Ashdod Port Shore Excursion: Masada and the Dead Sea Day Tour
4.2
29 Ratings
Masada
Embark on a thrilling shore excursion from Ashdod Port to Masada and the Dead Sea. Explore the ancient fortress of Masada and relax on the shores of the famous Dead Sea.
Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Masada National Park - Masada, a massive rock outcrop 434m-high (1,424ft). Ride the cable car to Masada’s flat summit where there are incredible views of the desert and the Dead Sea below. Your guide will give you a tour of the remaining structures from King Herod’s palace-fortress. Find out about the history of Masada, and how it served as an untouchable refuge for Herod and later for Jewish rebels. Learn how King Herod built this palace complex in 37BC-31BC, and see mosaics and archaeological remains of a Roman bathhouse, storerooms, guardhouse, palaces, and more. At the end of the Masada tour, you can spend time in the Masada Museum located at the foot of the mount. The museum holds more than 500 artifacts discovered at Masada, and there is an informative movie about Masada’s history.
What's Included
  • Pick up/drop off at Ashdod cruise port
  • A guide will accompany you all day
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • All fees and/or taxes
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a tour to Masada and the Dead Sea from Ashdod Port when your cruise ship ports in this sacred region. This trip to Masada and the Dead Sea is particularly designed for passengers disembarking at Ashdod’s cruise port. The excursion is available every time a cruise ship docks at Ashdod. Your exploration to Masada and the Dead Sea commences as you disembark from your cruise and meet your waiting guide. Relish the southern drive through the arid terrain inside a well-kept vehicle with air conditioning. Masada will be your first stop where you will ascend to the plateau by cable car and visit Herod’s mountaintop fortress. Spend some time in the Masada Museum and view a multimedia presentation on the history of Masada. Subsequently, the tour takes you to the Ein Bokek beach, situated on the Dead Sea’s shoreline. You can enjoy lunch and a dip in the saline Dead Sea here. There’ll be free time for leisure at this distinctive Dead Sea beach before we return to Ashdod for your cruise ship’s departure.

  • This tour is not suitable for people with mobility issues.
Location
Masada National Park
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(29 Ratings)
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Jeff_c
Oct 6, 2023
Dead sea - Our tour guide was great. Dead sea was exciting. Masada was fantastic! Amazing how history unfolded for these poor Jews back in the day.
Review provided by Viator
Jose
Aug 30, 2023
Amazing excursion - Dima is a funny guy with a lot of knowledge about the area. He wouldn't leave anyone behind. Very good experience. I recommend this excursion and it was way cheaper compared to the cruise excursions
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregory_c
Jul 4, 2023
Beautiful Dead Sea and Masada with great guide Michael - Great excursion from the cruise port. Michael the guide was waiting for us on arrival and was very knowledgeable and professional while presenting the history of the Dead Sea and Masada National park. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Nancy_b
Jul 4, 2023
Great time in the Dead Sea and Masada. - We had a great time at Masada and the Dead Sea. Benjamin was a great tour guy. The views were amazing. Loved everything about this tour. Benjamin was very knowledgeable, answered our question, and was very entertaining. Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Leann_d
Jun 29, 2023
Great tour, and passionate tour guide, but bring extra sunscreen and water - Masada and the Dead Sea were breathtaking. Tour guide was very passionate about the historical aspects of both, which makes a world of difference when it comes to teaching history on the top of a mountain 40c (105f) degree heat. Was more physically demanding than what I expected, but would have been fine if I brought more sunscreen and water. Would recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Koria2022
Jun 9, 2023
Amazing experience - The Dead Sea is a must do in Israel. Masada is rich in history but be prepared for a hike in the heat. Our guide and driver were amazing. We were an hour late due to ship and immigration issues but they waited for us. On the way back to our stop they took us the back way so we could get a different view. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rddg2023
Jun 7, 2023
Fun fun fun - Had a great experience with ziv had so much fun . It is highly recommended to do . Will have great memories from today .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mskazooli
May 30, 2023
Gotta come back to Israel! - We had looked forward to this particular tour forever but try as we might, it just wasn’t to be. Freak thunderstorms near Jerusalem caused flooding. Some of the roads were washout and there were sink holes reported. Our wonderful, knowledgeable guide, Eli Yaal, tried numerous times and ways to get us there. We made it as far as 6 miles away from the Dead Sea on our way to Masada. We could see the Dead Sea but that was as close as we were going to get. The police turned everyone around so Eli took us to Mamshit. It was an amazing archeological site and he was very knowledgeable about it. It was a super interesting tour there. Eli took us Be’er Sheera for lunch and a city walking tour. 99.9 percent of us loved the tour and Eli and we all totally understood why we couldn’t get to Masada or the Dead Sea. We did, unfortunately, have one woman who threw a fit from the moment she found out we couldn’t get there. She almost caused an altercation on the bus returning back to the shuttle to the ship. It is sad when people expect the unattainable. Eli handles everything professionally and the majority of us appreciated his efforts. He is well worth touring with again! Good job, Eli!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Virginia
May 17, 2023
Refund not forthcoming! Lack of communication, very quick to take our money!!!! - Our trip was cancelled due to being in a war zone!! We have been unable to communicate with anyone from Tripadvisor about our cancelled trip and a refund!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rebecca_g
Apr 20, 2023
Unresponsive vendor. Don’t do it. - My companion and I were delayed (with the rest of the passengers) and this tour left without us, despite several messages letting them know that there were issues with our ship passing through customs. Ashdod port is not a hospitable or interesting place on its own, and so being stuck here without an agenda or goal is pointless. Frustrated, saddened and angry that this tour vendor left us high and dry and never responded to our communications. Viator was equally apathetic to our issues and could not provide us with an accurate phone number for the vendor. So dissatisfied.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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