We recently returned from a Jordan trip which was focused on travel photography. During the trip, we planned to capture incredible landscapes of Jordan deserts, experience the phenomenon of Dead Sea, we wanted to take portraits of locals and show their rich culture and old traditions with our photographs.
As always, we planned everything ourselves - we love to do it!
Planning a trip is very time taking as it requires lots of research end even after that, you might still get unlucky with some recommendations or services.
So here we come to share with you our itinerary with all the pros and cons, so you don't have to take any risks yourself!
Before you go to Jordan
Jordan is a fantastic place to road trip and I can't imagine a better way of traveling in this country than by car. We traveled to Jordan in June wich is a high season month there, as the weather is more comfortable and the heat is bearable another time like this is the begging of Autumn. The winter in Jordan is rather cold and the summer is incredibly hot, especially in the desert.
First arrangements must be done before your visit. Most of nationalities need visa to enter Jordan. Recently Jordanian government started a program called Jordan Pass, which is basically a ticket which includes your visa and the entries to most of the tourist sights in the country. Of course, it also includes tickets to Petra. The cost depends on how many days you'd want to spend on visiting Petra. In our opinion, 2 days are perfect for visiting the lost city.
We rented our car a week before our flight. Our hotels were also booked just few days ago. All our arrangements were made using Booking.com
Withdrawing money isn't a problem in Jordan as ATM's are widely available in all tourist destinations - Even in the Wadi Rum village. But money exchange can be a tiny issue as the exchange offices don't accept too many currencies from Europe. So if you're planning to exchange cash, better to bring it in USD or Euro.
Our Jordan Itinerary
Jordan Itinerary Day 1: Landing in Amman
Our trip began in the evening after we landed at Queen Alia International Airport, located south of Amman. We had booked a car from MonteCarlo (https://montecar.com) in advance, and they were waiting for us at the airport. We highly recommend their services as they are not only affordable but also offer excellent service.
Before we left the airport we also purchased a prepaid phone card which cost us around 15 euros. As we arrived in the evening, from the airport we headed directly to our motel where we spent the first night. We paid 70 euro for one night, which seemed to be a budget option in the airport area.
Jordan Itinerary Day 2: Dead Sea
After a quick breakfast, we headed towards the Dead Sea. We drove along the scenic road looking for good spots for sunset photos. We discovered two spots near Wadi Mujib – one is called "The Salty Beach" and its name fits its description perfectly. After this research, we decided to visit the second spot once again in the evening for photos. Both of these places are wild beaches, as there are plenty of similar places on the coast of the Dead Sea prepared for tourists to swim. Swimming in the Dead Sea is an incredible experience which you can't miss, but after taking a dip in this salty water you can feel all this salt on you, what's very uncomfortable. Luckily, there are always some locals nearby with fresh water prepared for you to wash off the salt. Such service costs 2 dinars.
We initially stayed at Ramada Resort, thinking it would provide the best Dead Sea experience, but we have found the wild beaches more enjoyable and recommend visiting them instead.
Jordan Itinerary Day 3: Afternoon at Petra
This was an exciting day, as we headed out to the ancient sight of Petra. We left our things in a motel, which we can truly recommend. It's called Petra Heaven. It's a simple and affordable place, but it has everything you need for a one day stay. The owner went over the top and even got some food for us from a local restaurant, which was very nice.
We headed out to Petra. Petra is a very big sight and besides the famous Treasury, it has also many other spots to visit. Just like the Monastery, which we decided to visit first, to avoid the crowds. This came up to be a great idea, as we watched the sunset being the only tourists there. Unbelievable, right? We made our way back for the Night Show, for which we paid after returning to the Treasury. So we were at the place even before the gates of the ticket office opened.
Jordan Itinerary Day 4: Sunrise at Petra + Drive to Wadi Rum
At sunrise, we visited the Treasury to be the first tourists there. After taking few photos, we went up to the two viewpoints overlooking the Treasury. To get there, we paid Bedouins 20 dinar to get to these two spots. It was a tough bargain. The Bedouins live in the Lost City. They take care of it and to what we saw they are the ones who're really in charge of it. So it's okay to pay them this small fee for exploring their home. Especially, when the viewpoints are actually their bedrooms. Before hiring such guide, wait till you get inside Petra as the people who approach you at the way to the Treasury seemed a bit suspicious - totally opposite to the bedouins.
On this day, our level of excitement didn't drop as after visiting again Petra, in the early afternoon we headed to the Wadi Rum village. Traveling Wadi Rum is possible with a hired guide who can take you on the back of a pick up truck to many points of interest around the desert. These can be some unique rock formations, arches, canyons, sand dunes or even walls with ancient symbols written all over the rocks etc. These tours start from Bedouin camps. There are hundreds of them spread around the Wadi Rum desert. There are many options for different budget. The luxury camps look very impressive, but the budget ones aren't bad at all.
What we understood later, as cheaper the camp gets as more expensive are the tours they offer. And when you come to Wadi Rum, you come here for the tours.
We stayed at the Desert Bedouin Adventure Camp. They provided all the tours for us. We paid 65 Euros for 2 day stay which included half board and of course the accommodation. This was a very good choice as we really enjoyed our experience there, but for the next time we'd probably stay somewhere else as all the sights which we wanted to visit were quite far away from us. So if you're interested to see some specific places on the desert, it'd be a great idea to create a collage of few photos and send them on WhatsApp to the chosen by you Bedouin Camp to check how far is the camp from these sights.
Jordan Itinerary Day 5: Wadi Rum Desert Tour
Full day private desert tour (90 Euros) - This is a must if you visiting Wadi Rum. On the previous day, to use our time in Wadi Rum we went on a cheap half day tour with other tourists and we didn't like it too much. If you'll stay at the same camp as we did, ask for Atiq as he knows the desert better than the back of his hand. During the day we met some groups of Bedouins who offered us a camel ride. Such favour requires a tip, so we paid 10 dinars for that. Many times during the trip I approached people to take portraits of them or their animals etc. and I tipped them 1 or 2 dinar, which always made them happy.
Jordan Itinerary Day 6: Diving in Aqaba
After breakfast, we went to Aqaba, Jordan's diving spot. We were pleasantly surprised by amazing snorkeling and diving opportunities there. We plan to share more about it in our upcoming YouTube video very soon!
Aqaba is famous for its coral reef and the underwater military museum. As the popularity of this place grew and more divers started to visit this region, the government decided to take the attention from the coral reef and give people more options for their diving excursions. That's how they came up with the underwater military museum, which includes sunken ships, tanks and airplanes. Visiting these sights is free, but you have to know where they are placed. For that, you can ask the friendly locals on the beach, check the map or take a snorkelling trip.
Jordan Itinerary Day 7: Aqaba
We decided to extend our stay in Aqaba because we fell in love with the vibrant marine life. We stayed at Bedouin Garden Village, a hotel for divers, and recommend taking a snorkeling tour with a guide to discover interesting places and explore them on your own later.
I hope, this short article will help you out in planing your future trip to Jordan. We recommend visiting Jordan to all our friends so consider visiting this country yourself too, friend!
