Masada Sunrise Ein Gedi and Dead Sea Tour from Jerusalem

Great place great view, and very nice trek which take less than expected, but when the bus arrives at the entrance, dawn was already there and I would have preferred to hike in the dark and wait there for the first lights

We really enjoyed our experience. We knew that we would have a guided tour but that's a compromise we were willing to take in order to hike to the Masada Fortress. It took us exactly 32 minutes to get up there but we were really going at a fast pace because we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss the sunrise. It was well worth it, gorgeous sunrise. FYI, we stopped on our way to Masada at a little store for a bathroom break where we could also purchase water, coffee, snacks...

Seeing these sights is worthwhile, but the logistics need improvement. First, despite the fact that the tour itinerary stipulated a 4:00 AM departure from the pick-up location, we sat in the vehicle waiting for almost half an hour while the driver tried to figure out what to do about one passenger not on his list ultimately, he told her she could not be on the tour--something he could have done easily in the first five minutes. Then, to make up for lost time, he drove from Jerusalem to Masada like the proverbial bat out of hell, taking curves much too quickly. He got us to the base of Masada just in time for us to make the 45 minute extremely strenuous hike to the summit by sunrise. It would have been far easier had we arrived at Masada earlier, as it took everything we could muster to make it to the top on time. After Masada, we hiked in the Ein-Gedi nature reserve, which was lovely. Finally, we went to the Dead Sea after a stop at the factory making Dead Sea products, not on the itinerary, but a good opportunity to buy these and because there was no warning about rocks, I ended up with deep gashes on my feet and legs, as they were quite slippery and the breakers threw me off balance as well. As I mentioned earlier, all of these sights are well worth seeing. The problem is that this tour is unguided which is stipulated, and really should be guided. It is disappointing to be at the summit of Masada with no guide to describe the ruins at the top. Similarly, it would be immensely helpful to have guidance at the Dead Sea. Surprisingly, the driver who was also our driver for our tour to the north spoke very little English, and in this case, depended on a young woman who was a U.S. American in the IDF as a translator. It was lucky for him and for all of us that she happened to be on the tour!