Dead Sea · Backpacking

Public beach entry runs around 20 JD, a taxi down from Amman is 20-35 JD for the whole car, and Madaba Archaeological Park is 3 JD on the way back. A day from Amman with four splitting the taxi lands around 30 JD a head; alone it roughly doubles.

There is no reliable scheduled service to Sweimeh, so the cheap options are splitting a taxi or catching JETT's Dead Sea coach if it is running on your date. Check the operator's own timetable rather than a hotel desk.

Beds on the plateau cost a fraction of the shore, and Madaba is a half-hour drive from the water with its own sights: the Archaeological Park is 3 JD and Mount Nebo another 3 JD.

It is 70 JD for one Petra day, 75 for two and 80 for three, and it waives the tourist visa fee if you buy before arrival and stay the qualifying minimum. It covers Madaba and Mount Nebo but not a single Dead Sea beach.

Everything sold behind a gate is priced for a resort guest. You need drinking water, fresh water to rinse with if the showers are busy, and shoes, because the shoreline is sharp with salt crystals.