Jordan packs the Nabataean city of Petra, the Mars-like desert of Wadi Rum, Roman Jerash, snorkeling at Aqaba and a float in the Dead Sea into a compact, safe, welcoming trip. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.
Good to know
- Buy the Jordan Pass before arrival; it covers the entry visa and Petra tickets.
- Visit Petra at opening for the Treasury, then walk up to the Monastery before the heat.
- Dress modestly in towns; summer desert days are very hot.
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Places the planner can use
Mark places as a must or something to skip. The itinerary is built only from this list; ★ marks the destination’s highlights.
Hilltop ruins with Temple of Hercules and a citywide view, then the nearby 6,000-seat theater.
Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and Neolithic Ain Ghazal statues in a modern downtown museum.
A no-frills downtown institution serving legendary hummus, falafel and mint tea.
Steam, scrub and massage, a traditional way to wash off the desert dust.
Walk the Siq canyon to the carved Treasury, then explore tombs and the Street of Facades.
About 800 steps up to a vast rock-cut monument with far-reaching views over Wadi Araba.
Candlelit walk down the Siq to the Treasury with Bedouin music and tea on selected evenings.
Ride through red sand valleys, arches and canyons with a Bedouin driver and a sunset stop.
Sleep under a vast star field after a zarb barbecue cooked in the sand.
Lowest point on Earth, with mineral mud, salt-buoyant water and resort spas.
Well-preserved Roman city with colonnades, theaters and a hippodrome an hour from Amman.
Clear coral reefs and a sunken military tank sit just offshore.