HIGHLIGHTS

Amman Roman city of Jerash King’s Highway – Madaba, Mt Nebo and Kerak Castle Petra Dead Sea Wadi Rum – 4WD desert experience Optional extras: Petra by candlelight; Bedouin camping under the stars; Red Sea resort relaxation

DESCRIPTION OF JORDAN VACATION ON A SHOESTRING

This tour of Jordan provides a great value introduction to the country’s major sites including Amman, Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

The bustling capital Amman is the springboard for a day trip out to the ancient Roman city at Jerash. One of the largest and best-preserved sites outside Italy, wander amid paved and colonnaded streets, hilltop temples, amphitheatres and spacious public squares. From here, you’ll head across to the Dead Sea to enjoy floating effortlessly in its famously salty waters.

Heading south along the King Highway towards Petra, you’ll experience a wonderfully scenic route taking in deep wadis, olive groves and characterful rural villages. Along the way, see Roman mosaics at Madaba, enjoy great views to Israel from Mt. Nebo, and visit the 12th century Crusader fortress of Kerak Castle.

Your exploration of the wonderful “Rose Red City” of Petra includes a guided tour plus plenty of free time to wander on your own – perhaps walking along the ancient Siq and wondering at the majesty of the mighty Treasury built more than 2,000 years ago. There’s an option too of returning to see this majestic memorial to past times by candlelight.

Moving on to Wadi Rum, you’ll hear about its famous links to the legendary British army officer Lawrence of Arabia, as well as enjoying a 4WD jeep safari through spectacular desert scenery of towering cliffs, bizarre rock formations and sandy dunes.

There are also some wonderful extensions to this trip, including a chance to spend a night under the stars at a Bedouin camp inside the Wadi Rum reserve before returning to Amman. Alternatively, you can add three days by spending a night with the Bedouins then heading to the Red Sea for two-night kicking back in a 5-star beach resort before returning to Amman

This tour also connects well with our Fantastic Israel tour, and we can arrange overland or flight transfers to connect the two together.

ITINERARY

DAY 1:

Arrive in Amman. Hotel transfers included Once you arrive in Amman, you will be welcomed by our staff before we transfer to your hotel. We’ll help you check in and show you where the local shops, cafés and restaurants are before we give you some free time to explore the city before we officially start the tour tomorrow. | OVERNIGHT

DAY 2:

A city tour of Amman and exploring Jerash We start the day by heading to the nearby ruined city of Jerash. It’s hard not to be in awe of this masterpiece of Roman architecture which was once hidden under sand. You’ll explore some of the city’s ruined highlights, which includes theatres, baths, fountains, winding paved streets and striking hilltop temples. In the afternoon we take a city tour back in Amman, which is known as the ‘white city’ due to its vast collection of white limestone buildings. Your guide will give you a glimpse into Amman’s rich history, pointing out the excavations and renovations made during from the Neolithic period, the Hellenistic period and the late Roman to Arab Islamic Ages. The Citadel is another highlight and you can see the ancient temple of Hercules, the 8th century Umayyad Palace, the Byzantine Church and the 6,000 seat Roman theatre. This intricate 2nd century theatre is still used today for cultural events. | OVERNIGHT

DAY 3:

King’s Highway to Petra with stops at Madaba & Kerak Castle King’s Highway to Petra via Madaba and Kerak Another day of exploration awaits, starting with a drive along the picturesque King’s Highway to Petra. Although this route takes a bit longer, its alluring views makes it worth going the extra mile. As we drive, we’ll pass numerous wadis, olive groves and rural villages. We’ll stop in Madaba to visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. Your guide will also show you the famous 6th century Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land along with other biblical sites. Next, we’ll make our way up Mount Nebo, which offers breath-taking views of the Holy Land. Back on the road, we’ll cross more wadis, including the impressive Wadi al-Mujib before we reach Kerak Castle – which is one in a chain of Crusader fortresses lined across Jordan on the ancient Egypt-Syrian caravan route. This mammoth fortress was built in 1132 AD by the Crusader King Baldwin and then fell to Saladin in 1188AD. We won’t make any more stops until we reach Petra, where we’ll help you check into your hotel for the evening. You have some free time to do as you please, but we do suggest going on the Petra by Candlelight tour through the Siq to the Treasury. | OVERNIGHT

DAY 4:

Full day exploration of Petra, camping underneath the stars in Wadi Rum Today is all about venturing around the prominent Nabatean site of Petra. Until the Romans took over in 106AD, the historic city was the ancient capital of the Nabatean commercial empire. For a while Petra was forgotten and then rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. Perched on the edge of Wadi Aruba and protected by canyon walls and hills, this city is hard to reach. To enter, you must walk through a small cleft in the rock called the Siq. You will notice that there are very few freestanding structures in the city, as the Nabateans decided to fashion their homes and buildings into the colourful sandstone cliffs. After a 2-3 hour guided tour of this remarkable ancient city, you have plenty of time to amble around and do some discovering. During the guided tour, you will be taken through the Siq, rising 200m above and just 2m wide. There are still the remains of the terracotta pipes that brought water into the city along this wall as well as the ancient Nabatean water channel. When you leave the Siq, one of Petra’s most impressive landmarks will blow you away – the Khazneh, also known as the Treasury. You’ll get a glimpse of the ruined Roman amphitheater and Petra’s colonnaded streets. We also suggest walking along the narrow gorge past the multi-colored sandstone cliffs to the Monastery. This is Petra’s biggest carved monument at 50 metres high and 45 metres wide. From this point, the views of the Wadi Aruba and the Jordan Valley are breathtaking. This afternoon, we leave Petra and drive into the beautiful desert scenery of Wadi Rum, where friendly Bedouin hosts are ready to greet us at a comfortable camp beneath the towering rocks and cliffs. We spend the evening and night relaxing at the camp, watching the stars and enjoying a delicious traditional Jordanian meal. | OVERNIGHT

DAY 5:

A Jeep safari in Wadi Rum & Dead Sea Swim Wadi Rum jeep safari, Dead Sea swim We spend more time amidst the desert scenery of Wadi Rum today on a jeep safari that passes by more sharp cliffs and intriguing rock formations. This area and its huge rust coloured rocky ‘jebels’ was made famous by the film Lawrence of Arabia, that celebrated TE Lawrence’s time here during the Arab revolt of 1917-18. From Wadi Rum, we drive up north to the banks of the Dead Sea – the lowest point on earth, at over 400 metres below sea level. The sea receives a variety of incoming rivers including the Jordan River. When the rivers reach the sea, they merge together before evaporating and leaving behind a unique blend of salts and minerals, supplying local industries with high quality products. West of the Dead Sea, you can view the hills of Jerusalem. This area is believed to have been the home of 5 biblical cities

DAY 6:

Free time in Amman. Airport transfer included You have free time to do some last-minute shopping or get in some relaxation time until we transfer you to the airport. If you want to make the most of your time, you can take one of the optional day trips such as a full-day tour to the Baptism site at Bethany and Ajloun Castle, a trip to Pella and Umm Qais, a tour of the ‘Desert Castles’, or a tour into Israel to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem. You can also arrange a transfer to Tel Aviv by flight or overland if you want to meet up with one of our Israel tours. It is also possible to fly to Cairo and connect with an Egypt tour. Please ask us for full details and we’ll be delighted to help plan an extension to your tour.