Home > Tel Aviv > Masada and the Dead Sea Day Trip from Tel Aviv
USD $114.00
Masada and the Dead Sea Day Trip from Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, Israel
Discover two of Israel's must-see sights on this memorable day trip from Tel Aviv. You'll explore the legendary ruins of Masada and King Herod's palaces, and enjoy a therapeutic visit to the famous Dead Sea. This unforgettable day trip also passes the setting of one of the New Testament's most famous parables, the Good Samaritan.
Your day tour begins with a descent into the Judean desert, a barren wilderness in the heart of the Holy Land. En-route, you will pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan, before ascending by cable car to reach the mountaintop site of Masada. The cliff's remoteness and difficult approach made it a perfect fortress, and it was here that King Herod built two fortified palaces over 2,000 years ago.
After exploring the archeological ruins of Masada with your guide, you will continue to the Dead Sea past the Ein Gedi oasis and the ancient settlement of Qumran. Here you'll have the opportunity to view the many caves where approximately 900 parchment documents of religious significance were discovered - the fabled Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea is the next stop, where you'll have approximately two hours to relax on the mineral beach and enjoy the surreal experience of floating in the salt-rich water, 400m (1,312 ft) below sea level! Don't miss the chance to have a mud bath in the world's richest source of natural salts. You will also have the opportunity to purchase Dead Sea skin care products at duty-free prices from the famous Ahava laboratory.
The drive back to Tel Aviv and see the ancient city of Jericho, referred to in the Hebrew Bible as the 'City of Palm Trees,' from the Old Roman road which links Jerusalem and Jericho.
Combining ancient and natural wonders, Israel's top day trip is not to be missed!
Great tour, wonderful sites. A five star if not as many in the group, was a full bus and a bit crowded.
Review by: ralbilia, July 2018
Tour was good, guide was knowledgeable. Would have liked to hear more explanation during drive. _br/_ Weather was very hot. If possible it would be preferable to visit in cooler temperatures.
Review by: jonathanarussell, June 2018
YES! This tour is amazing. Masada is unbelievable. It is a must on any Israel trip.
Review by: Martín U, May 2018
Absolutely amazing!!! I loved it!
Review by: Kenneth K, April 2018
Amazing sites, great tour, and thanks to our guide Itamar!
Review by: Ricardo, April 2018
Will definitely comeback!
Review by: Gary C, April 2018
Tour Guide Loren gave our tour group a fantastic day touring Masada and the Dead Sea. His nearly non-stop commentary was terrific and brought the old to the modern day and back again for a truly unique historical perspective of both destinations. He also added great local color to the places we passed on the way out, around and back again. What we enjoyed the most was his willingness to address our personal questions each tour guest received his undivided personal attention. You just cannot ask for more than that._br/_ Highly recommended. _br/_ - Gary and Susan c.
Review by: tspcpa, April 2018
Had a great day visiting Masada and listening to our tour guide, Ittimar, who was very knowledgeable. The Dead Sea is something you definitely have to experience when visiting Israel!
Review by: mikelevysellshomes, March 2018
I enjoyed the trip very much but my main interest was the dead sea. We had one hour there at the end of the day. It seemed as if we had more time to shop. I must admit our guide was very knowledgeable on Masada.
Review by: Shannon M, March 2018
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Harry A, March 2018
Amazing / knowledgeable guide as well as the sights and experiences. Pick-up / transfer to main coach was a little delayed with standing around for 30 minutes but everything else was just perfect. Even got to spend time with Elvis...
Review by: michael d, March 2018
We had a great day seeing Masada in great detail and a relaxing time in the Dead Sea, I would have liked to spend more of the day up Masada and missed the lunch but that is a personnel choice, our guide Issac was full of some great details of both places and added that bit extra to a great day
Review by: Sarah S, March 2018
You will not regret this tour. The scenery, the history... AMAZING. Yael was such a knowledgeable and engaging guide. A fantastic day.
Review by: marodemeyer, February 2018
Good pace
Review by: Michael J, February 2018
I'd never heard of Masada before booking this trip. I was hugely impressed and very glad that we choose to combine a trip to the Dead Sea with a visit to Masada._br/_ Our guide was very knowledgeable and professional.
Review by: Eva S, February 2018
I did the Masada and the Dead Sea Day Trip with Amir Call Or and I had an awesome experience. The trip was very well organized and we saw a lot in one day without being in a hurry. Amir has a great knowledge about his country and it's history and he knows a lot of languages. I enjoyed the trip a lot and I would definitely recommend it to everybody!
Review by: Rosa N, February 2018
The tour was amazing/ The guide was wonderful!! I love the Dead Sea, the mud!
Review by: lisa, February 2018
Massada and the Dead Sea are MUST SEE on your trip to Israel. Until you understand Massada, you don't understand the Israeli spirit. It may be one of the most amazing places I've ever seen in my life. This was an excellent tour and a great way to see fair amount of the desert landscape by coach too. We even got to see some Bedouin encampments along the way, which was cool. I think it should probably be a bit longer- if you can imagine. There was little to no time to relax at the dead sea, just change go in float a bit and get out change and get on the bus. You ARE covering a lot of ground, so it's somewhat understandable that you won't have leisure time. If I were to make any adjustments here, I would skip the Ahva gift shop/factory stop. It doesn't add anything to the content of the tour, really. The dead sea stop has dead sea products you can buy. Nevertheless, this tour was fantastic and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and skilled, as was our driver. The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 was feeling rushed at the Dead Sea. Guide, driver, pickup service and and sites were 5 star all the way. Ben Harim Tours has it's stuff down pat and they are very professional.
Review by: Niel E, February 2018
Everything about the tour was great! On time pick-up at hotel. The transport was good. What really stood out was the amazing tourist guide. She was fluent in English, extremely knowledgable and friendly. The information provided was rich and interesting. I can highly recommend this tour.
Review by: susan D, February 2018
Great trip and well organized. Tour guide was awesome and very knowledgeable. Only negative was it was an English tour but the bus driver repeated everything in Russian for 4 people after the tour guide spoke in English. That was distracting and not appropriate for what I signed up for.
Review by: Kanika W, February 2018
You get to see alot in such a short period of time . These sites are a must see while traveling to israel.
Review by: JOSE A, January 2018
It was just and simple the best, thank you so much, i had only two days in Israel and this tour_br/_ Will take this tour every time. I also would love to thank our Guide he was awesome.
Review by: Carmella G, January 2018
We were spoiled. The previous day we had a spectacular tour guide who did an 8 hour 1-man show weaving the history, geography, geology, language, religion, politics,, etc. all day commentary that provided context and richness to Israel and everything we came to see. The guide for this trip was good and spoke mainly at the locations about the place...not much context.......nothing much in transit so it felt a bit flat. We also killed almost 1.5 hours going to a gas station for food/toilets and waiting to pick up additional people coming from Jerusalem....that was a bit annoying. The locations were spectacular. Masada is an incredible story and the restoration work quite wonderful...from the top of the mesa you have a spectacular view of the Dead Sea and Jordan. The day before had torrential rain so the sky was clear and weather in the low 70s...the best. Because the rain washed out some roads we went to the hotel area to be in the Dead Sea...can't call it swimming because you just effortlessly float if you lay on your back and relax. You don't want your face in the water and definitely don't want water in your eyes ...and if you have Vaseline I'd put it over any scratches, and perhaps shave after the trip for that day instead of in the morning as the salt will burn like crazy...and even the outdoor showers don't get it off your skin....needs soap too. It is a remarkable place and even with the air temperature at about 70, the water is cool but quickly feels comfortable in a moment. Both are definitely worth seeing.
Review by: David M, January 2018
Before I talk about the trip, I need to give Viator 5 stars for helping fix my screw up. I accidentally booked the trip for the wrong week. A call to Viator, and they quickly helped me reschedule to a date that worked for me. Thank you.
Review by: ALLAN A, January 2018
Excellent. A long day but well worth it. Had a wonderful time and the Masada was fantastic to see. Our guide Ellie, was brilliant, he knew his stuff and we enjoyed every minute.
Review by: reneetje19, December 2017
Masada and Dead Sea were both great! Had the feeling our tour guide was rushing a bit, like he rather would have done something else that day. No photo opportunities for like Jericho, EIn Gedi, What I really thought we would since it is mentioned that you visit these places,
Review by: STEFAN BOGDAN V, December 2017
very satisfied with this tour. the guide Yuval I think it was his name was very professional and entertaining, answering all our questions, providing great inputs on Masada history as well. The bath in the Dead Sea is worth it for sure . We were in December and the temperature outside was 26-27 Celsius. Due to the very salty content, you float like you have never seen before. The desert landscape at Masada is AMAZING, so I totally recommend this tour.
Review by: jdguy, December 2017
The pickup was not timely - we waited for 40 minutes, and went through 2 calls to the central number. A bus picks you up and deposits you at a different location, where you board a mini-bus. The driver is also the guide. And as nice as he was, he was not trained as a tour guide - As an Israeli I could tell.
Review by: ddpiza, November 2017
Our tour guide was great. Really nice and answered all of our questions. Can't remember his name but i think he was Colombian. Dead sea was the best part. Awesome experience.
Review by: Said H, November 2017
great experience, and organisation was goed as well
Review by: Joyce T, November 2017
Very comfortable mini bus for 20 people. Amazing guide, Yael of Bni Harim.
Review by: ellen c, November 2017
Oh My!, What a fabulous trip. _br/_ Our tour guide we called Isaac because we could not pronounce his was truly phenomenal._br/_ He was there with us every step of the trip and kept us on track with the time and gave us the scoop and pointers on where and what to look for . he was not just sending us in the direction of friend's stores as some tour guides do._br/_ We booked this from home rather then from the hotel._br/_ So worth the money, I felt incredibly safe too.
Review by: Lisa D, November 2017
Masada as historic site was fantastic!!! Truly breathtaking! My issue was with the guide, Ornit, whom I lost sight of as soon as we arrived at the top of Masada from the cable car. We came up in two groups. I came up with the first group and was waiting for second group before we began the tour. When I turned around, everyone was gone!! The guide never did a count of the group to make sure we were all beginning together. So I toured Masada on my own and turns out, missed some very important things. When I returned to the bottom to meet the group at the bus for the return, I saw that there were site maps. Why didn't each tour member receive one of these?!! I been wanting Masada for quite some time. I did enjoy it but the experience was tainted by the poor performance of the tour guide. Also, this company should use the voice boxes don't know the official name of these devices that amplify the sound of the guide. I would have been able to find the guide if this was used.
Review by: Nikkole L, November 2017
We had a great tour guide named Dora. She made sure we got the most out of our trip and got see and experience everything with the least amount of crowds. She was very knowledgeable and gave us great information about the history of each location. We got plenty of time to explore the Dead Sea and Masada. I really enjoyed this trip and would definitely recommend it. The only thing that I didn't like was the bus smelled a little musty and was dirty.
Review by: leon, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: laurent g, November 2017
Ariel o Léon fut un excellent guide !! Merci_br/_ Superbe lieu
Review by: Darrin B, October 2017
Really enjoyed the trip.
Review by: Beatriz FL, October 2017
The tour was more than we expected! Fantastic tour guide, excellent itinerary, highly recommend!
Review by: Dean R, October 2017
Picked up close to my hotel short walk as scheduled. Then off to Masada. Quite a long drive, maybe 2 hours - but the whole way was interesting with the Kibutz' and their plantings, the desert and Bedouin camps, and Ossy Kaufman's explanations of them all was superb. Always the story, the background and the history - we learned a lot from him. Actually spent 3 days with him Caesarea, Masada and Jerusalem. The sharing of his knowledge was MUCH appreciated._br/_ Arrived at Massada and to the top again with expert commentary a very full day, so a bit rushed I think at Masada._br/_ Then off to the Dead Sea. I don't swim often, and never in the salt water yuck! but this is a special adventure, so I did pop into the water. Glad I did, it's certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. _br/_ All in all, a very good and very long day._br/_ Thanks Ossy !!_br/_ My only comment is I would have liked 30 minutes to wander Masada on my own to experience my own personal feelings of the place.
Review by: Judy K, October 2017
Amir Call Or was a delightful tour guide. He was informative and hard working. He took good care of us all day. He made good use of our time and gave us a ton of information.
Review by: James S, October 2017
Loved this tour!
Review by: Sonia W, October 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Neil W, October 2017
Enjoyable tour, Masada is fascinating and the Dead Sea fun. Thought the area at the Dead Sea would have been nicer but didn't detract from the experience.
Review by: Roger M, September 2017
The tour delivered on what it was supposed to, but it was longer than it needed to be. Masada was amazing as was the Dead Sea. I was on the English language tour, which ended a full hour and a half LATER than the tour that was given in Spanish. I know this because someone who took the Spanish language tour the same day as me, and was picked up with me at the same meeting point in the morning, arrived back at our hotel 1.5 hours before I did. That extra time detracted from what could have been a perfect score.
Review by: rechitzky, September 2017
The tour was great and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. The view was awesome. The visit to Masada was very interesting. I recommend this trip to anyone, especially if you have a chance to go with Yoav Malachi. He is excellent.
Review by: Gabor G, September 2017
It was a great experience, the astonishing history of Masada and the float in the Dead Sea. Our guide was very knowledgable and he has made sure we are prepared for the heat and the walking as well._br/_ The only improvements I can think of are all related to the hotel pickup timeliness and pickup from the hotel where were located.
Review by: Roald F, September 2017
You will be amazed beyond belief and had no idea of the history here, you feel like a part of it when you get done, Your senses will be astounded at what took place here. Our guide made it come alive, Thank you.... God Bless to all who get to see this. Pastor Ron and Judy Fairbairn
Review by: Vasco d, August 2017
The experience is absolutely fantastic. The place is full of History and the way the guides show us all the particular places are absolutely perfect. Thank you so much
Review by: Carol J, August 2017
Throughly enjoyable tour made so much more fun by a brilliant guide Itamar. His sense of humor and story telling were brilliant.
Review by: Sebastian B, August 2017
It certainly is worth doing this tour if one does not know how to get to the places oneself. The tour is very touristy, there isn't much - in depth - information provided and if so rather basic, the language level of our tour guide was rather sufficient than good. However, everything worked out well, the tour itself was well organized. Thanks.
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