Jordan Group Discovery 8D/7N

Begin your tour with an Amman airport pick-up & accommodation check-in.

Amman Airport Pick-Up & Accommodation Check-In

You will be picked up at the Amman airport upon arrival and transferred to your accommodation for check-in. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure to relax, explore, and get settled in. Overnight in Amman.

Tour the city of Amman and discover nearby desert castles.

Amman City Tour & Visit Desert Castles

After breakfast we will make our way to Jordan's famous 'desert castles', located on the old trade routes created during the Umayyad era. These ancient gems still house remnants including frescoes, bath houses and wells - giving us great insight into how they were built during the 7th and 8th centuries. We'll explore the desert castles of Qasr al-Kharrana, Qal'at al-Azraq and Qseirr Amra before we head back to Amman for a lunch of hummus and falafel at a local restaurant.

After lunch, we'll explore downtown Amman on foot, visiting the impressive Amphitheatre, the Jordan Folklore Museum, and the Citadel. We'll also visit some of Amman's busy markets and taste Jordanian sweet treat Knafeh while our guide teaches us some basic Arabic phrases to use during our Jordan tour.

If there's time left, we may visit a few traditional handcraft and art galleries before returning to our hotel.

Visit the city of Jerash, the Aljoun Castle, and hike to ancient tombs.

Jerash City Tour & Ancient Tomb Visit

After breakfast, we leave Amman for nearby Jerash, 'the Jewel of the North'. One of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. See the ancient city’s paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates.

From Jerash, we'll make our way to the 12th century Aljoun Castle, which served as the base for Saladin's Arab forces when he defeated the Crusaders. The castle is surrounded by the breathtaking Ajloun Forest Reserve, a popular place for hikers with its hills, mountains and forests.

Next we will head to the village of Rasoun to meet our homestay hosts for the night. After settling in and being shown around the village, we'll hike to see some Bronze Age Dolmens, megalithic tombs formed by placing a huge stone slab atop two or more standing stones.

We'll return to our homestay in Rasoun this evening, where we'll be treated to a home-cooked traditional Arabic meal prepared by our host Jordanian family. After sharing a meal we will spend the evening chatting with them about life in Jordan.

Visit Madaba & Mount Nebo on the way to the Dead Sea.

Soak in the Dead Sea

This morning you'll say goodbye to your host family after a shared breakfast and we'll head south to Madaba. Here we'll marvel at the Byzantine mosaics and the 'Madaba Map', the oldest preserved map of the Holy Land. From Madaba, we'll make our way to Mount Nebo, the place where the prophet Moses looked across the Promised Land. It is also his burial place. On a clear day, you'll get great views towards Jericho and beyond.

After lunch, we'll make our way down to our resort right on the banks of the Dead Sea, where you have some free time to swim - or rather float - in its incredibly salty waters and to relax by the hotel pool. Overnight at the Dead Sea.

Trek through the Dana Biosphere Reserve before arriving in Petra.

Trek the Dana Biosphere

Today, we'll make our way down the coast of the Dead Sea, passing deep canyons and gorges as they meet the sea before heading into the salt flats. Next we'll wind up through the mountains towards Petra, stopping in the beautiful scenery and hills of the Dana Biosphere Reserve. Jordan's largest nature reserve boasts great views of the valleys and hills on the various trails around the restored Dana village. Spring is a particularly lovely time to visit, when the terrain explodes with flowers. We'll stop for a home-made lunch in the village (not included) and take a walk before continuing to the imposing crusader castle at Shobak, finally arriving at Petra late in the evening.

Optional: For an extra cost, you have the option for a spectacular and atmospheric introduction to Petra tonight, with the Petra by Night tour. Here you walk through the Siq to the Treasury, the whole way being atmospherically lit up by hundreds of candles.

Enjoy a full day tour of the carved city of Petra and spend the night in a Bedouin camp.

Explore the Carved City of Petra

Today we have a whole day today to tour the ancient red city of Petra (2-3 hour guided tour, then free time to explore yourselves). We start by walking through the Siq, a slot canyon which rises to 200m and narrows to just 2m wide in places. Your guide will explain how the buildings here are mainly elaborate facades carved into the rock from the top down, and also discuss the spiritual significance of the building style. See the ruined Roman amphitheatre, and colonnaded street, and during your free time you can walk up a steep and narrow winding gorge past beautifully coloured sandstone cliff walls to the huge and imposing 'Monastery'. The Monastery is the biggest of Petra's carved monuments at 50m high and 45m wide, and offers magnificent views across Wadi Aruba and the Jordan valley. Another climb can take you to the High Place of Sacrifice, and Lion Fountain.

Late in the afternoon, we'll head into the spectacular desert scenery of Wadi Rum for a night under the stars thanks to the hospitality of the Bedouins. We stay in a comfortable camp with a great remote location between the sand dunes and the rocky cliffs, well away from the road and traffic.

You can sleep in your traditional goat hair tent, with a proper bed and all bedding provided, or bring your own sleeping bag and find a secluded location to sleep outside under the stars.

Discover the stunning nature of Wadi Rum with a jeep safari before your return to Amman.

Discover Wadi Rum on Jeep Safari

After breakfast in the camp, we take a jeep safari through the sands and beneath the towering 'jebels' of Wadi Rum, stopping to climb sand dunes and to see some of the strange rock formations and a spectacular rock bridge.

We'll also have the unique opportunity do some local activities inspired by Bedouin traditions. Walk with a local shepherd and his sheep and goats to a Bedouin tent where we'll participate in making a traditional lunch. We can also join in and learn about other traditional Bedouin activities such as shearing the sheep & goats' hair, milking, grinding grains, making bread and roasting coffee until our lunch is ready.

Finally, we return by jeep to our camp and then drive north on the Desert Highway back to Amman. This evening we'll walk out to a coffee shop or cafe near our hotel in Downtown Amman to enjoy a shisha, a game of backgammon and to reminisce on our Jordan tour.

Optional: If you would like to add a few days to your tour and spend some time by the Red Sea, then an extension to Aqaba is available after you finish in Wadi Rum.

End your trip with an Amman airport drop-off.

Amman Airport Drop-Off

Today your adventure will come to an end with an Amman airport drop-off. We wish you safe travels for your journey onward!