Dead Sea vacations in Jordan and Israel

The Dead Sea is an amazing place located in the territory of modern Jordan and Israel.

The lake, located in a bowl 400 meters below the ocean, is fed by the waters of several rivers. But, having no outlet, their waters remain in the lake, and the hot climate of Saudi Arabia evaporates them, leaving salt.

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Dead Sea Vacation in Jordan

The scientists' forecast is not encouraging. In 60-70 years, this miracle of nature may disappear from the face of the Earth. Therefore, a vacation at the Dead Sea in Jordan is a chance to see and remember.

The Jordanian coast of the Dead Sea is considered the most picturesque corner of the Earth. Today, this is a territory of religious, health and educational pilgrimage. The modern infrastructure of the Salt Lake territory is represented by hotels of various levels, a wide range of SPA procedures, beautiful roads, and architectural structures attractive to tourists.

Water and silt deposits, saturated with potassium, bromine, sodium, magnesium and 21 more minerals are the real wealth of this region. Thanks to this, a holiday on the Dead Sea is perfectly combined with health treatments. When outdoors, you should not be afraid of sunburn. The milky-white vapors of the lake serve as an excellent filter and protection from harsh ultraviolet radiation.

Hot fresh springs near Mujib, feeding the Dead Sea, are an excellent warming bath, saturating the human body with minerals and microelements useful for its vital functions. Almost any hotel in Jordan has swimming pools and jacuzzis with hot mineral water. The SPA program of hotels is aimed at improving health, stimulating the body's defenses. It is an excellent tool for detoxifying human internal organs, has a rejuvenating effect, improving the condition of the skin.

Combining a pleasant activity with a useful one, if necessary, you can take a course of health improvement at the Dead Sea Medical Center. Here you can treat:

• Deviations in the functioning of the epidermis:
  • Skin pigmentation disorder (vitiligo).
  • Non-infectious dermatoses (chronic psoriasis of any genesis).
  • Inflammation of the sebaceous glands.
  • Neurodermatitis is a sluggish inflammatory process.
  • Ichthyosis is a disorder in the process of keratinization of the skin.
  • Eczema is a chronic allergic skin disease of an inflammatory nature.
  • Pathology of fungal origin.
• Respiratory diseases of a respiratory nature and ENT diseases:
  • Bronchitis.
  • Rhinitis.
  • Pharyngitis.
  • Sinusitis.
  • Tonsillitis.
  • Otitis.
  • Laryngitis.
  • Tracheitis.
  • Bronchial asthma (chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract).
• Heart failure (decreased contractility of the heart muscle) caused by lung pathology.
• Diseases of muscle and connective tissue.
• Disorders of the musculoskeletal system:
  • Rheumatic arthritis (inflammation of the joints caused by immune disorders) and arthrosis (failure of metabolic processes in the joints) of mild to moderate severity.
  • Bechterew's disease.
• Spine:
  • Osteochondrosis.
  • Damage to the peripheral nervous system caused by problems with the spine.
• Diseases of the autonomic and central nervous system:
  • Neuritis (damage to individual peripheral nerves).
  • Neuroses (diseases of the nervous system with an unknown pathological anatomical basis).
  • Neuralgia.
  • Phantom pains.
  • Depressive states.
  • Vegetative-vascular dystonia.
• Oral cavity lesions:
  • Periodontosis.
  • Stomatitis.
  • Gingivitis.
• Inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs in women.
• The cultural and educational program is quite diverse.
• Excursion trip to the ancient city of Petra.
• Familiarization trip to the Wadi Rum desert.
• Two hour desert safari.
• Folklore show.
• Trip to the Red Sea.
• Visit Bethany on the Jordan River, the site of Christ's baptism.

Holidays at the Dead Sea in Israel

For many, the main purpose of the trip is treatment and recreation at the Dead Sea in Israel.

The range of diseases that are treated by the air, water and mud of the Dead Sea is wide. Ten days are enough for the vacationer to feel completely renewed: the skin is cleansed - it becomes elastic and rejuvenated, inflammatory processes are stopped. The wonderful relaxing effect of the products of the Salt Lake calms the nervous system, stimulates metabolic processes, the circulatory system, and boosts the immune system.

A holiday at the Dead Sea in Israel promises a wonderful, even tan, without the risk of getting sunburn. High temperatures stimulate powerful evaporations. The air above the sea is simply saturated with them. This is visible even to the naked eye. The layer of evaporations serves as an excellent lens and filter at the same time, preventing harsh ultraviolet rays from reaching the ground.

Patients suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system, pathological changes in the endocrine system, problems with the epidermis, nervous disorders, and diseases of the ENT organs come here to receive treatment. Several Israeli obstetrics and gynecology centers known throughout the world are located in the area adjacent to the waters of the Dead Sea.

But when going on a trip, do not forget to take rubber shoes with you. The beaches of the Dead Sea are different: there are sandy ones, but most are rocky. The crystalline structure of the salt stones is somewhat reminiscent of corals: hard with sharp cutting edges that can hurt your feet.

Due to the high saturation of the lake water with salts and minerals, its density characteristics are quite high. This feature of the water does not allow swimmers to dive, and the process of entering the lake itself looks comical, but it is also impossible to drown. Highly developed service and infrastructure take into account the needs of various segments of the population. For people with disabilities, there are special access roads, and all the beaches of the lake are equipped with special railings for descending into the water, free showers with fresh water.

To get maximum benefit from bathing, and not harm, you can bathe in salt water for no more than twenty minutes with three approaches during the day, after each dive you need to wash off the salt deposits in the shower stall. If you do not do this, the skin will become red and itchy, irritation occurs. You should not drink such water either. A glass of such liquid can lead to death. If it does get into the body, you need to consult a doctor.

Most of the resorts in this area are impressive sanatorium-clinical complexes. The most famous are: DMZ, Dead Sea Clinic, and RAS. Along with highly professional doctors, the latest technology, and the use of innovative technologies in the treatment of diseases, the prices for the services of such centers are quite democratic.

Holidays in a hotel on the Dead Sea

Hotels are classified by the level of service they offer. And before you go on holiday to a hotel on the Dead Sea, let's evaluate the level of each one. This gradation is not official, since it is not accepted in Israel.

Five star hotels:

• Royal.
• David Dead Sea & Spa (ex. Le Meridien).
• Daniel.
• Israel Dead Sea.
• Crowne Plaza.
• Herods Dead Sea Hotel & Spa.

Four star hotels:

• Leonardo Club Dead Sea.
• Leonardo Privilege Dead Sea.
• Ganim.

Three star hotels:

• Leonardo Inn.
• Tsell Harim.

Each apartment in such hotels is equipped with:

• Air conditioners.
• TV.
• By telephone.
• Mini bar.
• Bath and shower.
• Toiletries.
• Toilet.

The territory of the complex is equipped for a full comfortable rest. Most hotels practice making a deposit of 100 - 200 dollars. Some may also ask for credit card details. This will allow you to pay for additional (paid) services without delay.

The stated price for a holiday in a hotel on the Dead Sea does not include additional services (they are classified as extras):

• Use of the bar in your apartment.
• Consumption of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages during meals.
• Conversations on the phone.
• Room service.
• Laundry services.
• Car rental.
• Use of parking.
• Classes in regular or special gyms.
• The swimming pool may be subject to a fee.
• Medical and cosmetic procedures, massages.
• Other hotel services.

It is this indicator that makes the cost of a trip and vacation at the Dead Sea vary.

In order to avoid getting into trouble and find your way around without knowing the language, you need to know the necessary terminology.

• pp – this means per person.
• per night - for one night.
• in triple - in a room for three.
• in double - in a room for two.
• in single - in a room for one.
• USD - in US dollars.
• RO – meals are not included in the price.
• BB - bed and breakfast – the price includes only breakfast, soft drinks are included.
• HB – half board, which includes breakfast and dinner.
• FB - full board - three meals a day paid for.
• AI – all-inclusive system – four meals a day with light snacks, any drinks, and alcohol of our own production.
• UAI - Ultra All Inclusive - similar to the previous one with the addition of paid meals in A-la carte restaurants.

Due to the climate and proximity to such a unique relic as the Dead Sea, Ein Bokek hotels offer their visitors not only food and accommodation, but also comprehensive treatment, wellness procedures: inhalations, massages, therapeutic salt baths, mud wellness applications and more.

Beach holidays on the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is surrounded by numerous natural and artificial beaches. Most of them are located in its southern part, in the cities of Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar.

In many ways, a beach holiday on the Dead Sea depends on the solvency of vacationers. Many hotels have their own private beaches, maximally equipped for a full rest and health improvement of their clients. There are non-private, but paid beaches, providing visitors with a minimum of free services: sun loungers, umbrellas, use of a shower with fresh water, for other services you will have to pay. Municipal free beaches exist, but they can offer quite modest service and minimal services, for which you will also have to pay. Therapeutic mud of the Dead Sea is not available on municipal territory. You can improve your health only if you buy mud packed in special bags at the nearest kiosk.

On weekdays, even in the height of the season, the area by the sea is quite free, which cannot be said about weekends, when "there is no room to swing a cat". At the same time, the coastal area remains clean and comfortable for recreation. Advice: if finances allow, book a hotel with private access to the Salt Lake.

The northern coast is represented by such centers as Ein Gedi with the health complexes SPA Ein Gedi, Mirhatzaot Ein Gedi and Mineral beaches with the health resort center Hof Mineral. Entrance to these recreation areas is paid and ranges from 60 to 80 shekels. This gives the right to free use of not only beach accessories, but also therapeutic mud. The price of the entrance ticket also includes the use of warm sulfur pools and artificial reservoirs with fresh water. For an additional fee, you can receive additional services: therapeutic massage, mud wraps, etc.

In order for your beach holiday on the Dead Sea to bring only pleasure, do not forget about the basic rules of conduct near the water. Hard rubber shoes will help prevent injury to the skin of your feet. Do not get carried away with swimming: 20 minutes in the water and three approaches during the day - this amount of SPA procedures will be beneficial, not harmful. After each bathing, you need to take a shower with fresh water to wash off the remaining salt from the body. Be careful not to get salt water in your mouth and eyes, otherwise rinse thoroughly with fresh water, consult a doctor.

Contraindications for holidays at the Dead Sea

Most people believe that everything that nature has given is useful. This is a mistaken judgment. There are also contraindications to vacationing at the Dead Sea.

Bathing in the salty waters of the lake and treatment with its mud is strictly prohibited for people suffering from:

• AIDS.
• Herpes of any form.
• Malignant neoplasms.
• Heart pathology.
• Severe diabetes.
• Kidney dysfunction.
• Postoperative period. At least two months must pass from the moment of surgical intervention.
• Bleeding of any origin.
• Thrombosis. Travel is possible only three months after the disease has been cured.
• Thrombophlebitis. Travel is possible only six weeks after recovery.
• Infectious diseases: tuberculosis, typhoid fever...
• Cachexia (general loss of weight and vitality).
• Epileptic seizures.
• Increased diastological pressure (hypertension).
• Hemophilia (blood clotting disorder).

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Treatment and rest at the Dead Sea

You can plan a vacation at the Dead Sea all year round, even in winter the water temperature does not cross the 20 °C mark, but it gets very cold when the sun goes down. Therefore, it is better to postpone treatment and vacation at the Dead Sea to the period from mid-March to the first ten days of November. During this period, the difference in temperature between day and night is equalized, there is practically no precipitation. From November to March, Israel experiences the rainy season.

Israeli doctors also give more specific recommendations for medical and health-improving measures:

• Problems with the musculoskeletal system, bones and gastrointestinal tract can be treated throughout the year.
• For skin diseases, the best period of therapy begins in March.
• It is better to treat respiratory and ENT diseases in the period from April to November.
• Eczema and neurodermatitis are treated more effectively at any time of year, except for the peak heat in July and August.
• Dermatological diseases – from mid-March to November.

Seasonal changes and different solar activity are taken into account, bringing maximum therapeutic effect.

According to long-term monitoring by travel agencies, the peak demand for treatment and recreation tours to the Dead Sea falls on the period from March to April and September to November. In the period from April to September, abnormal heat for the human body is observed here: the water thermometer reaches 29 °C, and the air thermometer reaches 39 °C in the shade.

Cheap holidays at the Dead Sea

It is true that an inexpensive holiday on the Dead Sea is possible. Economy class tours include:

• Price of an airline ticket.
• Travel from the airport to the hotel and back.
• Meals (all-inclusive, one breakfast or breakfast + lunch).
• Excursions with a Russian-speaking guide.

Medical and health procedures are paid for by the vacationer separately. The price of the tour is determined by the level of the health resort, the health course and the length of stay in the clinic. Tour operators recommend that those wishing to purchase an inexpensive vacation on the Dead Sea take last minute tours. The cost of such trips can be halved, giving the opportunity to have a comfortable vacation with the maximum number of options for the whole family.

Tourists wishing to relax on the Dead Sea can buy a standard tour, and, having expressed their wishes, get an individual program, which is more expensive. Inexpensive vacation on the Dead Sea does not mean lower quality service and health improvement. It can be made cheap by staying in a Standard room, and not in more expensive Luxury apartments. You can also save on accommodation: if you are traveling alone, then sharing a double room with a neighbor will cost half as much as a single room.

The entertainment program of any tour is quite rich and there is no need to buy additional excursions, spending money. Knowing all the nuances allows you to cheaply, but diversely and qualitatively relax and get treatment on the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel.

Prices for holidays on the Dead Sea

Prices for a holiday on the Dead Sea largely depend on the season of the trip. The most expensive and health-productive tours are in the spring and autumn. In winter, the water in the Salt Lake becomes cool and a strong wind blows from the desert, in summer the temperature rises to 39 ° C in the shade.

Most of the health resorts on the Dead Sea coast are classified as four or five star hotels, with the SPA prefix in their names. During the resort season (April – May), the daily price for a double apartment is from $200 to $250, a health course is not included in this price and requires additional payment. The price for staying in a SPA center for one day will be from $80, massage services, a wrap procedure - from $45. When buying a tour, you need to clearly understand what kind of food you agree to. Some hotels do not offer the AI or HB meal plan, including only breakfast in the price. The rest is for an additional fee. A single meal in a restaurant for a couple will cost an average of $25 to $50.

Some hotels impose fines if a vacationer brings food bought at a market or a market to their room. Before booking a place at a hotel, it is worth finding out what services are included in the price, how much additional services cost (food, taxi, sun loungers, etc.).

Approximate prices for complex treatment (number of procedures / price USD):

• The cost of psoriasis treatment programs will be: 1 week - 18/1550; 2 weeks - 29/2150; 3 weeks - 39/2750.
• Skin and allergic diseases: 1 week - 15/1040; 2 weeks - 27/1750; 3 weeks - 35/2240.
• Musculoskeletal system: 1 week - 18/1380; 2 weeks - 30/2250; 3 weeks - 42/2650.
• Inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs in women and men: 1 week - 12/980; 2 weeks - 18/1500; 3 weeks - 26/1850.
• Rehabilitation therapy (after injuries, operations and long-term illnesses): 1 week - 19/1550; 2 weeks - 29/2250; 3 weeks - 39/2750.
• Chronic fatigue, insomnia: 1 week - 19/1450; 2 weeks - 31/2150; 3 weeks - 45/2750.
• Respiratory system: 1 week - 19/1220; 2 weeks - 30/1775; 3 weeks - 38/2280.
• Anti-aging program: 1 week - 12/990; 2 weeks - 18/1550; 3 weeks - 24/1850.
• Treatment of baldness: 2 weeks - 29/1483; 3 weeks - 35/1715.
• Osteoporosis: 1 week - 20/1720; 2 weeks - 33/2450; 3 weeks - 43/2850.
• Activation of immune processes: 1 week - 8/755; 2 weeks - 13/1055; 3 weeks - 19/1550; 4 weeks - 24/1750.
• Type 2 diabetes: 1 week - 12/1180; 2 weeks - 20/1850; 3 weeks - 27/2150.
• Moderately progressive course of multiple sclerosis: 2 weeks - 32/1614; 3 weeks - 38/1865.
• ENT diseases: 2 weeks - 20/1232; 3 weeks - 26/1595.

The cost of one person's travel from Ovda or Ben Gurion airports by bus (sharing) transfer (Sharring transfer) to the Dead Sea hotels is $53 (some hotels provide free transfers if you book more than seven nights). Individual transfer from the airport to the hotel and back is $240 (at night - 20% more).

Prices for holidays on the Dead Sea - excursions and entertainment activities:

• The capital of ancient Nabataea is Petra in Jordan. - $330 (additional $55 - border crossing fee).
• Jordan River. Ablution ritual – $20 (passport required). The trip itself: adults – $100, children under 10 – $70.
• Eilat. Visit to the Red Sea. Adults - $70, children under 10 - $50 plus 89 shekels - entrance fee to the Aquarium Museum.
• Jerusalem. Bethlehem. Adults - $100, children under 10 - $70.
• Tel Aviv. City tour. - 50 $.
• Masada Fortress. Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. $50 and 100 shekels – cable car ticket and entrance to the National Park.
• Individual excursions – from $600.

Reviews of holidays at the Dead Sea

Most reviews of holidays on the Dead Sea are enthusiastic or moderately positive. Those who visited the Holy Land and the shores of the Dead Sea note the efficient and well-thought-out infrastructure, excellent organization of services for tourist groups. Hotels meet all European standards. Most hotels have medical centers where you can improve your health or undergo a course of treatment. "The effect is simply incomparable!!!" - this is what many say. Vacationers note the well-groomed territory and the ergonomic placement of services: everything is close, everything is nearby. Sun loungers and showers on each beach allow you to immediately, upon leaving the sea, wash off excess salt and relax. Is it difficult to enter the water? - special railings will help and insure you. The healing effect is felt quickly.

Particularly enthusiastic reviews about holidays on the Dead Sea are associated with SPA procedures, exotic “diving” into the waters of the Dead Sea, hotel pools with sulfur and regular fresh water, as well as the all-inclusive food system, which some hotels offer.

Crystal white bottom – you won’t see anything like this anywhere! Fantastic Martian landscapes all around. Everything adds to the overall impression of the trip.

Many tourists note that, importantly, many of the hotel staff speak Russian well, solving language problems.

The disadvantages include tiring journeys in 40o heat, but there is no getting away from it. Tourists feel “uncomfortable” if the hotel is not on the first coastline – it takes 10-15 minutes to walk to the sea – not far, but very hot.

Vacationers were satisfied with their stay not only in five and four star hotels. For example, Leonardo Inn.3* - excellent cuisine and excellent service were noted. You don't need to take a huge suitcase with things. Numerous shops near the hotels offer everything you need and much cheaper than at home.

Choose a vacation on the Dead Sea at the ideal time for you, because the anticipation of the meeting also invigorates, but if you managed to visit the Promised Land, do not miss your chance to try swimming in the Dead Sea, mud baths and health-improving SPA procedures. Stock up on impressions as much as possible so that they will last until your next trip.

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