Itinerary – Two Weeks in Jordan

We spent just over two weeks in Jordan on an amazing roadtrip through the country.

When researching our trip to Jordan we found a lot of itineraries that were for 5 to 10 days. While Jordan is a relatively small country, we decided to spend a bit longer and take our time exploring Jordan. I think 5 to 10 days is doable, but if you have the time, extending your trip will allow you to see a bit more of the country, enjoy the sites a bit longer, and allow you to travel at a slower pace.

Here was our itinerary for the two weeks (17 days). There are a few areas that could be shortened to reduce the itinerary by a few days and get you down to two weeks (or less).

Days	Destination	Overnight
Day 1, 2	Arrive, Amman	Amman
Day 3	Jerash and Ajloun Castle	Amman
Day 4	Desert Castle Loop	Madaba
Day 5	Madaba, Petra by Night	Wadi Musa
Day 6, 7, 8	Petra	Wadi Musa
Day 8	Little Petra, Wadi Rum Village	Wadi Rum Village
Day 9, 10	Wadi Rum	Wadi Rum Desert
Day 11, 12	Aqaba	Aqaba
Day 13, 14	Drive North	Dana, Karnak
Day 15, 16	Dead Sea	Dead Sea
Day 17	Mount Nebo, Depart	Depart

Pre-Departure

Usually when we travel, we have an idea of the route we want to take, the attractions we want to see, and an idea of how long we want to spend in each place. With a rough outline of what we want to do, we still usually book accommodation as we go to allow for adjustments along the way. What if we find that we really love a specific town? Or we learn of a new place/attraction to see? Well, not having anything booked ahead of time, allows us to change the plan as we go. Yes, we do have to spend time planning our next leg during our trip, but the flexibility is worth it for us.

This time however, we changed it up and had most of our accommodation booked before we arrived in Jordan. We had our arrival and departure flights, so we knew exactly how long we had, and because of this, I decided to go ahead and book our accommodation. This is not something I usually do, but it was a nice change not spending our evenings planning the next part of the trip. Plus, with a small country like Jordan, we felt pretty good about our two-week plan. Yes, there are always additional sites to see and areas to explore, but we felt that we were covering all the main attractions, plus including quite a few extra stops that aren’t part of everyone’s Jordan itinerary.  In the end I think we made the right decision. We didn’t feel that we missed out on anything due to our pre-booked plans. The only time we missed out it was due to things being closed (which is obviously out of our control).

Another thing we did before arriving was purchased the Jordan Pass. If you are going to be in Jordan for three or more days, we would highly recommend getting the pass. The Jordan Pass includes the cost of the visa to enter Jordan, plus entry to most attractions throughout the country. To be far most sites are pretty inexpensive, but the cost of the Jordan visa and Petra, make it worth the cost. Everything else that’s included are pure “extras”. It definitely saved us time and a bit of money during our trip.

You can buy the pass online at https://www.jordanpass.jo/. There are three different pass options, depending on how many days you want to spend at Petra. We purchased the “Jordan Expert” pass, which gave us three days in Petra. When you purchase the tickets online, you will receive an email with your tickets as a PDF. You can print the tickets if you wish, but we found that showing the tickets on the phone was not an issue.

Day 1 – Arrive, Amman

Day 1 was our arrival day in Amman. We arrived early afternoon and had the evening free once we got through the airport, picked up our hire car, and checked in to our hotel,

At the airport, before passport control there is an area for visitors to go to get their visa. If you already purchased the Jordan Pass (which we recommend that you do) you will not need to pay for your visa. If you have not purchased the pass you can get a visa for 40 JOD. Either way, you will need to stop at the desk as they will add the visa to your passport, which you show to passport control.

After passport control you arrive at baggage claim, then proceed through customs. Outside of customs you will find a few shops (or desks) where you can purchase sim cards to use during your time in Jordan. I didn’t research the different providers beforehand, but our driver said that Orange was the best for internet, which was our main requirement. The plan cost 15 JOD and came with 20 GB of data. We did have a few issues with Orange during our trip. We occasionally did not have service – for example it did not work in Wadi Musa town, but it worked fine once we were at Petra (the difference of a few miles). About 90% of the time we didn’t have an issue, so overall we were happy with Orange.

Unexpected issues with data reception, is why I always ensure important documents are downloaded to our phones and that I have maps of the area downloaded for offline use (using offline maps is always a good idea to save on data anyway).

For our entire stay, we booked a hire car with a company off site (a short drive from the airport). They arranged someone to meet and pick us up from the airport to take us to the car hire office. The paperwork only took a few moments and then we were on our way.

As a side note: In countries like Jordan, where the driving is a bit hectic, we don’t worry too much about the condition of our rental car. We rent from smaller companies, at cheaper rates. Of course, we want to ensure the car will get us from point A to point B, but if it has some dents and scratches, that usually works out better because they aren’t always as picky about new marks. This is a huge plus when “rules of the road” are rarely followed. During our time in Jordan we saw three major accidents and more than we could count near misses! When collecting your rental car, make sure you take lots of pictures of the outside and inside, or as we like to do, take a video while you walk around the car. This method has helped us a few times to prove that a scratch or dent was there when we picked up the car.

After picking up our rental car we headed to our accommodation in Amman. I booked us a boutique hotel near the Roman Theater. The location was amazing – we could see the theater from our balcony and everything in town is a short walk (markets, theater, citadel, etc.). There was also a free parking lot about a block or two away. The only issue was the noise. Amman is a very noisy city – the honking and loud cars is pretty ongoing at all hours.

We arrived at the hotel early evening, so we checked in, then headed across the street to the Roman Theater. Unfortunately, the theater was closing as we arrived, so instead we hung out in the forum area which had lots of people (locals and visitors) hanging around. After a while, we started wondering around and found ourselves in the market area. We walked up and down the streets, looking at the different market stalls. There was lots of activity as it was nearly breakfast time during Ramadan, and everyone was getting food and drink to break the fast from the day.

The first thing we noticed while wondering around was how friendly everyone is. Everyone says “hi” to us and we had several market workers offering us food samples – without any pressure! We walked all through the markets, and we weren’t hassled once. It was so enjoyable!

Day 2 – Amman

Highlights from the day:

• Walking Tour – A free two-hour walking tour that was offered by our hotel
• Amman Citadel – Temple of Hercules, Archaeological Museum, and the Umayyad Palace.
• Roman Theater – Visited the theater, plus the Folklore Museum and the Traditions Museum.
• Odeon Theater – A small theater next to the Roman Theater
• Roman Nymphaeum – Ruins from a Roman fountain
• Grand Husseini Mosque – Men and women are allowed to visit (outside of prayer times)

For our first full day in Amman, we started the day with a free walking tour that our hotel offered. After our two-hour walking tour, we headed back to our hotel room for some snacks and drinks. Since it was Ramadan we were trying to be respectful by not eating or drinking in public.  

After our break, we made our way up to the Amman Citadel. From the main road, there are stairs that lead up the hill to the citadel. It’s about a 15-minute climb until you reach the entrance.

The main attractions to see include the Temple of Hercules, the Jordan Archaeological Museum, and the Umayyad Palace.

While you are visiting the citadel you will also enjoy amazing views over Amman. You will get a great view of the Roman Theater, as well as the never-ending city buildings across the surrounding hills.

We had a late sandwich lunch at the café outside of the citadel entrance. Since we were visiting during Ramadan, we had limited options for lunch as most places were closed until dinner time. We found that there was usually a café or restaurant open near tourist attractions. We were usually able to find food during the day, we just were limited in our options.

After the Amman Citadel, we made our way back down the stairs and headed straight to the Roman Theater. Once you enter through the theater gates, you will find two museums on either side of the stage. One museum is the Folklore Museum which includes several beautiful mosaics, traditional dress, and jewellery. The other, is the Museum of Popular Traditions. This museum includes details on traditional jobs and life in earlier times. It also includes displays of living and working areas.

After the Roman Theater we visited the Odeon Theater which is nearby. The Odeon Theater is a smaller theatre used for music concerts.

After the Odeon Theater we walked a couple blocks to the Roman Nymphaeum, ruins of an ancient fountain. We had walked by the fountain several times previously (the night before and during our walking tour) and the gate was always locked closed. However, this time there was a security guard at the gate. I approached him so I could find out what time the fountain was open so we could come back, but instead he let us visit right then. Still not sure the opening hours, so you may just have to get lucky and flag down the security guard to let you in.

Our last attraction for the day was a visit to the Grand Husseini Mosque. There is a separate entrance for men and women. Men our allowed to enter the main area of the Mosque, while woman are allowed in a private area upstairs. Once upstairs, you can open the window curtain to see the main courtyard of the Mosque. For woman to enter, you must be fully covered. There was a very nice lady, who helped me with a long skirt and head covering.

It was a great first day in Jordan.

Day 3 – Jerash and Ajloun Castle: Day Trip from Amman

Highlights from the day:

• Jerash Archaeological Park
• Ajloun Castle

From Amman, we headed north to Jerash Archaeological Park and Ajloun Castle.

We first started by visiting the Jerash Archaeological Park! The archaeological park was amazing. It was so much larger than we expected and there is a lot to see. Make sure you allow (at least) a few hours so you have time to see everything.

After finishing at the Jerash Archaeological Park we headed a further 45 minutes north to Ajloun Castle. Ajloun Castle is a 12^th century Muslim fortress/castle. The bottom floors were used by military, while the top floor was used as a palace.

Day 4 – Desert Castle Loop

Highlights of the day:

• Qasr Al-Hallbat
• Hammam as- Sarah
• Al-Azraq Castle
• Quseir ‘Amra

In the morning we checked out of our hotel in Amman and took a detour to view the Desert Castles on our way to Madaba.

We really enjoyed our day exploring the desert castles and would recommend doing the drive if you have the time, and a car to get you there.

Throughout the day we visited Qasr al-Hallabat, Hammam as-Sarah, Al-Azraq Castle, Quseir ‘Amra, Qasr Al-Kharranah, and Qasr Al-Mashta.

After the Desert Castle loop, we ended the day in Madaba. We arrived later in the evening, so after checking in to our hotel, we grabbed some dinner, walked around the area, and then headed to bed. We planned to spend the next day exploring Madaba.

Day 5 – Madaba

Highlights for the day:

• St. George’s Church – The church has a floor mosaic of the oldest map of Palestine, and shows other places such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Dead Sea, and the Nile Delta.
• Madaba Archaeological Park – Contains several mosaics and a Roman road.
• Church of St. John the Baptist – Here you can visit the inside of the church, the Acropolis (which has a shrine of St. John the Baptist), you can climb the stairs to the bell tower, and visit the ancient tunnels.
• Madaba Archaeological Museum – This museum contains several more mosaics and contains displays with artefacts from the area and throughout Jordan.
• Apostles Church – Large floor mosaic
• Umm er-Rasas – Roman military camp and later became a small town from the 5th century
• Petra by Night

We had one full day in Madaba before we headed to Wadi Musa (Petra). This was more than enough time to visit all of the attractions throughout the town.

After breakfast we started our day by visiting St. George’s Church, since it was across the street from our hotel. Inside the church you will find a large Byzantine mosaic floor. The design of the mosaic is the oldest map of Palestine, but shows other places such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Dead Sea, and the Nile Delta.

After St. George’s Church, we ended up moving our car. The hotel said that we could park on the street out front of the hotel overnight, but not all day. Not sure why, as there seemed to be plenty of other cars parked along the street, but we didn’t want to chance it. So, we headed to the Madaba Visitor’s Centre, where they offer free parking to visitors. At the visitor’s centre there is a short video about the area, a small museum to view, and you can get a map of the nearby attractions.

From the Visitor’s Centre we started our self-guided walking tour of the town. The town is small and fairly flat, so it was easy to walk everywhere. We visited the Madaba Archaeological Park, the Church of St. John the Baptist, and the Madaba Archaeological Museum.

After the museum we returned to the visitor’s centre to collect our car. We then drove to the Apostles Church on our way out of town. At the church you will find (you guessed it) another large floor mosaic.

After exploring Madaba we had time for one more stop before ending our day in Wadi Musa (Petra).

Umm er-Rasas is a huge archaeological site. A large portion of it is still unexplored – looks like a massive pile of rocks- but there are various ruins that have been excavated. The area started as a Roman military camp and later became a small town from the 5th century.

Petra by Night

Petra by Night is only on three times a week – every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It is a special, ticketed event from 8:30pm – 10:30pm. For the event, there are over 1,200 candles (yes, real candles) placed along the path leading to the Treasury, and in front of the Treasury. We weren’t sure if candlelight would be the best way to experience Petra for the first time, but after doing so, we think it was the perfect way.

As you are walking along the path, you can only see bits and pieces. You don’t get the full detail, but you can feel the atmosphere and know that something amazing is all around you. It’s a bit of a tease, but it builds up the excitement of what the next day will bring.

Day 6, 7, 8 – Wadi Musa (Petra)

Highlights:

• Petra – Treasury, Theatre, Nymphaeum, and the Great Temple
• Petra Museum
• Little Petra

Wadi Musa is the town near to Petra. We decided to stay three nights so we could visit Petra a few times. We did Petra by Night the evening we arrived, then we spent two full days at Petra. On our last day we spent the morning there, followed by a stop at Little Petra before heading to Wadi Rum. 

On the first full day, we arrived in the morning and entered Petra from the main entrance.

We followed the Siq to the Treasury and from there we continued further along the main path to see the Theatre, Nymphaeum, and the Great Temple. We walked all the way to the Qasr al-Bint. We then turned back and stopped to have lunch near the Nymphaeum at a small café that severed sandwiches and various snacks.

After lunch we decided to do the Royal Tombs Trail that leads all the way to a viewing point overlooking the Treasury. The trail takes a couple of hours roundtrip, and you will see the royal tombs, amazing views overlooking the Theatre, and of course, the perfect view of the Treasury from above at the end of the trail.

After enjoying the view of the Treasury we made our way back to the main trail. It was early evening by that time and the crowds had started to thin. We slowly made our way back to the Treasury, where we sat and enjoyed the view for a bit longer. We eventually pulled ourselves away and started the walk back to the visitor’s centre.

On our second day in Petra we wanted to view the Monastery. Instead of walking along the same path we did the day before (and climbing the 600 stairs), we decided to start from the back entrance. The hike to the Monastery took about two hours, and this included several stops for water and snack breaks, as well as time for pictures. Along the route there are a few Bedouin tents setup selling drinks, snacks, and various souvenirs.

On the third and final day, Ben headed to Petra early, while I had a relaxing morning. Once he came back to the hotel, we packed our items and then went to have lunch.

After lunch we visited the Petra Museum, located at the visitor’s centre.

From there we took a detour to Little Petra. It’s a lot smaller than Petra, but still has a few nice things to see, including a water cistern, triclinia (dining halls with couches), and the painted biclinium (small Roman sitting area for two people). The painted biclinium still contains a small section of painted ceiling.

After Little Petra, we drove a couple hours to Wadi Rum Village. We were going to stay another night in Wadi Musa, but decided to find somewhere in the Wadi Rum Village so we didn’t have to do the two hour drive in the morning before our desert tour, as the tour started at 9:30am.

There are only a couple accommodation options currently in the village. We stayed at Wadi Rum Oryx Hostel. We had our own private tent and bathroom. The hostel is quite new, so everything was in good condition. The night we arrived we had dinner included with our booking as well as breakfast the following morning. The host of the hostel contacted our desert tour operator, and arranged for him to come to the hostel that night to discuss the tour plan with us.

Day 9, 10 – Wadi Rum

There are different options available to visit Wadi Rum. You can do a day tour or choose to stay a night or two in the desert. You can also do a multi-day walking/hiking tour across the desert.

We chose to do two nights in the desert – one night in a tent, the other night in a “cave”. We booked with Wadi Rum Stillness. *We have no affiliation with the camp, owner, or guide. We are receiving no form of commission. It was simply a tour and camp that we enjoyed and want to share with others.*

On the first day, we covered all the main sites within the desert. There was a lot more walking and climbing then we expected, but it was all so much fun, and every climb was worth it for the views across the desert. You can pick and choose what you want to do at each stop. Sometimes it in involved climbing a rocky hillside, a rock mound, or a sand dune.

Around 1pm, we stopped to rest and have lunch. Our guide cooked an amazing meal from the back of the truck on an open fire. It was so impressive and very delicious. We took a long break to avoid the heat of the day, and after our rest we continued exploring the desert. We then headed towards camp to enjoy the sunset. At camp we were served a fantastic dinner.

We ended the evening with a campfire and a night walk looking for scorpions.

The next day was an early start – breakfast was at 7:30am and then the trucks were there to take people back to the village or on to different day two tours. We had a bit more time in the morning to get ready after breakfast and then we were off. It ended up just being the two of us and our same (awesome) driver/guide from the previous day.

We ventured a bit further into the desert this time – nearing the Saudi border. We made several stops throughout the day and enjoyed taking our time climbing the rock formations, sand dunes, and enjoying the views. We stopped again for a long lunch period – with more delicious food.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to camp for an opportunity to get cleaned up before making our way to the “cave” for the night. To be fair, it’s not really a cave, it’s actually an exposed area (open to the sky) but protected by rock formations. See the pictures below!

Day 11, 12 – Aqaba

Highlights for the days:

• Red Sea
• Berenice Beach Club

The next morning, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast and then (sadly) headed back to our car in Wadi Rum Village. Our next stop was Aqaba.

Aqaba was a bit of a surprise for us. We didn’t really know what to expect, but it was a much more modern looking city – obviously a bit more money in the region thanks to the port.

We planned to visit the museum, but unfortunately it was closed for remodelling. We did visit the Aqaba Fortress. There isn’t much to see, but if you are in the area you can walk through quickly to see the interior areas. We also viewed the Ancient Islamic City of Ayla.

On our only full day in Aqaba, we decided to go to the Berenice Beach Club. It was 20 JOD each for a day pass and a two-hour, glass bottom boat tour with snorkelling. The Berenice Beach Club was quite nice. There was a decent restaurant, a couple bars, a few pools, and beach access. They also offered various games and activities on site.

There’s not a whole lot to see and do in Aqaba, except for Red Sea activities. You can go diving, snorkelling, go on boat tours, swim, or just relax on a sun lounger. It was a perfect stop for the mid-point of our trip. It’s always a good idea to plan a few down days to give yourself a break from all the touring and traveling.

Day 13, 14 – North to the Dead Sea

Highlights for the days:

• Shobak Castle
• Dana Bioreserve
• Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth
• Lot’s Cave
• Karak Castle

The next couple of days we spent, slowly traveling north towards the Dead Sea. You can easily do this drive in one day, but we wanted to give ourselves time to explore the area and make extra stops if we wanted.

Our first stop was at Shobak Castle. The area around the castle is very unique. There are lots of stone houses, some complete, some in ruin, along the hill leading to the castle. The drive to the castle is also where you will find the “smallest hotel in the world”. It’s an old VW bug converted to a bed.

After Shobak Castle we made our way to the Dana Bioreserve, where we were staying for the night. Dana is an old town that was abandoned in the 1980s-1990s. The residents of the town, moved to a nearby newer town and left Dana to fall to ruin. There is now a new project in the works to revive Dana. The main road has a few hotels that have been restored, which is where we stayed for the night.

If you have more time, there are lots of walking trails leading from Dana. Including a longer trail that takes you to a nearby town.

The next day we left Dana and continued north. Our first stop was the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth and Lot’s Cave. The museum is interesting, with various information about the area. There is also information on Lot’s Cave, including artefacts found at the site. After the museum we climbed the hill to view Lot’s Cave.

Next, we headed to Karak Castle. This was a fun castle to explore. It’s large, with multiple levels to explore. You can basically explore all areas of the castle. It was fun discovering the different rooms and taking the stairs to the different levels. We spent a few hours there trying to cover all areas.

For the night, we stayed in a remote hotel not far from Karak Castle.

Day 15, 16 – Dead Sea

Highlights for the day:

• Dead Sea Museum
• Dead Sea
• Salt Beach

Our plan for the morning was to do the Siq Trail through Wadi Al Mujib, but unfortunately the canyon was closed for safety repairs. We were quite disappointed that we couldn’t do this trail as it looked like a great adventure.

Instead, we headed to the Dead Sea Museum and Panorama Complex. The museum was all about the formation of the Dead Sea. It was interesting and we were both glad we stopped. The complex is very new and modern. There’s also a nice restaurant and a great viewpoint overlooking the Dead Sea next to the museum.

After the museum we decided to head to our resort along the Dead Sea for an early check-in. Since we had planned to spend at least half a day at Wadi Al Mujib, we ended up having some free time since the canyon was closed. We figured we would spend the rest of the day floating in the Dead Sea or relaxing in and by the resort pools – not a bad alternative.

Swimming, or should I say floating, in the Dead Sea is a must – such a unique experience and sensation! Also make sure that you visit one of the beach areas along the Dead Sea. If you stay at a resort, you most likely have access to the Dead Sea, but it’s not the same as the untouched beaches full of salt formations which you will find along the Dead Sea.

We stopped at Salt Beach. There is a small area off the road where we could park the car, then we walked down to the beach area – absolutely beautiful!

Day 17 – Mount Nebo, Depart

Highlights for the day:

• Tall el-Hammam
• Mount Nebo

On our last day, we hung around the resort until early afternoon and then made our way to a few final sites before heading to the airport. We went to a small archaeological site called Tall el-Hammam. You can find the location on Google maps, but the site is not marked at all. There is a small road off the main road that leads to the site. There is no information at the location, but there is a website and online resources available for information.

After that we headed to Mount Nebo. There’s a lot to see, more than we thought, so we were surprised. There is new church built over an old church. There are mosaics to view, as well as old statues and columns. And of course, there is the view. On the day we were there, there was not much of a view due to the fog. We couldn’t see very far, but I’m sure it’s a nice view…

After that we headed back to Madaba for dinner. We were driving right through the town on our way to the airport, so we thought it was a good stop for dinner. After that we returned the hire car, and headed to the airport for a late-night flight.