Jordan 12-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Jordan. Your representative meets you at Queen Alia International Airport, and your private driver takes you to your hotel in Amman, about 40 minutes away. The rest of the day is yours to rest after the flight. If you arrive early and feel like a short outing, your team can suggest an easy first walk along Rainbow Street, with its cafés and views across the old city to the Citadel hill, or a quiet dinner close to the hotel. Your local team is on hand for anything you need and will run through the coming days with you.

Drive north with your guide to Jerash, about an hour from Amman and one of the finest Roman cities in the Middle East. Walk through Hadrian’s Arch, across the Oval Plaza and along the Cardo Maximus, still paved with its original stones. Continue into the green, pine-covered hills to Ajloun Castle, built in the 12th century by one of Saladin’s commanders to watch over the Jordan Valley. The views from its towers stretch a long way on a clear day. Return to Amman in the late afternoon, with time to rest before an evening out in the city if you feel like it.

A gentle day close to the capital. Drive about 40 minutes west to As-Salt, a hillside town of honey-colored stone houses that was once the main trading center of the region and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk with your guide through its old stairways and markets, and stop for coffee in a family-run shop. Return to Amman to see the Citadel, with the Temple of Hercules, and the Roman Theatre, then end the day in the downtown souks, where your guide can point you to the best places for falafel, hummus and knafeh.

Leave Amman after breakfast for Mount Nebo, about 45 minutes away, where Moses is said to have looked out over the Promised Land. On a clear day the view reaches across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea toward Jerusalem. A few minutes on, St. George’s Church in Madaba holds a sixth-century mosaic map of the Holy Land, the oldest of its kind. Have lunch in town, then take the Desert Highway south to Petra, about three hours on a good road with a coffee stop on the way. You arrive in the late afternoon with time to settle in. Dinner is at your hotel tonight.

Today belongs to Petra. Set off early with your private guide and walk through the Siq, a narrow canyon more than a kilometer long, until the Treasury appears through a gap in the rock. Continue along the Street of Facades to the theatre and the Royal Tombs, carved high into the cliff, and stop for lunch inside the site. Afterwards, keen walkers can climb the 800 or so steps to the Monastery, the largest monument in Petra, while others head back for a slow afternoon at the hotel. There is no need to rush: you have another night here, and tomorrow is a gentle day.

A slower day after yesterday’s long walk. In the morning, drive about 15 minutes north with your guide to Little Petra, or Siq al-Barid, a short sandstone canyon where Nabataean traders once rested their caravans. It is small and quiet, and one chamber still has traces of painted vines and birds on its ceiling, nearly two thousand years old. The remains of Beidha, one of the oldest farming villages in the region, are a few minutes’ walk away. Return to your hotel for a long lunch and a free afternoon by the pool or in the spa. Petra by Night runs on certain evenings and can be added as an optional extra if your dates allow.

After a slow breakfast, leave Petra and drive about an hour and a half south across the high plateau to Wadi Rum, arriving in time for a relaxed lunch. Here a local Bedouin guide takes you out by 4×4 among red dunes, sandstone mountains and narrow canyons, the landscape made famous by Lawrence of Arabia. The drive is timed so you watch the colors change at sunset. Tonight you stay at Memories Aicha Luxury Camp (or a camp of the same standard), where glass-roofed panoramic domes and spacious tents sit below the sandstone cliffs. Have dinner as the evening cools and step outside later to see the stars, which are remarkably bright this far from any town.

Enjoy a quiet morning in the desert, perhaps a short walk before the sand warms up, then make the easy drive of about an hour to Aqaba, Jordan’s only city on the Red Sea. Check in to your hotel by the water and let the pace slow right down. The Gulf of Aqaba is known for its clear water and coral reefs, and snorkeling, diving or a glass-bottom boat trip can be arranged at extra cost, depending on the weather. Later, walk along the seafront as the mountains across the gulf turn gold in the evening light.

A full day to enjoy the Red Sea at your own pace. Spend the morning by the pool or on the beach, swim in the warm, clear water, or head out by boat to the reefs south of the city, where coral gardens lie close to the shore. Snorkeling and diving trips are at extra cost and depend on sea conditions. If you would like a little local life, your team can suggest an easy wander through the old market and a seafood lunch near the harbor. Otherwise, simply rest: the next part of your journey is just as unhurried.

After a relaxed breakfast by the sea, drive north along the Dead Sea Highway through the Wadi Araba valley, a journey of about four hours with comfort stops. The mountains of Edom rise on one side and wide desert plains open on the other, until the Dead Sea comes into view in the afternoon. Check in to your resort and spend the rest of the day by the water. Float in the salty sea, try the famous mud, or book a spa treatment at extra cost. Watch the sun set over the water, then enjoy dinner at your resort.

A free day at the Dead Sea, with nothing you have to do. Spend it at your resort, moving between the pool, the beach and the spa. If you would like an outing, a private visit to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where John is believed to have baptized Jesus, is about 40 minutes away; the private transfer and site ticket are included if you would like to go. Active travelers can ask about the Siq Trail in Wadi Mujib, a wet hike through a narrow gorge that opens only in the warmer months and suits fit travelers who are comfortable in water. The Wadi Mujib hike is an optional extra, confirmed in advance.

Enjoy a last, unhurried breakfast and, if your flight allows, one more float or a slow walk along the shore. Your private driver takes you to Queen Alia International Airport, about an hour away, with the transfer timed comfortably around your flight. Your local team stays in touch until you leave. If you would like to stay a little longer, extra nights at the Dead Sea or in Amman are easy to add, and Jordan also pairs well with a few days in Egypt for a longer journey. We hope you leave rested, and with Petra still on your mind.