We spent three nights in the Dead Sea area using Ein Bokek as our home base (it’s about a 2.5-3 hour drive from Tel Aviv). This was a pretty great trip that involved some nature, hiking and relaxation at the Dead Sea.
Day 1. We rented a car in Tel Aviv and drove along the Dead Sea (via the Israeli controlled routes in the West Bank) to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve (the Nahal Arugot Reserveentrance). It was about a 2.5 hour drive (there was a bunch of traffic getting out of Tel Aviv). Like every other drive we have taken, it was incredibly scenic.
It was a little after noon when we arrived at Nahal Arugot Reserve (which is inside the Ein Gedi Reserve) and started our intended hike. It was super ot and the first part of the uphill ascent was packed with school children. We walked for about an hour and a half before we turned around after realizing that we wouldn’t be able to finish the hike in time (the sign at the entrance to the more difficult portion of the hike says not to start it after 10:00am). It turned out that it was a good thing we turned around because we did the hike the next day (starting in the morning) and it was a lot harder and more difficult than we expected. Had we continued the first day we would have ended up on a pretty steep descent in the dark and our car would have been trapped in the parking lot.
After we got back to our car, we drove to Ein Bokek to check into our hotel.
A quick note about Ein Bokek: There aren’t a ton of places to stay around the Dead Sea and most of the hotels are pretty expensive. Ein Bokek is the closest town to Ein Gedi (about 30 minute drive) and the closer of only two towns along the southern stretch of the Dead Sea with hotels. The public beach at Ein Bokek is super nice (and unlike the public beaches along the northern section of the sea, the water comes right up to the sand). But there weren’t really any food options and there wasn’t much else to the town other than the resort hotels and discount Dead Sea cosmetics shops.
After getting situated in our hotel room, I took a quick jump into the Dead Sea. We ended up getting dinner at McDonalds due to a lack of other options and the high cost of eating at our hotel.
Day 2. We woke up at around 6:30 am, grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel (buffet breakfast was included) and then drove to Ein Gedi (about a 30 minute drive). We parked in the Nahal Arugot Reserve lot (we were the third car there) and then started on the hike we attempted the day before (See Nahal Arugot Hike).
It took us around 5-6 hours to finish (and it was definitely pretty hot with little shade), but it was a great hike to the top of the mountain and then down to the stream.
Toward the end of the hike, we rewarded outselves with a quick dip in the waterfall.
After the hike, we returned to Ein Bokek and enjoyed a few hours in the Dead Sea. After grabbing some dinner (which may or may not have been McDonalds again), we picked up a bottle of Jack and hung out on our hotel balcony (there are no bars in the area and, I assume, because we were there in the off season, the bar in the hotel was closed).
Day 3. We woke up early again (6:30am), grabbed breakfast at the hotel, and then headed to Mount Sodom for a hike (See Mount Sodom Hike). The geologic formations in the area are incredible.
The scenery was beautiful, but the hike was a lot more difficult than we expected and we eventually got to a narrow ledge that 50 percent of us didn’t want to cross. (There were a number of steep, narrow ledges with unstable ground and crumbling rocks leading into rocky abysses).
After walking back to the Car, we drove to where the hike was supposed to let out, and 50 percent of us started the hike from the other end.
After we finished up for the day, we headed back to the Ein Bokek and relaxed in the Dead Sea! (Side note: contrary to prior experiences in the area, my cuts didn’t burn and it didn’t burn when I peed in the water).
Day 4. We woke up early again, grabbed breakfast, and headed to Ein Gedi (the Nahal David entrance). We didn’t do the longer hike that we initially planned because it was a rainy morning, but we did the basic loop trail to the waterfall and back, and because we got there so early, we had the park almost all to ourselves. (By the time we were leaving, there were already large crowds starting the trail).
After finishing up at Ein Gedi, we drove back to Ein Bokek and checked out some ruins that were basically right outside the hotel.
After we finished up there, instead of driving back to Tel Aviv, we decided to head over to Avdat National Park to see the Nabattean city ruins (not exactly on the way home). Despite the sand and then rain storms along the way, it was worth the detour!
