This summer, we spent one week in Jordan traveling across the country, exploring what it has to offer. The idea of Jordan started with doing a week-long trek to Petra. But that initial plan turned into a driving trip across the country from Amman in the north to Aqaba in the south, and visiting tourist sites on the way.
Jordan has a lot to explore, especially given how small the country is. History - ancient sites in Petra from the 100s AD to religious sites from Judaism, Christianity and Islam; deserts; the Dead Sea (which is unique in itself); the Red Sea for diving; and a different culture - the lives and customs of the Bedouin people. Honestly, a week did not feel long at all, given the varied things you can experience everyday!
Planning the trip was easy, book all the hotels, rent a car and you are good to go. It was a good decision to rent a car to drive around as all the places we visited were mostly within 2-4 hours of each other. So the driving was generally comfortable and convenient (except the last day but will write about it later:) ). A lot of websites had suggested hiring a car with a driver/guide but we wanted to have more flexibility and hence just got a car. It worked out perfectly for us, notwithstanding what people wrote on travel sites about it being tough to drive in Jordan.
Anyways, our itinerary was a pretty relaxed one, with plenty of free time to chill out and do stuff on the go. The basic itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Land in Amman - explore nearby - overnight in Amman
Day 2: Drive to Dead Sea - take a dip etc - drive to Petra via Kings highway - overnight in Petra
Day 3: Explore Petra - overnight in Petra
Day 4: Quick trip to Little Petra - drive to Wadi Rum - explore in evening - overnight at Bedouin Camp in Wadi Rum
Day 5: Morning jeep drive in Wadi Rum - drive to Aqaba - overnight in Aqaba
Day 6-7: Dive in Red Sea - 2 nights in Aqaba
Day 8: Dive in morning - drive back to Madaba via Kings highway - overnight in Madaba
Day 9: Fly back to London!
I found this itinerary on trip advisor and I think its perfect for a week. There are only two changes I would make to it. One, when in Amman, one should not miss a visit to Jerash. Second, the drive on Kings highway is long with plenty of things to see on the way. We did not keep spare time for this drive, but would suggest one should do that. That way, one can also visit Mount Nebo, Bethany, Kerak castle, Shobak castle, Dana Reserve and other spots on this beautiful route.
Or if you are feeling very adventurous, there is an option for a one-week trek to reach Petra. It sounds exotic and a trek of a lifetime. Maybe you can try that out?
And an important tip before I start - don’t depend on Google maps when in Jordan. Its terrible. We spent hours looking for our hotels in Aqaba and Amman, because Google Map showed directions to the hotel, and then made us go around in circles, while the actual hotel was nowhere near! Anyways onto the trip…
Amman
We landed in Amman at 6 in the morning, rented a car and left for the city, which is about 40 mins from the airport. The weather was quite cool (looks like Amman is cooler than the rest of the country!) and everyone had warned beforehand that the traffic in Amman is terrible. Honestly, given that we’ve driven in India, the traffic felt like a breeze! Lot of cars, roads within the city are sometimes narrow and not maintained, people honk a lot and stop wherever they feel like, but otherwise it was pretty disciplined. Surprisingly, there was a lot of army on the street to the city, which felt scary at first. Think it was because the Pope was visiting, but did not help in setting our minds at ease though!
What played up this time though was Google Maps! We were staying at the Sheraton which was just one turn from the airport road! And it took us 3 hours of driving within the city, to reach the hotel shown by Google Maps. We finally ended up calling the hotel, and them trying to navigate us without really knowing where we were! Another thing to note about Amman is that each road and circle has a long long name, named after earlier kings and queens, none of which are used by the normal people. So the hotel staff were trying to direct us ‘turn left from circle 5 and right from circle 6’ when there is no way of finding in the map what is circle 5 and 6! Anyways after a long ordeal, we reached the hotel. (Reminding you again - don’t depend on Google Maps, use paper maps if needed. Back to basics helps in some cases:) )
Anyways, after the morning adventure, we just rested and ditched the plan to go to Jerash. We spent the rest of the evening within Amman. The city of Amman is not appealing at all, it looks like a yellow brownish mess of houses, which look the same, old and run-down. Honestly, the whole city felt very dirty and backward (I am sure it isn’t but it felt like that!). Most people did not speak English either, unlike other touristy places we visited later. Looks like most tourists don’t come to Amman.
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| Hercules temple - Citadel |
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| Amphitheatre and Amman old town |
In the evening, we saw the Champions League final match on the terrace bar of the Sheraton, called Sanctuary Lounge. It was open air, with comfortable seating around, the game playing on a huge screen, heaters to warm in the chilly air, lots of sheeshas around, women dressed in party clothes and live music playing in the breaks. It did not feel like Jordan at all, could have been anywhere in Europe even! (It made me realize the rich everywhere around the world enjoy the same lifestyle, its the poor and middle class where you can see a difference!)
Accomodation + Food
We stayed at the Sheraton, which was an easy drive from the airport and located on Circle no 5! It was the usual high-end chain hotel, nothing different to offer
In terms of food, we had one meal at the city center, at a local restaurant called Al asalah al shameya. It had very tasty food, and a very local ethnic Arabic ambience - was a nice experience. One thing to look out for though - portions in Jordan are always American size, so you would always end up over-ordering.
Dead Sea
The drive from Amman to Dead Sea is quick - about an hour or so. On the way, you can stop at Bethany - the place where Jesus Christ was baptized. From the visitor center, you take a shuttle, walk a bit and then reach the site. We were short of time, so had to skip it.
The first view of the Dead Sea is mesmerizing. You see this body of blue coming into view, contrasting with the light brown mountains on all sides (The mountains on the other side are actually Israel!). The dead sea is completely calm, not much movement happens on its surface due to lack of any water life. There is a public beach to access to sea, or you can go to the hotels which allow private access to the sea. We went to the Marriott - it costs about 60 JOD, with 25 of it usable for food.
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| Dead Sea |
The Dead Sea area is about 400m below sea level, this leads to more oxygen in the air and is supposedly a very healthy environment. A lot of people come here for healing, both in terms of general health, and curing skin diseases using dead sea mud. Even we felt a lot more energetic when we were here. Also, the sun does not hurt much here, don’t know why, even though it was so hot and bright, we did not get tanned at all.
We spent some time in the sea, some in the hotel pool, had lunch and then left for Petra. Before leaving, we visited the local mall and found a huge poster of Deepika Padukone promoting Tissot. Was quite a welcome change! You can buy lot of dead sea minerals and cosmetics from here - mud masks, creams etc. Am not sure how good they are, but definitely sound different.
Accomodation + Food
There are a couple of hotels in this area, Marriott, Moevenpick, Kempinski etc. They are all located next to each other on the same stretch of the road. We ate at the Acacia Lounge and Champions Sports Bar in Marriott, all offering tasty and expensive food. Also, you will see so many hookahs all around - all eating and sitting places offer these.
Map
Jordan: Petra and Wadi Rum
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