitely enjoyed this day in Jordan (split between Jerash and the Dead Sea) and even if we only spent a handful of hours at the Dead Sea itself- it’s a very memorable experience.
