The Dead Sea, it must be said, is shrinking. Every year, evaporation causes the giant lake to get ever saltier and the water level to get slightly lower, turning the coastline into a series of cliffs with precious little beach. The hotel resorts that line the lake’s northern coast have bought up most of the remaining sand, offering ticketed access to non-guests. Of these, the Holiday Inn Resort has one of the best beaches. Buy a ticket (around $35 on weekdays and $63 on weekends and holidays), then follow the steep path downhill to the sand and you’re free to indulge in the time-honored tradition of trying to swim in the saltiest water on the planet. Good luck—even the simplest doggy paddle will leave you bobbing up and down like a cork. On the beach, you’ll find pots of purifying Dead Sea mud to slather on your skin. You can wash it off in the sea, but if you’ve given yourself a face mask, stick to the available freshwater showers—the extreme saltiness of the Dead Sea is not something you want to get in your eyes.
