Israel and Jordan Uncovered — Self-Launched

Land at Ben Gurion Airport and take the Nesher shared sherut (about £12, roughly 45–60 min) or the direct train to Jerusalem Navon and a short bus to the city centre (£5). Check in to a hostel in the Musrara or Mahane Yehuda area and take an easy evening walk along Jaffa Street. Do not use Saturday arrivals to plan on public transport — Shabbat shuts down trains and most buses from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.

🚌Nesher shared sherut or train from the airport (about £5–12)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Jerusalem (about £22–30/night)

• →Evening stroll along Jaffa Street
• →Mahane Yehuda market snacks

Walk the Old City yourself or join a small-group GetYourGuide Old City walk (about £25–35, 3–4 hrs) for the Temple Mount / Dome of the Rock exterior, the Jewish Quarter and Hurva Synagogue, and the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Note that Temple Mount access hours are limited and non-Muslim entry is via a single bridge — check timings the day before. In the afternoon climb the Mount of Olives from Gethsemane for the classic skyline. In the evening, look for a public talk at a cultural centre or the Educational Bookshop on Salah al-Din Street instead of the operator's private scholar session.

🚌Walking; local tram or bus for the Mount of Olives return (about £3)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Jerusalem

• →Old City walking tour (self-guided or GetYourGuide, about £30)
• →Temple Mount & Dome of the Rock exterior
• →Via Dolorosa & Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• →Mount of Olives viewpoint

Take bus 27 or the light rail plus a short walk to Yad Vashem (free entry, allow 2–3 hrs, closed Saturdays). Then bus to the Israel Museum (£11) for the Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls, plus the model of Jerusalem. In the late afternoon join a Mahane Yehuda market food walk or a home-style cooking workshop booked via GetYourGuide or EatWith (about £45–60) — several hosts run kosher and Middle Eastern cooking sessions, often in small groups.

🚌Local buses or light rail (about £4 day pass)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Jerusalem

• →Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial (free)
• →Israel Museum & Dead Sea Scrolls (£11)
• →Mahane Yehuda market food tour or cooking workshop (£45–60)

Take the Arab bus (number 24) from the Damascus Gate bus station to Bethlehem (about £1.50, 30–40 min). Walk to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity, then hire a local Palestinian guide for a half-day (£35–50) covering the Aida or Dheisheh camp area and a women's cooperative such as the Bethlehem-area embroidery or cooking projects — many welcome visitors for lunch or a workshop (about £15–20). Cross back before dark; keep your passport with you for the checkpoint.

🚌Arab bus 24 or shared taxi to Bethlehem and back (about £3)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Jerusalem

• →Church of the Nativity & Manger Square
• →Local guide through a refugee camp area (£35–50)
• →Women's cooperative lunch or embroidery workshop (£15–20)

Book a shared Masada-and-Dead-Sea day trip from Jerusalem via GetYourGuide or Abraham Tours (about £55–70 including entry). Get an early start, hike or cable-car up Masada (cable car about £12) for the Herod palaces and view over the Dead Sea, then float at Ein Bokek or Kalia beach. In the late afternoon take a bus back to Jerusalem, then the Egged bus north to Tiberias (about £8, 2.5 hrs if connections work — otherwise overnight in Jerusalem and move north on day 6).

🚌Shared tour minibus plus intercity bus to Tiberias (about £8)

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Tiberias (about £30/night)

• →Masada fortress (entry about £8; cable car £12)
• →Dead Sea float at Ein Bokek
• →Evening by the Sea of Galilee

Take a local bus or shared taxi to the Mount of Beatitudes and the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha (about £4 total), then walk or hop the bus to Capernaum (£3 entry). Continue by bus to Nazareth (about £4, 45 min) for the Basilica of the Annunciation and the old market. Book a small boutique winery tasting in the Galilee hills in advance — the Golan and Lower Galilee wineries run tastings from about £15–25 — or join a Galilee wine-tasting tour via GetYourGuide (about £45). Return to Tiberias for the night.

🚌Local buses and sherut taxis (about £10 total)

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Tiberias

• →Mount of Beatitudes & Tabgha churches
• →Capernaum ruins (£3)
• →Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth
• →Galilee winery tasting (£15–45)

Take the train from Tiberias/Afula to Haifa (about £6) and visit the Bahá'í Gardens terraces (free, check opening days) before heading south. Train to Caesarea (Caesarea–Pardes Hanna station plus a local shuttle or taxi, about £8) for the Roman harbour ruins, aqueduct and amphitheatre (combined ticket about £10). Continue by train to Tel Aviv (about £6) and check into a hostel in Florentin or near the beach. Evening wander along Rothschild Boulevard and the beach promenade.

🚌Israel Railways trains (about £20 total) plus local shuttle/taxi

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Tel Aviv (about £30–40/night)

• →Bahá'í Gardens, Haifa (free)
• →Caesarea Maritima ruins (£10)
• →Rothschild Boulevard and Tel Aviv beach evening

Take a bus or shared taxi from Tel Aviv to the Beit She'an / Sheikh Hussein crossing (bus to Beit She'an about £7, then taxi to the crossing about £8–10) — check the crossing's operating days. Pay the Israeli exit fee (about £38 / 177 NIS) and the shuttle bus across the Allenby-style gap (about £1 plus bag fee), then get the Jordanian visa on arrival if eligible (free with the Jordan Pass, otherwise about £38 / 40 JOD). From the Jordanian side take a shared taxi or minibus to Amman (about £10–15) or pre-book a private transfer (£30). Settle into a downtown hostel near Rainbow Street.

🚌Bus + shared taxi across the border (about £30 plus exit and visa fees)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Amman downtown (about £18–25/night)

• →Border crossing day
• →Evening on Rainbow Street
• →Hashem Restaurant falafel

Take a JETT bus or a shared service taxi from Amman's Tabarbour station to Jerash (about £2–4 each way, 1 hr) and spend the morning in the Roman city — Hadrian's Arch, the Oval Plaza, the colonnaded cardo and the temples (£12 entry, or included on the Jordan Pass). Book a small cooking class or women-run lunch in the Jerash area through a local operator or GetYourGuide (about £20–30; several women's cooperatives like Beit Khayrat Souf run lunches by arrangement). Back in Amman, visit the Citadel (£3, or Jordan Pass) and the Jordan Archaeological Museum beside it.

🚌JETT bus or service taxi to Jerash (about £6 return)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Amman downtown

• →Jerash Roman ruins (£12)
• →Women-run cooking class or lunch near Jerash (£20–30)
• →Amman Citadel and Archaeological Museum (£3)

Hire a shared taxi or local driver for the day along the King's Highway to Petra (about £70–90 per vehicle, split between travellers — check hostel boards or ask at your hotel). Stop at Madaba for St George's Church and its 6th-century mosaic map (£3) and the Madaba Archaeological Park, then Mount Nebo for the Moses memorial and the Dead Sea view (free). Continue south through Karak and Shobak (both castles about £3 each). Arrive in Wadi Musa in the evening; many guesthouses arrange a Petra archaeology talk or sunset viewpoint walk.

🚌Shared taxi or private driver along the King's Highway (about £25–35 per person split)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel, Wadi Musa (about £20–30/night)

• →St George's mosaic map, Madaba (£3)
• →Mount Nebo viewpoint (free)
• →Karak and Shobak castles (£3 each)

Get in at opening time (6am in summer, 6:30 in winter) with the Jordan Pass (£65–75, which also covers your visa and Jerash). Walk the Siq to the Treasury, then the Street of Facades, the Theatre, and the Royal Tombs, and if you have energy climb to the Monastery (about 800 steps, 45 min). A local licensed guide costs about £40–50 for a half day, or use a good audio guide/offline map and guidebook. Optional: Petra by Night on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (about £17 / 17 JOD) — book through your guesthouse.

🚌Walking from town to the Petra gate (15–25 min) or local shuttle (about £2)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel, Wadi Musa

• →Petra full day: Siq, Treasury, Monastery, Royal Tombs (Jordan Pass)
• →Optional Petra by Night (£17)
• →Optional Turkish bath (£20–45)

Take a local minibus from Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum village (about £6–8, 2 hrs; limited departures so book the day before) or a shared taxi. Check into a Bedouin desert camp and join a 2–3 hour 4x4 tour to the Lawrence Spring, Khazali Canyon rock inscriptions, the red dunes and the Mushroom Rock, timed for sunset (about £25–35 including the camp transfer). Return for a zarb (sand-cooked) Bedouin dinner, then take a night walk away from camp lights with a Bedouin guide to see the stars — most camps include one or run it for about £10.

🚌Local minibus Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum (£7) plus camp 4x4 transfer

🛏Bedouin desert camp, Wadi Rum (about £25–40 including dinner and breakfast)

• →Wadi Rum 4x4 tour and sunset (£25–35)
• →Bedouin zarb dinner
• →Guided night walk and stargazing (£10)

Head north from Wadi Rum by bus or shared taxi back toward Amman (about £10–12, 3.5–4 hrs) — or detour to the Dead Sea first if your driver will stop. Spend the afternoon floating at a public Dead Sea beach such as Amman Beach or Oh Beach (about £15–20 entry, towel and mud extra) and visit the Bethany Beyond the Jordan baptism site (£10, or included on the Jordan Pass, requires a shuttle from the visitor centre). Overnight in Amman.

🚌Bus or shared taxi from Wadi Rum, plus local transport to the Dead Sea (about £15)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Amman downtown

• →Dead Sea float (£15–20)
• →Bethany Beyond the Jordan baptism site (£10)
• →Books@Cafe or Hashem for dinner

A free day in the capital: the Jordan Museum (£5), the Roman Theatre (£2), Darat al Funun's art galleries (free), and the vintage shops and cafés along Rainbow Street and Jabal al Weibdeh. Join a GetYourGuide or Airbnb Experiences Amman food walk in the late afternoon (about £35–45) for falafel, knafeh and mansaf, or take a half-day trip to the Iraq al-Amir palace or the Desert Castles (£40–50 with a driver). Pick up a Turkish bath if you skipped Petra's.

🚌Local taxis and walking (about £8)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Amman downtown

• →Jordan Museum (£5) and Roman Theatre (£2)
• →Rainbow Street and Jabal al Weibdeh exploring
• →Optional Amman food tour (£35–45)

Take the airport shuttle bus from the North Bus Station (about £5) or a taxi (£20–25) to Queen Alia International. If you're flying out later, leave time for a final knafeh at Habiba. Remember the 10 JOD departure tax applies if you're leaving Jordan overland rather than by air.

🚌Airport shuttle bus or taxi (about £5–25)

🛏—

• →Final Amman breakfast
• →Airport transfer