Jordan Travel Planning is the summary of my five-week trip to Jordan during the autumn of 2017 (October and a bit of November). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with a rented car.

Jordan Travel Planning – General Planning:

My travel planning for Jordan started two months before the trip. I used the Lonely Planet Guide and also read some articles about Jordan on the internet. I considered that the guide book offered me enough, very well synthesized information to plan my trip. From the guide book, I could choose the places where I wanted to go during a period of five weeks – touristic places, UNESCO heritage sites, as well as off the beaten track places.

Jordan Travel Planning – Fixed Plans:

Before leaving to Jordan, I had booked/contacted hosts for most of my trip (80-90 %) because I considered that the prices I get on the internet are better than what I would find there in the last minute (and in the middle of the tourist season):

– my flight ticket, which I bought almost two months in advance

– my car, which I booked a few days after buying my flight tickets

– accommodations in Amman, Madaba, Wadi Musa (Petra), and near Jerash (I could have canceled most of them for free up to a few days before my arrival, so I was still a bit flexible)

– a couple of CouchSurfing contacts who could have helped me with information, accommodation, and phone calls if anything happened to me in Jordan during my stay

– a couple of couchsurfing requests accepted in Amman, Wadi Rum, Irbid, Aqaba, and Zarqa (I messaged to my hosts before my departure to Jordan as I knew I wouldn’t have time for messages during my stay in Jordan)

– a collaboration with a Bedouin Hotel in Dana Biosphere Reserve: I wrote about Dana Tower Hotel in exchange for free accommodation.

Jordan Travel Planning – Intentions, but nothing fixed

When I left for Jordan, I wanted to do/to go to the following places but I hadn’t fixed dates for them:

– do some short treks in some of the Jordanian most important reserves:

• Dana Biosphere Reserve (Rumana Mountain Trail, Wadi Dana Trail)
• Wadi Musa – Petra (High Place of Sacrifice to Petra City Center, Wadi Muthlim, Umm al-Biyara, and maybe Jebel Haroun)
• Wadi Rum (trails – a must with camels: to the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Makharas Canyon, Lawrence’s Spring, Al Hassany Dunes, Alameleh inscriptions, Little Rock Bridge, Khazali Siq Canyon, Barrah Canyon)
• Wadi Mujib (Siq Trail)
• a trail in Ajloun Forest Reserve

– swim in the Red Sea and in the Dead Sea

– go to at least one local hamam and to one swimming pool with water from natural springs (Hammamat Ma’in, Hammamat Burbita or Hammamat Afra, near Madaba)

Jordan Travel Planning (road trip)

Jordan Travel Planning – Final Result:

The final result of my trip through Jordan, where I stayed for five weeks, is a series of ……. travel diaries (which I am writing now). Enjoy your reading and let me know your opinion about Jordan. Which is your favorite place in Jordan? Why?

Amman – downtown and different neighborhoods (7 days)

• direct night flight from Bucharest (Romania) to Amman (Jordan)
• walked from Al Salahin neighborhood to downtown Amman (approximately 12 km)
• walked the famous Rainbow street and in the expats’ neighborhood Weibdeh
• went to the Royal Auto Museum in King Hussein Park; walked through downtown Amman and to the citadell
• walked through downtown Amman – the Roman theater and the colorful souqs
• walked through the expats’ neighborhood of Weibdeh
• went to King Abdullah’s Mosque and the Jordan Museum

The King’s Highway – from Amman to Dana Reserve and Wadi Musa  (8 days)

Wadi Dana Trail (green – trek, orange – car)

• explored Madaba’s old churches with Roman mosaics
• round road trip from Madaba, via Herod’s Castle in Mukawir village and the hot springs from Hammamat Ma’in; explored the dolmens’ field near Madaba in the evening
• road trip from Madaba to Dana village, via Umm ar-Rasas, Wadi Mujib, Karak Castle, and Wadi Hasa
• relaxing day in Dana historic village
• Wadi Dana Trail – from Dana village to Fenyan Ecolodge (14 km of walking); shared minibus back to Dana village, via the Hisha Road
• Dana Nature Reserve – Rumana Campsite Trail and the Cave Trail
• relaxing day in Dana village; sunset from RSCN Dana Fire Observation Point
• road trip from Dana village to Wadi Musa/Petra, via Shobak Castle and Wadi Ghuweir villages

Petra – one of the Seven Wonders of the World (4 days)

Petra (green – hikes, red – car)

• 1st day in Petra (entered from Wadi Musa): the main trail – Siq (Canyon), Al Khazaneh (Treasury), Street of the Facades, Royal Tombs (Urn Tomb, Silk Tomb, Corinthian Tomb, Palace Tomb, Sextius Florentius Tomb, and many other Nabataean Tombs), Theater, Colonnaded Street, Petra Church, Temple of Winged Lions & Royal Palace, Basin Restaurant, Qasr al-Bint, Temenos Gateway, Great Temple, Nymphaeum; walked all the way back to the Treasury and through the Siq
• 2nd day in Petra (back entrance from Umm Sayhoun Bedouin village – Turkmaniya Tomb & North Walls): hike from Petra city center to Al-Deir (Monastery), via the Lion Triclinium; hike further to the three lookouts nearby the Monastery; walked all the way back down to Petra center and then up to Umm Sayhoun village (2 km)
• 3rd day in Petra (back entrance from Umm Sayhoun Bedouin village): hike from Petra city center to the High Place of Sacrifice, via the South Walls and Wadi Farasah (Renaissance Tomb, Roman Soldier’s Tomb, Garden Tomb & Triclinium, Lion Monument, Obelisks); explored the Royal Tombs again; donkey ride up to Umm Sayhoun village; went to Little Petra, came back to Umm Sayhoun village (Khalil dinner), driven back to Wadi Musa
• 4th day in Petra (back entrance from Umm Sayhoun Bedouin village): donkey ride down to Petra Royal Tombs and up to the Treasury Vista; walked down to the Royal Tombs; donkey ride to Wadi Siyagh Spring, Wadi Numeir, Al Habis Mount, Wadi Farasah, Royal Tombs, and all the way back to Umm Sayhoun village, via Wadi Mataha; driven back to Wadi Musa

Wadi Rum Village and Desert (6 days)

Wadi Rum (green – hikes, yellow – car)

• road trip from Wadi Musa/Petra to Rum village
• half-day hike to the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Makharas Canyon, Alameleh Inscriptions, and back via Tell Hassan
• half-day hike to the Khazali Siq (Canyon) and the Little Rock Bridge; Bedouin Camp in the Desert
• day hike to the Al Hassany Dunes, Anfaishiyya Inscriptions, Al Qsair (Lawrence’s House), and back to the Little Rock Bridge; Bedouin Camp in the Desert
• short hike from Rum village to the Nabataean temple and Lawrence’s Spring
• camel race near Diseh village; walked through Aqaba in the afternoon; evening at the Red Sea Coast

From Aqaba to Northern Jordan (7 days)

• road trip from the Red Sea Eastern Coast to Madaba, via Aqaba – Wadi Araba Desert – Lowest Point on Earth – Dead Sea
• round road trip from Madaba: explored Mount Nebo Complex, the Baptism Site of Jesus, and the Dead Sea Panoramic Complex
• round road trip from Madaba: explored Wadi Mujib Canyon (Siq Trail) and swum in the Dead Sea
• road trip from Madaba to Zarqa, via the Desert Castles (Qasr Kharana, Quseir Amra, and Qasr al-Azraq)
• relaxing day in Zarqa town, near Amman
• round road trip from Zarqa: explored Umm-al-Jimal (basalt ancient city) and Qasr al-Hallabat (palace and hammam)
• road trip from Zarqa to Irbid, via As-Salt town and the Jordan Valley

Northern Jordan, around Irbid and Jerash (7 days)

• explored Irbid downtown
• round road trip from Irbid to Umm Qais archaeological site
• road trip from Irbid to Jerash, via Mar Elyas Monastery and Ajloun Castle
• round road trip from Jerash to As-Salt Ottoman town, via Kufranja Dam – Jordan Valley and return via Sweileh (Amman suburb) – Jerash Highway
• full day visit to Jerash archaeological site (hippodrome, colonnaded cardo, gates, small and big theaters, Christian churches in ruin)
• road trip from Jerash to Amman International Airport, via Sweileh – Kalda Circle – Arab Revolt Square – Prince Hussein Interchange – Na’ur (Amman suburbs)
• direct night flight from Amman (Jordan) to Bucharest (Romania)

This is the summary of my five-week trip to Jordan. Enjoy your reading and let me know your opinion about traveling to Jordan. Which is your favorite place in Jordan? Why? Where would you go?