Jordan: Culture & Nature In Depth — Self-Launched

Fly into Queen Alia International Airport (AMM). Buy your Jordan Pass online before you fly — the Jordan Visitor Pass covered by the Jordan Pass waives your tourist visa fee (if you stay 3+ nights) and includes entry to Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and most sites on this route. Take the Airport Express bus or a shared white taxi into Downtown Amman (~£5-8) rather than a private transfer. Check into a budget hotel or hostel in the Downtown/Al-Balad area, walk to Hashem restaurant for cheap falafel and mint tea, and rest up.

🚌Airport Express bus or shared taxi from AMM (~£5-8)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Downtown Amman (~£15-25)

• →Buy Jordan Pass online in advance
• →Evening walk in Downtown Amman
• →Dinner at Hashem (falafel/ hummus)

Explore central Amman on foot — the 2nd-century Roman Theatre is a 10-minute walk from most Downtown hotels and is included on the Jordan Pass (otherwise ~£2). Walk or take a cheap taxi up to the Citadel on the city's highest hill (Jordan Pass covers entry), then visit the Jordan Museum (small entry fee, ~£3) to see the Ain Ghazal statues and Dead Sea Scrolls. Graze your way through Downtown for lunch and dinner at street stalls.

🚌On foot + local taxi (~£3)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Downtown Amman (~£15-25)

• →Roman Theatre
• →Amman Citadel
• →Jordan Museum
• →Downtown street-food crawl

Take a morning local bus or shared taxi from Amman's Tabarbour station to As Salt (~1hr, ~£1.50) — a UNESCO-listed Ottoman town of honey-coloured stone houses. Wander Al Hammam Street and the archaeological and Abu Jaber museums, then continue north by shared taxi to Pella ruins and on to Umm Qais (Gadara), where the Roman Decapolis ruins look over the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights. Book a night at the RSCN Ajloun Forest Reserve cabins in advance — this is the same accommodation the group tour uses.

🚌Local bus Amman–As Salt (~£1.50); shared taxi As Salt–Pella–Umm Qais (~£15 total, split)

🛏RSCN Ajloun Forest Reserve cabins (~£45-60)

• →As Salt old town & Al Hammam Street
• →Pella ruins
• →Umm Qais / Gadara ruins with Sea of Galilee views

Visit Ajloun Castle (12th-century Ayyubid fortress, Jordan Pass entry) in the morning, then take a shared taxi south to Jerash (~1hr). Jerash's Roman Gerasa — colonnaded avenues, Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus and two theatres — is the best-preserved Roman provincial city in the region and is included on the Jordan Pass. Afterwards, head east to Azraq (bus or shared taxi, ~2hrs) and stay at the RSCN Azraq Lodge, a converted 1940s British field hospital.

🚌Shared taxi Ajloun–Jerash (~£8); bus/shared taxi Jerash–Azraq (~£12)

🛏RSCN Azraq Lodge (~£45-60)

• →Ajloun Castle
• →Jerash Roman ruins (Gerasa)

Start at Azraq Wetlands Reserve (RSCN) and the black-basalt Azraq Castle, once Lawrence of Arabia's HQ. Hire a local driver for the day (~£60-70 split between 2-3 travellers) to chain together the Desert Castles — UNESCO-listed Qasr Amra with its frescoes, plus Qasr Kharana — then swing by Qasr Al-Abed and the Iraq Al-Amir women's co-operative (handmade paper, weaving, ceramics). Finish at Bethany Beyond the Jordan (baptism site, Jordan Pass) and drive the Dead Sea shore to the RSCN Mujib Chalets, where you can float in the super-salty water away from the big resort hotels.

🚌Hired car/driver for the day (~£60-70, split)

🛏RSCN Mujib Chalets (~£60-75)

• →Azraq Wetlands Reserve
• →Qasr Amra & Qasr Kharana (Desert Castles)
• →Iraq Al-Amir women's co-operative
• →Bethany Beyond the Jordan
• →Float in the Dead Sea

Visit the Al Numeira Environmental Association near the Dead Sea for an insight into local water-conservation work, then head south on the Desert Highway. Take a JETT bus or shared minibus towards Aqaba (~4hrs) and stop at a public Red Sea beach near Aqaba for a couple of hours of swimming and snorkelling. From Aqaba, continue up to Wadi Rum village (~1hr, bus or shared taxi) and check into a Bedouin camp for a traditional zarb dinner cooked underground, followed by Bedouin music and tea.

🚌JETT/shared minibus Dead Sea–Aqaba (~£10); shared transport Aqaba–Wadi Rum (~£7)

🛏Bedouin desert camp, Wadi Rum (~£25-40 incl. dinner)

• →Al Numeira Environmental Association
• →Red Sea beach stop near Aqaba
• →Bedouin camp, zarb dinner & music

Take a 4-hour 4x4 tour of the Wadi Rum protected area with your camp's Bedouin drivers — Lawrence's Spring, Khazali canyon, the red sand dunes and mushroom rock, with Bedouin tea along the way (~£40-50, book direct with the camp). Optional camel ride (~£15-20) if you want it. Afterwards, catch a shared minibus or bus up to Wadi Musa (~2hrs), the town beside Petra, and visit the Petra Museum (free/small fee) to prime yourself for the next two days.

🚌Shared minibus Wadi Rum–Wadi Musa (~£7)

🛏Budget hotel in Wadi Musa (~£20-30)

• →4-hour Wadi Rum 4x4 jeep tour
• →Optional camel ride
• →Petra Museum

Enter Petra early (Jordan Pass covers the 1-day entry; consider buying the 2-day Petra ticket upgrade for ~£10 extra at the visitor centre). Walk down the Siq to El Khazneh (the Treasury), then on through the Roman theatre, Royal Tombs and colonnaded street to the city centre. If you're fit, climb the 750-odd steps to El Deir, the Monastery, with its enormous facade — best in late-afternoon light. Carry plenty of water and snacks; Petra food is pricey.

🚌Walk from Wadi Musa to Petra visitor centre (~15 min)

🛏Budget hotel in Wadi Musa (~£20-30)

• →Walk the Siq to the Treasury
• →Royal Tombs & colonnaded street
• →Hike up to the Monastery (El Deir)

Second day in Petra using your multi-day ticket. Walk the route up to the High Place of Sacrifice — steep and exposed but rewarded with sweeping views over the whole site — then descend via the Wadi Farasa and the Lion Monument. Alternatively explore the lesser-visited sites like the Urn Tomb or the Petra Church mosaics. In the evening, many local families offer home-cooked dinners in Wadi Musa (~£15-20) if you want a break from hotel food.

🚌On foot

🛏Budget hotel in Wadi Musa (~£20-30)

• →Hike to the High Place of Sacrifice
• →Wadi Farasa & Lion Monument
• →Optional local-family dinner (payable locally)

Take a short taxi to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid, free entry) — the atmospheric Nabataean suburb where Silk Road traders likely stayed. Continue along the King's Highway to Shobak Castle, built in 1115 by King Baldwin I as a Crusader outpost, with its catacombs, watchtower and secret staircase (Jordan Pass/free). Then follow the spectacular King's Highway south to the hilltop village of Dana, staying at the RSCN Dana Guesthouse, perched right on the edge of the Dana Biosphere Reserve gorge — one of the best sunset views in Jordan.

🚌Shared taxi/hired driver Wadi Musa–Little Petra–Shobak–Dana (~£40, split)

🛏RSCN Dana Guesthouse (~£55-70)

• →Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)
• →Shobak Crusader Castle
• →Dana village & Biosphere Reserve views

Head north along the King's Highway to Kerak Castle, one of the largest and best-preserved Crusader castles in the region (Jordan Pass). Continue to Umm Ar Rasas, a UNESCO site with Byzantine mosaics, then to Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have looked out over the Promised Land, and down to the mosaic town of Madaba. Stay at a budget hotel in Madaba (e.g. the Black Iris area) with the famous 6th-century Madaba Map mosaic nearby.

🚌Shared taxi/hired driver Dana–Kerak–Umm Ar Rasas–Mount Nebo–Madaba (~£45, split)

🛏Budget hotel in Madaba (~£20-30)

• →Kerak Castle
• →Umm Ar Rasas mosaics (UNESCO)
• →Mount Nebo viewpoint
• →Madaba mosaic map

Final morning in Madaba — wander the mosaic workshops and the Church of St George, then take a local bus or shared taxi back to Queen Alia Airport or Amman for your onward flight (~£3-8). If your flight is late, leave your bag at the hotel and enjoy a last Jordanian breakfast before heading out.

🚌Local bus/shared taxi Madaba–Amman/AMM (~£3-8)

🛏—

• →Madaba mosaic workshops
• →Church of St George
• →Departure