Your itinerary
Day 1
DAY 1
Arrival in Amman
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 2
Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum – We set off early to make the most of the day, travelling south along the Desert Highway through the sandy heart of Jordan to Wadi Rum – the ‘Valley of the Moon’. Nothing prepares you for the awe-inspiring sight that greets us: the sandstone massif that TE Lawrence described as ‘vast, echoing and god-like’.
The magnificent cliffs and stone buttresses rise sheer from the sea of red sand, together forming a timeless panorama of monolithic rocks. The twisted huge bulk of this network of canyons, rock bridges and ravines is one of the world’s most stunning desert environments. Quite apart from the visual experience – the silence is almost unnerving; bizarrely you cannot hear anything at all.
This afternoon, we’ll transfer to 4×4 vehicles to explore the canyons and valleys on our way to the Wadi Rum Space Village, a Bedouin-style tented camp.
Our tour allows us to see more of this otherworldly landscape, including naturally carved rock arches and undulating red dunes, accompanied by a local guide who’ll tell you more about life in Wadi Rum. You may even spot a few camels wandering across the sand. The further out you travel, the quieter and more isolated it feels, and as the sun sets over the desert, there’s a sense of peace.
This evening enjoy a traditional ‘zarb’ dinner – a delicious barbecue cooked for hours under the hot desert sand. All tents have twin or double beds with private shower and WC.
Meals: Dinner
Day 3
Little Petra
Little Petra – First, we see where vast caravans, some with over a thousand camels, gathered for their epic journeys, exploring the mysterious rock-carved rooms of ancient ‘hotels’ in the area, known as Little Petra.
We stay two nights, with breakfast and dinner, at the four-star Old Village Hotel and Resort.
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 4
Petra
Petra – Petra is one of the world’s ‘must-see’ sights. Famous throughout history, its huge wealth was amassed from its time as the centre of the ancient caravan routes, which traded as far as China and rivalled that of the Romans. A city to match was created, with sophisticated public buildings lavish houses and colonnaded streets.
We walk down the increasingly narrow gorge and, just as you think the vertiginous sides could not get any narrower, the incredible vista of the Treasury appears like a mirage through a slit in the rock. The perfection of its proportions and the sheer vastness of this edifice are astounding.
During our guided tour of Petra, we’ll stop to enjoy a traditional Bedouin tea in the company of locals. Typically made with black tea, water, and sugar, you may also find herbs and spices – or a squeeze of lemon added for an extra kick – tea is the staple of Bedouin life in Wadi Rum. Not only does tea offer relief from the hot sun, but it’s also a symbol of hospitality and tradition – a way for locals to connect with fellow travellers.
Beyond, there’s an entire city waiting to be discovered: the amazing Royal Tombs, the theatre, the Street of the Facades, the Great Temple, early Christian churches, and the main colonnaded road that ran through the centre of this ancient but tremendously cultured city.
The afternoon is at leisure, so you may wish to return to your hotel and enjoy its facilities or remain at the site to continue exploring.
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 5
King's Highway & Mount Nebo
King’s Highway & Mount Nebo – Heading north towards the Dead Sea we travel on the scenic King’s Highway, following an ancient caravan route. It passes through some of Jordan’s most spectacular scenery with views across arid, rocky peaks. We visit the Crusader castle at Shobak, one of the region’s best-preserved forts, before continuing to Mount Nebo, where Moses first saw the Promised Land. According to Jewish and Christian tradition, the climb was so arduous that this remains his final resting place, leaving Joshua to lead his people over the River Jordan. We also visit nearby Madaba, where St George’s Church houses a superbly intricate, 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land.
We stay for two nights at the four-star Holiday Inn Dead Sea, with breakfast and dinner, 400 metres below sea level. It has several swimming pools, spacious air-conditioned rooms, as well as a small beach. You must take a dip in the Dead Sea, it’s one of life’s ‘must-do’ experiences. Due to the salt content being 30 per cent, compared with normal seawater at 3 per cent, you float so easily. You cannot actually swim, but bob around like a cork and even while wading, you physically have to push your feet to the bottom to stand up!
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 6
Jerash
Jerash – Ancient Jerash is the largest and best-preserved Roman city in the region, known as the Pompeii of the east. Its beautifully colonnaded main street and forum, the hippodrome, baths and theatre are a superb example of Roman town planning on a truly grand scale.
In the afternoon we return to our hotel and have some free time to enjoy the hotel facilities or take a dip in the Dead Sea. As the sun sets, we’ll come together one last time to toast a fascinating desert adventure and join your fellow travellers for a drink overlooking the Dead Sea.
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 7
DAY 7
Return home
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
What’s included
What’s not included
Additional information
Dead Sea Floating Experience
Float effortlessly in the world’s saltiest lake and float in the Dead Sea at the resort’s beach, feeling the lift of its mineral-rich waters some 400 metres below sea level. The buoyancy is startling—reading a book or gazing at the Moab hills becomes almost weightless.
Rinse after a silky mud mask, prized since antiquity for its minerals. The mirrored surface, crystalline salt rims and desert light create a serene, almost lunar atmosphere.
Little Petra (Siq al-Barid) Caravan Stop Exploration
Explore the cool gorge of Siq al-Barid (Little Petra) to explore rock-carved chambers, stairways and dining rooms that once provisioned desert traders. This satellite of Petra served as an ancient caravanserai where camel caravans rested before or after the city’s markets.
Look for Nabataean niches and traces of painted plaster hinting at refined tastes. The intimate scale contrasts with Petra’s grandeur, revealing the logistics and hospitality behind long-distance trade.
Shobak Castle (Montreal) Crusader Stronghold
Visit Shobak Castle (Montreal), a hilltop fortress built by the Crusaders to guard the King’s Highway and the caravan tax routes. Explore towers, ramparts and hidden stairways while surveying tawny hills rolling to the horizon.
Hear how the castle weathered sieges before being captured by Saladin. Latin inscriptions, Mamluk-period flourishes and deep cisterns chart centuries of shifting power on this windswept promontory.
Mount Nebo Viewpoint & Moses Memorial Church
Stand atop Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land—a panorama sweeping across the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea and, on clear days, Jerusalem’s hills. Step inside the Moses Memorial Church to see intricate floor mosaics of hunters, vines and wildlife.
This Franciscan sanctuary preserves early Byzantine artistry and contemplation. Outside, a serpentine cross sculpture evokes Moses’ staff, linking desert narratives with the landscape before you.
Madaba St George’s Church & Mosaic Map
Visit St George’s Church in Madaba to view the 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land, an extraordinary floor mosaic that pinpoints cities, rivers and Byzantine craftsmanship in vivid tesserae. Jerusalem appears with colonnaded streets and detailed landmarks.
Known as the “City of Mosaics,” Madaba preserves a tradition of Christian communities whose artisans left layered beauty beneath simple church aisles—cartography rendered in stone and color.
King’s Highway Scenic Drive
Travel a scenic drive along the King’s Highway, Jordan’s spine of uplands following an ancient caravan route that linked Nabataean Petra with the Levant. The road threads high plateaus above wind-sculpted wadis, revealing layered geology and hardy desert shrubs.
Stories of Moabites, Romans and medieval pilgrims accompany far-reaching views into canyons and across the plateau. Occasional villages punctuate the landscape, offering a sense of timeless movement through Jordan’s heartland.
Traditional Bedouin Zarb Dinner in Wadi Rum
Taste a traditional zarb dinner—meats and vegetables cooked under the desert sand in an earth oven that infuses dishes with gentle heat and Bedouin hospitality. As the lid is lifted, fragrant steam rises and platters of tender lamb, chicken and spiced rice emerge.
Dine by lantern light amid dunes and cliffs, where embers glow and conversation drifts on the night air. It’s a flavorful window onto nomadic life shaped by scarce fuel and ingenious cooking.
Wadi Rum 4x4 Desert Safari across the Valley of the Moon
Ride into the desert as you ride in 4x4s across Wadi Rum’s Valley of the Moon, weaving between rust-red dunes, canyons and naturally carved arches. Your driver-guide points out stark formations including the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, while the vastness and quiet invite you to pause for photos and reflection.
Learn about Bedouin lifeways amid sandstone massifs that glow from ochre to crimson as the sun dips. The stillness, open horizons and wind-smoothed rock make this one of the Middle East’s most cinematic landscapes.
Jerash Roman City: Forum, Cardo and Theatre
Explore the Roman city of Jerash as you join a guided tour from Hadrian’s Arch to the sweeping Oval Plaza and Cardo, where fluted columns line ancient paving stones. Step into the South Theatre to test its famed acoustics and imagine chariots pounding the nearby hippodrome.
Known as the Pompeii of the East, Jerash flourished as a Decapolis city. Bath complexes, temples and a grand nymphaeum reveal a prosperous provincial Rome framed by Jordan’s green hills.
Petra Guided Tour: Siq, Treasury & Royal Tombs
Discover Petra with a local expert as you join a guided tour through the shadowed gorge to walk the Siq, where rose-red walls narrow to reveal the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) in a dramatic burst of sunlight. Hear how Nabataean engineers channelled water and carved facades straight from sandstone cliffs.
Continue among the Royal Tombs, theatre and colonnaded street, pausing for a warmly offered Bedouin tea. From the Street of the Facades to Byzantine mosaics, Petra’s scale and craftsmanship unfold at every turn, blending desert silence with echoes of an ancient trading empire.
