Jordan is one of those countries you can’t go wrong with. From bustling cities to otherworldly deserts, historic sites, incredible wonders such as Petra, good beaches and resorts, there’s a Jordan for every type of traveler. After some studying, we decided to visit:
Day 0: arrival at Queen Alia International Airport
If you’re arriving to Jordan by plane, this will likely be your entry point into the country. We arrived at 10pm, and our objective was to find a place to sleep near the airport. As we had a rental car waiting, we drove some km from the airport to rest at Tunaib Plaza, a building with fairly priced small apartments which you can book here. The studios are well kept but it is located in the southern outskirts of Amman. It seemed a safe area but you may have some difficulty finding facilities such as supermarkets or restaurants nearby.
Day 1: Jerash / Umm Qais / Qasr Ajloun
1.1) Jerash
- Tunaib Plaza -> Jerash: 81km, ±1h30
We targeted northern Jordan for our first day in the country. The first stop was Jerash, a small city north of Amman featuring one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world. If you choose the same hotel as us, you’ll have to pass near Amman. Consider doing the trip to Jerash early: there’s a risk of delays in the traffic of the capital.
The main attraction here are the amazing roman ruins that rest near the city centre since ancient times. The city flourished until an earthquake destroyed most of it in the 8th century AD. Nowadays, the archaeological site features some well-preserved traces of Roman architecture, such as the Arch of Hadrian, the Oval Forum, the Nymphaeum or the Temple of Artemis.
- Entrance fee: 12JD (free with Jordan Pass)
- Approximate time of visit: 1,5-2h
1.2) Umm Qais
- Jerash -> Umm Qais: 71km, 1h15
Our next stop was further north, near the border with Israel and Syria. Umm Qais is an even smaller town which also had its importance in Roman times. The ruins are not as impressive as in Jerash, but it’s still worth the visit.
Umm Qais is also an advantage point from which you can see the city of Tiberias (Israel), the Sea of Galilee, the disputed territory of Golan Heights, and Syria.
We had lunch at the restaurant of the ruins, Romero. The place is expensive for Jordanian standards but the meal we had was great.
- Entrance fee: 5JD (free with Jordan Pass)
- Approximate time of visit: 1h
1.3) Qasr Ajloun (Ajloun Castle)
- Umm Qais -> Ajloun: 60km, 1h13
Our last stop for the day is a medieval muslim castle dating back to the 12th century. The castle was built by the nephew of Saladin and had great importance during the crusader times. If the day goes according to plan, you should arrive here by 3-4pm. The castle is well preserved and has great views over the Ajloun mountainous range.
- Entrance fee: 3JD (free with Jordan Pass)
- Expected time of visit: 1h
From the castle, we drove straight to our hotel in the Dead Sea area (Ramada Resort). The hotel is obviously good but in this area everything’s overpriced – we found a deal for ±75€/night here.
We planned to spend two nights here before heading south to Petra.
Day 2: Baptism Site / Madaba / Mt Nebo / Dead Sea
This will be a very busy day if you follow our plan. There are three major points we wanted to visit before returning to the resort, which means traveling from A to B many times. Luckily, the area to cover is small and distances between places are always <1 hour by car.
2.1) The Baptism Site (Bethany Beyond the Jordan)
- Ramada Resort -> the Baptism Site: 20km, 23min
Our second day started early with a visit to Bethany Beyond the Jordan (the Baptism Site). Tours in Palestine also flock to the West Bank of the Jordan river but it is said that the accurate location is near a small stream on the Jordanian side.
You must leave the car on the parking lot and proceed with a local bus. Many churches of different beliefs were built here and yes, you’ll find the place mystical even if you’re not religious at all.
- Entrance ticket: 12JD
- Expected duration of visit: 1h
2.2) Madaba
- The Baptism Site -> Madaba: 45km, 55min
Strategically placed between the Dead Sea and Amman, this predominantly-christian city is frequently overlooked by tourists. Its main attraction is the “Madaba Map”, a Byzantine-era mosaic map depicting the Holy Land.
We got here before lunch time and went straight to the sites we planned to visit: the Orthodox Church of St. George (where the Madaba Map is) and the St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church (great views from the tower).
St. John the Baptist church has a relatively modern aspect on the inside, and if you pay the ticket you can visit the underground museum which features some typical mosaics from the region and the foundations of the medieval church. As a bonus, you can also climb the narrow bell tower (not advisable if you suffer from vertigo) and admire the city from above.
St. George’s church contains the famous Madaba Map, an accurate representation of the Jordan Valley at the time. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the map resists nowadays but its importance can easily be perceived. Jerusalem is represented with such detail that excavations in the holy city found roman roads where depicted on the map.
We had lunch here in Madaba at the Adonis Restaurant, which we definitely recommend: this was one of the best meals we had in Jordan.
- St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church: 1JD
- Orthodox Church of St. George: 1JD
- Expected time of visit (both sites): 1h30
2.3) Mt. Nebo
- Madaba -> Mt. Nebo: 9km, 14min
Mt Nebo is a short drive from Madaba. Once again, here you can see some more beautiful Roman mosaics and enjoy a great view over the Jordan Valley.
- Entrance fee: 2JD
- Expected duration of visit: 30min
2.4) Dead Sea
- Mt. Nebo -> Ramada Resort: 26km, 32min
We enjoyed the last few hours of the day sunbathing and floating on the Dead Sea. The beach of Ramada Resort is open until sunset so we had to control really well our planning for the day.
Day 3: King’s Highway / Qasr Karak
A truly roadtrip day: we were meant to drive from the Dead Sea to Petra using the renowned King’s Highway (road 35), a winding road crossing the irregular landscapes of western Jordan. From the northern tip of the Dead Sea, we went east to Madaba and then caught the road direction south.
The road passes through villages and seldom has two lanes on each direction, so expect a few delays. Be prepared to stop every once in a while to appreciate the view.
3.1) Qasr Karak
- Ramada Resort -> Qasr Karak: 139km, 2h50
On the way to Petra, we stopped at Karak Castle, a crusader’s castle built in the 12th century. There’s a viewpoint on a nearby hill (north from the castle). Near the castle’s entrance you may find a lot of restaurants. We chose one and had lunch here.
- Entrance fee: 2JD (free with Jordan Pass)
3.2) Arrival to Petra
- Karak -> Petra: 124km, 2h15
From Karak, we proceeded south to Petra. Shobak Castle is on the way and also a good stopping point but when we arrived it was already closed. We continued driving and eventually arrived at Wadi Musa, the base camp to explore Petra.
Days 4-5: Petra
We spent two days exploring this Wonder of the World and chose Petra Plaza Hotel, in Wadi Musa, as our basecamp. It did not disappoint at all: decent size bedrooms, very nice staff, free parking (useful if you’re driving a rental car), and breakfast included in the price. You may read all about our visit to Petra on this article.
Day 6: Wadi Rum
- Wadi Musa -> Wadi Rum: 111km, 1h51
From Wadi Musa, we drove south to Wadi Rum, a place that looks like it doesn’t belong to this planet.
Here, we had a pre-arranged tour with Wadi Rum Magic Tours, which we recommend. We woke up early in Wadi Musa and met our guide at 9am. After waiting some minutes, the pickup departed with us and another couple. The tour included:
- Lawrence Spring.
- Khazali Canyon.
- Sand Dunes.
- Anfashieh Inscriptions.
- Lawrence House.
- Stop for lunch.
- Mushroom Rock.
- Burdah Rock Bridge.
- Walk through the Canyon.
- Um Frouth Bridge.
- Sunset view.
- Overnight at the Bedouin Camp.
The amenities were fairly good for the price paid. The camp had a common room, shared toilets and shower, and individual/twin tents.
- 2 to 3 People 60JD/person
- 4 to 6 People 55JD/person
Days 7-8: Aqaba
- Wadi Rum -> Aqaba: 71km, 1h03
These days were meant to be relaxed, after a full week of touring Jordan. Aqaba is a coastal city near the border with Israel and Saudi Arabia. As we enjoy snorkelling, Red Sea beaches will never bore us. Plus, Aqaba is a resort-city with not much to see.
Jordan is still a Muslim country and there are designated beaches for westerners. We drove south from Aqaba city centre to find South Beach, a public beach where you can bath freely. We stayed just in front of Darna Divers Village Beach Hotel & Dive Centre, where we rented our snorkelling gear.
Day 9: the desert castles
From Aqaba, we headed northeast on route 47 and then diverted to road number 5 to Azraq. This road crosses the desert and has not much to see besides the occasional desert village. It’s a long distance between the two cities, so we woke up early with the goal of arriving at Azraq near lunch time.
- Aqaba -> Azraq: 370km, 4h35
We had an early lunch and started our tour of the desert castles. We chose the top 3 from Lonely Planet Jordan: Qasr Azraq, Quseir Amra, Qasr Al-Kharanah.
9.1) Qasr Azraq
The first one we visited was Qasr Azraq as we started from east to west, towards Amman. It’s a black basalt castle near Azraq city centre. Lawrence of Arabia spent some time here during the Arab Revolt in 1918 and it’s still possible to visit his room at the fortress.
- Entrance fee: 1JD (free with Jordan Pass)
- Expected visiting time: 30min
9.2) Quseir Amra
- Qasr Azraq -> Quseir Amra: 30km, 24min
From Azraq, we took route 40 to find our next stop, Quseir Amra. It’s a small castle, inscribed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, which was probably used by royalty as a base camp for hunting. Its inner walls are fully painted with hunting motifs and scenes. There’s also a small museum next to it, explaining its purpose and the paintings on the inside.
- Entrance fee: 1JD (free with Jordan Pass)
- Expected duration of visit: 45min
9.3) Qasr Al-Kharanah
- Quseir Amra -> Qasr Al-Kharanah: 16km, 11min
Another small drive on route 40 left us at the last castle of the day, Qasr Al-Kharanah. Its exterior is very well kept but the interior is actually uncared for. Sitting on the side of the road, this rectangular structure resembles a caravanserai. In fact, there’s no evidence that this castle has ever been used to defend anything.
- Admission fee: 1JD
- Expected duration of visit: 30min
From this castle, we drove west to Downtown Amman, our last stop in Jordan.
- Qasr Al-Kharanah -> Amman: 68km, 1h11
Days 10-11: Amman
Our last few days in Jordan were spent in Amman. We stayed at Beirut Hotel, a very central place in the Downtown Area. The location could not be better, rooms are very decent and the breakfast was included. However, it’s not easy to park here, but we found several parking spots at Yaqout Al-Hamawi street, just behind the hotel. You may read everything about Amman on this link.
And that’s a wrap for our time in Jordan! If you have any queries regarding this article, feel free to comment below!