What's on in Dead Sea (Sweimeh), Jordan through the year

Peak crowds — Winter high season, Christmas and New Year peak

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  18 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Everything outside the resort compounds closes during daylight and the valley road is empty until sunset. The resorts themselves run as normal, and their rates are among the lowest of the year in this window. Source ↗

Still on: Wadi flash-flood season (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Winter high season (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Christmas and New Year peak (20 Dec – 5 Jan)

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Winter high season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Wadi flash-flood season (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Winter high season (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidCrowdedBook early

  Jordanian and Gulf families take the Eid break down here and the shore hotels sell out. The public beaches at Amman Beach are full from mid-morning and the road down from the capital backs up on the first day. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Khamsin dust winds

  15 Mar – 31 May · usuallyDust season

  Hot southerlies off the desert push dust up the rift for a few days at a time in spring, dropping the visibility across the water to nothing and coating everything left outside. They usually blow through in two or three days. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Wadi flash-flood season (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Winter high season (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Dead Sea Ultra Marathon

• Opening

  Wadi Mujib water trails open

  1 Apr – 31 OctTrail seasonBook early

  The Siq and the other wet trails in the Mujib reserve run from 1 April to 31 October and are shut the rest of the year. The reserve trims either end of the season when it rains, and closes at a few hours' notice mid-season. Source ↗

• Festival

  Dead Sea Ultra Marathon

  10 AprMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Fifty kilometres downhill from the highlands to the lowest point on land, run in April before the heat rules it out. The shore hotels fill with runners the night before and the descent road is closed to traffic for the morning. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Eid al-Adha

  25 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyRamadan & EidCrowdedClosures

  Four days of public holiday when Amman comes down to the shore for the day and the resort day passes sell out. The date moves about eleven days earlier each year. Source ↗

Still on: Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar), Khamsin dust winds (15 Mar – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Eid al-Adha, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Khamsin dust winds (15 Mar – 31 May (usually)), Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Eid al-Adha (25 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Eid al-Adha, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The unusable middle of the day

  1 Jun – 15 SepExtreme heat

  Four hundred metres below sea level with nowhere for the heat to go. The resorts move everything to shaded pools, the salt shore is off limits from late morning, and the float that people come for happens at dawn or not at all.

Still on: Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Eid al-Adha (25 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), The unusable middle of the day (1 Jun – 15 Sep)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), The unusable middle of the day (1 Jun – 15 Sep)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Raptors over the Rift

  1 Sep – 25 Oct · usuallyWildlife season

  The Jordan Valley is the funnel for the eastern flyway, and on an autumn morning the thermals carry streams of honey buzzards and storks down the length of it. Source ↗

Still on: Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), The unusable middle of the day (1 Jun – 15 Sep)

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Wadi Mujib water trails open (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Raptors over the Rift (1 Sep – 25 Oct (usually))

Busy — Winter high season

• Hazard

  Wadi flash-flood season

  1 Nov – 31 MarClosures

  Rain falling on the highlands drains into the canyons that come down to the shore, and the valley road and every side wadi close at short notice. This is the reason the water trails are shut for the whole winter. Source ↗

• Season

  Winter high season

  1 Nov – 31 MarWinter-sun seasonCrowdedBook early

  Four hundred metres below sea level, so the winter here is what passes for spring anywhere else and the resorts run full. It is also the only stretch of the year the shore is comfortable at midday. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Winter high season, Christmas and New Year peak

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  20 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The resorts fill with European sun-seekers and Jordanian families at once, and the day-pass rates at the big hotels go to their annual high for the fortnight. Source ↗

Still on: Wadi flash-flood season (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Winter high season (1 Nov – 31 Mar)