Masada · Getting there

Getting to Masada

Buses called at the stop named Masada 79 times on Thursday 13 August 2026, and the earliest of them arrived at 08:00, the minute the national park opened.

Lorenzo Maimone / Unsplash

Jerusalem to the Masada stop

1 hr 19 min

Egged line 444 left Jerusalem Central Bus Station at 07:00 and reached the stop named Masada at 08:19 on Thursday 13 August 2026; line 486 at 08:00 took 1 hour 32 minutes over the same road

Buses at the Masada stop on a weekday

Lines 444, 486, 421 and 384 combined, both directions, on Thursday 13 August 2026

First arrival of the day

08:00

Line 384 out of Beer Sheva at 06:20 on Thursday 13 August 2026; on extreme heat days the parks authority closes the Snake Path to climbers at 07:00

Buses arriving on a Saturday

None

All eight calls at the Masada stop on Saturday 8 August 2026 were outbound, and the first of them was at 17:30

Masada has one bus stop, and it is called Masada. Four Egged lines use it: 486 and 444 down from Jerusalem, 421 out of Tel Aviv, and 384 up from Beer Sheva through Arad. Between them they called 79 times on Thursday 13 August 2026, in both directions, which makes this one of the better served archaeological sites in the country and puts the eastern visitor centre within a bus ride of four cities without a change.

The catch is not frequency. It is the clock. The first bus of any kind to reach Masada that Thursday arrived at 08:00, and the first one down from Jerusalem, line 444 leaving at 07:00, arrived at 08:19. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority opens the Snake Path for the ascent about an hour before sunrise and, on days of extreme summer heat, stops letting anyone start up it at 07:00. Nobody who arrives on a bus is climbing this mountain in July. A dawn ascent belongs to people with a car, a campsite booking or a seat on a tour that leaves in the dark.

Then there is the week. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last useful bus into Masada left Jerusalem at 13:00 and the last one out went at 16:53. On the Saturday nothing arrived at all: every one of the eight calls at the stop was a departure, and the earliest was at 17:30. A Saturday visit to Masada without a car is a visit you cannot get to.

7 ways in

Every realistic way to reach Masada

Door to door, in the order you actually do it, with the catch stated rather than buried.

From	How	Time	Cost
Jerusalem	Intercity bus	About 1 hour 30 minutes door to door on line 444, or about 1 hour 45 minutes on line 486, including a few minutes uphill from the stop to the ticket office	₪17 for a single bus journey, the published fare in both the 40 to 75 and the 75 to 120 kilometre bands, or ₪33.50 for a daily bus pass in the same bands
Tel Aviv	Intercity bus	2 hours 12 minutes on the bus, which terminates at Masada, plus the walk up to the ticket office	₪17 for a single bus journey: the published fare is the same in the 40 to 75 and the 75 to 120 kilometre bands, so the longer ride from Tel Aviv costs no more than the one from Jerusalem
Tel Aviv	Train and bus	About 2 hours 25 minutes if the connection falls right: 47 minutes on the train, a walk across at Jerusalem, then 1 hour 19 minutes on the bus	₪17 for the bus leg, plus the train, which is priced by air distance band at ₪25 up to 75 kilometres, or ₪39 for a combined bus and train daily pass in that band
Ben Gurion Airport	Train and bus	About 2 hours if the connections fall right: 26 minutes on the train, the lifts and the walk at Jerusalem, then 1 hour 19 minutes on the bus	₪17 for the bus, plus the train, which is priced by air distance band at ₪19 up to 40 kilometres and ₪25 up to 75
Beer Sheva	Intercity bus	1 hour 40 minutes from the central bus station, or 1 hour 30 minutes if you join at the railway station stop	₪17 for a single bus journey in the 40 to 75 kilometre band, or ₪33.50 for a daily bus pass
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Arad	Car	About an hour and a half from Jerusalem, and about an hour and a half from Tel Aviv to Arad before the last stretch to the western entrance	n/a
Jerusalem or Tel Aviv	Organised tour	About ten and a half hours from Jerusalem, 03:00 or 04:00 out and back by 13:30 or 14:30; about twelve and a half from Tel Aviv	From ₪320 a person out of Jerusalem and from ₪350 out of Tel Aviv, with Masada entry at ₪37, the cable car down at ₪31 and Ein Gedi entry at ₪31 all charged separately

Jerusalem to Masada
Intercity busAbout 1 hour 30 minutes door to door on line 444, or about 1 hour 45 minutes on line 486, including a few minutes uphill from the stop to the ticket office
1. 1Go to Jerusalem Central Bus Station on Jaffa Road and up to the intercity platforms on level 3. The Tamar Regional Council names Egged lines 444 and 486 as the services from Jerusalem and the surrounding area; the numbers are as published on the council's own page.
2. 2Take line 444, signed for Eilat, if you want the quick version. The 07:00 was the first of the day on Thursday 13 August 2026 and reached Masada at 08:19; there were eleven southbound calls in all, the last at 20:19.
3. 3Take line 486, signed for Neve Zohar, if the 444 does not suit. It called at Masada 24 times southbound that day, from 09:32 to 18:48, and takes about thirteen minutes longer because it stops more often.
4. 4Stay on past the stop called Masada West Junction, which is out on Route 90. The one you want is the next one, simply called Masada, on the spur road at the eastern visitor centre.
5. 5Coming back, both lines use the same stop. The last 486 north left at 20:13 and reached Jerusalem at 21:41; the last 444 left at 22:23 and arrived at 23:44.
The catch. No bus gets you here early enough to walk up in summer. The first arrival of the day was 08:00 and the parks authority stops letting climbers onto the Snake Path at 07:00 in extreme heat, 08:00 in very hot weather and 10:00 in normal hot weather. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last departure from Jerusalem that arrived in time to enter was the 13:00, and on the Saturday nothing came down at all.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →
Tel Aviv to Masada
Intercity bus2 hours 12 minutes on the bus, which terminates at Masada, plus the walk up to the ticket office
1. 1Get to the bus terminal beside Tel Aviv Savidor Center railway station and find platform A. The Tamar Regional Council names Egged line 421 as the service from Tel Aviv and the centre, and the number is as published on the council's page.
2. 2Take the 421, which terminates at Masada rather than passing it. On Thursday 13 August 2026 it left at 09:00 and 12:00 and arrived at 11:12 and 14:12.
3. 3The route runs south past the Beit Kama and Meitar interchanges and calls at Arad central bus station at about 10:38, which is useful to know but is not the western entrance.
4. 4From Arad the bus drops to the Dead Sea, works along the Ein Bokek hotel stops between about 10:56 and 11:01, and then turns inland for the last ten minutes to Masada.
5. 5Going back, the 421 left Masada at 13:30 and 16:00 and reached Tel Aviv Savidor at 16:00 and 18:30.
The catch. Two departures a day in each direction, and the earlier return leaves at half past one. Miss the 16:00 and the options are a 444 or 486 north to Jerusalem and a train from there, or a night on the Dead Sea. On Friday 7 August 2026 the 421 ran once each way, out at 09:00 and back at 13:00.
Timetable and fares at deadsea.co.il →
Tel Aviv to Masada
Train and busAbout 2 hours 25 minutes if the connection falls right: 47 minutes on the train, a walk across at Jerusalem, then 1 hour 19 minutes on the bus
1. 1Take a Jerusalem train from Tel Aviv Savidor Center. The 06:05 called at Ben Gurion Airport at 06:26 and reached Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon at 06:52 on Thursday 13 August 2026.
2. 2Allow real time to get out at Navon. Its platforms sit 80 metres below street level, which makes it the world's deepest heavy-rail passenger station, and the lifts are the only way up.
3. 3Walk across to Jerusalem Central Bus Station, which is adjacent to the railway station above ground, and go up to the intercity platforms on level 3.
4. 4Take Egged line 444 towards Eilat. The 07:00 reached Masada at 08:19, which is the earliest arrival available from Tel Aviv on any combination.
5. 5If the 444 has gone, line 486 leaves twenty to thirty minutes apart through the morning and takes about thirteen minutes longer on the road.
The catch. This beats the direct 421 by about half an hour and runs all day, but only Sunday to Thursday. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last train into Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon was at 17:00, and on the Saturday nothing reached it before 21:55.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →
Ben Gurion Airport to Masada
Train and busAbout 2 hours if the connections fall right: 26 minutes on the train, the lifts and the walk at Jerusalem, then 1 hour 19 minutes on the bus
1. 1From Terminal 3, follow the signs down to the railway station and take a Jerusalem train. The one that left Tel Aviv Savidor at 06:05 called here at 06:26 and reached Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon at 06:52 on Thursday 13 August 2026.
2. 2Come up from the Navon platforms, 80 metres below the street, and cross to Jerusalem Central Bus Station next door.
3. 3Take Egged line 444 to Eilat or line 486 to Neve Zohar from the level 3 intercity platforms.
4. 4Get off at the stop named Masada, not at Masada West Junction on Route 90 one before it.
5. 5With luggage, note that the airport is where a hire car is cheapest to pick up: the Tamar Regional Council gives about an hour and a half for the drive from Ben Gurion to Ein Bokek, which is twelve kilometres beyond Masada.
The catch. The bus, not the train, sets the deadline, and an afternoon landing will not produce a same-day visit worth having. Trains called at the airport station 57 times on Friday 7 August 2026 with the last at 16:43, and 13 times on the Saturday with the first at 21:57.
Timetable and fares at bus.gov.il →
Beer Sheva to Masada
Intercity bus1 hour 40 minutes from the central bus station, or 1 hour 30 minutes if you join at the railway station stop
1. 1Start at Beer Sheva central bus station, at the intercity platforms. The Tamar Regional Council names Egged line 384 as the service from Beer Sheva, and the number is as published on its page.
2. 2The first run left at 06:20 on Thursday 13 August 2026 and called at the stop outside the railway station on David Ben Gurion Boulevard at 06:30, which is where to join if you have come in by train.
3. 3The bus reaches Arad central bus station at about 07:10 and then drops to the Dead Sea at Neve Zohar.
4. 4It works along the Ein Bokek hotel stops from about 07:45 and arrives at Masada at 08:00, the earliest arrival of any bus on any line.
5. 5It carries on north to Ein Gedi, reaching the field school at 08:26, so Masada and Ein Gedi in one day is a single fare each way.
6. 6Coming back, the 384 called at Masada southbound at 09:40, 11:40, 12:40, 15:40 and 18:55 that day.
The catch. Five runs each way on a weekday, three each way on Friday 7 August 2026 and none on the Saturday. The 06:20 is the only one that gets to Masada before the heat, and if it is missed the next arrival is at 10:00, by which time the Snake Path may already be shut to climbers.
Timetable and fares at deadsea.co.il →
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Arad to Masada
CarAbout an hour and a half from Jerusalem, and about an hour and a half from Tel Aviv to Arad before the last stretch to the western entrance
1. 1From Jerusalem, take Route 1 east and turn right at the Beit HaArava Junction onto Route 90, which is the council's own instruction for reaching the northern Dead Sea.
2. 2Run south on Route 90 past Qumran and Ein Gedi. The parks authority puts Masada some 18 kilometres south of Ein Gedi, or 12 kilometres up from Ein Bokek, and asks drivers to navigate to Masada National Park by name.
3. 3From Tel Aviv and the centre, the council routes drivers via Route 6 or Route 4 to the Shoket Junction, then Route 31 to the Zohar Junction, and north on Route 90 from there.
4. 4For the eastern side, park at the visitor centre. The Snake Path starts from the Palm Tree Parking Lot beside the cashier's booth at the foot of the mountain.
5. 5For the Roman ramp path, the Masada West campground and the night show, take road 3199 from Arad instead, and navigate to Campsite Masada West.
6. 6Decide which side before you set off. The parks authority publishes the two approaches separately and there is no road between them.
The catch. The heat schedule, not the traffic, decides the day. The Snake Path closes for ascent at 07:00 on days of extreme summer heat and the ramp path at 11:00, and in winter, spring and autumn the parks authority warns that flooding is a danger and asks visitors to check the Israel Meteorological Service forecast and stay out of wadi beds.
Timetable and fares at en.parks.org.il →
Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to Masada
Organised tourAbout ten and a half hours from Jerusalem, 03:00 or 04:00 out and back by 13:30 or 14:30; about twelve and a half from Tel Aviv
1. 1Book the Masada sunrise, Ein Gedi and Dead Sea tour with Abraham Tours, choosing the Jerusalem or the Tel Aviv departure.
2. 2From Jerusalem the pickup is at Abraham Jerusalem on Davidka Square between 03:00 and 04:00 depending on the season; from Tel Aviv it is between 02:00 and 03:00.
3. 3The coach reaches Masada at about 05:30 from Jerusalem or 05:00 from Tel Aviv, in time to start up the Snake Path in the dark. The operator describes the climb as a moderate 45-minute hike.
4. 4Ein Gedi follows at about 08:30, the Dead Sea at about 11:00, and the coach is back in Jerusalem between 13:30 and 14:30 or in Tel Aviv between 14:30 and 15:30.
5. 5The operator describes the tour as self-guided, meaning transport and logistics without a guide, and says the price is dynamic.
6. 6The daytime version of the same tour uses the cable car in both directions instead, leaves Jerusalem at 07:30 and returns at 17:00.
The catch. This is the only way to be on the Snake Path at first light without a car, because the first bus of the day does not reach Masada until 08:00. The entry fees are not in the headline price, and Abraham Tours grades the sunrise version as challenging rather than moderate.
Timetable and fares at abrahamtours.com →

The car

The car buys the dawn, and that is most of what it buys

For the middle of the day, hiring a car to see Masada is hard to justify. Four lines stop at the mountain, the two Jerusalem services run through the whole afternoon and evening, and the walk from the stop to the ticket office is a few minutes uphill. If the plan is the cable car, two hours on the plateau and a bus back, the car is a cost with no matching benefit.

It earns its keep at one hour of the day. The parks authority opens the Snake Path for ascent about an hour before sunrise and the Roman ramp path about half an hour before, and both close on a heat schedule set from the Israel Meteorological Service forecast: in normal hot weather the last ascent of the Snake Path is 10:00, in very hot weather 08:00, and in extreme heat 07:00, with the ramp path holding out until 11:00 on those same days. Set that against a first bus arrival of 08:00 and the arithmetic is unforgiving.

The second thing a car buys is the western side. The parks authority gives two separate approaches and no link between them: the eastern complex with the cable car, the museum and the Snake Path is reached from Route 90, and the Roman ramp path, the Masada West campground and the night show are reached from Arad on road 3199. There is no road across or around the mountain between the two, so choosing the wrong one is a drive of well over an hour to correct.

Parking is straightforward by Israeli standards. On the eastern side the Snake Path runs from what the authority calls the Palm Tree Parking Lot, beside the cashier's booth at the foot of the mountain. On the western side the parking, toilets and visitor service centre are all accessible, and the path up from there is not.

The system

One card, air-distance fares, and a Saturday with no way in

Israeli buses and trains are paid for with a Rav-Kav, which Egged describes as a reloadable, reusable, personal and non-transferable card, issued in personal, anonymous and semi-anonymous versions. Since the start of 2026 there has also been a credit card option, but it is a pilot rather than a national switch: Egged began accepting physical cards and phone wallets at the validators on 11 January 2026 in Eilat and on 18 January 2026 in Jerusalem and Haifa. Carrying a Rav-Kav is still the answer that always works.

Fares stopped depending on the route in August 2022. Under the Derekh Shava reform they are set by the air travel distance and the mode, in bands of 15, 40, 75, 120 and 225 kilometres. The useful accident for this journey is that the table published with the July 2024 update prices a single bus ride at ₪17 in both the 40 to 75 and the 75 to 120 kilometre band: the run down from Jerusalem and the much longer one from Tel Aviv cost the same. A daily bus pass in those bands is ₪33.50, so it pays for itself on the third validation, and the combined bus and train daily pass is ₪39 or ₪44 depending on the band.

Then there is Shabbat, which on this road arrives early. Line 486 made four runs each way to Masada on Friday 7 August 2026 against 24 and 21 on the Thursday, and line 384 three each way against five. The last departure from Jerusalem that reached Masada in time to enter was the 13:00, arriving 14:39, since the park's summer Friday closing is 16:00 with entry an hour before. The last bus off the mountain was line 444 at 16:53, into Jerusalem at 18:14.

Saturday is not a reduced service, it is a one-way valve. Eight buses called at the Masada stop on 8 August 2026 and every one was leaving: line 421 to Tel Aviv at 17:30, then line 444 north to Jerusalem hourly from 18:23, and a single 486 at 21:03. The park was open that day from 08:00, exactly as the parks authority publishes.

The stop

One stop is called Masada and two others nearly are

The stop to want is the one named Masada, on the spur road that leaves Route 90 for the eastern visitor centre. Every one of the four lines uses it, and on the southbound run of line 486 it is the stop immediately after one called Masada West Junction. That junction stop is on Route 90 itself, and by the published stop coordinates it sits about 1.7 kilometres from the visitor centre spur. There is a third, Route 90 / Masada South Junction, a little further on. Getting off at either means a walk along a desert highway with no shade and no water, which is the mistake this page exists to prevent.

Line 486 is the workhorse and line 444, which continues to Eilat, is the quick one. On Thursday 13 August 2026 the 486 made 24 southbound calls at Masada and 21 northbound, spread from 08:43 to 20:13; the 444 made 11 and 9. Because the 444 stops less often it does Jerusalem to Masada in 1 hour 19 minutes against the 486's 1 hour 32. The 444 is also the line that runs latest: its final northbound call at Masada that day was 22:23, into Jerusalem at 23:44.

Line 421 is a different animal and worth knowing about, because Masada is its terminus rather than a stop along the way. It leaves the bus terminal beside Tel Aviv Savidor Center railway station, runs south past the Beit Kama and Meitar interchanges, calls at Arad central bus station, then drops to the Dead Sea and works along the Ein Bokek hotel stops before finishing at Masada. On that Thursday it ran twice, leaving Tel Aviv at 09:00 and 12:00, arriving at 11:12 and 14:12, and going back at 13:30 and 16:00.

Line 384 from Beer Sheva is the one that gets there first. It left Beer Sheva central bus station at 06:20, called at the railway station stop on David Ben Gurion Boulevard ten minutes later, reached Arad at 07:10 and was at Masada at 08:00, continuing north to the Ein Gedi field school. Five runs each way on the Thursday, three each way on the Friday, none at all on the Saturday.

On arrival

Three ways up, and the buses double as the local service

From the eastern gate there are two ways to the top. The cable car takes about three minutes each way, carries up to 80 passengers a trip although the authority limits each one to 65, and lands at a suspension bridge that is wheelchair accessible; it is charged on top of the entrance fee, and the last car up goes an hour before the park closes. The Snake Path climbs 350 metres over about two kilometres with roughly 900 steps, takes about an hour and is graded high difficulty. From the Arad side the Roman ramp path takes about half an hour and is graded intermediate.

Entry as published by the parks authority is ₪37 for an adult and ₪21 for a child without the cable car, with the Yigael Yadin museum a further ₪20 and entered by reservation only. Book a time slot online: if the slot is full on arrival you will be asked to show the confirmation to get in.

The same four lines are the local service once you are here. Line 384 covered Masada to the Ein Gedi field school in 26 minutes on that Thursday morning and Ein Bokek to Masada in about a quarter of an hour, which makes a hotel on the strip a workable base and Ein Gedi an easy second stop on the way back to Jerusalem.

For anything the timetable does not cover, including a Friday afternoon and the whole of Saturday, the fallback is a taxi. The Tamar Regional Council lists two drivers by name and mobile number on its own transport page, one of them based at Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and both advertise airport transfers as well as local runs.

A figure standing on the clifftop at Masada at sunrise

Practical

What to know before you go

Work backwards from the heat, not from the timetable. The parks authority sets the last ascent of the Snake Path at 10:00 in normal hot weather, 08:00 when it is very hot and 07:00 in extreme heat, and the first bus of the day arrives at 08:00.
Stay on one stop past Masada West Junction. That stop is out on Route 90, roughly 1.7 kilometres from the visitor centre spur by the published coordinates, with no shade and no water in between.
Take line 444 rather than 486 out of Jerusalem if the times suit. It makes fewer stops and does the run in 1 hour 19 minutes against 1 hour 32, and it is also the line that runs latest at night.
Buy a daily pass the moment you plan more than two rides. A single bus journey in the 40 to 120 kilometre bands is ₪17 and the daily bus pass is ₪33.50.
Carry a Rav-Kav even if your bank card is contactless. Egged's credit card validation began on 11 January 2026 in Eilat and 18 January 2026 in Jerusalem and Haifa, as a pilot rather than a nationwide rollout.
Pick your side of the mountain before you book anything. The cable car, the museum and the Snake Path are on the eastern side off Route 90; the Roman ramp path, the campground and the night show are reached from Arad on road 3199, and there is no road between them.
Treat Friday afternoon as the end of the week. On Friday 7 August 2026 the last bus off the mountain went at 16:53, and the last one that arrived in time to enter the park got in at 14:39.
Book the entry slot online before you get on the bus. The parks authority asks for a reservation confirmation if the time slot is full when you arrive, and the museum is by reservation only.

Lorenzo Maimone / Unsplash

The figures

Numbers behind this page

Each figure carries the year it belongs to and links the source it came from.

Measure	Figure	As of	Source
Bus calls at the Masada stop, all lines, both directions	79 on a Thursday, 28 on a Friday, 8 on a Saturday	2026-08	open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
Jerusalem Central Bus Station to Masada, line 444	1 hour 19 minutes	2026-08-13	open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
Tel Aviv Savidor Center to Masada, line 421	2 hours 12 minutes, twice a day	2026-08-13	open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
First bus arrival of the day at Masada	08:00	2026-08-13	open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
Last bus off Masada on a Friday	16:53	2026-08-07	open-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
Single bus fare, 40 to 120 kilometre bands	₪17	2024-07	ravkavonline.co.il
Adult entry to Masada National Park, without the cable car	₪37	2026-08	en.parks.org.il
Snake Path	About 2 km, 350 m of climb, about 900 steps	2026-08	en.parks.org.il

The rest of the Masada guide

Things to do in Masada →Where to eat in Masada →Where to stay in Masada →The best time to visit Masada →

Sources and further reading

Every link below was opened and checked when this page was written. Official statements are marked as such: they are the subject's own account, not an independent one.

OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityen.parks.org.il
Masada National Park
The operator's own how-to-get-here line, which gives only road distances (some 18 km south of Ein Gedi, 12 km from Ein Bokek) and a Waze search term, plus the opening hours, the heat schedule for the Snake Path and ramp path, the entrance fees and the accessibility list for both sides
OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityen.parks.org.il
The Snake Path at Masada National Park
The path's dimensions (350 m of climb, about 2 km, about 900 steps), the hour it takes, and the fact that it runs from the Palm Tree Parking Lot and the cashier's booth reached via road 90
OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityen.parks.org.il
The Masada Cable Car
About three minutes each way, a capacity of 80 passengers limited in practice to 65, the wheelchair-accessible suspension bridge at the top, and the statement that the ascent is charged on top of the entrance fee
OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityen.parks.org.il
Masada from Dusk to Dawn
The western complex: reached from Arad via road 3199, the Masada West campground, the night show on Tuesdays and Thursdays after sunset and its ₪45 ticket
OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
On the Map
The regional operator's transport page, naming Egged lines 444 and 486 from Jerusalem, 421 from Tel Aviv and the centre and 384 from Beer Sheva, the driving instructions via Beit HaArava Junction and via Shoket and Zohar junctions, the hour and a half from Ben Gurion Airport to Ein Bokek, and the two named taxi drivers
OfficialMinistry of Transportbus.gov.il
National Public Transport Authority
The state journey planner, cited as the operator-side timetable for every bus line and train service named on this page
OfficialRav-Kav Onlineravkavonline.co.il
Public transport fare update, July 2024
The fare table by distance band: ₪17 for a single bus journey in both the 40 to 75 and 75 to 120 km bands, ₪25 and ₪28.50 for the train in the same bands, ₪33.50 for the daily bus pass and ₪39 or ₪44 for the combined bus and train daily pass
OfficialRav-Kav Onlineravkavonline.co.il
Derekh Shava reform in public transport
How the August 2022 reform replaced route pricing with air travel distance, in bands of 15, 40, 75, 120 and 225 kilometres
OfficialEggedegged.co.il
Rav-Kav and payment apps
The Rav-Kav described as reloadable, reusable, personal and non-transferable, its personal, anonymous and semi-anonymous versions, and the credit card validation pilot from 11 January 2026 in Eilat and 18 January 2026 in Jerusalem and Haifa
OfficialAbraham Toursabrahamtours.com
Masada Sunrise, Ein Gedi and Dead Sea Tour from Jerusalem
From ₪320 a person, pickup at Davidka Square between 03:00 and 04:00, Masada at 05:30, Ein Gedi at 08:30, the Dead Sea at 11:00 and back between 13:30 and 14:30, self-guided, with entry at ₪37 and the cable car down at ₪31 excluded
OfficialAbraham Toursabrahamtours.com
Masada Sunrise, Ein Gedi and Dead Sea Tour from Tel Aviv
From ₪350 a person, pickup between 02:00 and 03:00, Masada at 05:00 and back in Tel Aviv between 14:30 and 15:30
OfficialAbraham Toursabrahamtours.com
Masada, Ein Gedi and Dead Sea Tour from Jerusalem
The daytime version, 07:30 out of Davidka Square and back at 17:00, built around the cable car in both directions, with Masada entrance and cable car both ways quoted at 91 NIS as an exclusion
DataThe Public Knowledge Workshopopen-bus-stride-api.hasadna.org.il
Open Bus Stride API
The Ministry of Transport schedule feed, queried at the Masada stop for every departure time, journey time and departure count quoted here for Thursday 13 August, Friday 7 August and Saturday 8 August 2026, and for the stop coordinates behind the 1.7 kilometre figure
ReferenceWikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon railway station
Platforms 80 metres below street level, the world's deepest heavy-rail passenger station, and its position adjacent to Jerusalem Central Bus Station

Getting to Masada: common questions

Can you get to Masada by public transport?+

Yes, and easily, from Sunday to Thursday. Four Egged lines call at a stop named Masada on the eastern side: 486 and 444 from Jerusalem, 421 from Tel Aviv and 384 from Beer Sheva through Arad, and between them they called 79 times on Thursday 13 August 2026. The bus stop is on the spur road at the visitor centre, a few minutes uphill from the ticket office.

Can I get to Masada for sunrise by bus?+

No. The first bus of any kind to reach Masada on Thursday 13 August 2026 arrived at 08:00, well after the Snake Path opens for the ascent about an hour before sunrise. On days of extreme summer heat the parks authority stops letting climbers start up the Snake Path at 07:00 altogether. A dawn ascent means a car, a night at the Masada West campground or a seat on a tour that leaves in the small hours.

How long does the bus from Jerusalem take?+

1 hour 19 minutes on line 444 and 1 hour 32 minutes on line 486, from the intercity platforms on level 3 of Jerusalem Central Bus Station. The 444 continues to Eilat and stops less often, which is where the difference comes from. Those are the times published for Thursday 13 August 2026.

Does anything run to Masada on Shabbat?+

Nothing arrives. On Saturday 8 August 2026 all eight calls at the Masada stop were departures, starting with line 421 to Tel Aviv at 17:30 and then line 444 north to Jerusalem from 18:23. The park itself was open from 08:00, so a Saturday visit is possible with a car or a tour and impossible on a scheduled bus.

What does the bus cost?+

₪17 for a single journey. Under the Derekh Shava reform fares are set by air travel distance and mode, and the table published with the July 2024 update charges ₪17 for a single bus ride in both the 40 to 75 and the 75 to 120 kilometre bands, so Jerusalem and Tel Aviv cost the same. A daily bus pass in those bands is ₪33.50.

Can I reach the Roman ramp path on the Arad side without a car?+

Not on a scheduled bus. The parks authority reaches the western complex from Arad on road 3199, and the Ministry of Transport schedule feed lists no stop there: the only stop in Masada is the eastern one. Line 421 and line 384 both call at Arad central bus station on the way past, but both then continue to the Dead Sea and approach Masada from the east.

Is it worth hiring a car for Masada?+

Only if you want the dawn or the western side. Four bus lines stop at the eastern gate through the day and the ride from Jerusalem is under an hour and a half, so for a cable car visit the car adds cost without adding much. It becomes the only answer for a sunrise climb, for the Roman ramp path from Arad and for Friday afternoons and Saturdays.

Which bus stop do I get off at?+

The one called Masada. Southbound services call at a stop named Masada West Junction first, which is out on Route 90 and roughly 1.7 kilometres from the visitor centre spur by the published stop coordinates, and there is a third called Route 90 / Masada South Junction beyond it. Getting off at either leaves a walk along an unshaded desert highway.

Can I do Masada and Ein Gedi on the same buses?+

Yes, and line 384 makes it simple. On Thursday 13 August 2026 it ran from Masada to the Ein Gedi field school in 26 minutes, and lines 486 and 444 from Jerusalem call at both on the way down. Ein Gedi requires its own reservations from the parks authority and has had trail closures after flood damage, so check before you plan the day around it.

What is the last bus back from Masada?+

On Thursday 13 August 2026 the last one to Jerusalem was line 444 at 22:23, arriving at 23:44, with the last 486 at 20:13. The last bus to Tel Aviv was line 421 at 16:00. On Friday 7 August 2026 everything finished with the 444 at 16:53, and on the Saturday nothing moved before 17:30.