The Arad Visitor Center, P.O. Box 824, Arad 80700 (tel. 95 44 09, fax 95 50 52), is on Ben Yair St. across from the tourist office. This excellent resource, run by the Nature Reserves Authority, has information on the town of Arad and the surrounding area. You can obtain detailed topographical maps for hiking in the Negev or Dead Sea area (all in Hebrew, but ask them to pen in the English names), or information on nature reserves throughout the country.

The center includes a museum and a store with hiking gear, and offers an audio-visual presentation. (Open Sat-Thurs. 9am-5pm, Fri. 9am-2:30pm.) For jeep tours contact Oded Hamm, a tour guide, at P.O. Box 669, Arad 80700 (tel. 95 23 88, fax 95 84 84). Half-day, full-day, and overnight tours are run out of Arad and Ein Bokek at the Dead Sea.