Grand Tour of Jordan
A comprehensive two-week tour including additional visits and some leisure time
In Brief
| Aqaba - 2 nights. Amman - 3 nights. Dead Sea - 2 nights. Petra - 3 nights. Tala Bay (Aqaba) - 4 nights. |
Itinerary 1 (until 3 May 2011)
Day 1 Fly from London Gatwick to Aqaba for two nights.
Day 2 An optional afternoon tour of Aqaba includes Aqaba Fort, the archaeological site of Old Aqaba ‘Ayla’, Museum and Aquarium and sunset cruise on a sailing ship with local entertainment.
Day 3 Follow the Wadi Araba Road along the Rift Valley to Kerak (3 hrs). View the fortress and continue through Wadi el-Mujib before visiting Umm el-Rassas. Stay three nights in Amman.
Day 4 Visit the Desert Castles of the Omayyad princes: Qasr el-Kharaneh, Amra and el-Azraq. Continue to the Azraq Wetland Reserve.
Day 5 A city tour of Amman, capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, includes the King Abdullah Mosque, Citadel, Temple of Hercules, Byzantine Church, Omayyad Palace, Archaeological Museum, Royal Automobile Museum and a walk downtown exploring the handicrafts.
Day 6 Travel north to Jerash, the best-preserved Roman city of the Decapolis. View the Oval Plaza, Temple of Zeus, South Theatre, Colonnaded Street, Market Place, St. Theodore’s Church, Nymphaeum and North Theatre. Continue to the Decapolis city of Umm Qais with a splendid view of Lake Tiberias and visit the Acropolis, theatre, Byzantine church, colonnaded streets and Greco-Roman tombs. Continue to the Dead Sea for two nights.
Day 7 Optional visit to Bethany, Madaba and Mount Nebo.
Day 8 Morning free for swimming in the Dead Sea. Continue to Petra for three nights.
Day 9 Visit the Nabataean city of Petra. On foot through the ‘Siq’ to the Treasury, then to the Street of Façades, the Theatre, Royal Tombs, Colonnaded Street, Byzantine church, the Temple, Monumental Arch, Qasr el-Bint Faroun and perhaps climb up to the Monastery el-Deir. Petra Camp dinner (Oct/Nov).
Day 10 Return to Petra for a morning walk up to the High Place of Sacrifice. Afternoon free. A drink at the Nabataean Cave Bar has been arranged. Optional ‘Petra by Night’ excursion (Feb-May).
Day 11 An optional morning excursion to Little Petra and Shobak Castle. Return to Aqaba for four nights at Tala Bay, about 20 minutes drive south of Aqaba.
Day 12 An optional excursion on the ‘Yellow Submarine’, a ‘see-through’ semi-submersible viewing the marine splendours of the Red Sea and Coral Reserve.
Day 13 An optional Red Sea cruise to Pharaoh’s Island includes a tour of the fort, barbecue lunch and option to snorkel.
Day 14 Morning free. An optional excursion to Wadi Rum includes a 90-minute Bedouin jeep drive and dinner in a Bedouin tent with local musicians.
Day 15 Return flight.A
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