A rose-red city carved into a canyon, a desert of sandstone towers, and a sea you cannot sink in. Small, safe and far more varied than the one famous site suggests.
Petra is why most people come and it justifies the trip on its own: a Nabataean city carved into sandstone cliffs, entered through a mile-long crack in the rock, and far larger than the one facade everyone has seen — two full days barely covers it.
Wadi Rum is the other headline, a desert of sandstone towers and red sand where you sleep in a Bedouin camp and the silence at night is total. Between them and the capital, the country packs in Roman ruins at Jerash, the Dead Sea at 430 metres below sea level, Crusader castles and diving in the Red Sea at Aqaba.
The country is small — you can drive its length in four hours — which makes a week enough and ten days comfortable. Amman is a working Middle Eastern capital rather than a sight, and worth a couple of days for the food alone.
The country is four hours end to end. JETT buses and shared taxis cover it.
The capital: hills, a Roman theatre, a citadel, and the best food in the country.
I had a great time here. Good food, cheap food, good people, and beautiful sunsets
A traveller, on Hostelworld
A Nabataean city carved into sandstone, entered through a mile-long siq. Two days minimum.
Jordan is history and desert, with a short stretch of Red Sea attached.
Nabataean, Roman, Crusader and Islamic, in one small country.
Desert, canyons and a long-distance trail.
Red Sea diving and a sea you float in.
Mansaf, mezze and the best hummus arguments in the region.
Amman in two days, mostly for the food.
Petra needs two days rather than one. The walk through the siq to the Treasury is the famous arrival, but the site extends for kilometres beyond it — the Monastery is an 800-step climb and, for many people, the better building. Go at opening, both to avoid the heat and because the light in the siq is best early.
Wadi Rum is done from a Bedouin camp: a jeep tour across the desert in the afternoon, dinner cooked in a sand oven, and a night under a sky with no light pollution. One night is enough, two is better.
The Dead Sea floating experience takes about twenty minutes and is worth doing once — bring flip flops, do not shave beforehand, and keep the water away from your eyes. Jerash, Wadi Mujib's canyon and the Dana reserve fill the gaps, and Aqaba has Red Sea diving at a fraction of Egyptian prices.
Jordanian food is Levantine and generous. Mansaf — lamb cooked in fermented dried yoghurt, served over rice and flatbread — is the national dish and is eaten communally, traditionally with the right hand.
The everyday version is better value and just as good: a breakfast of hummus, ful, falafel and fresh bread costs €3 to €5 and will keep you going until evening. Downtown Amman has hummus places that have been arguing about who does it best for decades.
Mezze in the evening — a spread of small plates with bread — runs €10 to €18 a head for a table of them. Kunafa, a cheese and pastry dessert soaked in syrup, is the thing to finish with, and Jordan takes it seriously.
Jordan is a Muslim-majority country and nightlife is modest, concentrated in Amman. Rainbow Street and Jabal Amman have bars, rooftop restaurants and a young crowd, and Aqaba has a few places along the water.
Alcohol is legal and available in licensed restaurants, bars and shops, but taxed heavily — a beer is €5 to €8, which is high relative to €4 meals.
The more common evening is a coffee house, a shisha and a long conversation, which is how the country actually socialises. In Petra and Wadi Rum, the evening is dinner at your camp or hotel, because there is nothing else and that is the point.
JETT buses link Amman with Petra, Aqaba and the Dead Sea reliably and cheaply, and should be booked a day or two ahead. Local minibuses cover everything else but run on no fixed schedule, leaving when full.
Hiring a car is the option most travellers take, because the country is small, the roads are good and the sites are spread out. The Desert Highway is fast; the King's Highway is slower, older and far more scenic, passing Kerak castle and Wadi Mujib.
Taxis in Amman are cheap and metered, and Careem works there. For Wadi Rum, your camp arranges the 4x4 transfer from the visitor centre — you cannot drive into the protected area yourself.
Jordan is more expensive than most of its neighbours, largely because the dinar is strong and because the major sites charge accordingly. Dorms start around €12 and street food is cheap, but entry fees are not.
The Jordan Pass is the single most important purchase: bought online before you fly, it covers entry to Petra and around forty other sites and waives the tourist visa fee entirely, provided you stay at least three nights. It saves most visitors a significant amount and is a straightforward decision.
A day comes to €40 to €60 including a share of transport. Wadi Rum camps at €40 to €80 including meals and a jeep tour, and diving at Aqaba, are the other notable costs.
Jordan is a stable, safe country to travel in and has been for decades, with very low crime and a strong culture of hospitality. Solo travellers, including women, generally report positive experiences, with persistent attention from touts and shopkeepers in Petra being the most common complaint.
The region is the question people ask about. Jordan borders Israel, the Palestinian territories, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and regional events affect perception more than they affect daily travel here. Government advice restricts areas near the Syrian and Iraqi borders and it changes — check current advice before travelling rather than relying on any article.
The practical risks are heat and terrain: Petra and Wadi Rum in summer pass 40°C with no shade, and canyoning at Wadi Mujib has flash flood risk, which is why it closes in winter.
Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival at Amman's airports and most land borders — but the Jordan Pass, bought online before you fly, waives that fee entirely if you stay at least three nights, and it also covers Petra. For almost every visitor it is the right purchase.
Passports need six months' validity.
Land borders with Israel and the Palestinian territories operate on their own rules and fees that differ by crossing, and regional circumstances can close them at short notice. Check the current position before planning a route that depends on one.
Spring and autumn, comfortably. Summer at Petra and in Wadi Rum passes 40°C with no shade, and winter is cold enough for snow in Amman.
Average highs for Amman, which sits at 800m and is colder than people expect — it snows most winters. Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea are considerably hotter, and desert nights are cold year-round.
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, in euro equivalents of dinars.
The Jordan Pass covers Petra and most major sites and waives the visa fee — buy it before flying. A Wadi Rum camp at €40–80 includes dinner and a jeep tour.
A short calendar, with Ramadan the one that changes how the country runs.
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