The Dead Sea. It’s dead. The End.
Just kidding. Kind of. I mean, it IS dead. And, you should save it for the end of your trip.
After 10 days of action-packed touring in Jordan, we decided to end our trip with a little R&R. Because, after all, is it really a girls’ trip if there is no pampering? No, it’s not.
We were fresh out of the desert and covered in sand. We had spent hours walking and climbing in Petra. We had taken a biblical journey. What we needed now was naps, pools, beaches, and icy cold drinks. So, we headed to the Dead Sea to do nothing. To play dead. It was perfect!
I bet you are thinking that the Dead Sea area is some kind of resort town. I know I was. It’s not. It’s kind of, well, dead. There are a bunch of resorts around, but not much else. No real restaurants or shops other than what is in the individual resorts, which have pretty tight security. So, it’s important that you pick a good resort, because you will be staying there for pretty much your entire stay.
We chose the Hilton Dead Sea Resort and Spa. It is the newest property in the Dead Sea area. The property is nice with two pools, a beach, and seven dining options. There is an adult pool and a kids’ pool, but they are kind of joined. In fact, they are only separated by a rope, so if you want to be kid-free, sorry about your luck. There is a swim up bar on the adult side, and there are a lot of pool chairs, but they fill up VERY fast. The crowd is mostly young Arabs from surrounding countries. The pool plays pretty loud electronic dance music, so it’s not exactly the pinnacle of relaxation. Also, because there are so many people, the food and beverage service is kind of slow. It is also VERY hot. Like dry desert hot.
However, this property is one of the only ones that has a sand beach with chairs, but the beach is a LONG walk from the pool. There is an elevator to get you there quicker, but that was not operational when we were there. There is also golf cart service to get you down quicker. Once by the beach, there is an elevated deck with chairs,chairs on the sand with umbrellas, towel service, a beach bar, and food and beverage service by the beach as well.
The water in the Dead Sea is extremely salty. It is actually the second saltiest major body of water in the world. Because the water is so salinated there is literally nothing that lives in the Dead Sea. Hence the name.
The Dead Sea also has no outlet streams, and the Jordan River is its only major source. Like many other bodies of water around the globe, the Dead Sea is also shrinking, and the loss is evident as you drive through the region. The high evaporation rates of the Dead Sea is due to the man-made reduction of the Jordan River. Today, all the shallow waters of the southern end of the sea have been drained and are now salt flats. As a result, measures are currently being proposed to siphon water from the Red Sea through a series of tunnels or canals in order to replenish the rapidly shrinking waters and provide water and electrical solutions to the surrounding countries.
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Because it is so hyper-salinated, it is nearly impossible to sink in the Dead Sea. But, you can still drown. This typically happens when people do not obey the only rule for the Dead Sea, which is to only float on your back. The water is uber greasy due to the amount of salt. If you have a cut, it is going to sting when you get in (so don’t shave on Dead Sea day!), but it will probably heal up pretty quickly after being submerged in the salt water. If it gets in your mouth or in your eyes, you are basically screwed, so try to avoid that.
While it is rocky and jagged on the shore line because of crystallized salt (water shoes are recommended for entrance, but I would take them off after that), once you get in, it is very muddy. Almost like quicksand. In fact, you will see that the hotel staff actually collects the mud to do the Dead Sea treatments. The Hilton is a resort and spa, but the spa was not actually opened when we were there. Instead, they offered mud treatments free of charge down by the Dead Sea.
First you will have the mud rubbed all over your body. You need to let it dry for about 20 minutes.
Then you get into the Dead Sea to soak and wash all the mud off. You finish off with a nice fresh water rinse and a dip in the pool! Your skin will be SO soft after this treatment.
But the best part of the Dead Sea visit was the beautiful sunset over Israel, which is visible just across the sea.
I personally think that one or two nights spent at the Dead Sea is plenty. If you are going to stick around for longer, here are some cool day trip options for you. The first is a visit to the Mujib Biosphere Reserve of Wadi Mujib. It is the lowest nature reserve in the world, located in the mountainous landscape to the east of the Dead Sea. It is dissected by several river-filled canyons that offer the best river and adventure hikes in Jordan. The Mujib valley is being developed for adventure tourism, and a number of facilities have been established including a Visitors’ Center and a beach area on the Dead Sea. Another popular spot are the Ma’in Hot Springs or Hammamat Ma’in. This is a remarkable series of natural hot springs and waterfalls, some of which have been channeled into pools and baths.
No trip to Jordan would be complete without at least a day-trip to the Dead Sea. It is truly remarkable to float on top of the saltiest water on Earth, and your achy muscles will also thank you.
