So you want to visit the Dead Sea in Jordan, but you’re not sure exactly where to go. What most people don’t realise is that the Dead Sea in Jordan has two faces. Firstly there’s the beautiful, shiny, multicoloured salt evaporation ponds that you’ve no doubt seen and dreamt of visiting. Then there’s the rest of the Dead Sea beaches, which have muddy banks and coarse pebbles, and are good for taking a swim or a mud bath. You’re probably only going to visit once in your lifetime, so this post is about getting you to the best swimming and photography spots.
We hired a car in Jordan, which made it a lot easier to get the most out of the Dead Sea. The main resorts on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea are on the northern shores. However, the most picturesque parts of the Dead Sea are actually further south. If you’re only coming for a quick float in the ocean and you aren’t bothered about seeing the salt formations, then you won’t need a car. Otherwise, you may want to consider hiring a driver for the day.
Where to Get the Most Amazing Photos of the Dead Sea in Jordan (up close!)
Coming from Kerak, we turned right onto the Jordan Valley Highway. Our first glimpse of the Dead Sea was from the south, which boasts beautiful views over the evaporation ponds. Unfortunately, at this location there is a few hundred metres and a few sinkholes separating the road from the Dead Sea, so it isn’t safe to approach the shore.
As you drive toward the Wadi al-Mujib National Park, the beautiful views continue. At this point you will find the location for the best photos of the Dead Sea in Jordan. If you’ve reached the police checkpoint, you’ve driven too far north.
Once you reach this beautiful point of the Dead Sea you will find that you are actually a few dozen metres above it. Park your car on the dirt and find an unofficial trail to take you down to the shoreline. We don’t recommend swimming at this photo location as it’s unsupervised. Later we will talk about how to find panoramic views over the Dead Sea.
The reason you have to walk down a hill to get there is because the water level used to be much closer to the road. In fact, the surface level of the Dead Sea is dropping by 1 metre each year. This is due to diversion of water from the River Jordan, which is the river that feeds it, to create dams. It’s also the cause of the many sinkholes that have opened up on the shores of the Dead Sea.
Where Can I Swim In The Dead Sea?
After taking a few bucket-list photography shots at the mysterious spot we just talked about, we continued north along the Jordan Valley Highway toward our resort. From here on, the views change and you won’t see any more evaporation ponds. You will however come across the public beach, where you can take a swim. After all, you can’t come to the Dead Sea and not get in the water. At 33.7% salinity, or 8.6 times saltier than the ocean, it’ll be sure to float your boat.
We entered the Dead Sea at our resort. The recommended routine is to float in the Dead Sea for 10 minutes, exit and apply some black mud to your skin, keep the mud on for 15 minutes, wash the mud off in the sea, and then take a freshwater shower. Instead, we stayed in the Dead Sea for over 20 minutes and Clinton got hives.
We won’t bore you with all the different ways you can try and float in the Dead Sea, but we will tell you that our favourites were trying to peddle water and bobbing up and down whilst trying to keep our bodies vertical.
The gooey mud is a replacement for sand in the sea, and you will notice your feet sinking into the mud as you take your first steps into the Dead Sea. To make it easier for people, our resort had a mud bath where you could easily cover your whole body.
A few things to mention at this point are:
- Don’t shave for a couple of days before you enter the Dead Sea, unless you want to feel like you’re on fire
- Don’t cover your swimsuit in mud as it will likely ruin it
- The water in the Dead Sea feels very oily on your skin
- For those who want a bit of luxury but don’t have the time to stay at one of the Dead Sea resorts, many of them offer day-passes for a fee
We didn’t take our Go Pro near the Dead Sea after reading reports that the water pretty much destroys any equipment that touches it.
The Best Panoramic Views over the Dead Sea in Jordan
In order to get the best panoramic views over the Dead Sea in Jordan, turn off the Jordan Valley Highway and onto Ma’in Street. Even though it’s named as a street, it’s actually a glorious road that winds through the mountains and has fantastic views, including over the Dead Sea. The best part is you can take this route instead of the highway to reach Amman or the airport, but it will take you significantly longer.
Along Ma’in St you will also find the Dead Sea Panoramic Complex and Museum. It costs 2 JOD for non-Arabs to enter. We were pretty happy with views on the side of the road so we didn’t pay to go inside. As we were heading to the airport, we turned left off Ma’in St just before it reached the town of Ma’in and used Google Maps to make a bee line for the airport.
How Long Do I Need to Spend at the Dead Sea in Jordan?
We stayed two nights at the Dead Sea, but there’s no reason why you can’t do all of the above things we mentioned in one day. If you’re a photography fanatic however, you should consider staying 1 or 2 nights. This is because the sky can be extremely hazy at the Dead Sea, as we found out, and you may want to put off your photo shoot until it clears up. Remember, the Dead Sea is shrinking, so visit soon!
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