Jordan itinerary & ideas

Assuming that most of the readers here are from the US, I need to start off by saying one thing: Jordan is safe to travel to. 

The average American seems to have views of the Middle East that have been skewed and twisted by western media. I'm not sure what perceptions you have about Jordan, or the Middle East in general, but rest assured you will not be bombed when stepping off the plane.

I genuinely think the war torn images of the Middle East you see are actually just photos of the unfinished concrete residential buildings scattered throughout. Everything is just incomplete, but looks like it has been bombed. (I don't say this to discredit real tragedy).

 Before traveling there family and friends seemed somewhat uneasy. Yet travelers from other countries seem to show up to Jordan, and other Middle Eastern countries with no fear. I met no US travelers in Jordan, yet everyone from France to Mexico were solo female travelers passing through by way of Syria.

Here is the most 'dangerous' thing that happened to me. I gave a cab driver what was essentially $50 when I was supposed to give him $10, he said nothing about the bill being incorrect, and it wasn't until it was too late for me to realize. Learn the Arabic numbers before hand so that you do not give the incorrect bill. Aside from this little moment of dishonesty, I never felt insecure.

Anyway, it's a small country and generally itineraries will all recommend the same thing, mine will obviously have secrets sprinkled throughout, but the main attractions will actually be no different than other itineraries. Here are the places I will discuss

1. Amman
2. Petra (most interesting IMO)
3. Wadi Rum
4. Aqaba
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Amman:

To start, I had a pleasant stay at Battuta Hostel in Amman (https://www.booking.com/hotel/...). Battuta Hostel has a phenomenal rooftop with views of the city, good breakfast (not included), clean, in a peaceful corner, but still within walking distance to attractions. The best resturant for traditional food I found nearby is "Modern Abu Jbara - Jabal Amman". (https://www.google.com/maps/pl...)

Visit the Roman temple of Hercules if you like ruins. There was this massive baby head I loved there. Rainbow street is the young hip hot spot where you will find cafes that feel the most like Europe.

The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is great to visit if you want to take a break from consuming images on your phone and consume some in real life. (https://nationalgallery.org/).

To be honest, you don't need more than 2 full days in Amman to see it all and get a feel. Aside from the most central part, the rest feels like urban sprawl - malls, residential buildings, nothing super attractive.

Petra:

I think Petra is the most exciting part of the trip to Jordan, this is something completely unique, a 7th wonder of the world, a mysterious rock labyrinth, etc.

Your experience there could be anywhere between 1-4 days, Petra is what you make of it. There could be just 1 day spent seeing the "main" route, which really is just massive crowds, people trying to sell you donkey rides, and crap. 

But you can also find magical experiences if you take your time, which I recommend doing.

When you go you can buy a 1 day, 2 day, or 3 day pass. If you buy the 3 day pass, you are secretly given a 4th day free. If you have no rush and want to really get familiar with a place, I can share how I managed to pass 4 days there without feeling bored.

My first day I got acquainted with the area, seeing the main route - again, busy, lots of tourists, people wanting to sell you things. There are view points of the treasury (photo above) that are spectacular, but also people trying to get you to pay them to take you there. The space is completely safe and you can have your own adventure just by wandering and see where you end up - there are multiple view points, and you don't need to pay someone to get to them.

On my second day I spent almost the entire day at one tea hut. Yes, my eyes were not consuming as much as they could have, but to have the experience of getting to know the two brothers that ran it, can sometimes bring in a lot more than what observing all the sights do.

To observe the dynamic between the brothers, what it's like running a tea shop, to meet other travelers, see how other travelers interact, it's kind of like a giant social experiment. Most of the locals running the show will speak English, and even multiple languages since every day they are interacting with people.

The inhabitants of Petra were moved by the government to a newly constructed village to make Petra a tourist attraction and not be a functional living city. Regardless, you meet people who still spend most of their life living in the caves, if you are a VIP elite traveler you could even get invited to spend the night in a cave with locals (however, it seems mostly to be girls staying with guys, if you catch my drift).

Generally during the sunsets and you are expected to leave Petra. The tea brothers after our day together drove me out saying I'll get in trouble if I stay any later, and as they did this a group of 4 girl travelers came to visit the tea hut. Again, I'm assuming they had a cave party that night. I'm not sure what strings are tied to being invited to spend the night in a cave, so be careful.

The third day I took a steer clear from the routes and went down a more isolated path, I regret that I don’t have the exact name (don't have my Petra map), but it is the path that takes you furthest west.

There was seemingly nobody along this trail. You encounter more Bedouin people and donkeys. And kids riding donkeys. They all will invite you into their caves, or homes, for tea. I found these people to be very conversational, especially since not many people walk down this way.

One family was trying to set me up for marriage with their 12 year old daughter...

It's always good to leave a little tip when having tea, as a thank you for the invitation to their living space. But I also found that it wasn't necessary, some people I had quick interactions with were okay when I said I wanted to venture on.

And then I spent almost the entire day traveling along this road and having tea parties! Towards the end is where things got really spicy - I met a family with a massive herd of goats. I helped them herd the goats into their pen for the evening (which was dramatic, I am not good with this practice. One goat was out to get me).

We watched the sunset together and chatted, and they mentioned the Tomb of Aaron to me - something I was unfamiliar with in Petra. It is the tomb where Moses (from the bible)'s brother Aaron is buried.

Along the road there, the last occupied cave has a man with the key to the tomb, should you want to go inside. You have to ask him for the key, and it is up to his discretion whether he gives you the key or not. Big alchemist vibes. Supposedly the King of Jordan flies to Aaron's Tomb on a helicopter to pray.

The Tomb of Aaron is probably the most extreme and fulfilling adventure you can do in Petra. It is not simple, this should be for experienced hikers or whoever wants to take a big chance. Take plenty of food and water, but note that I foolishly did it with just a banana and pomegranate in my bag. It will take an entire day, embark on this journey at sunrise (I as well, foolishly did this starting around noon. I still had enough time but you might end up stranded having to spend the night).

To be honest I don't really have the right words to explain how to get to the tomb, so part of your adventure is to just ask people for the right directions. Trying to follow mine from a random blog will not feel like much of a journey and would probably put you in a canyon. You can refer to this screenshot to see what I'm talking about. Also side note, the Monastery was talked about a lot, I never made it but if you had to choose I think that Tomb of Aaron is superior. 

The top is well worth it, you'll have views of what feels like the entire world. It definitely feels spiritual, to be out in the middle of nowhere, after a wild expedition to the top of a mountain.

To be honest I don't have my own photos from there (phone cloud got wiped after trip), and for the sake of not wanting to use someone else's image illegally because there are no royalty free images of the Tomb, click on this general google image search to see what it looks like: https://www.google.com/search?...

Also I loved seeing this sign along the way.

The other thing to note about Petra in general is if you are heart broken, single, or turned on by Arab men, watch out - there is a ring of posers who swindle single travelers into a dark phycological thriller.

There are men who pose as Bedouin and swindle lonely travelers into flirty fun, possible something more, and eventually profess their love. They entangle you into situations where they beg you for money and everything else under the sun. There are even these Instagram accounts which exist to warn people: https://www.instagram.com/shak...

Now we will move on to Wadi Rum:

Wadi Rum is a hot spot for glamping. The desert is very impressive and will satisfy any cravings for a Dune themed adventure.

I did a workaway here  (https://www.workaway.info/) where I stayed with a family in the village, which honestly offered a completely different experience than being out in the desert campsites. When you initially arrive there is a small village, where you are then driven out to the campsites. The village has seemingly nothing, however, if you stay in it you will have a phenomenal local experience.

I spent a week in the town and as really the only foreigner, doing so made me a celebrity. I would hang out with the men in the village watching the world cup and smoking hookah. I played soccer with all of the boys (and then realized all of their fathers are whom I was watching the world cup with).

There was a complete separation between boys and girls, men and women here. The girls all attended one school, and the boys another. Boys had more freedom to wander the streets and start soccer matches, girls seemed to be excused out of the house to go to the corner store for a snack, but were expected to return.

I noticed that all families seemed to be entirely boys or girls, I did not meet a family who had mixed. To be frank, given how small the village is, I think they swap their newborns at birth to keep the genders separate. I have no proof, just my thoughts. It is weirdly segregated.

The host family I stayed with had 6 girls, and we played in the court yard - soccer, feeding their goats, chasing each other. There was one tiny café in the town that had wifi, aside from that, 0.

After about a week I finally ventured into the desert with the host dad to see the campsite. I enjoyed it, but truthfully was having more fun in the village. You get chauffeured around the desert, going to iconic rocks, a place with supposed carvings from cavemen, viewpoints, etc. Big dune vibes, big rocks, big silence.

Check out workaway for an available family or campsite to stay at in Wadi Rum to get an authentic experience. Be prepared to feel isolated, and make sure you are comfortable with silence. If you don't want that extreme of an adventure, feel free to check out the campsite to stay at as a visitor, my host family owns it: https://www.wadirumbedouincamp...

Hitchhiking across the entire country is doable, so once you walk out of Wadi Rum you can easily stick your thumb out and see what other travelers (or locals) are leaving the village after glamping. The next closest point of interest is Aqaba.

Aqaba is a really cool town, it is on the corner of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel! I don’t know how many places exist in the world where you can see 4 different countries at once. The draw to come here is Scuba diving & the red sea.

The King of Jordan supposedly loves scuba diving, so he sank war planes and tanks to the bottom of the sea to create reefs. Swimming through a war feels and looks weird, and one of a kind. There are also still plenty of reefs and colorful fish to look at.

The diving center I spent my time at was Nemo Dive Center, (https://www.tripadvisor.com/At...)

I cannot recommend this place enough. A little outside the city (hitch hiked to get there), but worth the trip - amazing staff. I had a panic attack about breathing during my dive and they saved me from consuming too much oxygen. The staff hung out with me and my travel buddies at night, we ran around to bars and such. Reach out to my friend if you want to set something up https://www.instagram.com/scub...

There are resorts that include diving as well, but stick with Nemo Dive Center. There are a plethora of hostels and hotels along the water you can stay at which won't break the bank.

If you're sticking to just Jordan, make your way back to Amman after this. If you are more flexible or want to continue, you should leave from Aqaba because you have access to Saudi, Egypt or Israel for your next adventure.

Let me know what questions you have ~~ xoxo Alex