Experience Jordan Tour – 8 Days

About this tour

Jordan is the nation that awaits! This itinerary includes the majority of Jordan’s largest cities, as well as the must-see attractions and important activities. You will be able to take in Jordan’s magnificent history, customs, and friendly populace.

Highlights

Take in the distinctiveness of Jordan’s main cities.
See Wadi Rum on the top of a camel to experience it as it was intended to be seen.
Take a lunch at a neighborhood family house and enjoy the testy food to the brim.
Visit crusader castles and learn about the history that shaped the area for all time.
Explore the rose-colored city of Petra and discover undiscovered gems that few visitors discover.
Take a boat ride in the Aqaba Sea port to go snorkeling or diving for the day.
Experience the Dead Sea dirt firsthand by floating in it.

Brief itinerary

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at the Airport in Amman

Welcome to the city of Amman, the view of the Amphitheatre and East Amman from the Citadel

Arrive at the Amman Airport where we will meet you, assist with immigration and then transfer you to your hotel. Amman is one of the oldest cities in the world, inhabited since the bronze age. The city is growing into a modern city, but retains its character and history.

Day 2: Amman – Amman City Tour – Experience the Capital – Amman

Tour of the Amman Citadel, the Temple of Hercules

After breakfast, spend a full day exploring Amman. Our experienced guide will start with teaching you a few Arabic greetings that will help you communicate with the Jordanians you will meet on your tour. Throughout the trips, we’ll add a few more words in which help for you to engage with the people you meet. Many people speak English, but you’ll get a warm reception as you use some Arabic.

We’ll start with visiting the Citadel, where in the Old Testament King David arranged to have his lover’s husband murdered. The citadel overlooks the amphitheater and old downtown. We then drive to Jebel Webdeh, the arts and cultural district passing art galleries and local antiquities and handcraft shops.

Next we drive to 1st Circle and start our walking tour on Rainbow Street, lined with cafes, before descending colourful steps into the heart of the old city, passing Wild Jordan, a division of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. Stopping at local restaurants to sample falafel, hummus and the Arab delicacy, Kenafah, eaten at times of celebration. Continue through the streets and markets, visiting the Husseini Mosque and time permitting the amphitheater. The evening will provide time to relax in the hotel or explore the various local restaurants to sample Jordanian food.

Day 3: Amman – Jerash – Ajloun – Meal in Family Home – Amman

Enjoy a meal with a local Jordanian family.

Pick up from Amman and drive north to Jerash, one of the most preserved Greco-Roman cities in the Middle East. After enjoying the ruins and souk at Jerash, proceed to Ajloun and visit the castle, dominating the Ajloun skyline. It was built to ward off the Crusader armies at the key trade and pilgrimage intersection between Jerusalem, Cairo, Damascus and Mecca.

We then head to the village of Orjan for an experience of more traditional life. Meeting our local host at the olive groves, to see the trees that have provided olives for hundreds of years.  We then take a short walk to our host’s family home, where you will be introduced to the culture and daily life of the host community and sample a delicious feast of traditional food cooked by his family.  A great opportunity to ask questions about life in rural Jordan.  Return to Amman for the evening.

Day 4:  Amman – Mount Nebo – Madaba – Kerak – Shobak – Little Petra

The church of St John the Baptist in Madaba (© Experience Jordan)

After breakfast, you start the journey to the south, beginning with Mount Nebo and wonder at the view where Moses looked across to the Promised Land and later died and was buried. Then on to the town of Madaba and discover the amazing Byzantine mosaics excavated from throughout the town. See the ‘Madaba Map’, the oldest preserved mosaic map of the Holy Lands.

Continue south to the ancient crusader castle in Karak, exploring the maze of stone-vaulted halls and passageways. The city of Karak was the capital of Moab and the castle dominates the skyline.  The castle provides an impressive insight into the architectural and military skills of the Crusaders.  Continue south and stop at Shobak castle, also known as Montreal, providing a contrasting example to Kerak.

We finish the day with driving the village of Little Petra known as Beidha where the Nabateans used to host their guests. Enjoy the glow of lanterns on the rocks and the desert moonlight to relax and enjoy the hospitality of the Bedouins in a simple camp.

Day 5: Little Petra – Full Day Petra visit – Petra

Ad-Deir (The Monastery) – 700 steps up, but worth the hike

After breakfast in the camp, we drive for 10 minutes to the Petra Visitor Centre. Now one of Modern Seven Wonders of the World, Petra is known by many names, a master piece half as old as time, the Red Rose city. Marvel at the beauty of the ‘Lost City’, only recently re-discovered by the outside world. 

Walk through the Siq and be astounded as you reach the magnificent Treasury, the entrance guarding the ancient Nabatean city. Then continue into the city, viewing the amphitheater, exploring its many caves and tombs. After lunch there is time to explore off the beaten path where many tourists don’t tread and visit some of the hidden treasures of Petra, such as the Monastery or amazing view overlooking the Treasury from Jebel Khubtha.

Day 6: Petra – Wadi Rum – Camel Ride -Jeep tour – Wadi Rum

Traveling through the Wadi Rum desert

After breakfast, depart from Petra and head to Wadi Rum. On arrival at the camp, you will start your desert adventure with a camel ride out into the magical mountainous desert. You will then meet you Bedouin hosts and start a jeep safari exploring this World Heritage Site, traveling around Wadi Rum’s valleys, canyons, dunes and deserts, discover rock inscriptions, majestic views of mountains and landscapes and narrow gorges. 

At each stop you have the opportunity to hike and scramble and explore in your own time. You enjoy a simple lunch cooked in the desert in the shade of the mountains, and finish with a sunset view across the desert. Then you will return to the camp for dinner and Bedouin hospitality.

Day 7: Wadi Rum – Aqaba Boat Ride – Dead Sea

A visit to Aqaba Jordan’s only port and access to the Red Sea

After waking up to the sunrise and a simple breakfast in the desert, you’ll head to Aqaba, Jordan’s only port with access to the Red Sea. Enjoy a boat ride with views across Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Time to swim and snorkel from the boat, over coral and view the fantastic range of tropical fish. You will then head north, on the Dead Sea highway, for an overnight at the resorts on the shore of the Dead Sea.

Day 8: Dead Sea – Dead Sea Experience – Depart to Airport

Swimming in the Dead Sea

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Time to float in the salty waters of the Dead Sea, relax by the pool, and experience the various treatments in the spa. After this relaxing finish to your tour, you’ll depart and proceed to the QAIA (Queen Alia International Airport).