Jordan... anyone been?

[Evisam]

Just booked 6 days in October half term. Really excited to visit the region as we love middle eastern food.

We are planning to stay in Amman and hopefully do two days to Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

Any recommendations?

No, but going to follow along. I’ve currently got a saved folder on Instagram of Jordan and I’m obsessed. Would be good to hear of normal families who’ve been and not just young influencer types. Love Middle Eastern food, too and the landscape and architecture looks incredible. Keep hearing how lovely the people are, just looks like a dream.

Yes it was lovely

went on an organised tour for a week, probably 13 years ago thought when the children were 14, 11 and 9 (turned 10 when we were there)

We did all the things you are planning OP

Following because I've just booked a trip in April and I'm very excited

I’ve also visited all of the above places. I would allow at least 2 days in Petra and we stayed at Swissotel there. We went to some decent restaurants in Amman - it’s fine as a base, but I wouldn’t plan to spend much time there. We camped in Wadi Rum and spent 3 nights in a beautiful hotel by the Dead Sea. It’s also worth visiting Jesus’ baptism site - I’m not religious, DH is Muslim, but it was very moving. And iirc it’s spitting distance from the Israel border so it’s also of interest geopolitically. People in Jordan are wonderful ime.

A couple of watch-outs were: our taxi driver fell asleep at the wheel, which made me wish I’d booked a reputable driver in advance, perhaps through the hotel, rather than asking a bog-standard taxi to drive us for a couple of hours. We also had a bit of a problem getting into Petra because the very grumpy cashier demanded to see our passports, which we think was to check for Israel stamps. (DH is actually Iranian but is often mistaken for a Jew, especially in the ME for some reason!) It was resolved quickly, but left a bit of a bad taste - it was about 12 years ago that we went, but there was a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel even then!

Definitely use the spas etc in the Dead Sea hotels if that’s your thing. The mud is glorious for your skin - although the Sea is being over-exploited - and it’s an amazing experience.

Enjoy your hol - I would go back to Jordan in a heartbeat!

We went 2 years ago, I'm well-travelled & it was the best holiday I've ever had.

I was underwhelmed by the Dead Sea, but I think Aqaba is well worth a visit if you've got time. We also had to search for an itinerary that did not include sleeping in a tent in Wadi Rum.

The people are genuinely friendly, the food is delicious, I'll go back there soon.

I went pre-kids, did a week long tour with Exodus incorporating Amman, Jerash, Kerak crusader castles, dead sea, 2 days in Petra, a night in Wadi Rum and then I extended my trip to spend some time in Aqaba for diving. It was a lovely trip, I would definitely take my kids if the chance arose.

Loved wadi rum, Petra was so much more than we thought. The food is epic, we ate street food in Amman and loved it. Fried cheese pastry and honey is great

I’ve been there travelling with work. Petra and wadi rum are amazing - I’d definitely do some kind of “camping” thing in the wadi rum desert area. Jerash to the north of Amman is incredible for Roman ruins too - you can just go around so much of it, very different feel to main sites in Greece, Italy etc.
Food brilliant. I did a hamman thing in Amman too.

I’ve been and loved it. If you are staying in Wadi Rum, see if you can arrange transport out by camel, rather than car or minibus. One of the highlights of our trip was riding out through the desert - just husband, teenage son, me, and a guide.

Don’t knock the sleeping in a tent in Wadi Rum - you have the option of sleeping outdoors which we also did. So glad I did - the stars absolutely took my breath away. You don’t realise how bad the light pollution is in the UK until you see the alternative.

I loved Jordan - I did a cycle trip with Exodus. Petra is incredible - day and night - take good walking shoes as it’s a much bigger site than you think. Aqaba is good, we went on a glass bottom boat and then snorkled. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because it was by the sea, but I expected Aqaba to be relaxed but it was pretty conservative. Amman was the opposite.

Did you go to Jordan in April? We are off there in 3 weeks. Do you have any tips or recommendations? Our small tour group to Petra/Wadi Rum has just been cancelled as not enough interest, so we need to find a new company. I have been on trip advisor and Get Your Guide tonight.

Has anyone been to the pink lake? Was it worth seeing?

I haven't been to the one in Jordan, but we visit one in Namibia recently. The one we saw was nice, but worthy of a 15 minute stop not hours, think it depends how far out of the way you would have to go to see it as to whether it's worth it.

We were in Petra when Saddam Husseins statue was pulled down and the regime toppled.

You might have heard them all cheering here, was incredible

Amazing and beautiful place and very unspoiled, they take very good care of it.

I didn't. Travel was cancelled in April thanks to Mr Trump's activities in Iran, I was absolutely gutted. I'm hoping for a visit next year but don't want to tempt fate booking too far in advance. Have a wonderful time, I'll be asking you for advice next year

Definitely try and get to Jeresh. The ruins are so well preserved and on a scale to compare with Pompei. Bethany is worth a visit (site of John the Baptist) and Mount Nebo (site of the burning bush). One of my favourite countries.

Don’t do Petra at night by candlelight. It was a bit of a waste of time.