Adventures in Jordan, a must visit country.

Earlier this year I visited Jordan for the first time, and I am happy to report that it’s a spectacular destination. There is so much to see and do, and you can’t beat the fact that it’s just a few hours from Europe. During my time in Jordan, I visited Amman (the capital), Petra, the Wadi Rum desert, the Dead Sea, and Jerash. I packed all that into about two weeks, but I found two weeks to be a suitable amount of time, though, of course, I could have stayed longer as well. Let me explain why Jordan is incredible, and why it’s worth visiting.

Before I dive into it, a quick tip: get the Jordan Pass before coming to Jordan. You’ll pay a flat fee which then covers the visa fee and all of the attractions (most of the places you’ll likely want to visit), including Petra. I got the Jordan Explorer pass for 75 JOD (roughly $108 USD), which allowed me to visit Petra for two days (there is also a cheaper option for a one-day visit to Petra). I was able to show the QR code for the Jordan Pass at pretty much every tourist attraction, and then I didn’t have to pay to enter. And as I mentioned, it covered the visa fee as well (which would have cost $56 on its own). The Jordan Pass is so worth it.

I arrived in Amman, which is known for its hills, history, and food. It really is known for its hills — it is a super hilly city! Walking around the city is a good workout, though of course Uber and taxis are another, easier option (Uber and taxis are super cheap in Amman as well). Historically, Amman was built on 7 hills, and it’s one of the oldest cities in the world. On a somewhat related note, people get around by knowing how far they are relative to each of the “7 circles” — 7 roundabouts in the city. For example, if you say you’re staying near 2nd circle, a taxi driver will know right where to take you.

In Amman, I did quite a bit; there is a lot to do and see. I initially walked downtown, which is quite a lively place, and visited the Roman Theater. As far as ancient Roman theaters go, this is one of the most impressive theaters I’ve seen. It’s very well preserved despite the fact that visitors are allowed to walk around almost everywhere within the theater complex. The theater has even hosted concerts in recent years.

After visiting the theater, I walked through the hills of Amman to the Amman Citadel, which is an archeological site overlooking the city. The citadel hosts the remains of how people used to live, and it’s on one of the former 7 hills of the city. It’s as old as 1800 B.C. and was once the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon. It’s considered to be one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited places. The view from the top is quite impressive, and if you happen to be at the top during the call to prayer, you can hear the adhan from the many many mosques around the city of Amman. The sound bounces off the hills, and it is a really nice experience to listen to it from the citadel.

Rainbow Street is a big attraction in Amman: it’s essentially a tourist walking street with lots of restaurants and some stores. It’s nice to walk down, but personally, I found it to be pricey, overrated, and less authentic than other neighborhoods in Amman. One of my personal favorite neighborhoods was Jabal Al Lweibdeh, which has lots of nice cafes. On my final night in Jordan (I came back to Amman after visiting other places throughout the country), I went to Café Bait Baladna, which had some excellent drinks and a great view of the sunset.

Speaking of food and drinks, the food options in Amman (and the rest of Jordan) are incredible. My two favorite drinks were lemon mint juice and bedouin chai (more on that later). Jordanian cuisine is excellent and includes foods like kebab, mezza, lamb, labneh, and lots of tasty desserts. Jordanian specialties are falafel, hummus, moutabel (roasted eggplant dip), shawarma, and mansaf (which is considered to be the national dish). Mansaf, pictured below, is lamb cooked in a specialty dried yogurt sauce, and served with rice. I ate it several times, though my favorite was at Al-Quds restaurant in Amman, and I of course ate it with some lemon mint juice.

*Mansaf, considered to be the national dish of Jordan*

Amman is also home to many souqs (markets). Several that I had on my list (though I didn’t find or visit all of them) are souk Mango, souk Al-Sukar, and souk El-Khodra. Markets, wherever you are in the world, are an interesting cultural experience. The souqs in Amman sold lots of produce, meat, spices, nuts, and more.

There are many other things to do in Amman (this map is an excellent resource) though to summarize on Amman one of my top recommendations would be to visit Hashem Restaurant, which was open 24/7 when I was there. I saw lots of other tourists there but it did feel like an authentic Jordanian dining experience. The menu isn’t super extensive but the food is very filling, and the restaurant is highly recommended for its hummus and falafels.

After several days in Amman, I headed south to Wadi Musa, which is home to Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Petra is a well-preserved archeological site that was once a thriving trade center and was the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106. The Petra complex itself is quite large: Petra consists of a monastery, a treasury, a theater, a court, many tombs, and more. Thanks to the aforementioned Jordan Pass, I spent two days at Petra.

When I was there in April of this year, tensions were high between Iran and Israel, which kept lots of tourists away from Jordan. This was unfortunately not great for the locals in tourism, but I did find it quite nice that Petra was so quiet (only about 10% of the normal crowd, according to a local, and to me it felt quite empty, especially in the morning). I say that to note that Petra is normally a very busy tourist destination, so if you’re also considering going, do take that into account. It’s usually best to go as early in the morning as possible, both due to the normal crowds and the heat during the afternoon.

The first evening I was there I went to what is called “Petra by Night.” Some people think it’s really nice and others think it’s not worth it. Petra by Night is an event at the Treasury several nights a week where visitors can listen to a local artist and learn about the history of Petra. Furthermore, it’s all lit up by lanterns and there is a light show on the rocks during the musical performance. I thought it was a nice setting.

Overall, I thought Petra was quite impressive. It certainly is well preserved, and it does live up to the hype. I enjoyed walking around the Petra complex and taking it all in. However, Petra was not my favorite place that I visited in Jordan.

The next place I visited was my favorite. Following two days exploring Petra, I headed south to the Wadi Rum desert. The Wadi Rum desert is famous for its Mars-like look, and because it looks like Mars, a number of movies have been filmed in the Wadi Rum (Dune, Dune 2, and the Martian, to name a few). Over the years, Wadi Rum has become a big tourist destination, and as a result, there are many different desert camps visitors can stay in.

These desert camps range in style from very basic yurt with a bed accommodation to very luxurious. Essentially, most of the accommodation places seem to market themselves as recreating an authentic Bedouin experience (bedouin people are indigenous, nomadic Arab tribes). The most popular style however is a “bubble” style tent (though it’s not really a tent as it has all the amenities of a hotel room) and some camps are more authentic than others.

Bubble-style tents have a unique design, allowing people to have a great view of the surroundings in the desert. The camps themselves also offer many activities: meals, which are often bedouin-style, and various desert tours. Given the hype, I decided to stay in a bubble tent and ultimately decided on a camp that seemed to be somewhere in the middle in terms of authenticity.

The day I arrived in Wadi Rum it unexpectedly rained, quite hard. I was told that it only rains a couple of times per year in the desert, and the last time it rained was in June 2023 (10 months before I was there). So just my luck. Fortunately, there was unlimited bedouin chai tea available, which, while sweet, was very good. Chai tea is quite a common drink throughout the Middle East, but the way they do it in the Bedouin camps in Jordan is the best I’ve ever had. That evening I enjoyed dinner at the camp, which was cooked bedouin style, which involves grilling the meat underground, and some unique bedouin dishes. The food was excellent.

On my second day in Wadi Rum, I joined a day tour with my accommodation. The tour consisted of getting in an open-air jeep with other guests and checking out cool spots in the desert. It was an epic day, and there really is so much to see in the Wadi Rum desert. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

During the tour, I befriended a Spanish guy, who happened to be living in Vietnam. Given that I have lived in Vietnam as well (it’s kind of like my second home), he and I connected on that and had some good conversations about Vietnam and traveling. Coincidentally, he was also going to Aqaba after Wadi Rum (and going on the same day as me), and I had yet to sort out my transportation, so he kindly let me ride with him since he had a rental car. Whether you’re a passenger in a car or a bus in Jordan, the country has good roads, and it’s pretty easy to get around. Traffic is also mostly civil, making it a great road trip country.

Being in Aqaba was exciting. For me, it was actually just a “transit” stay, as I had originally planned to take public transport between Wadi Rum and the next destination I planned to visit, and it seemed like relocating to Aqaba would make it easier to get to my destination (as Wadi Rum is a desert). Therefore, I only stayed one night there, and as I mentioned, my ride there was quite easy. Aqaba itself is actually a popular tourist destination, as it’s on the Gulf of Aqaba (people say it’s on the Red Sea, but in fact the Gulf of Aqaba is what’s visible from Aqaba, and that goes to the Red Sea) and is a popular place for diving. The water is also very very blue; upon arriving I questioned whether I had initially overlooked Aqaba.

What made it exciting for me though is the geopolitical significance of Aqaba. You see, as the map below shows, it’s very near to the border with Saudi Arabia, and just to the west of Aqaba is Eliat, Israel. Southwest of Aqaba is Egypt (not directly connected by land but I believe there’s a ferry), and when you stand on the beaches of Aqaba you can see all four countries. It’s also Jordan’s only coastal city, making it a critical trade city. If you like geopolitics like myself and are familiar with the current events in the region, it just makes it kind of surreal to be there.

I arrived in Aqaba in the afternoon and bid farewell to my Spanish amigo. Given that I planned to depart the next day, I had a few objectives for my short stay: walk around for a bit, get some postcards, eat, and figure out how to get to my next destination, the Dead Sea. The staff at my hotel weren’t 100% sure about the transportation; they could only recommend a taxi driver who could take me there directly (convenient but expensive). All in all, my short stay in Aqaba was nice, and I’m glad I passed through. I saw a pretty great sunset over the Gulf of Aqaba that evening.

I found it difficult to find some sort of shared transportation taking me directly to the Dead Sea, so I decided to wing it a bit, as I was able to find a shared taxi leaving the next morning for Kerak, which is a town on the way to the Dead Sea. I figured I’d head to Kerak, and then find a bus or something from there.

These kinds of things usually go one of two ways: you find transport and it works, or you don’t find transport and fail and get stuck. Fortunately, I felt like the risk was low both because Jordan is very safe and I had no qualms about getting stuck in a random town, and if I couldn’t find shared transport then it would be easy enough to just hire a taxi if that was my only option. I often plan things meticulously, so I was excited for the adventure. The only other element to this is that shared transport typically does not operate on a regular schedule in Jordan, instead, the driver leaves when full (like in many countries around the world). So if you manage to find suitable transport, you could end up waiting a while (or not, if you get lucky). There was also a bit of a language barrier, but with Google Translate it’s pretty manageable.

The next morning I walked from my hotel to the nearby “bus stop” where the shared taxi was departing from. I was the first one there… fortunately, it was only about 45 minutes until it filled up and we were off. Upon arriving in Kerak, I didn’t have much of a plan. I just asked the taxi driver to drop me off at a bus station so that I could find something to the Dead Sea. Turns out there were two bus stations in town, but I got lucky and chose the right one, because as soon as I arrived, I asked around, and within seconds I was on a minibus headed down to the Dead Sea. It was also full, so all-in-all it was an extremely efficient transfer. It could have been way worse. As one of the last passengers on board, I sat between the driver and the passenger seat in front, on what was more of a pillow instead of a seat. The road down to the Dead Sea was quite windy, so it was certainly a balancing act. I felt pretty good about my ability to get myself from Aqaba to the Dead Sea when I couldn’t find much info online, had not communicated with any English-speaking drivers, and had taken a bit of a chance going through Kerak. But that’s the beauty of a little adventure.

The minibus down to the Dead Sea was not my final mode of transportation for the day. I had tried to ask the driver of the minibus if he was going all the way to the area where my hotel was, and it became evident that he wasn’t. However, as we got closer, he suddenly stopped and told me to get in a nearby taxi (which he had seemingly been keeping an eye out for) to take me the rest of the way. I obliged, and the taxi driver was more than willing to take me to the hotel, and in the taxi, I was even joined by a Jordanian English teacher, who was from Amman. Jordanians are very very friendly! There were so many times throughout the day when I could have easily been scammed (or worse) but that did not happen. In the end, I made it to the Dead Sea relatively quickly (in under 6 hours), and only paid a grand total of 16 Jordanian Dinar (about $23 USD) which is a fraction of what a direct taxi would have cost (110 JOD/$180 USD).

The Dead Sea, like many other places in Jordan, is a popular tourist destination. Most are probably aware, but the reason the Dead Sea is so popular is because of how salty it is. Because it’s so salty, it is incredibly easy to float (like, it literally takes zero effort). It is such a unique experience.

The lowest point on earth is located on the surface of the Dead Sea (over 1300 feet/420 meters below sea level). It also has a salinity of 34.2% (2011) making it 9.6x saltier than the ocean, which is why it’s so easy to float. Interestingly, the mud that lines the banks is said to be rich in minerals that help with everything from joint pain to skin issues… at the very least, it’s sure to leave visitors with soft, exfoliated skin. It’s called “healing mud.”

I stayed there for two nights and enjoyed swimming in the Dead Sea and appreciating where I was. It was a nice spot to relax and was also cool because I could see the West Bank directly across the water. There were also nice sunsets.

After visiting the Dead Sea, I headed back to Amman for a few more nights, having completed a nice loop around the country. While I wasn’t originally planning on going, I had heard from many that while in Amman, I should do a day trip to Jerash. So, on the advice of others, I used my final day in Jordan to do that. Jerash is one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the Middle East, and the architecture is quite impressive. It was indeed very Roman.

Visiting Jerash reminded me of Baalbek in Lebanon (and I would say I found Baalbek to be more impressive, but that’s just my personal preference).

On the way back from Jerash, the minibus driver randomly stopped at a convenience store and bought me an ice cream. He seemed very excited that I, a foreigner, was riding on his bus back to Amman. I didn’t ask for anything from the store, I didn’t even know we were stopping. It was very unexpected, but that is Jordanian hospitality.

To summarize in the same way I started, Jordan truly is spectacular. The people are super welcoming and hospitable, it’s quite affordable, it’s safe, the cuisine is very tasty and healthy, and there are many (adventurous) things to do and see. Experiences like the one I had in Jordan sometimes make me want to spontaneously move to Amman for a couple of months to learn and practice Arabic and see more of the region.

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