Dead Sea & Masada Day tours from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

The ride to Masada takes about an hour and a half (from Jerusalem, and two and a half from Tel Aviv) and it is amazing ride, once you leave Jerusalem the desert starts and pretty much immediately and you descent from Jerusalem, which is 800 meter high, to the area of the dead sea which is the lowest place on earth 400 meter below sea level.

The entrance to Masada costs 29 shekels or 70 if you use the cable car both ways. Either way you need to bring a hat and a bottle of water as it can be really hot. You can fill you bottle with cold water for free at the entrance or at the top of Masada.

In Masada there are two stories – the story of king Herod, that build on top of Masada two palaces, and the story of the rebels that took over the place 70 years later and fought against the Romans. So many of the places in Masada have two layers of stories.

The reason the story of the rebels in Masada is so important is because Masada was the last stronghold In the first Jewish-Roman war, or as we say in Hebrew – the great revolt. This was the years Jesus lived and the Jewish temple was destroyed.

About an hour at the top is enough to see the main things.

From Masada it is about 15 minutes to Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi is an oasis, so there is of course human history, but also flora and fauna. From Ein Gedi it is about 20 minutes drive to one of the beaches of the Dead Sea.