Tour to Jordan. Any recommendations?
Discussion
We fancy doing something different from our normal holidays in Europe and Jordan looked like it could be interesting.
Obviously there’s some concerns because of events in Israel and Gaza, but this might not be a trip for 2024.
We would want to do an organised tour, so does anyone have any recommendations on operators to use and what’s essential to see. The obvious stuff like Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea are on the list.
I assume a full 7 nights is worthwhile, but we could possibly do longer if needed.
Obviously there’s some concerns because of events in Israel and Gaza, but this might not be a trip for 2024.
We would want to do an organised tour, so does anyone have any recommendations on operators to use and what’s essential to see. The obvious stuff like Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea are on the list.
I assume a full 7 nights is worthwhile, but we could possibly do longer if needed.
Yeah, I would give it a miss until things calm down...
We live just over the border so have basically rocked up and had a taxi driver take us around so I don't have any tour recommendations. Dead Sea is a must as it won't be there that much longer, or will have certainly receded away from the hotels. We stayed there at the Kempinski. Hit and miss with the service but it's a lovely spot.
Try and go out of season for the likes of Petra as it is crazy busy, well, post Covid up until recently. Definitely recommend doing the Treasury at night. Not a long walk and it is lovely all lit up. Plenty to see in Amman also, although we only did one night there before flying to the UK.
One small tip - no camo clothing is allowed. I forgot and caused much consternation at airport security with my camo belt.
We live just over the border so have basically rocked up and had a taxi driver take us around so I don't have any tour recommendations. Dead Sea is a must as it won't be there that much longer, or will have certainly receded away from the hotels. We stayed there at the Kempinski. Hit and miss with the service but it's a lovely spot.
Try and go out of season for the likes of Petra as it is crazy busy, well, post Covid up until recently. Definitely recommend doing the Treasury at night. Not a long walk and it is lovely all lit up. Plenty to see in Amman also, although we only did one night there before flying to the UK.
One small tip - no camo clothing is allowed. I forgot and caused much consternation at airport security with my camo belt.
we were there last March. Temp was fine, although it does get cold in Wadi Rum at night. It's worth spending a night there if you can.
We did a 10 day tour withTrailfinders, who I thought organised things very well. It was mainly a history tour, though. Loads of history in Jordan!
We stayed in Petra for 2 nights, so could get in the site first thing in the morning. Very quiet at that time of day, although by the time we came out, it was very busy, even at that time of year. Little Petra is also worth a visit.
We finished off the tour with 3 nights at the Kempinski hotel by the Dead Sea, which had it's own access to the sea. From there to the airport was less than an hours drive.
It was a busy but, fascinating trip.
We did a 10 day tour withTrailfinders, who I thought organised things very well. It was mainly a history tour, though. Loads of history in Jordan!
We stayed in Petra for 2 nights, so could get in the site first thing in the morning. Very quiet at that time of day, although by the time we came out, it was very busy, even at that time of year. Little Petra is also worth a visit.
We finished off the tour with 3 nights at the Kempinski hotel by the Dead Sea, which had it's own access to the sea. From there to the airport was less than an hours drive.
It was a busy but, fascinating trip.
Rumdoodle said:
I spend most of my time there. Avoid May to September if you want cooler weather. Security is fine. Go ahead and book it. It's a great place!
October might be an option, as that gives me time to plan properly, and for peace (or at least less shooting) to break out in Israel and Gaza. We visited in January about 6 years back. Security- wise it was absolutely fine, tourism had been hammered due to Syria etc so the locals were very welcoming and we had a lot of the tourist sites to ourselves. I was initially wary at first but it did all feel pretty safe.
Petra and Wadi Rum are obviously musts. We hired a beduin guide in his 4x4 to give us a 2 day tour in Wadi Rum and it was brilliant. Very cold at night in the desert but absolutely beautiful. The dead Sea was also pretty cool. Its mad driving back up from it along steep roads etc and realising you're still below sea level.
We organised and booked the trip ourselves which wasn't a major stress tbh. Hiring a car was absolutely fine (some dodgy driving about though!) and hotels & air bnbs were easy enough too. It gave us the freedom to be more flexible and we just booked stuff as we went along.
Flights were more of an inconvenience as there were only limited options. We flew via Paris in the end with Air France I think.
Don't be put off by the Israel/Gaza situation. Do it!
Petra and Wadi Rum are obviously musts. We hired a beduin guide in his 4x4 to give us a 2 day tour in Wadi Rum and it was brilliant. Very cold at night in the desert but absolutely beautiful. The dead Sea was also pretty cool. Its mad driving back up from it along steep roads etc and realising you're still below sea level.
We organised and booked the trip ourselves which wasn't a major stress tbh. Hiring a car was absolutely fine (some dodgy driving about though!) and hotels & air bnbs were easy enough too. It gave us the freedom to be more flexible and we just booked stuff as we went along.
Flights were more of an inconvenience as there were only limited options. We flew via Paris in the end with Air France I think.
Don't be put off by the Israel/Gaza situation. Do it!
If you're flying direct from London to Amman, options are BA and Royal Jordanian. Similar prices but BA is awful (no in-flight entertainment at all and pay for all refreshments), whereas RJ is just normal. Depending on the time of year, a return ticket is about £450 (best) or £1k+ (worst), so it's worth checking a few dates to make sure you're not being stung.
As for security, there is no reason to think that any regional issues will disrupt a holiday to Jordan, flight schedules, access to tourism sites etc. It'd be like avoiding Poland because of what's going on in Ukraine.
As for security, there is no reason to think that any regional issues will disrupt a holiday to Jordan, flight schedules, access to tourism sites etc. It'd be like avoiding Poland because of what's going on in Ukraine.
Rumdoodle said:
As for security, there is no reason to think that any regional issues will disrupt a holiday to Jordan, flight schedules, access to tourism sites etc. It'd be like avoiding Poland because of what's going on in Ukraine.
Pretty much all international flights were cancelled into Aqaba. Hotels there have been really hit with lack of visitors. A tourist visit would most likely be fine but there is definitely an impact. SaulGoodman said:
Rumdoodle said:
As for security, there is no reason to think that any regional issues will disrupt a holiday to Jordan, flight schedules, access to tourism sites etc. It'd be like avoiding Poland because of what's going on in Ukraine.
Pretty much all international flights were cancelled into Aqaba. Hotels there have been really hit with lack of visitors. A tourist visit would most likely be fine but there is definitely an impact. We rented a car and did a self drive, it was an awesome experience and some of the roads (e.g. down to the Dead Sea) were amazing. Drove along the King's Highway, stopped off at random places, just soaking it all in. Totally different to Egypt, crazy how two neighbouring countries can be so different.
The people were some of the friendliest we've ever met, it's an amazing country to visit.
p.s. this was all before the whole Syria and Gaza events...
The people were some of the friendliest we've ever met, it's an amazing country to visit.
p.s. this was all before the whole Syria and Gaza events...
Shaoxter said:
We rented a car and did a self drive, it was an awesome experience and some of the roads (e.g. down to the Dead Sea) were amazing. Drove along the King's Highway, stopped off at random places, just soaking it all in. Totally different to Egypt, crazy how two neighbouring countries can be so different.
The people were some of the friendliest we've ever met, it's an amazing country to visit.
p.s. this was all before the whole Syria and Gaza events...
It's definitely worth hiring a car and having the freedom to stop off pretty much anywhere and take in the views. There's hardly any traffic outside of Amman, distances are very manageable, driving standards are excellent for the region, the condition of the roads is at least as good as the UK and it's really easy to navigate. The people were some of the friendliest we've ever met, it's an amazing country to visit.
p.s. this was all before the whole Syria and Gaza events...
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