Bucket List / Experience Goals
Float In The Dead Sea
Ticked off in January 2010
Lie back at the lowest point on Earth's surface and float like a cork, newspaper optional.
The adventure
The road down from Amman or Jerusalem drops and drops, through bare, sun-baked hills, until your ears pop and a flat, milky-blue sea appears in a haze of heat. Salt crystals crust the rocks along the shore like frost.
Wade in and the water feels oily and warm. Then you lean back and your legs pop straight up to the surface, so you lie there floating with no effort at all, as if on an invisible lilo. Swimming is almost impossible; trying to stand up again takes some technique. Any small cut on your skin will sting, and a drop in the eye is very painful. Afterwards, everyone smears themselves in thick black mud from the shore, bakes dry in the sun and rinses off under the beach showers, skin left surprisingly soft.
Why it’s epic
- The shore lies over 430 metres below sea level, the lowest point on land on Earth.
- The water is roughly ten times saltier than the ocean, so salty that fish cannot live in it.
- Its mineral-rich mud is famous for skin treatments and spa therapies.
- The water level is falling by around a metre a year, leaving the shoreline further away each season.
What it is
The Dead Sea is so salty that you float effortlessly.
How to do it
Visit from Amman or Jerusalem; resort day passes give access to showers.
Top tip
Don't shave beforehand, and keep water out of your eyes.
Need to know
- Resorts sell day passes with fresh-water showers, which you'll need straight after floating.
- Don't shave beforehand, avoid splashing and never put your face in; rinse eyes with fresh water immediately if needed.
- Check UK Foreign Office advice for both Jordan and Israel before travelling.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Best time to go
- March to May, September to November
- Fly into
- AMM airport
A resort day pass is affordable; flights and hotels in Jordan or Israel are the main costs.
Do it yourself
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
Over to you
Is “Float In The Dead Sea” on your bucket list, or have you already done it? Tell me in the comments, and if you've got a question about it, ask away and I'll answer.