Rose-red city and desert wonders
Feel the rush of adrenaline as you explore Jordan's most thrilling landscapes. This package is designed for those who believe holidays should be filled with excitement, new challenges, and the kind of experiences that make your heart race. Come home with incredible stories and unforgettable memories.
Jordan is a land of ancient wonders where the rose-red city of Petra, carved into towering sandstone cliffs by the Nabataeans over 2,000 years ago, stands as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The vast desert landscape of Wadi Rum, with its dramatic red rock formations and endless sand dunes, offers Bedouin camp experiences, jeep safaris, and some of the clearest stargazing skies on earth. Float effortlessly in the mineral-rich Dead Sea at the lowest point on earth, explore the remarkably preserved Roman city of Jerash, and experience the legendary warmth of Jordanian hospitality.
6 nights in Jordan — day by day, fact-checked
Arrival at Queen Alia International Airport, private transfer to your Amman hotel, and a first Jordanian meal arranged by your guide.
Your pre-booked driver meets you and covers the transfer from the airport, which sits about 35 km south of the city, well under an hour to central Amman. Check your own arrival time before you plan anything else this day; the rest bends around it.
Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) is about 35 km south of Amman city, a transfer well under an hour to the centre, covered by your included private driver.
Jordan runs on GMT+3. Reset your watch on arrival and count your first evening from your own landing time, not a fixed schedule.
Cards are widely accepted in Amman hotels and shops, but draw Jordanian Dinar here for tips and small vendors. Exchange at banks, booths or your hotel, never street changers, whose rates the tourism board tells you to avoid.
Do not wait until the desert to sort cash. Wadi Rum is cash-only with no ATMs, the nearest machines being in Aqaba, so build up your Dinar in Amman while banks and booths are easy to reach.
Settle in and let your guide book a sit-down Jordanian dinner. Sufra in Jabal Amman near Rainbow Street serves traditional home-cooked Levantine plates daily. If you land late, a hotel meal works just as well; nothing tonight is fixed to a clock.
Alcohol is legal in bars, hotels and private homes but illegal to drink on the street. Keep any drink inside the venue.
Do not head out without ID. Jordan runs random security checks and you should carry your passport or driving licence.
Carry Jordanian Dinar for the tip. Tipping is customary in Jordan, though we could not confirm exact amounts from an official source.
A sit-down Jordanian restaurant serving traditional home-cooked Levantine dishes, open daily 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a solid guide-led first meal in the capital.
A cook-and-dine evening in a restored traditional home where you prepare a multi-course Arabic feast with local instructors, then eat together.
A full guided day in the capital, with a cook-and-dine cultural meal or a farm-to-table dinner in the evening.
Your private guide leads the capital on foot and by car, with all site entries included and handled for you. Dress modestly, especially at religious sites; the guide briefs specifics and is the practical enforcer of covering up or removing shoes where it matters.
Modest, respectful dress is expected in Jordan, especially at religious sites and away from resort areas. Your guide briefs the specifics for each stop.
For any free-time hop across Amman, Uber and Careem run in the city. Metered yellow taxis often will not run the meter for tourists, so a ride-hailing app gives you a set price up front.
Do not photograph or approach in a way that ignores conduct rules. Public displays of affection may cause offence, and it is illegal to encourage religious conversion to Christianity.
The classic where-locals-actually-eat budget spot for falafel, hummus and ful; your guide can confirm the day's hours on arrival.
Two strong guide-arrangeable dinners. Beit Sitti puts you at the stove with local Hajjehs for a multi-course Arabic feast in Jabal Al-Weibdeh. Shams El Balad serves seasonal Levantine plates in a restored villa in Jabal Amman and takes reservations directly.
Beit Sitti has hosted Queen Rania, Jose Andres and Gordon Ramsay; ask your guide to reserve a session, as times and prices are not published on its site.
Shams El Balad runs a bar with natural wines. That drink is fine inside the venue, but street drinking is illegal in Jordan, so keep it at the table.
Do not trust an old aggregator 'closed' tag on Shams El Balad. That flag sits on a former cafe listing; the official site is live and taking bookings.
A farm-to-table restaurant in a restored old villa serving seasonal Arabic and Levantine plates; it actively takes reservations and ranks in MENA's 50 Best 2026.
A well-known Levantine fine-dining restaurant in a heritage villa, a good pick for a smarter guide-recommended dinner in the capital.
The chauffeured drive south to Wadi Musa, the town beside Petra, then an evening at the base of the archaeological park.
Your driver takes the Desert Highway to Petra, roughly 230 km and about 2.5 to 3 hours. This distance is the intended shape of a Jordan grand tour, and the private driver absorbs it entirely while you sit back and watch the country change.
Amman to Petra runs roughly 230 km on the Desert Highway, about 2.5 to 3 hours, all driven by your included private driver.
Top up your Dinar before this leg. Card coverage thins as you move south toward the desert, and Wadi Rum ahead is cash-only with no ATMs.
Do not treat the long drive as a defect. The multi-hour Amman-to-Petra leg is the intended design of a grand-tour loop, not a wrong turn, and your driver does all the work.
Settle in Wadi Musa. On Sunday to Thursday, Petra by Night runs 20:30 to about 22:30, a candlelit Siq for 30 JD per person. It is a separate ticket not covered by standard package entries, so confirm with your operator whether yours is booked.
Petra by Night runs five nights a week, Sunday to Thursday, 20:30 to about 22:30, at 30 JD per person, free for under-10s. It needs a same-day daytime ticket or Jordan Pass and is a separate ticket.
Petra by Night is not part of standard 'all entries' inclusions. Confirm with your operator whether your guide books this add-on, rather than assuming it is covered.
Do not skip the daytime ticket thinking the night show stands alone. Petra by Night requires you already hold a daytime Petra ticket or Jordan Pass to enter.
A nightly cook-and-dine class where you prepare five or more traditional Jordanian dishes with local chefs, then share the meal.
A trading local bakery for Arabic breakfast pastries, breads and sweets, a genuine quick-bite grab in town.
A full guided day inside the Petra Archaeological Park, from the Siq and Treasury to the long uphill climb to the Monastery.
An early start is structural here. Petra opens 06:00 in summer and 06:30 in winter, and hours are strictly enforced. Your guide walks you through the Siq to the Treasury before the crowds and heat build. All entries are included and handled for you.
Petra Archaeological Park opens year-round: summer (about 2 Mar–1 Oct) 06:00–18:00, winter (about 2 Oct–1 Mar) 06:30–17:00.
Decline offers of a donkey, horse or camel ride, whether at the Treasury, along the Siq or for the Monastery climb. PETA supports an on-site clinic for the donkeys who haul tourists and advises never to ride working animals.
Do not linger inside past closing to chase a photo. The FCDO warns that being in Petra outside its enforced hours risks arrest.
Petra is a big walking site; the Treasury is only the start. The Monastery sits at the top of a long uphill hike of roughly 900 stone steps. Go at your own pace with your guide, carry water, and skip the animal rides that PETA campaigns against here.
The Monastery is a long uphill hike of about 900 stone steps, so a full-day plan inside Petra is realistic; the Siq and Treasury are only the beginning.
Some welfare progress has landed inside Petra: horse-drawn carriages are now banned and a PETA-supported clinic treats injured working animals on-site. Support it by walking, not riding.
Do not assume the Treasury is the whole of Petra. Skipping the uphill Monastery climb means missing the site's second great facade; pace it across the full day.
Inexpensive local shawarma stands and falafel counters typical of the town, a cheap fast grab between Petra visits.
The short chauffeured hop to the desert, a 4x4 afternoon, and a night at a Bedouin camp under the stars.
Your driver runs the short leg from Petra to Wadi Rum, roughly 110 km and about 1.5 to 2 hours. You enter the desert via the Visitor Center, where the rhythm shifts from clock hours to sunrise, sunset and stargazing rather than a fixed timetable.
Petra to Wadi Rum runs roughly 110 km, about 1.5 to 2 hours, driven by your included private driver; entry is via the Wadi Rum Visitor Center.
Every payment across Wadi Rum is cash-only and there are no ATMs, the nearest being in Aqaba. Carry enough Dinar for tips and camp extras before you leave Petra.
Do not arrive in the desert cashless expecting cards. With no ATMs in Wadi Rum, a card-only traveller is stuck for tips and Bedouin-stall extras.
The desert runs on a 4x4-and-camp rhythm built around dusk. Your camp serves Bedouin cooking, often a Zarb underground barbecue, half-board style. Nights get genuinely cold even outside winter, so pack warm layers for the camp; the days here are for sunset and stargazing.
Pack warm layers for the camp even outside winter. Desert nights in Wadi Rum turn cold once the sun drops, whatever the daytime heat.
Flag any vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free needs in advance. SunCity Camp accommodates these with notice, but the desert kitchen works best with a heads-up.
Do not pack only for daytime heat. Travellers who skip warm layers get caught out by cold Wadi Rum nights and shiver through the stargazing.
A desert camp serving authentic Bedouin cuisine including its signature Zarb underground barbecue of marinated lamb, chicken and vegetables; vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets are accommodated with notice.
A Bedouin camp serving buffet-style traditional meals, from a labneh-and-hummus breakfast to Zarb, Khabsah or Saniyeh dinners with Bedouin tea; books direct, no OTAs.
A desert sunrise, the long chauffeured drive back north, and a final evening in the capital.
Wadi Rum's mornings run on dawn light, not a timetable. Take the sunrise from camp before the long drive north. Your Bedouin breakfast, bread, labneh, hummus, cheese and olives, sets you up before your driver points the 4x4 back toward the highway.
Wadi Rum runs on a dawn-and-dusk rhythm rather than clock hours; take the sunrise from camp before the drive north begins.
Settle any camp tips and stall extras in Dinar before you leave. There is still no ATM anywhere in Wadi Rum, so use the cash you carried in.
Do not leave a camel ride as an assumed ethical equal of walking. Petra's ride-avoidance advice is verified; Wadi Rum camel welfare is not independently assessed, so treat it as your own judgement call.
The return to Amman is the long leg of the loop, roughly 4 to 4.5 hours by the private driver. Back in the capital, close the trip with a farm-to-table dinner or a downtown locals' meal, whichever your guide books, before an early night ahead of departure.
Wadi Rum to Amman is the long leg, roughly 430 km and about 4 to 4.5 hours, all covered by your included private driver.
Cards work again in Amman hotels and shops, so you can relax on cash tonight; keep a little Dinar back for the final tip.
Do not read the long return drive as wasted time. The multi-hour Wadi Rum-to-Amman leg is the built-in shape of the grand-tour loop, and the driver handles all of it.
A seasonal farm-to-table Levantine kitchen, a calm final-night dinner back in the capital after the desert.
The long-running budget spot for falafel, hummus and ful if you want a plain, cheap, local last meal.
Breakfast, a private transfer back to the airport, and the flight home.
Take breakfast, then your driver runs you back to Queen Alia, about 35 km south of the city and well under an hour. Count your morning back from your departure time, whether that means an early-morning or a late-night run to the terminal.
Queen Alia International Airport sits about 35 km south of Amman, a transfer well under an hour, covered by your included private driver.
Count your final morning back from your own departure time and let your driver confirm the pickup; the schedule bends to your flight, not the reverse.
Spend or keep small Dinar for the last tip before you go. Cards cover Amman, but a cash gratuity for your driver and guide is customary.
Do not pack your passport deep in the hold bag. You need photo ID for random security checks right up to the terminal, and your passport for the flight itself.
Practical details verified 21 July 2026. Prices and opening hours change — we re-check them monthly, but confirm anything critical before you travel.
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