One week itinerary in Jordan- hidden tips & tricks to this stunning country

13.03.2023.

Spending one week in Jordan is an ideal amount of time to discover its most astonishing sites. For most visitors, Petra is the reason to choose Jordan. Similar with me, wonderful Petra has been my dream for years.

Finding affordable tickets from Budapest pulled the decision so I also needed to find the equipe. It was pretty easy to find my travel companions after placing the ad at the popular Croatian site. Renting a car was another solution to easen our adventure.

From marvelous Petra to the extraordinary Dead Sea, Jordan is a pleasant country to dive into the Arab world. This desert country proves its nature at every corner, where incredible landscape creates wonders. Feels like Petra shines beyond its limits. The whole Jordan transmits the spirit of Petra.

What to know before arriving to Jordan

The highest season to visit Jordan is from March until October and time when prices tend to rise up. This also means that temperatures are warmer.

During my stay in Jordan from 19-26.02., the weather was almost summerish the whole day. Only the nights were a bit cold and windy.

You will need to buy a Jordan Pass online here before arrival as it covers the visa and entrance to more than 40 sites. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Petra is the most significant and a number of days inside counts in the price.

The best way to move around Jordan is to rent a car as buses are rare. Our car was very small because price depends on the size. We were squashed like sardines including the suitcase between us. The trunk was very small also. We followed the link that the Croatian site for travellers suggested for the rental car.

Amman, the capital of Jordan

Shining with white magic, Amman is a totally underrated city.

Just stroll through the Old town and the Roman amphitheatre will unveil its ancient charm. Two museums take place at both wings of the amphitheater. These are the Museum of Folklor and the Museum of Popular Traditions.

About 15 minutes uphill stretches the Citadel of Amman with its fascinating views. Along the way, you’ll pass by many art galleries that capture the beauty of Amman. The years of history intertwine in the Amman Citadel, especially at the Temple of Hercules. The Archeological Museum from 1951 offers a deep insight into ancient times.

Amman is a city to enjoy shopping and choose the fascinating spices and Beduin tea. The colourful pots for coffee might be your unique gift.  

The rich collection of local art makes the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts pretty alluring.

Discover many bars and restaurants in Ranbow Street.

Blue Mosque

Not many of them exist in Amman, but the Blue Mosque became the symbol of the city. Officially known as the King Abdullah I Mosque, it’s a bit away from the Old town. Taking 3 km to reach, you’ll another face of Amman close to downtown.

Dedicated to the first King of Jordan, Blue Mosque welcomes visitors with its fascinating design and dome. It’s actually the only mosque in Amman open to the tourists.

King Hussein bin Talal dedicated the mosque to his grandfather after finishing the construction in 1989. The most impressive fact lies in its largeness as the mosque can accommodate more than 3000 people inside.

Where to stay in Amman

Layaali Amman was my favourite choice as it’s pretty central, just across the Roman amphitheater. Having budget-friendly prices and cozy rooms, it totally deserves the chance. Besides, you can enjoy the sunset views from its rooftop. Unfortunately, it was already busy when we decided to book.

So we took Antika Amman Hotel, which was also very cozy. The location was further away, upon the hill and just near the Rainbow street. The breakfast was very good and lobby pretty cute covering oriental vibes.

Jerash

Jerash is a large city lying 50 km north of Amman. Instead of the city, the ancient Roman archeological site takes the whole attention. It’s pretty unbelievable that the marvelous Roman ruins take place in the Middle East. Considering the power of Roman Empire, Jerash has very well-preserved ruins.

With Jordan Pass entering Jerash is free. Hadrian’s Arch from 2 BC opens the story of Jerash and leads to the hippodrome. Once the hippodrome was much larger than today. Forum represents the heart of Jerash with its stunning columns.

The highest attraction is the collonated street, once filled with shops and buildings. From the north to the south theatre, Jerash imposantly hides its artistic nature.

There are several buffet restaurants inside the complex, but we opted for the local restaurant across.

Dead sea

Dead Sea is such a phenomenon that it doesn’t allow you to swim. It’s actually not a sea, but a salty lake lying at the border with Israel.

Most hotels at the Dead Sea are pretty expensive so we took the cheapest one- Ramada resort. It was without breakfast and I even thought to take one for 12€. I changed my mind when I read the different prices for continental and oriental breakfast.

Being in a tranquil place, Ramada resort gave a total rest like nowhere in Jordan. The rooms are so cozy and the bathroom offers plenty of place to leave your stuff.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to enjoy the lovely pool. The beach is about 10 minutes by foot, but the van takes you every 30 minutes. The water was pretty warm in February though the beach needs some improvements.

Before booking Ramada

Before booking Ramada, we thought to stay in Madaba city and discover the wild beach. Actually, it’s so nice to be close to the Dead sea that you’ll not regret this fancy arrangement. Before entering Ramada they checked our car, so it felt very secure. Discovering the local mall was a lovely experience. I even bought Jordanian yogurt or labneh and had no idea that it is so salty.

The only inconvenient thing about Ramada is that it doesn’t include the canceling option.  

Going on the wild beach or not?

Dead sea will not take much of your time, unless you go exploring the fabulous canyons of Wadi Mujib. The high concentration of salt lets you only to float.

While searching the famous salty formations, we discovered by chance the fabulous wild beach. It’s located near the main road and close to Wadi Mujib. You’ll easily find it as Salty beach. I was surprised that it’s even more beautiful than our hotel beach. You’ll even find showers and some snacks to buy. I found nothing about it on google as everyone tells you to bring your own water to shower. It’s also possible that the facilities didn’t exist in the past.

Visiting the Baptism site at the Jordan river

The Baptism site is about 20 minutes north of Ramada resort by car. When only thinking to spend 20 minutes, it actually took us 2h. I was quite surprised to see such an expensive price- 16€- and it could be 12€ will level II of the Jordan Pass.

Being at the border with Israel feels so fascinating. Joining the group tour is necessary and afterwards the bus takes you to the baptism site. It’s the original place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

The beautiful Greek church stands here since 2003.

Petra- the Wonder of the World

The rose-red city is larger than you would think as it requires a whole day of walking. Unfortunately, we only saw 2/3 of Petra leaving the Monastery behind.

The fascinating canyons leading to Treasury are the best of Petra. It takes about 1h to reach Treasury through Siq, which is the official name for canyons.

Petra is the highest attraction in Jordan and you can definitely count to spend two nights in Wadi Musa. Wadi Musa is a town that surrounds Petra, with plenty of hotels and restaurants.

On almost every corner in Petra, you’ll see souvenir shops and cafe bars. Pomegranate juice is a splendid choice to recharge yourself.

Just like the canyons, the colourful rocks will take your breath away.

We also missed Petra by night, a special event of an illuminated city. It happens every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Where to stay in Wadi Musa

The Nomad Hostel took my attention right away, but unfortunately, it gets busy too quickly. Its design and view are outstanding, including the common area. The location is only 10 minutes on foot from Visitor’s Centre.

Another favourite of mine was the Rocky Mountain Hotel with its splendid view and restaurant.

Our final choice was Majido Hotel, which was pretty cozy and simple. Taking lunch at their place (from the restaurant nearby) was a fantastic choice as it was so large.

Aqaba- the only coastal town

Aqaba deserves the title of the boring town. We spent two nights here counting to have some rest. The local fort and glass boats that will take you to see corals represent Aqaba in essence. The main beach is pretty poluted due to the boats, but it was full of locals and kids.

The rest of the time we explored shops and markets. Just like everywhere in Jordan, the prices are mostly not written in the small shops.

If you have time and will, go visit Berenice beach club. The entrance is not free, but you’ll have a chance to enjoy the lovely beach and 3 swimming pools. The Berenice beach club has its own shuttle bus as it’s 11 km from Aqaba.

The Sharif al-Hussein bin Ali Mosque is simply fascinating, though they didn’t let us in. I don’t know if the hair cover was the reason.

Wadi Rum- the fascinating desert

Wadi Rum is a desert like no other due to its wonderful cliffs, stone arches and canyons. After arriving at Visitor’s Centre, we took lunch. In Wadi Rum village we waited for our host.

Most of the travel bloggers will tell you about the domes that you should experience. There’s not a huge difference between expensive and cheap accommodation, considering the reviews. Actually, here lies a catch.

Our accommodation was 8€ for one person, including half board. Immediately after booking, the host told us to pay for the transport 20€ or take a tour. Coming with the tour prices around 80-90€ per person (not vehicle), it became questionable. Somehow they agreed to put the prices down to around 50€ each, when we mentioned to accept the tour. At our arrival, they canceled our booking and gave a discount. Finally, we paid 40€ each, including the tour and accommodation.

About the desert tour

First to mention, that you can arrive at the Visitor’s Centre directly at take accommodation.

Anyhow, the tour was compelling and we started immediately without going to accommodation. Lawrence’s spring was the first stop, though you cannot see the water anymore. Just remember that Lawrence of Arabia was shot here.

Burdah and Um Frouth rock bridge offers stunning views at the interesting formations. Next, we went to Khazali Canyon, the small mount with the fabulous challenge. It’s the place where trees and water grow together. Taking a bedouin tea gave us some relaxing moments at the souvenir stand.

Sandboarding was so much fun, but we needed more time. Finally, we went to enjoy the sunset, another beduin tea and cookies.

It was pretty warm to sleep with two thick blankets.

Unfortunately, we had to leave already at 9h.

Madaba- the mosaic city

We visited Madaba on our way to the airport, but somehow we skipped Mount Nebo. Besides the mosaics at the Archeological Park, Madaba looses itself in the urban feel.

Madaba is a city to see the mosque, Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals next to each other. Greek Orthodox Church offers the imposant mosaics, while the golden dome of the King Hussain mosque shines from the distance.

Lovely restaurants and bars fill the city of Madaba. Carpets are also the highlight of Madaba, though it’s not a souvenir to bring home.

About the food in Jordan

How to describe differently the food in Jordan than falafel & humus for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Especially if you’re vegetarian, that’s what you can expect.

Humus was very delicious everywhere we went, but sometimes we just needed the soup.

Amman hotel had not only the oriental breakfast as we could get also oat flakes and fantastic yogurt. Such a surprise was to see halva for breakfast also. Oriental breakfast includes some vegetables, salad, potatoes, beans, tortilla and hummus.

To make a revolt against falafel, pizza was our choice at the entrance of Wadi Rum desert.

Arabic salad was a refreshing discovery, containing lettuce, cucumber and tomato with dressing.

Guess what’s grilled halloumi? It was a cheese that I ordered with some vegetables.  

Coffee is very expensive in Jordan, excluding Madaba city.

How expensive is Jordan

Travelling in off-season cuts the expenses out. Most of the hotels were about 30€ for two persons.

Wadi Musa ie. Petra as the highest touristic attraction bursts with choice. You can find hotels of all budget styles, even the cozy hostels.

Dead sea is the only fanciest option and it rewards with the true rest.

As buses are rare, I cannot tell you much about it. We rented a car for a week and the price was 70€ for 4 people/each. Let’s add the fuel and it becomes around 20€ more. So we paid 89€ each for having a car in Jordan. Here I’m not including the costs for arriving into Budapest.

Food was mostly about 8€ in the restaurants with the service fee. Falafel sandwiches were pretty cheap in some places (2€), even cheaper than falafel rolls themselves.

Overall, I spent around 300€ during one week in Jordan. To this I have to add the costs of rented car- 100€ and ticket to Jordan- 200€ (it went cheaper after I bought it).

How to organize your itinerary

If you’re staying for a week and going with a group, you have to adjust yourself. Let’s arrange the itinerary like this:

2 nights- Amman

Visiting Jerash and 1 night at the Dead sea

Visiting the Baptism site (optionally) and travelling to Wadi Musa (it’s a long way)- staying 2 nights in Wadi Musa or 1 night as we did

Aqaba- we stayed 2 nights but not much to do there so I would suggest 1 night

Wadi Rum- 1 night

The last night we wanted to find something spontaneously on the way, but that didn’t happen.

We even had a chance to visit Madaba, it’s a pity that we missed Mount Nebo. This lovely Mount is only 10 minutes by car from Madaba city.

Final thoughts

Jordan is a world of its own, where measures of Mars take special credibility. The incredible surprise of UNESCO sites is the main treasure of Jordan. Petra needs to be at the bucket list of every traveller. It’s something that changes your picture of the ancient world.

Missing Dana out of our itinerary, it’s a stunning place for hiking with marvelous canyons and views. Dana Biosphere Reserve is also abundant with birds. Lying close to the village of Dana, you can easily get to know friendly locals here.

Jordan is a fascinating country to explore, much more that its lovely Queen Petra.

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