Jordan – a versatile country sitting at the crossroads of the continents Asia, Africa and Europe with world-class archeological sites, rocky deserts and the salty Dead Sea to name just a few of its features. Especially the ancient city of Petra is what made us choose Jordan as a travel destination.
The following 1 week route might not give you the most perfect travel itinerary, but it worked out just fine for us and gave us the feeling of experiencing as much of Jordan’s beauty as possible.
BEST TIME TO VISIT JORDAN
We chose to fly to Jordan in April as spring starts in March and temperatures during the day are not intensively hot, yet. However, it still gets pretty cold at night, so the most important thing is to dress in layers and always be prepared for cold and strong winds! Temperatures in the desert dropped down to 4 °C at night, so once again: take warm clothes even though you’re going to a country with around 90 percent covered by desert!
June, July and August are usually rainless and daily temperatures can reach 40°C.
September, October and early November are supposed to be best for diving in Aqaba as the water reaches a temperature of 26°C.
From December to February there can even be snow in the northern parts and nights can drop below freezing.
VISA
A visa is needed to enter Jordan. You can either buy the visa at the airport and pay by credit card or cash in dinar (money can be drawn or exchanged before you get to the visa counter). The visa can also be purchased through the Jordan Pass if you have enough time to order it before flying to Jordan.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY IN JORDAN
Get the Jordan Pass. It includes the price of your visa and bundles the cost of over 40 sites, including Petra and Wadi Rum.
HOW TO GET AROUND IN JORDAN
Jordan is the perfect country for a road trip as there are beautifully winded roads and sceneries along the way that a worth a stop. We drove around 900 km in a week.
We got a rental car at ‘Arena rent a car’ (www.arena-jo.com) which was 7 km outside the airport and therefore cheaper than the rental cars at the airport. They offer a free airport shuttle and you can get a rental car for about 20 – 35 JOD a day.
Traffic in the capital, Amman, is pretty crazy so be extra careful in case you’re taking your car there. Nevertheless, we felt safe driving everywhere else as there is not too much traffic and the roads are fine. However, pay attention to bumps and holes on the road. When driving in the dark watch out for animals or unlit cars along the way.
WHAT TO WEAR IN JORDAN
As Jordan is a Muslim country it’s the norm that women mask their curves and cover their hair with a hijab. Being a female tourist, you don’t have to wear a head scarf, of course, but even though the weather can be warm I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing short shorts or dresses while traveling the country as respect to the local culture should be paid. So, take some light, longer skirts, dresses or pants and shirts that are not too provocative. However, when visiting the very touristy places like Petra you can find tourists that are basically dressed like going to any other western travel destination. At the Dead Sea or in Aqaba it’s okay to wear a bathing suit or bikini.
For men, it’s less of a departure from standard western dress sense, so pack like always J
For both, women and men, the key to planning outfits for Jordan is LAYERS! As temperatures vary widely from freezing cold in the mornings and at night to hot during the day, dress smartly and in layers. And as winds can be strong, take a scarf and sunglasses to protect your head and eyes.
Shoes: In Petra we walked 23 km in our Vans which was fine but you’ll also find a lot of people wearing proper hiking boots which is probably a little more comfy. We didn’t take our hiking boots to not having to carry around too much. Also take some sandals (Birkenstock/ flips flops) for warmer days. When entering a home you should take off your shoes, so shoes you can easily slip in and out are practical, too.
JORDAN 1 WEEK TRAVEL ROUTE
This is our travel route. The prices for the accommodations are categorized as shown here:
€ – less than 40 € per night
€€ – 40 – 100 € per night
€€€ – more than 100 € per night
We got you a 15 € discount at Booking.com if you book via this link
DAY 1 AMMAN (1 NIGHT)
We took the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Amman which arrives at Queen Alia International Airport at 2 o’clock in the morning. To get to bed as soon as possible and to be able to start our road trip early the next morning, we decided to stay close to the airport.
Where we stayed:
Faraseen Apartments (found on booking.com) €€: The apartment and the bathroom were very clean and the owner picked us up from the airport and drove us to the rental car station for free.
After breakfast the next morning we went to the rental car station close by (Arena rent a car) got a car and started our road trip towards the Dead Sea.
DAY 1-3 DEAD SEA (2 NIGHTS)
On our first full day we got a rental car and drove from our accommodation close to the airport to our next accommodation, the Ma’in Hot Springs and stopped several times to take pictures of the views along the highway. The drive took us about 1,5 hours.
What we did:
relaxed by the pool
floated in the Dead Sea
watched sunset at the Dead Sea
Other things to do:
visit Wadi Mujib canyon (it was unfortunately closed when we went there due to heavy rains the days before)
Where we stayed:
Ma’in Hot Springs €€€
We actually tried to find a cheaper place to stay close to the Dead Sea but in the end we chose the Ma’in because it was the only place in the area that we liked. Being located in a deep valley, the Ma’in’s most special feature is the hot waterfall and hot outside pool (maybe not so relaxing on hotter days). They also have a Spa area which however was too expensive for us. To sum it up: we liked the hotel, but it was too shabby and run-down in some places for the price we were paying.
We got you a 15 € discount at Booking.com if you book via this link
Where we ate:
A great breakfast buffet is included in the room rate. As the Ma’in is located pretty isolated, there are no restaurants around, so we had dinner at the hotel restaurant.
DAY 3-5 PETRA (2 NIGHTS)
After we had another delicious breakfast and checked out at the Ma’in we made our way to Petra. Once again, several stops were made to enjoy the beautiful views like for example along the Dead Sea. The drive from Ma’in to Petra took us about 4 hours. Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan with hand-hewn caves, temples and tombs carved from orange sandstone and definitely a must-see in Jordan! Writing about Petra’s history would go beyond the scope here however We got to Petra (or rather Wadi Musa, how the town is called) at about 5 pm on a Wednesday so we were still in time for ‘Petra by night’, where candles are lit in front of the most famous ancient temple, the Treasury. ‘Petra by night’ takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday but double check the schedule on their homepage before you go.
What we did:
Petra by night
Spent a whole day exploring Petra
Spent another morning in Petra
Entrance fees for Petra (without Jordan Pass):
1 day: 50 JOD
2 days: 55 JOD
3 days: 60 JOD
If you buy the Jordan pass online you can choose how many days you want to spend in Petra.
Where we stayed:
Air BnB: ‘Petra Bedouin family home’ €
This place had pretty good recommendations on AirBnB and the price was low. The room was clean, we needed to get used to the bathroom and there was no breakfast included. Unfortunately, we never got to see our host as there was a big wedding in town so your experience here could probably turn out much better when getting to know the host.
Where we ate:
My mom’s recipe restaurant (also offers vegetarian dishes)
Shawerma (town center)
DAY 5-7 WADI RUM (2 NIGHTS)
After our last night in Wadi Musa (Petra) we spent another morning strolling around the archaeological sites and had lunch in Petra before making our way to the desert. The drive from Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum took about 2 hours.
Wadi Rum, which is also known as the valley of the Moon, is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock and the largest wadi in Jordan. Entrance fees for Wadi Rum (without the Jordan pass): 5 JOD per person.
Where we stayed:
‘Wadi Rum Bedouin Tour with a Camp’ (found on booking.com) €: The tents were clean and comfy, staff was friendly, bathrooms great for being in the desert and there are even showers (cold water).
What we did:
watched the sunset from the sunset rock next to the camp site
took the full day desert tour that the camp offers (around 50 JOD per person including lunch)
watched another sunset
smoked shisha
watched the stars
Where we ate:
The camp offers a breakfast and dinner buffet that has to be paid on top of the room rate. We recommend taking that offer as you’re in the middle of the desert and there are of course no other options to eat around
DAY 8 BACK TO THE AIRPORT
The drive from Wadi Rum to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman took us around 4 hours. As we still had lots of time left before we had to catch the flight back home we decided to spent the afternoon in Amman. We had a late lunch and tea on Rainbow Street, where several restaurants and some shops can be found.
Where we ate:
Fatari (on Rainbow Street)
Turtle Green (coffee on Rainbow Street)
As mentioned before, traffic in Amman is crazy so drive extra careful to not wreck your rental car during your last hours We returned our rental car and took the free shuttle to the airport. Do you want to know more? Contact us or leave a comment.