Talk to me about Jordan?
Discussion
Looking at a trip in January. Have seen that flights to Jordan are fairly inexpensive, also aware it's a lot cooler but I'm not bothered about that.
Looking at 4 or 5 days potentially, always wanted to see Petra so would be nice to tick that off the list, but what else is there to see aside from a barren desert?
Looking at 4 or 5 days potentially, always wanted to see Petra so would be nice to tick that off the list, but what else is there to see aside from a barren desert?
There are some spectacular heritage sites. In January, you'll pretty much have them to yourself. If you only have a few days and don't want to cover too many miles, you could see Madaba on the way to or from Petra. They are both south of Amman. Road travel is easy and the distances aren't great, so if you are willing to spend a bit of time on the road, a couple of wonderful sites in the north are Umm Qais and Jerash. Amman itself is worth a day - among other things, the Royal Automobile Museum is quite fun.
Spent a good amount of time in Aqaba and in December heading to Amman airport the taxi driver pulled over as it was snowing so all jumped out in the snow back in again and off to the airport.
Petra is great we cracked a deal with a taxi driver to take us there hang around for us and bring us back, next thing he’s stopped at a random house, comes back with his baked foods for home and stuff for us to share, pulled over at a few scenic spots to view Petra from afar none of this we asked for but were very grateful.
Wadi rum and Aqaba are where Lawrence of Arabia had some battles off the top of my head.
Also the Jordanians are the friendliest people I’ve come across their hospitality is brilliant don’t turn down offers from market traders or shops to invite you in for a tea they’re not trying to flog you anything they’re just being friendly.
Petra is great we cracked a deal with a taxi driver to take us there hang around for us and bring us back, next thing he’s stopped at a random house, comes back with his baked foods for home and stuff for us to share, pulled over at a few scenic spots to view Petra from afar none of this we asked for but were very grateful.
Wadi rum and Aqaba are where Lawrence of Arabia had some battles off the top of my head.
Also the Jordanians are the friendliest people I’ve come across their hospitality is brilliant don’t turn down offers from market traders or shops to invite you in for a tea they’re not trying to flog you anything they’re just being friendly.
The Dead Sea is worth a visit and the Ramada or Kempinski are good places to stay if you choose to head down there.
Already been mentioned but t’s a shame you’re going in January as Aqaba has some great diving if you’re into that - or you can learn there.
I know you’ve mentioned the temperature already but don’t underestimate just how cold it could be. The winters can be pretty harsh temperature-wise. March/April become much more pleasant before the real heat rises.
It’s a fantastic country for a brief visit.
Already been mentioned but t’s a shame you’re going in January as Aqaba has some great diving if you’re into that - or you can learn there.
I know you’ve mentioned the temperature already but don’t underestimate just how cold it could be. The winters can be pretty harsh temperature-wise. March/April become much more pleasant before the real heat rises.
It’s a fantastic country for a brief visit.
The trouble in the region has affected things quite a lot. A number of airlines have still not restarted flights and visitor numbers are way down, certainly from out experience - we live the other side of the border to Aqaba and people travel all the time. Hotels are being hit quite hard and staff numbers are down, but it does mean they are very happy to have guests.
As above, Petra is definitely worth a visit. We just did the evening candlelight walk to the Treasury, which was very cool. January will be less hot and busy so you'd be fine walking the everything in the day - will still be warm, but colder in the evenings. Red Sea again worth seeing. The drives are spectacular. We stayed in the Kempinski which was lovely but pricey. They have their own beach. In a few years time the water will have receded even further than it has already, so best visit now.
Aqaba is small but has plenty of hotels.
You can easily hire a driver who will take you everywhere. You'll have random stops at roadside shops for a "break", but picking up the odd trinket isn't expensive. Always seems to be 3 hours drive from one place to the next but there is plenty of amazing scenery.
Top tip - don't take anything camo pattern. Most ME countries don't seem to care, but they got very agitated with a belt I had. Jackets, t-shirts etc will probably be confiscated if spotted at the airport.
As above, Petra is definitely worth a visit. We just did the evening candlelight walk to the Treasury, which was very cool. January will be less hot and busy so you'd be fine walking the everything in the day - will still be warm, but colder in the evenings. Red Sea again worth seeing. The drives are spectacular. We stayed in the Kempinski which was lovely but pricey. They have their own beach. In a few years time the water will have receded even further than it has already, so best visit now.
Aqaba is small but has plenty of hotels.
You can easily hire a driver who will take you everywhere. You'll have random stops at roadside shops for a "break", but picking up the odd trinket isn't expensive. Always seems to be 3 hours drive from one place to the next but there is plenty of amazing scenery.
Top tip - don't take anything camo pattern. Most ME countries don't seem to care, but they got very agitated with a belt I had. Jackets, t-shirts etc will probably be confiscated if spotted at the airport.
Did Jordan some years ago. Everything was really good, we had a private tour from a company so got driven around everywhere and could adjust to our liking.
The big touristy bits like Petra and the Dead Sea were good, but like all big touristy places were not the highlight of the trip due to many people and lots of harassment to buy tat. We did stay at a camp the night before Petra and walked in to it via some back path which was quite amazing - was a bit hard going, but they were saying at the time it was being made easier, so might be more busy now. The candle lit walk into Petra at night (if they still do it) was very cheesy, but still worth doing.
Our favourite places were Umm Quais where we were the only tourists there the entire day... was amazing to just wander around on our own time, up and down roads the roman roads. And the Dana reserve where we had a (very warm!) day hike.
We skipped Wadi Rum as we've been all over the middle east and it's not the different, despite how much people go on about it. Worth going if you've not done rocky middle east places before.
Chariot grooves in the road at Umm Quais. There was no turn around and there's hundreds of people waiting to take their own perfect insta picture here - we were the only tourists in the whole complex the entire day.
Dana.
Cheesy candle lit Petra. Had to hold back to get a picture with no people, and yes there were a handful of people behind me waiting to do the same.
The big touristy bits like Petra and the Dead Sea were good, but like all big touristy places were not the highlight of the trip due to many people and lots of harassment to buy tat. We did stay at a camp the night before Petra and walked in to it via some back path which was quite amazing - was a bit hard going, but they were saying at the time it was being made easier, so might be more busy now. The candle lit walk into Petra at night (if they still do it) was very cheesy, but still worth doing.
Our favourite places were Umm Quais where we were the only tourists there the entire day... was amazing to just wander around on our own time, up and down roads the roman roads. And the Dana reserve where we had a (very warm!) day hike.
We skipped Wadi Rum as we've been all over the middle east and it's not the different, despite how much people go on about it. Worth going if you've not done rocky middle east places before.
Chariot grooves in the road at Umm Quais. There was no turn around and there's hundreds of people waiting to take their own perfect insta picture here - we were the only tourists in the whole complex the entire day.
Dana.
Cheesy candle lit Petra. Had to hold back to get a picture with no people, and yes there were a handful of people behind me waiting to do the same.
A few years ago now I put together a week long self-guided itinerary for Jordan, I used it both times I went and over the subsequent years many others have used it also (including quite a few from this forum)
Happy to sent it over to you too if you drop me a PM
Jordan is a lovely Country, I hope to go back again one day.
Happy to sent it over to you too if you drop me a PM
Jordan is a lovely Country, I hope to go back again one day.
ecsrobin said:
Also the Jordanians are the friendliest people I’ve come across their hospitality is brilliant don’t turn down offers from market traders or shops to invite you in for a tea they’re not trying to flog you anything they’re just being friendly.
+1. We got lost driving around in the middle of nowhere (don't rely on Google Maps!) and some random people came out from their houses and gave us directions and offered food and drink.In addition to the places already mentioned, we drove the whole Kings Highway which was pretty epic, although very slow progress in places (goes through towns, lots of trucks etc).
I did 5 days there earlier this year - enjoyed it.
Others have said the people were lovely - somewhere but its like Egypt like - I got harassed a bit at airports and tourists sites
Its also more expensive than the UK for many things.
Petra is worth a full day if not 2 or 3 if you like hiking
Wadi rum was great for a day as well.
Others have said the people were lovely - somewhere but its like Egypt like - I got harassed a bit at airports and tourists sites
Its also more expensive than the UK for many things.
Petra is worth a full day if not 2 or 3 if you like hiking
Wadi rum was great for a day as well.
I worked in Jordan for a month a couple of years ago. Everyday we drove into the Wadi Rum every day as the sun came up and I never got bored of the view. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people.
Petra, The Dead Sea and Wadi Rum are brilliant. Try and stay overnight in a tent on wadi rum, the sunrise and sunset is out of this world.
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Petra, The Dead Sea and Wadi Rum are brilliant. Try and stay overnight in a tent on wadi rum, the sunrise and sunset is out of this world.
I went with my family on a week's tour of Jordan with Cox and Kings in November 2019. It was incredible.
I think the itinerary on their website is pretty accurate for what we did, although we did spend a night in Wadi Rum instead of two at the Dead Sea.
All the sights were amazing. Petra definitely lives up to the hype for me. I spent a lot of time exploring by myself to take in the more unusual sites and going off trail to get unique views. You definitely need to be fit to do this though! Being at the hotel closest to the entrance to the park helped a lot.
I think the itinerary on their website is pretty accurate for what we did, although we did spend a night in Wadi Rum instead of two at the Dead Sea.
All the sights were amazing. Petra definitely lives up to the hype for me. I spent a lot of time exploring by myself to take in the more unusual sites and going off trail to get unique views. You definitely need to be fit to do this though! Being at the hotel closest to the entrance to the park helped a lot.
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