Dead Sea Beaches 2026: Free vs Paid, Which to Pick | Dead Sea Day Trip from Jerusalem

Booking choice: The half-day Dead Sea float, from $50 per person. Check dates Tour details

You cannot simply pull over and walk into the Dead Sea. The water has retreated, the shore between the beaches is mud flat or salt crust, and sinkholes have opened along the western side. Bathing is safe only on a declared beach while the lifeguard is on duty.

That leaves a short list. This guide compares the beaches, their listed hours, and which tours from Jerusalem take you to which.

The quick answer

For a day from Jerusalem, the northern paid beaches are the practical choice: Kalia, Biankini and Neve Midbar are about 40 minutes away, with showers, lifeguards, food and free mud. Tour listings price a private beach at 45 NIS, and most trips here include it. Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar in the south are free public beaches by the hotel district, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours from Jerusalem. The old Ein Gedi beach is closed because of sinkholes.

Which is the best Dead Sea beach?

Kalia for a classic day from Jerusalem, Biankini for pools and food, Ein Bokek for a free beach near Masada.

Kalia is the best all-rounder near the city: natural mud, showers, lockers and a bar it bills as the lowest in the world. Biankini adds a semi-Olympic pool and restaurants, and Neve Midbar has pools, mud and a kosher restaurant. Ein Bokek suits anyone staying in the hotel district or pairing the beach with Masada.

Beach	Area	Entry	Listed hours	What is there
Kalia	North, near Jerusalem	Paid	8 AM to 6:30 PM in summer, 8 AM to 5 PM in winter	Mud, showers, lockers, restaurant, bar
Biankini	North	Paid	9 AM to 6 PM	Pool, restaurants, treatment rooms
Neve Midbar	North	Paid	9 AM to 6 PM	Pools, mud, kosher restaurant, lockers
Ein Bokek	South, hotel district	Free	7 AM to 6 PM in summer, 7 AM to 4 PM in winter	Free chairs and shade, showers, access for wheelchairs
Hamei Zohar	South, hotel district	Free	Check on the day	Showers, toilets, snack bar

Is it free to enter the Dead Sea?

On the public beaches at Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar, yes. The northern beaches near Jerusalem charge admission; tour listings put it at 45 NIS.

At the free beaches, the Tamar Regional Council provides chairs and umbrellas on the main sections. Along the Ein Bokek strip, some stretches are run by the hotels, and their sunbeds cost extra unless you are a guest. In the north, the admission covers showers, changing rooms and lifeguards.

Most tours on this site include the beach. The guided Ein Gedi tour and the Bethlehem and Dead Sea tour leave the 45 NIS to you.

A white salt-crusted shore along turquoise water — Salt crust covers much of the shore between the beaches.

What is Kalia Beach like?

A declared beach on the northern shore with natural mud, freshwater showers, a restaurant and a bar billed as the lowest in the world.

Kalia sits about 40 minutes from Jerusalem, close to Qumran. It has changing rooms, lockers, sunbeds, shade and free drinking water taps, and partial access for wheelchairs. It closes on Yom Kippur. A guest on the Dead Sea spa day names Kalia as its resort, and a guest on the bus trip writes about a drink at the lowest bar in the world.

The walk to the water has grown longer as the sea has dropped, so water shoes help.

A long, slow day on the shore with a guide and the beach paid, and treatments to book on top. 20 reviews so far, rated 4.5.

★ 4.5 · 10 hours · from $85

Explore the Dead Sea spa day Tour details

What about Biankini and Neve Midbar?

Both are paid northern beaches with pools. Biankini is the more resort-like; Neve Midbar is quieter with natural mud on the shoreline.

Biankini, near Lido Junction, opens daily from 9 AM to 6 PM and has a semi-Olympic pool, a salt room, treatment rooms and several restaurants. Neve Midbar keeps the same hours and has pools, lockers, mud along the shore and an air-conditioned kosher restaurant above the beach. Both say on the regional site that they charge an entrance fee, and both suit a long afternoon more than a quick dip.

A wooden tub of black mud on sand by the sea — The northern beaches have free black mud.

Is Ein Bokek worth the longer drive?

If you are going to Masada or staying the night, yes. For a short trip from Jerusalem, the northern beaches are closer.

Ein Bokek is the hotel district at the south end, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours from Jerusalem and close to Masada. The central beach is free, with chairs and umbrellas from the council, showers, changing rooms and a snack bar. It is adapted for wheelchair users, with wheelchairs to borrow from the lifeguard's booth and a path to the water.

Egged line 486 from Jerusalem stops in Ein Bokek, and the getting there guide covers the bus and the drive.

Masada, Ein Gedi and a float with transport and the beach paid, rated 4.7 by guests.

Check dates for the Masada and Ein Gedi bus trip

Why is the Ein Gedi beach closed?

Because of sinkholes. As the sea falls, fresh groundwater dissolves the salt under the old shore, and the ground collapses.

The level has dropped from about 395 metres below sea level in 1970 to about 439 metres, falling by about a metre a year. Most of the beach resorts on the western shore of the northern basin have shut, and the free beach at Ein Gedi closed with them. The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, with its waterfalls, stays open.

This is why the rule is firm: bathe only on a declared beach. The shrinking sea post has the details.

Stepped white salt terraces, dry mud flats and round sinkholes by turquoise water — Sinkholes have opened where the shore has dried out.

Which beach do the tours from Jerusalem use?

Mostly a paid beach in the north, close to the city. Operators do not always name it, and it can change on the day.

Half-day float trip: a private beach at the north of the sea, entry included.
Masada and Dead Sea tour, fees-included tour: a Dead Sea beach after Masada, entry included.
Sunrise trip, bus trip: beach entry included after Ein Gedi.
Spa day: a resort on the shore; a guest names Kalia.
Bethlehem tour: the afternoon on the shore, entry 45 NIS on the day.

About three hours on a northern beach with the entry paid, from $50. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.6 · 5 hours · from $50

Explore the half-day Dead Sea float Tour details

What are the rules on Dead Sea beaches?

Bathe only in an open, declared area while the lifeguard is on duty. Enter slowly, keep your face out of the water and rinse in the showers.

Opening hours, lifeguard cover and services change with the season and the waterline, so check on the day and follow the signs. Do not dive, splash or swallow the water. The floating guide explains how to get in and out.