Jordan 4 Day Itinerary
/I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know Jordan existed until a couple of years ago. But now it’s one of the most incredible places I’ve ever visited! I spent 4 nights in Jordan with my partner at the end of November 2019, staying in a different place each night - The Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, Petra and Amman. Our trip consisted of staying in a bubble tent in the middle of the desert, walking 25,000 steps around Petra, floating at the lowest point on earth covered in mud and staying in a 4000-year-old cave. It’s fair to say it was a jam-packed 4 days but we managed to see everything we wanted to. Although we easily could have stayed an extra night in each place!
Amman to The Dead Sea
We flew from Dubai to Amman’s Queen Alia International airport which is normally 3 hours 15 minutes direct, however, we had a layover in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for extra an hour. We arrived in Amman around 10pm after 2 great flights with Flynas. We then purchased our tourist visas from immigration which cost 40JD (USD$57).
Purchasing the Jordan Pass is a great way to save money in the country. The pass includes the visa fee and one-time entries to many of the tourist sites for just 70JD (USD$99). Unfortunately, this is something we found out during immigration!
We took a very steep, 45 minute downhill taxi ride from the airport to the Dead Sea Crowne Plaza hotel. We arrived at the hotel past midnight so we had a quick bite to eat then headed straight to sleep. We woke up early the next day to the most gorgeous scenery and hotel facilities. The Crowne Plaza is situated right on the Dead Sea, surrounded by mountains and unbroken views of the lowest place on earth.
After the delicious hotel breakfast, we headed straight down to the sea. We thought that we were low down already, however from the hotel itself, we had to take a lift down 3 floors to the beach. Which then was another steep descent down to the water. The whole place was so eerily quiet. No wind. No waves crashing. It’s the most peaceful I’ve ever felt.
IT WAS TIME TO GET MUDDY! There were mirrors and sinks full of mud already on the beach, provided by the hotel. The Dead Sea mud is famous for making your skin healthier and more elastic. Honestly, it felt so gooey and a bit scratchy putting it all over our bodies. However, by the second or third time, it felt amazing! Plus it washes off pretty quickly in the sea.
The only way to get into the sea is by sliding in feet first. No matter how brave you’re feeling do not dive in or put your mouth and face in the water! The sea is SO salty so your eyes will feel like they’re burning out of their sockets. Also, boys and girls, try not to shave for a few days before going into the sea. The whole experience is incredible, so the last thing you want is to be uncomfortable in the water. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, you can do nothing but float! The sea was calm, warm and held us up like we were feathers. I think it’s the most relaxed I’ve ever felt in my life.
After floating around all morning, we headed up to the adult pool for lunch and some drinks. Even though it was November, the sun was still pretty strong and it reached 25 degrees during the day. It was a perfect start to our trip!
After chilling at the pool all afternoon, we showered, picked up our bags and it was time to head to our next destination. We asked our airport taxi driver if he knew anyone that could take us to Wadi Rum, and luckily enough he did!
The Dead Sea to Wadi Rum
We were picked up at 5pm by a local Jordanian man who drove us over 4 hours to Wadi Rum. It was certainly an unforgettable trip, driving along the dark, unlit coastline. There were huge, frequent speed bumps, which our driver didn’t slow down for. In his words ‘we fly again’ - my heart couldn’t take much more. To top it off, we suddenly had to emergency brake as a family of wild camels stepped out in front of us. I’d had enough at this point. I slept for the rest of the journey.
We finally arrived at the Wadi Rum Visitors Center (basically a car park in the desert), where we were greeted by two Bedouins. For those unsure of the term - Bedouins are groups of nomadic Arab people, who live in the deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and the Levant. They are interesting characters and they certainly don’t know how to drive slowly over sand dunes. With music blasting from their laptop, we were huddled in the back of the truck - following a non-existent track. After a very bumpy 15 minutes, we arrived at the Wadi Rum Night Luxury Camp.
We were given the best welcome! Even though it was past 10pm, the owner of the camp rustled up a huge veggie feast for us. Plus the stars were nothing like I’d ever seen. It was magic! We woke up the next day in our bubble tent, after a night of watching the wonders in the sky. We sat outside at 6am - it was freezing! We watched the sunrise over the huge rocks, you could hear a pin drop! It was certainly one of the most surreal moments of my life.
We were in the middle of the Jordanian desert, waking up in a bubble. Surrounded by huge red rocks, sand and open space. There was no signal or Wifi. It was just amazing to switch off for those few hours. Even though we had no connection with the outside world, there wasn’t one point where we didn’t feel safe.
After breakfast, we went for an exploration. The campsite is nestled just in front of these grand, natural rocks. Birds singing were the only sounds and our voices echoed all the way to the sky. We felt incredibly lucky to wander around this natural beauty without seeing another person or being rushed. The best part was walking around barefoot, leaving our footprints on the bright red sand.
Our next mission was to find Wifi so we could contact our driver and accommodation for that evening. A Bedouin took us back to the Wadi Rum Visitor Center so we could use one of their hotspots. It was for a brief 15 minutes, however, it did the job. The Bedouin drove us through an even more scenic route where I was able to take a load more photos, before getting back to the camp.
We went for another wander through the desert on foot and only saw a handful of people. By this time it was around 25 degrees but as the air was so clear, it didn’t feel hot at all! The Bedouins at the camp then offered us some lunch - for free! They really couldn’t do enough for us - I think it helped that my partner spoke Arabic with them! After lunch, sadly it was time to grab our bags and head to our next destination. I honestly could have stayed here for a few more days, riding camels, quad-biking and marvelling at the stars.
We were taken back to the Wadi Rum Visitors Center where we waited for our driver. My partner made friends with an Egyptian man who was running the centre. He gave us hot tea and shared his knowledge of living in Jordan.
Wadi Rum to Little Petra
We were picked up around 5pm and had a two-hour journey ahead of us to get to Petra. The route was windy and bumpy, however incredibly scenic. We stopped off the Petra View Shop just in time for the sunset, again it felt like we were the only ones there!
We finally arrived at the town of Little Petra where we were dropped off at the side of the road - quite literally! Our next ‘accommodation’ was a 4000-year-old cave called Hakuna Matata, hidden between the mountains. Saif, a local Bedouin, is the owner of the cave. He picked us up and drove 15 minutes off road through the desert.
We found the cave on Airbnb which had rave reviews but we were still very anxious as to what we had booked. We arrived at the cave where there was a tent set up, a campfire and a hole in the wall - our room. Again we had no wifi or signal but there was also no electricity, running water or toilets. Just a few cushions stacked up, a blanket and a battery operated light.
Saif was actually a pretty cool guy. Even though he was a Bedouin, he was well travelled and his English was very good! His mother had prepared a huge spread for us including a veggie dish for me, yay! He sat in the tent with us while we ate and told us many stories of his life. He was only in his late 20s, however, he had knowledge of a fifty-year-old - it was an incredible experience to speak with him.
After dinner, he lit the campfire as I was freezing! I ended up wearing my partner’s jeans and every other layer that I had. We sat around the fire with some of his Bedouin friends while he played the flute. Again, it was another surreal experience, listening to them and sitting under the sky full of stars.
Saif and his friends left us around 10pm and it was time to head into the cave. Surprisingly it was warm inside, however that may have been the 4000-year-old dust keeping the cold out. The worst part was finding somewhere to go to the bathroom. We ended up walking in the pitch black around the side of the mountain to do our business. It was terrifying but yep here I am telling the tale…
The unnerving part was the lack of a door to the cave - it was just a piece of wood with no lock on the inside. We kept the battery light on and actually slept pretty good given the circumstances. I was very thankful to get through the night, however, I felt like my lungs were covered in dust.
We woke up at 7am amongst the clouds and couldn’t believe where we were. We could only see a few meters in front of us. To top it off, a Bedouin appeared out of the clouds and asked if we had a spare phone charger. We still want to know where he charges his phone… Anyway, we had arranged with Saif to get picked up at 8am by one of the Bedouins. To our amusement, at 7:59am a truck arrived and we had to say goodbye to the cave. It was Petra time!
Little Petra to ‘Big’ Petra
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side, however, after a night in a cave, we needed a shower… We arrived in Petra and needed somewhere to drop our bags. After a good 20 minutes of asking hotels and market owners, luckily we found a gentleman sitting at a desk who was able to look after them. The perks of my partner being Arab, he only had to pay 5JD for the entrance ticket. However, I had to pay the tourist price of 50JD - over £50! This is when the Jordan Pass would have come in handy…
After a long gradual descent into Petra, passing many pirate-like Bedouins on donkeys, we finally had our first look at the famous Treasury. Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. It is believed to be over 7000 years old! It used to be home to 30,000
Nabataeans, carved palaces, temples, tombs, storerooms and stables from the red cliffs.
We were some of the first people into the city so we managed to get some great pictures without 10,000 people being in them too! We climbed up the side of a cliff opposite The Treasury to get this amazing shot. I couldn’t believe I was really there - walking amongst the history of thousands of years.
We then climbed a thousand steps (wasn’t my idea!) up to the High Place of Sacrifice. It’s located at the top of the
Jebel Madbah Mountain and it was once a place used to sacrifice animals.
From here you can see for miles and look down over the entire city. It’s a pretty tiring hike to the top, but it’s worth it for the views.
The sun came out too! We rested for half an hour before heading back down.
After grabbing a quick snack and drink from one of the kiosks, we walked another 850 steps up to The Monastery - Ad Deir, which is located high in the hills. This is one of the most famous places in Petra.
By this time it was around 2:30pm and we were aiming for the 4pm bus to take us back to Amman. We underestimated how far into Petra we had walked so it was a mad rush to get to the entrance. It felt like the path was never-ending, plus it was a gradual uphill climb all the way out. By the skin of our teeth, we managed to get on the ONLY bus heading to Amman by 3:50pm. (By the entrance of Petra there are buses parked up going to various places.)
Most tourists spend at least 2 days in Petra, but somehow we saw everything we wanted to in less than 6 hours. We were shattered, to say the least!
Petra to Amman
Ahh, it felt so good to sit down after walking over 25,000 steps. We stuffed our faces with snacks we bought from the kiosk and had a well-needed nap. The journey back to Amman took around 4 hours, stopping at various places in the city. On the bus, my partner made another Egyptian friend who offered to drive us to our hotel - he was a lovely man who even invited us to eat at his restaurant the next day!
We arrived at the hotel and just collapsed. It felt so good knowing that we had got back to Amman with no hiccups and that we had a full 24 hours in the city to relax. We woke up the next day with very sore legs but we were very happy with our hotel choice. Zaman Ya Zaman Boutique hotel is just across the road from the famous Roman Theater. We were lucky to get a cosy room with great views of the city.
After a yummy traditional Arabic breakfast at the hotel, we walked across the busy main road to the Roman Theater. The entrance fee is 2JD for tourists and 0.25JD for Arabs and locals. The theater has 6,000 seats and was built back in the 2nd-century.
The Roman Theater is now used for book fairs, prize ceremonies and musical concerts. It’s carved out of the side of a hill and boasts amazing views of the city. Amman is also famous for the Citadel which is home to the Roman Temple of Hercules - unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit it.
After the Roman Theater, we headed to Rainbow Street which has many rooftop restaurants and pubs. We had a coffee and ordered some lunch. It was the perfect place to end our trip - sitting on a rooftop looking over the city.
