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(Rhoda) You dig through the shore,
and you get it out of the water,
and it is amazing.
It feels gooey and doughy,
and you just want to play with it like Play-doh.
It's like sand, but it's made out of salt.
This is salt sand.
If you're going to fly half way across the world
to swim in the Dead Sea,
which beach should you go to?
In this video, we're going to show you all seven of them.
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(Rhoda) There are seven beaches in the Dead Sea
that are still open to the public,
and they are divided into two groups:
four in the north and three in the south.
The north beaches are very different from the south.
They have murky water,
they are prone to higher waves,
and they have admission fees.
However, they have resort-style amenities
and an abundance of the magical Dead Sea mud.
The south beaches
have the crystal clear water
with beautiful turquoise colors
where you get to walk on a shore of salt.
The body of water is much smaller and shallower here,
so there are no waves.
And unlike the northern beaches,
the entrance is free.
However, you don't find any natural mud here,
just salt.
Another significant difference
between the North and the South Basins
is the salt concentration.
The north beaches are located
by the mouth of the Jordan River
which brings fresh water into the sea,
while the south beaches
are located on the evaporation pools,
which are designed to evaporate the water,
increase the salt concentration,
and eventually extract the salt.
So, the south beaches
have a much higher salt concentration than the north,
and we could easily taste the difference.
Really salty. It's hurting my lips.
Oh, wow!
The salt concentration here is insane.
Wow! It's so salty that it feels like it's bitter.
It's like my tongue is confused and going insane.
I can't believe you did that.
But there are two more beaches that are not on the list
because they have been closed due to the sinkholes.
I was thinking to fly a drone to show.
(Rhoda) Oh. Do you want to do that?
Yeah.
(Rhoda) They are extremely dangerous and deadly,
so, please, do not attempt to go there
for your own safety.
So, without any further ado,
let's begin the review
of the best seven beaches in the Dead Sea.
The three beaches in the very north of the sea
are accessible through the same road.
When comparing the actual shoreline,
they look very similar to each other.
However, each one offers different amenities.
Let's see the first beach:
Kalia.
(Sergio) Please note that the opening hours and prices
provided in this video are from October 2018.
So, for up-to-date information,
please check the official websites.
We put their links in the description of this video.
(Rhoda) Kalia Beach is open from 8 am to 7 pm in summer
and to 6 pm in the winter.
The entrance fee is 59 shekels for an adult
and 46 shekels per child.
Be aware that you'll be required to pay the entrance fee,
even if you come for a few minutes
before the closing time.
But, there is a way to waive the fee,
at least in 2018.
If you buy lunch for about 60 shekels
in the restaurant by the Qumran Caves Park,
you will get a free entrance ticket to the beach.
The access to the shore in Kalia Beach is not easy
as you'll need to take a long walk down the stairs.
This is because the Dead Sea level
has significantly dropped in the past few decades,
so the shoreline keeps getting further and further away.
But, this problem is not unique to this beach
as all four beaches in the North Basin have it.
The salt level of the water in Kalia Beach
is lower than in the south,
but it is still very high.
It is more than enough for you to float.
We tried to find out the salinity level
in comparison to the south beaches,
but we failed to find any research done on the subject.
The only information we found
was that the level of salt varies from 20% to 35%,
so we believe this place falls into the lower range.
But even with 20% of salt,
this water is six times saltier than the ocean.
All three north beaches have mud,
but we found Kalia Beach
to have the greatest abundance of it.
(Sergio) That spot right there was maybe,
I don't know, 150 degrees.
It was burning my feet it was so hot.
It's pretty cool.
It's like a hot mud sauna.
Hot mud.
(Rhoda) Putting the black mud on
is not just some sort of thing you do
when you come to Israel or the Dead Sea.
This actually has a health benefit behind it.
There is so much minerals and salt in this
that it just eats up your dead skin.
And when you apply it
and sit in the sun for a little while
and let it dry and then wash it off,
you're gonna have smooth skin
that is just unbelievable, like a baby's skin.
Seriously. It is amazing what it does.
You just come to a beach and you dig through the shore
and you get it out of the water, and it is amazing.
It feels gooey and doughy,
and you just want to play with it like Play-doh.
And then just apply it and enjoy this experience
because I don't think you can find it anywhere else.
(Sergio) This Beach is situated
at the very north point of the Dead Sea,
which is very good on the way today.
If there's a lot of waves, a lot of wind,
it's kind of hard to swim in the Dead Sea.
You don't want the water to splash and get in your eyes.
But this beach is situated--
at the very north point there is a little bay on the north side.
As you can see, there are no waves here.
Even though it's very windy out there,
no waves out here.
(Rhoda) Kaalia Beach also happens to be
the home of the lowest bar in the world.
(Sergio) This slushie right now,
here, in the Dead Sea, when it's 40 degrees Celsius...
it's really nice.
(Rhoda) Kalia Beach offers the standard amenities:
changing rooms with lockers, showers, toilets,
a restaurant, juice bar, and a few gift shops.
So, Kalia is a kibbutz nearby,
and they have their own beach,
and they also have their own date plantation,
and they sell them.
So, this is very unique that they have this store
and they have all these date spreads and wines
and teas and spices.
It's really very, very cool.
(Sergio) The next neighboring beach
is just a walking distance away.
Its name is Biankini.
The shore of Biankini
is almost identical to the previous beach.
But the difference is in the amenities.
This is not only a beach
but also a resort with houses to stay overnight in.
This beach is great for families
as it has plenty of activities for the children.
It has a fresh water swimming pool,
a game room,
a beautiful Moroccan restaurant.
Welcome to the Moroccan Biankini Restaurant.
This beach resort has a great theme
that most children would love.
And, of course, it too has locker rooms,
showers, toilets, and a gift shop.
And, in addition,
this beach has something that no other beach has:
a small synagogue.
Beach hours are from 9 am until 7 pm.
And if you purchase your tickets on their website,
you can get them for 75 shekels.
(Rhoda) The third beach in this area is the Neve Midbar.
This beach has a similar shore to the first two.
And similar to the Biankini Beach,
it offers its guests to stay overnight
in their campsite if you bring your own tent
or in their cool-looking huts,
but that would be an extra cost.
We are here just for the beach,
which is open from 9:00 am until sunset,
summer or winter.
And the entrance fee is 85 shekels.
One of the unique features of Neve Midbar
is the barbeque grills facing the Dead Sea.
This is, by far,
one of the best grilling spots
we've seen in Israel.
This is probably
(Rhoda) Neve Midbar has a beautiful restaurant
facing the Dead Sea.
It also has a bar,
a large adult swimming pool,
and one for children,
and, of course, the standard amenities:
locker, showers, toilets, and a gift shop.
(Sergio) In summary,
the first three northern beaches
are the best places to find the natural Dead Sea mud.
But which one to choose?
Here is our recommendation.
(Rhoda) If there are high waves
or you plan on visiting the Qumran Caves,
then Kalia Beach is the best option
because you get a free entrance and no waves.
If you have children, love Moroccan food,
or want to stay overnight,
then Biankini is a good choice.
Your kids will love the game room, the pools,
and the overall theme.
However, if you plan on grilling out
or just don't fit the first two categories,
then you are better off with Neve Midbar.
(Sergio) The North Basin has another beach
by the Ein Gedi Hot Springs,
and it is very unique.
This Beach belongs to the Sea of Spa Resort,
and it's open from 8:30 am until 4 pm.
The entrance fee is 95 shekels per adult
and 61 shekels per child.
Like the name suggests,
this beach is built on top of the thermo-mineral well
that provides hot sulphur water from the depths of the Earth.
Yep... sulphur.
(Sergio) So, you can dive into the sulfur water pools
which are believed to have health benefits.
Due to the declining level of the Dead Sea water,
the actual beach is half a mile away
from the resort.
To address this problem,
the resort came up with a creative and a fun solution.
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If you visit this place in the summer,
towards the end of the day,
the water will be very hot.
Whoa!
I think I can boil eggs in that.
It's like a hot bath.
It's hot. It's hot. It's not warm. Wow!
Since the beach itself does not have the mud,
the resort brings it by the truckloads
into a designated mudding area.
And this is really great because it is ready.
There is no sand in here.
It is nice mud.
There is a very cool walkway by the beach that leads you
to the lowest place on Earth.
Think about it.
If you stand here,
there is nowhere else to go but... up.
(Rhoda) Cheesy. Very cheesy.
The Ein Gedi Sea of Spa Resort
has plenty of amenities:
a large swimming pool, gift shops, a restaurant,
a bar, lockers, showers, and toilets.
(Sergio) Overall, this resort is a great place
to get a swim at the Dead Sea,
apply high-quality mud,
and bathe in sulfur pools.
Be very careful, please.
Okay.
I just don't see how.
(Sergio) We continue our drive south
to the last three beaches of the Dead Sea.
They're all located a walking distance from each other
along the shoreline of the Ein Bokek district.
Unlike the north and privately-owned beaches,
these are public and thus have a free entry.
There are many access points to the water
all along the shoreline.
The first beach is the Ein Bokek.
It starts at the north of Ein Bokek resort district
and stretches all the way to the end of it.
The official opening hours are 7 am until 5 pm.
However, we've seen people bathing in the dusk hours...
in the dusk hours of the morning...
until the late hours of the night.
And even though it looks like it belongs to a hotel,
it is actually a free public beach.
The water here is crystal clear
and beautiful turquoise colors.
The beach offers standard amenities:
outdoor showers, indoor showers,
changing rooms, toilets.
But keep in mind that there are no lockers.
This is a great public beach
because it is conveniently located
by the district shopping center
where you can buy food or eat out.
To find out more information about this place,
watch our Ein Bokek video.
(Rhoda) It's really great
because usually when you go to resorts,
But, here, you get to see a lot of history
that is just very, very near.
- Yeah. - So, that's cool.
(Sergio) The second beach in the Southern Basin
is located just a mile and a half away.
Zohar is also public and a free beach.
The official swimming hours are 7 am until 5 pm.
But just like before, there are no gates or fences,
so we have seen people in the water way past 5 pm.
But we urge you to stay safe and obey the rules.
You may hear that it is impossible to drown in the Dead Sea,
but that is a very misleading statement.
The Dead Sea was named
the second most dangerous place to swim in Israel.
Just a few swallows of this water
can cause salt poisoning.
Massive doses of salt hurt the heart and kidneys
and can cause the body to shut down.
It's hurting my lips.
Oh, wow!
The salt concentration in here is insane.
(Rhoda) You actually ate some?
Wow!
Zohar is a gorgeous beach.
Here, too, you will find the standard amenities:
an outside shower, changing rooms, and toilets.
Wow. That was absolutely fantastic!
It's like oil on your skin.
It's so cool.
(Rhoda) Wow. It's like you're swimming in oil.
(Sergio) Right? It's different from the other one.
Yeah. The other ones are not
(Sergio) The last and the most southern beach in the Dead Sea
is the Segregated Beach.
It is located one foot south of the Zohar Beach.
And even though we were tempted to say
this is the same beach as Zohar,
in Google Maps it is flagged as a separate beach.
And for a good reason.
This beach caters to the Jewish Orthodox community.
It has two sections:
one for men and one for women.
And for that reason,
we thought it'd be wise not to walk in there with a camera
but just take drone footage from afar.
We hope you enjoyed this episode.
No, you look straight. Look straight.
(tutting)
(Rhoda) Check out more of our videos about Israel
on our YouTube channel.
And, also, don't forget to subscribe
so you will be notified when we release a new video.