Getting to Volume 3: the Dead Sea, timed right

Volume 3 moves the event out of the city for the first time. Panorama sits above the Dead Sea, about 400 metres below sea level, with the water on one side and the hills on the other. It is a beautiful place to spend a day and an easy place to arrive at badly. Here is how to get it right.

Timing

Doors open at 12:00 and the programme runs straight through: talks and panels through the afternoon, workshops in their own room, entertainment from the late afternoon into the night. There is no re-entry gap, so you can arrive when you like, but the workshops with limited seats start early and fill.

Getting there from Amman

• By car: the Dead Sea highway, about 60 to 75 minutes from West Amman. On a Friday the road is quiet before 10:30 and busy after. Parking is on site and free.
• Shared rides: coordinate in your group chat. A car of four is the cheapest way down and the easiest way back up at midnight.
• Taxi apps: they run to the Dead Sea, but the return is the problem. Book your ride home before the last set, not after it.

What to wear

November at the Dead Sea is mild: low twenties in the afternoon, mid teens once the sun is behind the hills. Dress for the evening you will be photographed in and carry a layer for the night. The ground is stone and gravel between stages, so shoes you can walk in. Sunscreen before 15:00 is not optional at this altitude, even in November.

The three things people forget

• A charged phone. Your ticket, your card and the map are all in the app. A small power bank is the single most useful thing in your bag.
• Your guest card. Scanning cards is how you keep the people you meet. Set up your profile before you arrive so the first scan of the day works.
• Water. There is plenty on site, but the walk from the car park in the sun is longer than it looks.

Arrive for the first panel and you get the room before it is a crowd. The best conversations of Volume 2 happened before noon.