After pickup from your central Tel Aviv hotel, venture toward the rugged Judean Desert in a comfortable, air-conditioned coach.
As you travel, view the arid desert scenery and pass the location of the Inn of the Good Samaritan, where the remnants of a monastery commemorate the site of the much-loved biblical parable.
Pass the age-old city of Jericho in the distance as your guide tells the ancient story of its crumbling city walls, and drive by the cliff caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls — fragments of 2,000-year-old religious texts — were discovered in 1947, hidden in clay pots.
Swap your coach for a 4x4 with an expert desert driver at the wheel, and zoom off into the surrounding desert. Rumble up steep inclines, trundle across plains and dry river beds, and visit the famous Dragot Cliffs to admire spine-tingling views of the Dead Sea, Dragot river bed and the Murbaat Caves, a cluster of caverns with unique, square-cut entrances.
Break for tea, coffee and light snacks along the way, and continue through gorges and oases to the Dead Sea, the vast salt lake at the lowest point on Earth — 1,312 feet (400 meters) below sea level.
On arrival, enjoy ample time to drink in the magnificent setting, ‘swim’ in the salt-rich waters and relax on the mineral beaches. If you wish, grab the chance to enjoy a mud bath in the world's richest source of natural salts, and perhaps enjoy a late lunch (own expense) at a café. Afterward, relax on a coach ride back to Tel Aviv where your tour ends a hotel drop-off.
