On my trip to Jordan, I decided to join Travel Talk Tours for my very first group tour. I chose to arrive in Amman one day before the tour started and booked a hotel on my own. Here is a one week Jordan itinerary that you could also follow on your own if you don’t want to join a tour.
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Day 1: Arrival into Amman, Jordan and Grand Hyatt
After a long 12 hour flight and time change, I decided to treat myself to a nice hotel stay. I chose the Grand Hyatt Amman because of the excellent reviews and the ability to transfer 8,000 Chase points to cover the cost of one night. I was pleasantly surprised that they upgraded my room to the club floor where I had a gorgeous view of the city. I recovered from my flight by relaxing at their indoor pool and using the sauna and jacuzzi. They also have an outdoor pool, but it was too chilly in November to use it. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, Lombard, which had delicious Italian cuisine. The service at the restaurant was excellent and it definitely had more of an upscale vibe.
Day 2: Amman Street Art and Travel Talk Tour
I started my day by treating myself to room service breakfast. I highly recommend getting the Arabic breakfast which consists of a variety of items like hummus, ful, breads, and fruit. Honestly, this could feed two people. In the afternoon, I took an awesome street art tour with Underground Amman. I had an engaging tour guide who shared stories about the artists and their murals as we wandered through different neighborhoods in Amman. This is the perfect way to introduce yourself to the city.
Afterwards, I switched hotels to join my Travel Talk Tour for the rest of the trip. The hotel we stayed at through Travel Talk Tours was Sulaf Luxury Hotel. The hotel was clean and the room was on the larger side with a sitting area. It was a bit outdated, but still in decent condition and offered a nice spread for breakfast. The location was a bit further away from sites you’d go to as a tourist, but there was a Habibah Sweets across the street which has amazing kunafa and other tasty treats. Habibah Sweets has multiple locations and you should definitely check them out while you’re in Jordan. For dinner tonight, we had a really affordable bowl of koshary from an Egyptian restaurant a block or so away from the hotel.
Day 3: Jerash and Aljoun Castle
Today was the first full day with my tour group. The main event for today was exploring the ancient ruins of Jerash. This site is massive and we spent three hours there. These are some of the best Roman ruins you can find in the world. I feel like it does not get as much hype as it deserves. This is definitely worth the day trip out of Amman and is a must see while in Jordan. We visited Aljoun castle next which was pretty intact on the inside. After our long day of site-seeing, we used an app to order delivery from Al Quds to try mansaf for the very first time and we were not disappointed. This mansaf was so good that we also ordered it on the last day of our trip.
Day 4: Wadi Rum Desert Camp
We headed to the Wadi Rum desert today and stopped at the tourist center to get our official passes. The tourist center had some nice views of the desert. There were also some restaurants there that were closed due to the lack of tourism. We stayed at Rahayeb Camp and our tent had two beds and a bathroom. There was also a heater and air conditioner in each tent. The camp was clean and included an outdoor firepit, indoor dining space, and a small shop. We had some free time to wander around and check out the scenery before our sunset camel ride. Unfortunately, we did not get a good sunset, but dinner definitely made up for it. They cooked a traditional meal in the ground and it was delicious. The meat was tender and there were tons of sides and dessert.
Day 5: Wadi Rum and Petra by Night
This morning we woke up and jumped in the back of a truck for a tour of the Wadi Rum desert. This was one of my favorite memories from the trip. The Wadi Rum desert is gorgeous and it’s lovely watching how the colors change from sunrise to the middle of the day. Our tour of the desert lasted a few hours and we stopped at a Bedouin camp for some tea. Then we started our drive to Wadi Musa where Petra is located.
The Petra Moon Hotel has clean and modern furnishings. It seems like it was recently remodeled. They had an outdoor pool on the rooftop which was also a great spot to watch the sunset. We signed up for a traditional dinner of maqluba which is a slow cooked chicken and rice dinner. They serve this by flipping the huge pot over onto a serving dish. Luckily, another member of our group successfully flipped the pot without making a mess.
Afterwards, we went to Petra by Night which was a lot of fun. It tends to get mixed reviews, but I loved it. You walk about 30 minutes through canyons to the Treasury by candlelight. It’s a beautiful walk and I loved seeing the stars above the canyons. Definitely pay attention to your step though as you will come across uneven pavement. We were laughing our way through the canyon as we awkwardly tried to survive walking across the uneven pavement. It was cool to see the Treasury lit up in different colors and we were served tea during a musical performance. I would definitely recommend Petra by Night and am so glad we did it.
Day 6: Full Day at Petra
Today was an epic day at Petra! Our tour guide gave us a tour for around 4 hours and then we had the rest of the time to ourselves to explore the ancient rose-colored city. This place is massive and we spent a total of 8 hours there exploring. If you have the time, it would be easy to dedicate two full days to Petra.
We decided to hike up to the Monastery which is about 900 steps and took around 30 minutes. I did not want to use donkeys due to the reports of mistreatment. I did see one case of mistreatment while we were at Petra. People are selling items on the way up to the Monastery, but most people are not hassling you. There was only one woman who was a bit more aggressive in her sales tactics. On the way up, there’s also one stop for a small cafe if you need some food or a drink. I personally find the Monastery more incredible than the Treasury. There is a cafe up there with a perfect view of the Monastery. We also found another spot past the cafe and on the left that was advertising the best view. So we hiked up even more steps to this tent with a gorgeous view.
After our day of hiking, we rewarded ourselves with dinner at Old Street Cafe where we had mansaf and a kebab. This was a cute little restaurant with excellent service.
Day 7: Dead Sea and Amman
This was our last full day in Jordan and we started off our day by heading to the Dead Sea. We stopped at a vantage point for some photos and then went to a resort that had access to the Dead Sea. We only spent a few hours here which was honestly fine because you really aren’t supposed to spend more than 20 minutes in the Dead Sea. They had large basins full of Dead Sea mud that you cover yourself in before going into the water. It’s rich with nutrients and minerals that will leave your skin feeling baby soft. Make sure you don’t shave for a few days before heading to the Dead Sea because it will BURN. Also be careful when applying the mud because there are some small pieces of gravel that can scratch the skin. I got a small superficial scratch from the mud that BURNED like crazy in the water. I also recommend these water shoes so you don’t cut your feet on the salt deposits. Floating in the Dead Sea is a really unique experience unlike anything else. However, it’s not something I feel I would need to do again.
After our float in the Dead Sea, we rinsed off and grabbed a buffet lunch at the resort. Even though this was a short stop, I personally felt it was enough time since you can’t spend much time in the water anyways.
Afterwards, we headed back to Amman for a tour of the Amphitheatre and the Citadel. The Citadel had some cool Roman ruins, but it was very small compared to Jerash. We were so exhausted by the end of the trip, we decided to end our night with ordering delivery from Al Quds again because that mansaf was addictive!
Overall Thoughts on Travel Talk Tours
Travel Talk Tours led a very organized tour with an excellent local guide and driver. Our days were busy, but it was nice to have optional activities that we could choose to do or skip based on our interests and how we were feeling. I chose Travel Talk Tours because they were more affordable than similar options and seemed to have better accommodations. This was my first group tour and there’s benefits and disadvantages. I appreciated not having to plan anything outside my early arrival as well as having transportation taken care of. I would recommend Travel Talk Tours and be open to using them in the future. As I’m getting older though, I may look to switch to a company like Flashpack that is geared towards 30s and 40s. Travel Talk Tours was a mix of people in their 20s and 30s.
Travel Items for Jordan
- Lightweight hiking shoes for Petra and Wadi Rum
- Supergoop is my go-to face sunscreen
- I recommend using a small hiking backpack for your time in Wadi Rum and Petra
- Scarves if you are visiting mosques
- Packable jacket for chilly desert nights
- Cargo pants for desert exploration
- Linen pants to beat the head
- Airalo eSIM (only works on unlocked phones)
- Ekta Travel Insurance
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Airport Tips
Get there 3 hours early for international travel. It was chaotic and poorly organized when I arrived early in the morning for my flight. You can use Uber or Holiday Taxis for booking airport transfers.
Extend Your Trip with 2 Free Nights in Abu Dhabi!
If you choose to fly Etihad, you can add a free 1-2 night stopover in Abu Dhabi where they will pay for your hotel. Read more about this opportunity here.