What to Bring to the Dead Sea: The Complete Packing List

The Dead Sea is not a normal swim. The water is about 34.2% salt, roughly 9.6 times saltier than the ocean, so you float whether you try to or not. That same salt forms crystals along the waterline, and the crystals are sharp.

Bare feet walking in and out get cut, and the salt then stings every cut.

The shore is also shadeless. Rainfall is barely 100 mm (4 in) a year in the north and about half that in the south, so there is almost nothing between you and the sky. Summer afternoon highs average 38°C (101°F) in July and August, and even the mild months bring strong glare off the water.

Everything on this list exists for one of two reasons: the salt or the sun.

Swimwear

Wear a dark swimsuit you do not mind marking. The mineral mud that people smear on themselves at the shore can leave stains, and a pale suit shows every one of them. An older or darker suit also handles the repeated fresh-water rinses better.

Cover-ups over the swimsuit are a good idea for the coach and any stops that are not the beach.

Sun protection

A wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and high-SPF sunscreen are standard on every listing's bring-list. Apply sunscreen before you get in the water and let it dry, and keep it away from your eyes, which will already be fighting the salt in the air. A light long-sleeved shirt for the coach and for walking stops is worth the space in the bag.

Footwear

Footwear is the item people most often get wrong. Water shoes or strapped sandals are the default recommendation, because salt crystals on the shore are sharp. Flip-flops are accepted by most listings but fall off on wet rock and offer no protection over the arch.

Trainers work for the walking stops but you do not want them soaked in salt water. Bare feet are fine on soft sand only, and on a Dead Sea shore they are the fastest route to a cut. Heels and unsecured sandals are the worst option of all.

Dress code for Bethlehem

If your day includes the Bethlehem churches, the listing asks for modest dress with covered shoulders and knees. That means long trousers or a long skirt and a shirt with sleeves, plus swimwear in the same bag for the sea afterwards.

This table matches a colour or fabric choice to the reality of the shore, where the two hazards are glare off the water and the salt and mud you will be sitting in.

Shoes for the walking parts

Some trips here need more than beach sandals. The sunrise day climbs the Snake Path up Masada in the dark and needs moderate fitness and proper hiking shoes, a route covered in more detail in Masada cable car or Snake Path. The same trip walks the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where springs and waterfalls mean wet, uneven ground.

The coach days use the cable car, so ordinary comfortable shoes are enough there.

This is the complete packing list, item by item. The listings repeat parts of it in their own notes, so treat it as the baseline and add trip-specific pieces from the sections above.

• Water shoes or strapped sandals, because salt crystals are sharp
• Dark swimsuit, because mud marks pale fabric
• Towel, because some trips charge 15 ILS ($4.83) to rent one
• High-SPF sunscreen, because the shore has no shade
• Sun hat, because the sun is direct most of the day
• Sunglasses, because glare off the water is constant
• At least 2 litres of water, because heat plus salt dehydrates fast
• Passport, because every Israel-side listing asks for it
• Modest clothes, for the Bethlehem churches
• Hiking shoes, for the Snake Path and Ein Gedi
• Cash or card, for park fees, lunch and tips
• Change of clothes, for the coach ride home

Water

Bring at least 2 litres per person. The listings on the Jordan side include bottled water in the car, and the Bethlehem day includes one bottle, which is not enough for a 10-hour day in this heat.

Money

Bring cash or card for the things not in the fare: the Masada entry of 37 ILS ($11.92) and Ein Gedi entry of 31 ILS ($9.99) on the sunrise day, the 45 NIS ($14.50) beach fee on the Bethlehem day, towel rentals, lunch stops and tips. Small notes are easier at kiosks and stalls.

The table below compares what each listing actually includes against what stays on your list. It is where the trips differ most, and the differences decide how much bag and how much cash you carry. All figures come from the listings themselves.

The practical takeaway is that the coach days are the lightest to pack for and the cheapest on the day, since the big tickets are already paid. DeadSeaTours.org lists every inclusion in each trip's page, so check the one you booked before you decide what to carry.

The leave-at-home list matters as much as the packing list. The salt is aggressive and the rules are strict on a few points.

• Jewellery, leave it at the hotel, it is easily lost and the salt attacks metal
• Do not shave the day before, freshly shaved skin stings badly in the water
• Do not put your face under, keep the water out of your eyes and mouth
• No diving, the water is for floating only
• Fragile or non-waterproof bags, mud gets everywhere

The floating rules come from the operators and the standard advice: walk in, lean back and lie on the surface. Keep sessions to 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse in the fresh-water showers at the beach. The mineral mud on the shore is used for mud baths and several listings mention it, but apply it away from your face.

If you are weighing the trip itself, the honest case is in is the Dead Sea worth visiting.

What to bring to the Dead Sea shifts with the month more than most destinations, because the basin runs from pleasant winter days to extreme summer heat. Average highs at the southern basin come from 25 years of climate records.

Month-by-month detail on timing is in best time to visit the Dead Sea. Winter mornings can be cool enough that you want a fleece on the coach, while the water stays usable all year.

The Bethlehem and Dead Sea combination is the trickiest packing problem in the catalog, because it mixes a dress-code venue with a beach in one day. The solution is layers that come off. Wear the modest outfit, long trousers or a long skirt, covered shoulders and closed sandals, for the Milk Grotto, the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds' Field chapel.

Swimwear, a dark one, a towel and flip-flops sit in the bottom of the bag and come out for the roughly 2 hours at the sea.

Pack the change of clothes you will want for the drive back, since the listing excludes towels, lockers and beach facilities, so there is nowhere to dry or store anything unless you bring it. One bag is enough if you pack it in reverse order, swim things on top.

Bring your passport on every Israel-side trip, the listings ask for it, and the sunrise and half-day trips accept a copy. The Bethlehem day needs a valid passport and an Israeli visa, and Israeli passport holders cannot join it under Israeli law, so check your documents before booking.

The trips from Amman stay inside Jordan and do not cross the border, and one Amman listing asks for a passport or ID card. Jordan has no public beach on the sea, so the days from Amman use hotel or resort access, such as the Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza Dead Sea. The 2-day Petra listing recommends buying the Jordan Pass before arrival, and its rules are covered in Dead Sea Israel or Jordan.

Families packing for the shore need the same list, sized down. Water shoes for children matter even more than for adults, since kids run along the waterline where the crystals are thickest. Note the age rules before booking, the coach days from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are not suitable for children under 4, while the Jordan resort days accept all ages with infant seats available.

The full picture is in the Dead Sea with kids.