Your Best and Most Exciting 7-Day Jordan Itinerary
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Jordan challenged our patience, breathed life into biblical stories, and filled our senses with wonders man-made and natural.
If you are considering exploring this desert land, which I highly recommend, then check out the amazing places we experienced and learn from our mistakes. This Jordan itinerary is jam-packed with beautiful rich history, adventure and luxuriously relaxing accommodations.
Exploring Amman:
Amman’s deep history and rapid growth have created a colorful mosaic of impossibly complicated streets, grand towers, and ancient ruins. This massive and busy city, where we landed and began our adventure, is best explored with a local guide. We had gotten stuck, not able to figure out how to drive out of the city since we didn’t splurge on a GPS and instead had a map in Arabic/English and a toy turtle compass from a Kinder Egg. Yup, it was not a smart choice.
Make sure to get a GPS or consider a driver to get you around (we would likely choose a driver if we had a do-over). A bonus of a driver is that they know the great places to see throughout the city and will be able to show you around where you may not have thought of on your own.
How to find a driver?
Get a hold of a good/trustworthy hotel in Jordan (i.e. Grand Hyatt) and ask for a recommendation from them for a driver they trust. As locals and professionals, they are used to giving out this helpful advice. You may want to ask for someone who knows a little bit of English, but most drivers will know how to get to the typical tourist locations.
Ancient Ruins of Jerash:
Jerash (Jaresh, Jarash…the English spelling of town names in Jordan can change on each sign you read, so read signs phonetically) in Northern Jordan houses the ruins of an ancient Roman City complete with a Hippodrome, church mosaic floor, roads lined with Roman columns, an Amphitheater and perched on the mountain above it all, the Temple of Zeus.
It’s a must-see for anyone interested in historical buildings. There will be those their wanting to sell goods like necklaces or postcards. Be kind, buy something if you like, but don’t feel obliged. This trip will take a good chunk of time during the day to see because it’s a large space with amazing things to take in. Make sure to try out the one spot in the amphitheater where your voice projects to the back of the theatre…it’s amazing!
Historical and Biblical Sites:
If you are interested not only in historical sites but in biblical history like ourselves, then taking a tour bus to Bethany Beyond the Jordan is a great choice. It’s one of the possible baptism sites of Jesus with its ornate Orthodox Church, winding paths, and a surreal riverside where people are getting baptized under the watchful eye of armed Israeli and Jordanian Soldiers. The river is only approximately 30ft wide which actually makes a border between Jordan and Israel. So as we dipped our feet in the river in Jordan, we watched others do the same in Israel….kinda neat.
Along with this walk to the river, you will see a beautiful old church that has some local gifts you can purchase. This is where we purchased many of our gifts for family back home.
From here we drove on the road next to the dead sea. We, regretfully, didn’t stop to take the time to float in this salty sea, but we did have a chance to see it before we arrived at our next destination…
Luxury Stay at Ma’in Hot Springs:
We wanted to enjoy a night of luxury and had come across the Ma’in Hot Springs and Evason Resort Hotel on a blog that made it look amazing. This five-star luxury hotel meets natural wonders and will pamper you after a long and stressful drive over switchback mountain roads (as someone terrified of heights, this was difficult for me, others may just absolutely love these switchback roads as they give you a magnificent view over Jordan….something I wish I could have enjoyed instead of white-knuckling it with my eyes mostly shut tight the whole way).
Seriously though, Ma’in Hot Springs Hotel is by far the nicest, most beautiful place I’ve ever stayed at. Just gorgeous. If you plan to go to Jordan, you MUST go to Ma’in Hot Springs Evason Resort Hotel. Be prepared to pay a lot for the stay and if you don’t want to eat their (fairly expensive) buffet for all your meals, then consider buying stuff before you go. This can be difficult. Finding groceries isn’t always easy, it’s fairly different than what we’re used to in Western countries. Mostly it’s stalls and markets, which you can find often along the side of the road. If you have a driver, then they may be able to help with this. Otherwise, budget for the buffet and just enjoy the delicious food.
Petra: A Man-Made Wonder of the World
Petra was truly a wonder of the world. It slowly unveiled the majesty of the Nabatean stone-carved city which continues to impress after nearly 2000 years of neglect and earthquakes. Enjoying it was lessened somewhat by the many local Bedouins selling “authentic” necklaces, which didn’t actually seem authentic (many were the exact same between different vendors). But still, Petra remains a place that amazes those who can imagine the city as the marvel it once was and still is.
Be sure to take an entire day to visit this location. When you buy your tickets you can buy for a one-day or two-day pass and we found one day to be enough for us, but we didn’t make it to the High Place of Sacrifice at the top of the hill because it was just too much walking (and again, my fear of heights restricts us sometimes). If you have the money, then consider taking a donkey or camel ride or a donkey-pulled cart ride into the treasury (one of the first big sites to see). This will cut down on the amount of walking you need to do (which is a lot). Yes, it will cost a bit extra, so take some extra Jordanian Dinar.
Sleeping in the Wadi Rum Desert:
Wadi Rum, which was the highlight of our journey, was like looking through a window into Jordan’s soul. Before the Romans, the Babylonians, the Nabateans, and even before the Ammonites, the Bedouin lived in this dessert. We looked into a star-filled sky drinking sweet sage tea while dancing and singing into the cool night air. There are many different opportunities to enjoy in the Wadi Rum desert.
At first, it seems strange as you come up to a tiny village to someone’s home who then puts you and your stuff in the back of a truck to drive out into the desert. We made it out in time for us all to climb a large sand dune before settling into our camp to climb the golden rocks to watch the sunset over the mountains.
As the sunsets, it’s as if it sets the entire landscape on fire. Brilliant orange flares across the mountains, the land that stretches before you and the rocky formations that you’re viewing from. Just magnificent.
You can also take advantage of camel riding while in this part of the desert. Don’t be afraid to take kids on the camels, many have done this and enjoyed it immensely.
Seeing Aqaba:
Our final stop was the in the seaside town of Aqaba with its views of gorgeous blue water and the riches of Saudi architecture across the water. One could easily forget they were in the Middle East with the vast array of alcoholic beverages around every corner and the presence of panhandlers which was a first for us since arriving in the Middle East (as we lived in Kuwait at the time).
We didn’t have a chance to explore too much in this city and so didn’t get the fullness of it. Truthfully, we had wished that we had spent an extra night in the Wadi Rum desert instead of going to Aqaba, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
That’s the amazing journey we had a chance to experience and so can you. To help further, here is a quick breakdown of our Jordan Itinerary:
- Arrive in Amman
- Drive north to Jerash
- Drive south to Bethany Beyond the Jordan
- Continue south to Ma’in Hot Springs and drive by the Dead Sea (our suggestion is to actually stop and explore this area though)
- South to Petra
- South to Wadi Rum desert camping
- South to Aqaba
- Drive straight back to Amman to catch the flight
Quick Tips for Traveling to Jordan:
1. Driver: As we mentioned above, look into getting a driver. This is recommended by others who have been there and we wished we had gone with this option. If not, then definitely splurge on the GPS and make sure to read the signs phonetically (because they are often spelled differently from sign to sign)
2. Spend 2 nights in the Wadi Rum desert if you can afford it. This is also something we wished we had done. We would have been happy to skip Aqaba for this.
3. Stop at the Dead Sea if you have the option to have a float in the salty water. If nothing else, dip your toe in it to say you at least tested the waters.
4. Amman can be confusing to get around and has some amazing places to see, so ask for a recommendation from a good hotel for a driver that can bring you to some of the best places in town.
5. There are some great luxury options, check into them or just go with our recommendation of Ma’in Hot Springs because it’s amazing.
6. The food is delicious and likely very different than what you’re used to, but be sure to embrace the culture you’re in and try it. I’m guessing you’ll love it. And don’t be surprised if your breakfast consists of dates, cucumber, tomato, flatbread, and eggs.
I hope you learned a bit about what a great journey you can take across Jordan. It’s a wonderfully interesting and different country than we had never experienced with lots of lovely, helpful people (who helped us find our way out of Amman) and absolutely amazing places to explore.
Do you have plans to visit Jordan? What’s is most exciting for you to see?
