Private Mount Nebo, Madaba and Baptism Site Tour from the Dead Sea

Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the Baptism Site

Al-Maghtas, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, is the place on the east bank of the River Jordan identified by Christian tradition as where John baptised Jesus. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and lies only a short drive from the Dead Sea resort hotels, which is why the day starts here. From the visitor centre the site's own shuttle takes you to Tell al-Kharrar, known as Elijah's Hill, with the remains of Byzantine churches, baptismal pools and a water system, before continuing down to the river itself.

At the riverbank, the modern Greek Orthodox Church of St John the Baptist stands beside the narrow, reed-lined Jordan, with the opposite bank just metres away. Allow about two hours, including the shuttle and the walk to the water. The Baptism Site opening hours run daily from morning to late afternoon; bring your passport, as this is a border area and identity is checked at the entrance.

The road from the Jordan Valley to the Madaba plateau

How do you get to Mount Nebo from the Dead Sea? By road it is roughly forty-five minutes, but it is a climb of more than a kilometre in altitude, from the lowest point on land to the edge of the Madaba plateau. Our driver takes the winding road up from the valley, and the view back over the Dead Sea, its salt-white shoreline and the hills on the far side opens wider with every bend. Ask for a stop at a viewpoint on the way up.

Travelling in a private vehicle means the route between the sites becomes part of the experience rather than dead time. The Kings Highway, one of the oldest trade roads in the world, runs through Madaba, and this short circuit gives you a taste of its landscape without the long drive south. The climb also explains why Mount Nebo feels so much cooler and breezier than the valley floor.

Mount Nebo, the view over the Holy Land

Mount Nebo rises about eight hundred metres above sea level on the western edge of the plateau, and according to the Bible it is where Moses was shown the Promised Land before he died. The summit has been a place of pilgrimage since the early Byzantine period: a basilica and monastery were built here from the fourth century onwards, and today the restored Memorial Church of Moses protects remarkable floor mosaics, including a hunting-and-herding scene from the old baptistery.

Outside, the bronze Brazen Serpent monument frames the view, and on a clear day the panorama takes in the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, Jericho and the hills around Jerusalem. Is Mount Nebo worth visiting? For the view alone, yes, and the mosaics make it a highlight of any Mount Nebo day trip from the Dead Sea. About one hour is enough, and the site is open daily; mornings are usually clearest for the long view.

Madaba and the mosaic map

Madaba, the City of Mosaics, is a ten-minute drive from Mount Nebo. Its most famous treasure is the Madaba mosaic map in the Greek Orthodox Church of St George: a sixth-century floor mosaic that depicts the Holy Land from Lebanon to the Nile Delta, with Jerusalem at its centre, its colonnaded main street and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre clearly picked out. It is the oldest surviving map of the region and was rediscovered when the church was built over it in the late nineteenth century.

Your entry ticket to St George's Church is included in the default option. Allow an hour to an hour and a half in Madaba: the church, the nearby mosaic workshops where the craft is still practised, and, if you wish, the Archaeological Park and the Church of the Apostles with its mosaic of the sea. Madaba is also the natural place for lunch, not included, before the drive back down to the Dead Sea.

Sweimeh and the Dead Sea resort coast

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on land, around four hundred and thirty metres below sea level, and its water is so dense with salt and minerals that you float without effort. The resort hotels of Sweimeh line the north-eastern shore, and this is where we pick you up and drop you off. Because the three sites are all within an hour of here, a private tour from the Dead Sea is the most time-efficient way to see them.

With the circuit finished in about seven hours, you are back at the Dead Sea in the afternoon with time for the mineral mud, a float and the sunset over the water, which is one of the best moments of a stay here. If you would rather start later or spend longer at one site, tell us: the day is yours, and our driver adapts the order and the timing to your plans.