Jordan Highlight Tour 2023 – 8 Days & 7 Nights

Queen Alia International Airport — Amman Hotel

Upon arrival at Amman Queen Alia Intl. airport, you will be welcomed by our representative holding a name sign before the customs and will be assisting you in arranging your free visa. After collecting your Visa and luggage, your driver will be waiting for you in the arrival hall and transfer you to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

Overnight: Amman

Meals: None

Notes: Individual transfers

Amman Hotel – Amman City Tour (Citadel & The Roman Theatre) – Jerash – Amman Hotel

Start your first morning in Jordan with a city tour. Visit the Citadel in Amman, with beautiful views over the city. Continue to the Roman Theatre, located in the heart of Amman for a visit. Drive on to Jerash, to visit the world’s best preserved Roman provincial city. After your visit of Jerash transfer back to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

Start: 9AM

Meals: Breakfast

Overnight: Amman

Notes: Good Walking Shoes and Sun Protection is required.

Amman City Tour

A sprawling city spread over 19 hills, or “jebels,” Amman is the modern – as well as the ancient – capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Known as Rabbath-Ammon during the Iron Age and later as Philadelphia, the ancient city that was once part of the Decapolis league, now boasts a population of around 2.3 million people. Amman, often referred to as the white city due to its low size canvas of stone houses, offers a variety of historical sites. There are several renovations and excavations taking place that have revealed remains from the Neolithic period, as well as from the Hellenistic and late Roman to Arab Islamic Ages. The site which is known as the Citadel includes many structures such as the Temple of Hercules, the Umayyad Palace and the Byzantine Church. At the foot of the Citadel lies the 6,000 seat Roman Theatre, which is a deep-sided bowl carved into the hill and is still being used for cultural events. Another newly restored theatre is the 500-seat Odeon that is used for concerts.

Jerash

A close second to Petra on the list of favorite destinations in Jordan, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. The city’s golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains, and city walls pierced by towers and gates.

Amman Hotel – Madaba (St. George church) – Mount Nebo – Kerak – Little Petra – Petra Hotel

Today there is a long day ahead of you as you will be travelling to the South to Petra. At 07.30 am, after breakfast your tour today starts with visiting the St. George Church in Madaba with its famous mosaic map. Drive to Mount Nebo, from where Moses viewed the Promised Land. Follow the King’s Highway until Kerak. In Kerak visit the immense Crusaders Castle. If time permits, you will also visit Little Petra today otherwise transfer directly to Petra for overnight at your hotel.

Start: 7:30AM

Meals: Breakfast

Overnight: Petra

Notes: Good Walking Shoes and Sun Protection is required.

Optional activities for today:

• Petra by Night (each Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening)
• Petra Kitchen cooking course
• Local Turkish Bath.

Madaba

The trip south from Amman along the 5,000-year-old King’s Highway is one of the most memorable journeys in the Holy Land, passing through a string of ancient sites. The first city to encounter is Madaba, “the City of Mosaics.” The city, best known for its spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, is home to the famous 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. With two million pieces of colored stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns as far as the Nile Delta.

Mount Nebo

Within the area is Mount Nebo, one of the most revered holy sites of Jordan and the place where Moses was
buried. A small Byzantine church was built there by early Christians, which has been expanded into a vast
complex. During his visit to Jordan in 2000, the Late Pope John Paul II held a sermon here that was attended
by some 20,000 faithful.

Kerak

The best-preserved are underground, and to be reached through a massive door (ask at the ticket office). The
castle in itself is more imposing than beautiful, though it is all the more impressive as an example of the
Crusaders’ architectural military genius. Karak’s most famous occupant was Reynald de Chatillon, whose
reputation for treachery, betrayal and brutality is unsurpassed. When Baldwin II died, his son, a 13-year-old
leper, sued for peace with Saladin. The Leper King, however, died without an heir, and in stepped Reynald,
who succeeded in winning the hand of Stephanie, the wealthy widow of Karak’s assassinated regent. He
promptly broke the truce with Saladin, who returned with a huge army, ready for war. Reynald and King Guy
of Jerusalem led the Crusader forces and suffered a massive defeat. Reynald was taken prisoner and
beheaded by Saladin himself, marking the beginning of the decline in Crusader fortunes. The castle was
enlarged with a new west wing added by the Ayyubids and Mameluks.

Petra by night

To visit Petra during daylight is awe-inspiring; to experience it at night by the light of 1,800 candles is truly
out-of-this-world! Walk through the Siq to the Khazneh following a candle-lit path and enjoy the haunting
music of the Bedouins at the Treasury. Tours start at 8.30pm and finish at 10.00pm

Petra Full Day Visit

A full day to explore Petra, one of the seven world wonders. Entry by Siq and visit the Treasury, Street of
Facades, Theater, Colonnaded Street etc. after lunch (optional) inside Petra you will still have time to visit the
Monastery and/or the High Place of Sacrifice today. It is a lot of climbing but worth the views!

Start: 8AM

Meals: Breakfast

Overnight: Petra

Notes: Good Walking Shoes and Sun Protection is required.

Petra

The ancient city of Petra is one of Jordan’s national treasures and by far its best-known tourist attraction.
Located approximately three hours south of Amman, Petra is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious
Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture,
massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe. Much of Petra’s appeal comes from its
spectacular setting deep inside a narrow desert gorge. The site is accessed by walking through a kilometer long chasm (or siq), the walls of which soar 200m upwards. Petra’s most famous monument, the Treasury,
appears dramatically at the end of the Siq.

Petra Hotel – 04 hours 4X4 Jeep Tour in Wadi Rum – Wadi Rum Camp

After breakfast, drive to Wadi Rum Visitors Centre. Before starting with the jeep tour, you could decide to
enjoy an hour camel ride from Wadi Rum Village (optional). Then start with a half day jeep tour. A jeep tour is
the best way to discover lots of sites in Wadi Rum. The jeep will stop at each site giving you time to
walk/scramble around and maybe even climb up on some of the beautiful natural formed bridges in Wadi
Rum.

Start: 9AM

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight: Wadi Rum

Notes: Good Walking Shoes and Sun Protection is required.

Wadi Rum

This is a stupendous, timeless place, virtually untouched by humanity and its destructive forces. Here, it is the
weather and winds that have carved the imposing, towering skyscrapers, so elegantly described by T.E.
Lawrence as “vast, echoing and God-like…” A maze of monolithic rockscapes rise from the desert floor to
heights of 1,750m creating a natural challenge for serious mountaineers. Hikers can enjoy the tranquility of
the boundless empty spaces and explore the canyons and water holes to discover 4000-year-old rock
drawings and the many other spectacular treasures this vast wilderness holds in store. Long chasm (or siq),
the walls of which soar 200m upwards. Petra’s most famous monument, the Treasury, appears dramatically
at the end of the Siq.

Wadi Rum Camp – Aqaba Hotel

After breakfast, you will drive to Aqaba for a free day and overnight. Relax at the beach, discover the town of
Aqaba!

Start: 9AM

Meals: Breakfast

Overnight: Aqaba

Notes: Swimsuit & Sun Protection

Optional activities for today:

• Snorkeling Cruise including lunch
• Optional Leisure stay extension in Aqaba Hotel

Aqaba

With its wealth of other attractions, Jordan’s splendid Red Sea resort is often overlooked by modern-day
visitors. But apart from being a delightful place for discerning holidaymakers, this is a great base from which
to explore various places of interest in southern Jordan.
Aqaba is a fun place. It is a microcosm of all the good things Jordan has to offer, including a fascinating history
with some outstanding sites, excellent hotels and activities, superb visitor facilities, good shopping, and
welcoming, friendly people, who enjoy nothing more than making sure their visitors have a good time.

Aqaba Hotel – Dead Sea (floating only) – Amman Hotel

Check out of your hotel and drive via the Wadi Araba desert to the Dead Sea, lowest point on the earth’s
surface. Enjoy day entry and lunch at the 4* Dead Sea Spa Hotel. Float in the salty waters and try out the
famous healing mud. Late afternoon transfer to your Hotel in Amman followed by a farewell dinner in a local
Restaurant.

Start: 8AM

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Overnight: Amman

Notes: Swimsuit & Sun Protection

Optional: Leisure extension at a Dead Sea Hotel

Dead Sea

Without a doubt the world’s most amazing place, the Jordan Rift Valley is a dramatic, beautiful landscape,
which at the Dead Sea, is over 400m (1,312 ft.) below sea level. The lowest point on the face of the earth, this
vast stretch of water receives several incoming rivers, including the Jordan river. Once the waters reach the
Dead Sea, they are land-locked and have nowhere to go, so they evaporate, leaving behind a dense, rich,
cocktail of salts and minerals that supply industry, agriculture, and medicine with some of its finest products.
The leading attraction at the Dead Sea is the warm, soothing, super salty water itself – some ten times saltier
than sea water, and rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromine, and several others. The
unusually warm, incredibly buoyant, and mineral-rich waters have attracted visitors since ancient times,
including King Herod the Great and the beautiful Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra. All of whom have luxuriated in
the Dead Sea’s rich, black, stimulating mud and floated effortlessly on their backs while soaking up the
water’s healthy minerals along with the gently diffused rays of the Jordanian sun.

Amman Hotel – Queen Alia International Airport

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Queen Alia International Airport for departure.

Notes: Individual Transfers

End of your tour to Jordan: Ahlan WA Sahlan!