Are you planning a trip to Jordan, or thinking about going? Then you’re in the right place! We spent six days in this beautiful country for a friend’s wedding, so we had about 4 days to explore which was perfect to fit into a long weekend. From spending a night below the stars in the beautiful desert of Wadi Rum, to visiting the ancient city of Petra, to floating in the dead sea, I share all the best sights for a short trip to Jordan in the blog post below.
Itinerary:
- Day 1: Arrival to Amman in the evening
- Day 2: Wadi Rum
- Day 3: Petra
- Day 4: Amman
- Day 5: Dead Sea
For a complete guide with tips for your trip to Jordan visit this blog post.
Day 1: Arrival in Jordan
We booked a direct flight from Madrid, arriving in Amman late in the evening. Rather than driving through the night or getting a night bus, we stayed the first night in Amman in the Compass Hotel and started travelling around Jordan the next day from there. I would really recommend the hotel as the price-quality is great and it is located in the area where most of the 4-5 star hotels are located.
Day 2: Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum is one of the most beautiful deserts on the planet. It really feels like you are somewhere else, not on planet Earth. This was definitely the highlight of our trip.
We initially wanted to book a car to drive around Jordan and visit several sites, but because it was so expensive we ended up booking a driver through our hotel, which actually made the trip much more relaxed as we didn’t have to drive ourselves!
We spent one night at one of the bubble hotels, which is slightly expensive, but so worth it! We stayed at the Bubblelux Hotel, which I’d really recommend. You get your own bubble with a jacuzzi, and both breakfast and dinner are included in the stay. With your hotel, you can also arrange a Jeep tour upon arrival and see the sunset in the desert at the end, or go star gazing at night with a Telescope.
I would recommend taking some snacks and water with you to the hotel, as most of the hotels charge for any additional drinks and food that are not included in the breakfast and dinner from your reservation.
Day 3: Petra
Petra is of course a must-see if you go to Jordan, as it is one of the main sites tourists come to Jordan for and on so many bucket lists! It wasn’t actually on ours, but we still really wanted to see it.
To get there, we booked another driver through our hotel, who picked us up just after breakfast. The drive is about 1.5-2h, so we arrived in Petra at 10:00 in the morning. In total, we spent about 6h inside, which for us was enough to see everything. Be prepared for a steep hike up to the Monastery though!
The route we took was from the entrance to the Treasury (one of the most famous sights), walking through the Siq, to the Royal Tombs, past the Collonaded street, all the way up to the Monastery on the top of the mountain, and on the way back past the Theatre.
It was a super long, hot and exhausting day, but it was so impressive to see this “lost city” that was built such a long time ago. It’s just crazy. Three things are essential to know before you go:
1. Get the Jordan Pass – it includes both the visa for Jordan, as well as 1, 2 or 3-day visits to Petra, and many other sights (such as Wadi Rum, the Citadel, Roman Theatre, etc.), making it cheaper to do everything, even if you only go to Petra.
2. Bring enough liquids and food (especially liquids) as everything inside is quite expensive.
3. Be prepared it being very touristy with locals trying to sell you horse rides, donkey rides, souvenirs, picture spots etc. (we were not expecting this).
Day 4: Amman
Amman is a large and modern city with numerous ancient ruins. So it is definitely spending at least one day here!
Our top spots to see were:
- The Citadel
- The Roman Theatre
- Rainbow Street
- The Jordan Museum
And try falafel, hummus and baba ganoush (moutabal) at Hashem, a local and traditional street food restaurant in downtown Amman.
Day 5: The Dead Sea
If you haven’t been to the dead sea before this is definitely one of the things you must do when you’re in Jordan! It’s such an incredible experience to float in the super salty water. It is recommended (and this is also what we did) to go to the Dead Sea through one of the hotels, as it is much better maintained, your food is included, and you also have to pay for the public beach.
The best way to enjoy the dead sea is by getting a day pass or staying the night at one of the hotels there. We didn’t stay the night because of our short time in Jordan, but I think it would be worth it, especially if you’re with two or more people, as you can end up spending about the same amount of money for a few day passes as if you book a hotel room there in advance.
The other option is to go there for the day and get a day pass at one of the hotels, which is what we did. We organised a driver through our hotel in Amman to take us there and back on the same day, which cost about 60 JOD. You can either just go to one on the day (try going early) or if you’re staying in a hotel in Amman, they can arrange one for you beforehand (safer option).
We went to the Ramada for the day, as it was a public holiday and most of the other hotels were booked out or more expensive. It was okay, but if you can I would opt for one of the others. The most famous is of course the Kempinsky, but the Holiday Inn is the best value for money. There are also plenty of other choices.
There are of course so many other great things to see in Jordan! Because of the limited time we had, these are the places we decided to visit and I think it makes the perfect 4-5 day trip around the country 🙂
Some of the other areas that are interesting to visit that we couldn’t see are Jerash, the Baptism Site, Aqaba, and Wadi Mujib.