The Best of Jordan in Seven Days

Private Tour of Jordan
For Guests who can afford and want the BEST

Petra, Jordan.
Pir6mon – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

See the top sights in Jordan on this fully escorted Private tour including Amman, Petra, Jerash, The Desert Castles, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum.

DAY 1: AMMAN – Daily – Year Round – You choose your arrival date
Arrive any day of the week, year round. Our local rep. will meet you upon arrival and help with the transfer to your hotel in Amman. Transfers are always on a private basis, with a private chauffeur and private air-conditioned vehicle.

DAY 2: MADABA, KERAK – PETRA (BLD)
Breakfast is included at the hotel. Your private guide will always escort you throughout the trip. We drive south along the King’s Highway, an ancient caravan route, to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of Palestine and the Holy Land. Continuing to Mount Nebo, we enjoy the panoramic view of the Promised Land the way Moses saw it for the first time. Further on, at Kerak, we tour the ruins of its romantic Crusaders’ castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line which stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. Lunch is included enroute in a local restaurant. Finally, we arrive at PETRA. Transfers and tours are always on a private basis, with a private chauffeur, private air-conditioned vehicle, and private guide.

In the evening we will call on you for a unique experience:
Dine as a local: The Petra Kitchen is a delightful way to round out your Jordan travel experiences. Like any home kitchen, The Petra Kitchen is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where you’ll gather to prepare an evening meal, working alongside local women under the supervision of our chef.

Each evening meal includes soup, cold and hot mezza (appetizers) and salads, and a main course—all typical Jordanian dishes. You will have get an inside glimpse of the secrets behind the famous regional cuisine of the Levant.

The Petra Kitchen offers an evening of learning, fun and a very special dining experience, with each dish gaining the special flavor of a reward well-earned. Great care has been taken to make The Petra Kitchen a truly Jordanian experience—right down to the furnishings, all crafted in Jordan, the tableware, all produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative, and the aprons and table linens, all hand-embroidered by the Jordan River Foundation.

Tour experience tonight includes the cuisine course, meal and all non-alcoholic beverages as well as take-home recipes for all dishes prepared that evening.

DAY 3: Petra – Martian Dome Accommodation! Luxury Camping in Wadi Rum (BLD)
Breakfast is included at the hotel. Today the fabulous Nabatean City of Petra awaits us. Made famous in the Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” its ancient temples, tombs and striking Khazneh (Treasury) were hewn right from the pink and violet sandstone. We spend our morning here, then head to Wadi Rum, where we board four-wheel-drive vehicles for an expedition to Wadi Rum, the “Valley of the Moon” where T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) organized Arab resistance to Ottoman rule during World War I. Lunch box is included.

Choose accommodation in Petra: After our visit we head back to your hotel in Petra. Sample deluxe hotels: Movenpick Petra or Marriott Petra or choose to for star gazing in a Martian Dome accommodation in one of the Luxury camps in Wadi Rum, please let us know your preference at the time of booking.

Martian Dome accommodation at Sun City Camp in Wadi Rum.

For guests who prefer camping in Wadi Rum, then after the Petra visit we will head to one of the local camp sites. It is essential to take several layers of clothes, including warm layers. This is desert weather, so there is a great drop and/or increase in temperatures with sunrise/sunset. Sample camp site: the Luxury Camping: Sun City Camp (Wadi Rum), or the RSCN Rummana Campsite at the Dana Nature Reserve. Dinner is included camp style. Your guide will always be available on hand, and will be escorting you at all times.

Tours are always on a private basis. Private air-conditioned vehicle. Private Chauffeur and private guide.

Day 4: DESERT CASTLES – Dead Sea (BL)
After an early breakfast we head north for a full day tour to the Desert Castles: Qasr Amra Bath and its Zodiac Dome; the Fortress like Qasr Karana; and the Roman Fort, turned into residence by the Ummayds – Qasr El Hallabat, and the black basalt Roman/Medieval fort at Azraq. After lunch, drive North to the Dead Sea, overnight at the Kempinski or Movenpick Dead Sea Resort. Lunch is included today enroute.

Day 5: Jerash (BL)
Full day tour, after breakfast we head for Jerash, among the best-preserved Roman cities in the world, to tour its temples, theaters, churches and colonnaded streets. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. From Jerash continue northwards to Pella in the Jordan Valley. Visit Um Qais, Gedara of the Bible (Matthew 8:28-34) for a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River. Return to the Dead Sea resort.

Day 6: Dead Sea – Baptism Site – Galilee (B)
The Baptism site in Jordan, is considered a very important pilgrimage holy site. It is on the east bank of the Jordan river, less than 30 miles from Amman and very close to the Dead Sea. Bethany (Baptism site) is about 45 minutes drive from Amman and the visit to the sites takes usually two hours, on to the DEAD SEA / GALILEE.

After breakfast, drive down to the lowest spot on Earth and experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea. Continue northwards to Pella in the Jordan Valley. Visit Um Qais, Gedara of the Bible (Matthew 8:28-34) for a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River. Return to your hotel.

BAPTISM SITE IN JORDAN:
For Christians, the most significant event associated with the River Jordan is undoubtedly the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. Interestingly enough, this also took place very close to Beit ‘Abara, where Joshua, Elijah and Elisha crossed the river. In New Testament times, it became known as Bethany, the village of John the Baptist. This Bethany is not to be confused with the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, where the Bible says Lazarus was raised from the dead.

The Bible clearly records that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-17), and that John the Baptist lived, preached and baptized in the village of Bethany, on “the other side of the Jordan” (John 1: 28). The baptism site, known in Arabic as al-Maghtas, is located at the head of a lush valley just east of the Jordan River. It is now protected and by early 1999 it will be accessible to visitors. After Jesus’ baptism at Bethany, he spent forty days in the wilderness east of the River Jordan, where he fasted and resisted the temptations of Satan (Mark 1: 13, Matthew 4: 1-11).

Day 7: Departure – Amman: (B)
After breakfast head for the airport. Bon Voyage. Departure tax is included in our rate.

• This tour operates each and every day from Amman, year round.
• For Dec 20- Jan 3 & Easter Week: Please add % 15 % to the listed rates.
• Children: 12 years of age or younger will enjoy 15 % discount when sharing with 2 adults

Your fully escorted tour includes:

• All transfers, on a private basis, private air-conditioned vehicle. Private chauffeur.
• Private guided sightseeing as per itinerary. Private English speaking guide, if you prefer any other major language, please advise us in advance)
• Accommodation with breakfast daily.
• Pre-set menu meals: as indicated in the itinerary: “L” = pre-set lunch, “D” = pre-set dinner.
• Your professional guide will escort you throughout the tour, aside from the fact that you have your private chauffeur as well.
• Admission fees to museums and sites as detailed in the itinerary.
• Visa for Jordan. Limited to specific nationalities such as: Australian, NZ, USA, Canada, EU, Japan and others (please check with us if needed at the time of booking).

The tour does not include:

• International airfare.
• Travel Insurance
• Personal expenditures (beverages, laundry, special meals, etc.)
• Tips to hotel and restaurant staff, drivers and guides in Jordan

Sample Deluxe Hotels or similar

• Amman: Land Mark Hotel Amman, Hyatt Amman, or Sheraton
• Petra Movenpick or Petra Marriott
• Dead Sea: Kempinski Dead Sea Ishtar Hotel

Sample First Class Hotels or similar

• Amman: Imperial Palace Amman, or similar
• Petra: Beit Zaman Petra Hotel, or similar.
• Dead Sea: Holiday Inn Hotel or similar.