PLANNING TIPS

Last December, before travel disruptions from pandemics, became normality, we managed to visit Jordan. The country borders other Middle Eastern nations such as Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Israel. It holds one of the wonders of the world ‘Petra National Park’. As a long weekend, it was a quick getaway, but gave us enough time to take in the sights and to experience a different culture.

Flights can be particularly cheap if you are willing to take connecting flights. We also managed to enjoy the Polish capital of Krakow on the outbound flights, as well as experiencing the Malta nightlife on the homebound flights. As a short trip, we flew only with cabin baggage and overall our flights amounted to £66 Return. The trick with getting cheaper flights is to look at cities that fly cheaply to your main destination and then build your connecting flights almost by looking backwards. Skyscanner is where we researched our flight prices https://www.skyscanner.net/ but be prepared to put in a little time and effort to get those good deals.

Note: It is important that if you choose cabin baggage only that you do adhere to bag size and weight, as small fines on multiple flights can add up in travel cost.

Jordan uses one of the oldest surviving currencies in the world called the Jordanian Dinar, and despite returning less than the pound it does go a fair way when in the country (especially it’s capital). The capital provides the cheapest souvenir items, such as trinkets, and food, so bear in mind that once outside that area that the same items to increase in price. For example, an Arabic coffee in Amman cost roughly the equivalent of 70p while they cost at least £1.50 in the areas surrounding the national parks.

Day 1: Arrive in Amman

We landed at Queen Alia International (or Amman Airport) mid-morning, we boarded the regular shuttle bus that takes you straight into the 7th circle of Amman at which point we had to take a taxi to our hotel in the centre. The transport prices are more than reasonable, with the bus costing 3.300 JD (roughly £3.50) and taxi’s more or less cost the same from 7th circle, depending on your ability to haggle. We checked into our hotel in the centre. There are a variety of accommodations for all budgets from hostels to luxury hotels.

When we set off exploring Amman, we had little knowledge of what the city had to offer. We really enjoy walking on our travels, so we didn’t mind discovering the city through these means. If you aren’t don’t enjoy walking then there’s no need to worry as getting a taxi is still cheap within the city centre. Amman boasts an array of visual landmarks including the look of the cityscape itself. One of the best views offered is from the Amman City Ruins. Originally built by the romans, what remains include an Amphitheatre and impressive temple columns. It’s from the Roman Columns that will offer the best city views as well providing a peaceful walk through the ruins themselves, best done in the evening.

Lewis Hammett | X-RAY One of the Mosques . — Lewis Hammett | X-RAY *One of the Mosques .*

As one would imagine, Amman is steeped in religious history, boasting various Churches and Mosques. These places of worship are welcoming and we recommend visiting a mosque during your stay regardless of beliefs. The cost of entry is roughly £2, which allowed us look around the interiors, and afterwards we were shown how to apply the Shemaghs (the headscarves traditionally worn in Arab countries) which was an enlightening tutorial. It was a welcoming feeling being introduced to this cultural clothing, it’s moments like these that characterise the people in Jordan as warm and friendly.

Lewis Hammett | X-RAY A view of the amphitheatre in the city centre — Lewis Hammett | X-RAY *A view of the amphitheatre in the city centre*

After a long day of exploring, the best thing to do is to find a place to eat. Jordan offers a vast array of different foods, and they do a good job at catering for Vegetarians. A typical local meal can consist of Falafels, Hummus and Shrak (the style of bread in that region), and can be as cheap as 2.77 JD (£3) per head for what usually is more than enough food.

Evening meal at about £12 for the whole table, 3 people). Hummus and Falafel at £2.30 each (right)

Day 2: Visit to Petra

Today we set off early to take the ‘Jett’ bus from Amman to Petra National Park. ‘Jett’ is the primary bus operator in Jordan and the tickets to Petra cost 11 JD (£12.05 ). It’s important to keep note of the timetables when taking the bus as they do not run frequently, 6:30am is the only ‘ Jett’ bus that runs to Petra from Amman.

The ancient city is one of the 7 wonders of the world and spans for miles, therefore make sure to bring plenty of water and snacks to last nearly the whole day. Entrance to the park costs 50 JD (£54.07)due to having the tourist visa passport stamp. If you decided to travel in from Israel to visit it would then cost (£97.31) 90 JD. We recommend entering the park earlier rather than later to miss the tourist crowds, and remember to bring warm clothing if it is winter time as the canyon build of the area can become significantly colder after sunset.

Views from the canyon walkways called the ‘Siq’ that leads to the Treasury

While taking in the remarkable treasury building, carved into the face of the canyon wall, we discovered a path leading up to a vantage point. At this rug covered ledge, we saw a local man preparing hot tea and decided to sip some tea while processing the immersive scenery.

The climbable viewpoint (or selfie point) of the Treasury

Some people visit just the treasury and cease to venturing further, if you were willing to hike on for another couple of miles towards the Monastery then you will be greeted by a cosy café with plenty of refreshments and cushions, a perfect place for a break before heading back to the park entrance. If the café doesn’t suit you then the view surely will.

You may recognise different parts of Petra from big film productions over the years. The most notable of these films may have been ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’(1989), which filmed in the valley as well as the Treasury. More recently the Monastery was used in a portion of ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ (2009).

With regards to snacks and water for the day, bear in mind that once inside the park, the prices of these items do increase. They still work out cheap in comparison to prices in Britain but if you are looking to save little bits of cash then I recommend stopping by a supermarket in Amman beforehand to stock up on supplies.

At the end of the day we checked back into our hotel, which had a nice open view of the entire valley.

Day 3: Dune driving at Wadi Rum

After checking out from our hostel in Petra, we set off on our booked taxi towards Wadi Rum. This was arguably the surprise highlight of the trip for us. The vastness and the lack of human meddling in the desert valley make it one of the most otherworldly places to gaze upon.

Pictures from within Wadi Rum, roughly mid-afternoon.

We set off into the desert itself at midday on the back of an open top 4x4. This is where the headscarf came in handy, as it kept the sand from blowing into our faces, which is what they are designed for. The tour lasted till sunset, and we were taken to various photogenic locations in the desert that immersed us in the whole landscape. We were taken sand boarding too, and days after arriving home we noticed the exact dune on the big screen when we went to see the newly released ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019). Wadi Rum has served as the backdrop to various Hollywood productions, much like Petra. If you are a fan of films such as ‘The Martian’ (2015), ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962) or are excited for ‘Dune’ (2020), then we recommend adding this astonishing landscape to your bucket list.

We ended the tour by climbing roughly 20 feet up a rock to sit and watch the sunset over the desert. During the day the temperature was quite warm with unreal blue and clear skies, but make sure to have a warm jacket to wear once sunset arrives as the desert temperature dropped significantly once it became dark.

After sunset our driver took us to ‘Arabian Nights’, our Bedouin tent for the night while still miles into the desert. We were shown how to cook in an underground sand oven and were then given a freshly prepared Jordanian meal. We ate and had some downtime around the stove in the common room tent. One last surprise that the desert brought us before calling it a night was looking up at the clearest starry sky. The area doesn’t suffer from any smog or light pollution, so when you stay there you should be able to spot a shooting star every couple of minutes. As reviews for the tents go, they provided a comfy and warm bed, as well as undisturbed darkness after we knocked off the lights.

The night stay cost the 3 of us 65 JD combined (£72) and an extra 30JD combined (£33) for the 4x4 half day tour, although there are other options available in their price list. The accommodation and tours can be booked here https://arabiannightsrum.com/bedouin-camp/tents/

Day 4: Journey back to Amman

The same people that gave us the tour arranged transport to the nearby seaside city of Aqaba in the morning once we checked out from our Bedouin camp. We then booked a ‘Jett’ bus to take us back to Amman, which cost 10JD (£10.95) each. The bus timetable can be found here https://www.jett.com.jo/en/schedule . We had about 2 hours to explore, so we set off to look around the beach and harbour area. Aqaba in December felt like a taste of a summer holiday, with high 20s temperature and busy beaches, which certainly made a difference from the sandy experience the preceding day brought.

images of the seafront at Aqaba, with a view of Israel in the distance.

After soaking up some surprisingly refreshing sun, we caught our Jett bus back to the capital to enjoy our final evening of the trip. We still had places we wanted to visit in Amman and we had yet to experience what the night was like there. We went for another tasty falafel and hummus meal followed by one of the tastiest desserts we have ever tried. The desert is called Kunafeh and is available at this famous specialist takeaway that is very popular with both locals and tourists. After ordering 1/8lb slices at ‘Habibah Sweets’ we tucked in to this national delight. The desert comprises of layers, with layers of doughy cheese topped off with a fragrant pastry (a must try while you visit).

Kunafeh, fresh from Habibah Sweets in Amman

On the main bustling streets at night time, the energy brought by the lights and people highlight an array of different bars and restaurants. We tried a few and came to the conclusion that they all serve top-quality grub. For pictures, the night time brings an interesting blend of the old and new, with the older buildings being contrasted by modern neon lights.

Pictures of the very late evening in Amman

To summarise Jordan as a whole, I believe it’s a unique and affordable country to visit. If you are on a smaller budget and want to visit somewhere outside of Europe then this is a perfect option to consider. The people here are also friendly and welcoming towards tourists, which makes navigating the country safe and enjoyable. Despite the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic causing uncertainty among all sectors, life will resume eventually and so will the ability to travel.

Travel Contributor | Lewis Hammett

4 Nights in Jordan | A Guide To Visiting One of the Wonders of The World.