Jordan

Welcome to Shoestring!
Shoestring is looking forward to welcoming you on one of our unforgettable journeys. Be well prepared, get informed about your destination and make sure you know which vaccinations or other medication you require. During the trip, be flexible and don’t feel obliged to always stay with the group. Your guide will advise and assist you, but remember that he or she will have a lot on their mind to ensure that everything is running smoothly. We hope you have a fantastic time in this beautiful destination.

Before you travel
If your trip is unexpectedly cancelled, we will let you know at least three weeks prior to departure. Cancellations are very rare though, so go ahead and prepare yourself for your trip.

Day 1: Amman

Welcome to Jordan!

Your tour starts in Amman, where you can use your hotel room from check in time (12.00 hrs at noon) on day 1. Most of your travel companions will arrive later this first day, the exact time will be depending on their flight schedule. You will meet your English speaking tour leader at 8.00 hrs A.M. on day 2 in the lobby of your hotel.

Built on seven hills, Amman is a city full of atmosphere, teahouses, shisha pipes and museums. Be sure to visit the Roman amphitheatre and the citadel.

Day 2: Amman / Excursion Jerash and Dead Sea

Today you will be able to make an optional excursion to Jerash and the Dead Sea.

Jerash was destroyed in 78 BC and rebuilt by the Romans. There are plenty of beautiful sights including the perfect colonnade, Hadrian's Arch and the temple dedicated to Artemis. The city has survived exceptionally intact and it doesn’t take much effort to imagine Roman street-life as it must have been. The Dead Sea contains 30% salt to water so you will stay afloat without effort, a strange but highly enjoyable experience. You can also undergo "health treatment," whereby you will be rubbed from head to toe with wholesome mud, which dries slowly in the sun.

Day 3: Amman - Madaba - Mount Nebo - Kerak - Petra

We visit Madaba, famous for its floor mosaics and its sixth-century Greek Orthodox church of Saint Gregory before moving onto the nearby mountain of Nebo with its monastic ruins, where Moses looked out over the Promised Land.

We then continue to the ruins of the ancient city of Petra, the route passes along the beautiful old King’s Highway, which runs through Jordan’s highlands. On the way we pass the Wadi al-Mujib Gully, which offers one of the most magnificent panoramic views in the country. If time permits we also stop at Kerak on the old caravan route from Egypt to Syria, used during the time of the biblical kings and later by both ancient Greeks and then the Romans. The Crusaders put the city back on the map when they built an enormous stronghold here.

We arrive in the world-famous city of Petra in the evening.

Day 4: Petra

Travel to the world-famous, spellbinding city of Petra and take an optional excursion to the excavations of Petra, cut out of the pink-red rocks by the Nabataeans in the fourth century BC. It is the ancient capital of the small but once-powerful Nabataean state, after being conquered by the Romans the city fell into decline, completely hidden in the mountains and known only to the local Bedouin until 1812 when the Swiss art historian Burckhardt discovered the city.

The road to the heart of Petra can only be made on foot or horseback. It leads through a crevice, the Siq, which goes on and on and gets ever narrower. Finally you reach the first of more than a hundred temples, monasteries, tombs and other buildings cut out of the rocks.

You have all day to look round this beautiful site and take in the breathtaking view of the Wadi Araba. The colourful rock formations make Petra into a unique place of interest, where you can still feel alone in a magical world despite the ever growing numbers of visitors.

Day 5: Petra – Wadi Rum

We drive to Wadi Rum, the desert region renowned for its splendid high rock formations in many changing pastel colours and the location for part of the legendary movie Lawrence of Arabia. Ancient inscriptions can be found in the rocks and the real Bedouin among us can visit the most beautiful parts of Wadi Rum by camel or Jeep (optional).

You will spend the night in a simple desert camp; you may wish to bring your own sleeping bag.

Day 6: Wadi Rum – Aqaba

In Aqaba take a refreshing dive in the Red Sea, sunbathe on the beach, rent a snorkel and mask or diving equipment and even take diving lessons. The Red Sea is famous for its beautiful coral reefs and enormous variety of tropical fish, so don’t miss out. At the end of the day, stroll along the boulevard or drink tea in the park with the locals, followed by dinner in one of the many seafood restaurants in town.

Day 7: Aqaba

Today you can continue to enjoy the beach and join any water based activities, if you so wish. Another very popular attraction is the Turkish Bath (Hamam) built in 306AD, in which locals and visitors alike come to unwind at the close of an long sweltering day.

This is the last day of your tour. Your tour will end at 12pm at your hotel in Aqaba. We wish you a comfortable journey home and are sure you will take with you some wonderful memories of Jordan.

Please note that this is a change to our previous itinerary; any bookings made prior to 15/5/12 will still finish at Amman aiport as advised.

Your personal ‘my.shoestring’ page on our website is the perfect way to make contact with other travellers before and after your trip. You can read and create journals from trips and upload your photos onto the photo gallery. Visit my shoestring today.

When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any post-tour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (day 7) is not included.

Please be aware that in Jordan no tour guide will join the group with a group size up to 7 participants. An English speaking local representative will be present to assist the group In every location during the tour. A local tour guide will join the tour with 8 participants or more.

This holiday is classified as Category B

The difficulty of our travels varies greatly. Added to this is the fact that travel difficulty is a very personal perception. To give an impression of the difficulty of a particular holiday we have developed a classification system.

Category A: Light travel for everyone to do. Short distances, good hotels, travel at a slow pace.
Category B: For everyone to do as well. Sometimes long distances. Good hotels and camping facilities, sometimes an adventurous overnight experience, travel at a normal pace.
Category C: Good to do for anyone who prepares themself well and is flexible. There are tougher parts of the journey, such as longer distances or walking tours. Several nights can be spent in basic accommodation.
Category D: A relatively difficult journey, travelling long distances, often primitive accommodation or tents, and challenging walking tours.

Jordan is a Category B holiday. The trip can be made by any reasonably healthy individual. In the summer the trip is considerably more difficult than during the rest of the year. Although in the cities we stay in simple medium-priced hotels, remember that you are travelling in a developing country with much lower living standards than you are used to at home. Also, roads may be temporarily blocked because of the weather or owing to their state of repair, in which case a detour is unavoidable. Some journeys are very long. A flexible and positive attitude is just as important as a good fitness level.

Nature of the trip
Bible stories, lost cities, Lawrence of Arabia, Crusader strongholds, public baths and mysterious eastern bazaars. Jordan is a country rich in history, with some of the most interesting sites in the Middle East. Roman excavations in Jerash, Petra, the fascinating old Nabataean city, the stunning desert landscape of Wadi Rum and the charming city of Amman. The area is one of the most hospitable in the world with very friendly people who will gladly invite you into their homes.