If you have a tent you can stay free of charge on a beach. There are three Egged buses from Beer-Sheva to Ein-Gedi every day from Sun to Thu and two buses on Friday.
Ein Gedi is an interesting starting point for an excursion to Judean Dessert. If you are planing such a trip, take with you some water containers, in order to make sure, that you can take with you 5l of water per person per day.
