Dana Nature Reserve • Petra • Jerash
SHAUMARI WILDLIFE RESERVE
Staying at Feynan Ecolodge
Choose Your Own Arrival Date
Private Tour of Jordan
Feynan Ecolodge. By Dudley Miles (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
A Private 8-Day Arabian Adventure. See the top sights in Jordan on this fully escorted private tour of Jordan including Amman, Petra, Dana Nature Reserve (staying at the famed Feynan EcoLodge), the Dead Sea, and the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve. We have even included all the tips – no hidden charges – no additional tax. Compare with the 6 day version. Combine this tour with any Travel in Style tour to Egypt or Turkey for an even more exciting vacation adventure.
DAY 1 – AMMAN -Arrive any day – Choose your own arrival day – Year Round.
Our local representative will meet you upon arrival and help with the transfer to your hotel in Amman.
- Deluxe Hotel Category: Amman Grand Hyatt Hotel or similar
- First Class Hotel Category: Geneva Hotel Amman or similar
DAY 2 – Amman – Madaba – Mount Nebo – Dana nature Reserve – Feynan EcoLodge (BLD)
Your own private guide will be escorting you from Amman all the way throughout the trip. Today, we drive to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of 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 and on we drive south along the King’s Highway, an ancient caravan route. Lunch is included enroute. All our lunches on this tour include tea or coffee, as well as one large bottle of water for each guest. We will drive to Dana Nature Reserve. For guests who will be hiking, please advise if you prefer the 2 or 4 hour hiking trail.
CNN’s Inside the Middle East story on Feynan Ecolodge (October 2013)
Dana Nature Reserve:
Dana Nature Reserve is a system of valleys and mountains, which extends from the top of the Rift Valley down to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba, an elevation drop of over 1600 meters. It embraces two major bio geographical zones and four distinct vegetation zones and contains a remarkable diversity of landscapes, ranging from wooded highlands and rocky slopes to gravel plains and sand dunes. It supports a wide variety of wildlife, including many rare species of plants and animals. The total number of species recorded so far consists of 697 plants, 3 of which are new to science, and 282 animals. Many of these are now very rare and some threatened with extinction: animals like the Gray Wolf, Nubian Ibex, the Lesser Kestrel, Eagle Owl and the Desert Monitor Lizard.
Dinner awaits you at the unique Feynan Ecolodge:
Escape the beaten path. A sensory experience awaits. Deep in the heart of the mountainous Dana Biosphere Reserve, at the end of a rugged track, an idyllic candle-lit lodge rests in the magnificent Wadi Feynan.
Here, set against the glorious desert landscape, guests staying at the 26-room lodge can be found adventuring through the untouched outdoors, sipping mint tea with the native Bedouin, exploring local archaeological sites or simply unwinding in the serene courtyards and terraces of the candle-lit complex; safe in the knowledge that they are vacationing in a socially and environmentally-responsible way.
Hailed as one of the top fifty ecolodge’s in the world by National Geographic Adventure Magazine, the solar powered Feynan Ecolodge offers the most developed eco-experience in Jordan; an experience made possible by a unique partnership between Eco Hotels and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, a Jordanian NGO devoted to the protection of the Kingdom’s finest natural landscapes.
DAY 3 – Feynan- Dana Nature Reserve – Petra (BLD)
Your own private guide will be escorting you all the way throughout the trip. After an early breakfast, for guests who are photographers, you may wish to rise very early before sunrise to capture some magnificent shots. Morning hike (2-4 hours based on your preference) of course your guide will always be with you. Then head further south on our way to Petra. Lunch is included at the lodge. All our lunches on this tour include tea or coffee, as well as one large bottle of water for each guest. Finally we reach Petra – 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. Ride into Petra on a horse or a camel, as you wish.
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 4 – PETRA- WADI RUM – The Dead Sea (BLD)
Your guide will take on another morning tour of Petra for some hidden treasures off the beaten path that we may have missed yesterday. Your guide will then escort you 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. We continue our rive to the Dead Sea the lowest spot on Earth, where we spend the night, and your hotel where dinner awaits you:
- For deluxe hotel category: Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea, the Mövenpick Dead Sea or similar.
- For First Class hotels: Dead Sea Oases Hotel or similar.
Lunch is included today. All our lunches on this tour include tea or coffee, as well as one large bottle of water for each guest. For guests who prefer to spend this night at Wadi Rum, please click here.
DAY 5- The Dead Sea (B)
Breakfast is always included at the hotel. Full day at leisure. You may wish to take advantage from the world famous Dead Sea spas, or just experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea.
DAY 6 – JERASH – Pella – Amman (BL)
Your private guide will be escorting you as usual as we head back 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 before we head back for Amman and your hotel.
Sample hotels ( subject to change) : First Class: Geneva Hotel Amman. Deluxe: Grand Hyatt Hotel Amman. Ultra Deluxe: Four Seasons Hotel Amman.
Day 07 – Shaumari Reserve- Amman(BLD)
Morning visit to Shaumari Reserve and join the Arabian Oryx Safari Tour. More details are listed at the bottom of this page.
Afternoon Private City tour of Amman including dinner dinner at Tawahin Al-Hawa restaurant: Visit the Roman Theater, the Citadel, the Archaeology and Folklore Museums, old and modern Amman and one of the many art galleries in this enchanting capital city, then King Abdallah Mosque. Overnight at the hotel in Amman.
DAY 8 – Departure (B)
We drive to Amman’s Queen Alia Airport. Bon Voyage.
| RATES per person: in US$ | |||
| Triple | Double | Single | |
| First Class hotels | $2862.00. | $2990.00. | $3350.00. |
| Deluxe Hotels: (Junior Suite in Petra) | $3665.00 | $3868.00 | $4569.00 |
| Ultra Deluxe Hotels: Four Seasons in Amman (superior Room); Kempinski Dead Sea Ishtar (Junior Suite) |
$4550.00 | $4739.00 | $6570.00 |
| This tour operates daily – Amman, year round. | |||
- All transfers are on a private basis, private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur.
- All guided sightseeing as per itinerary, always on a private basis, with a private guide escorting you from Amman all the way and back to Amman.
- Accommodation with breakfast daily.
- Pre-set menu meals as indicated in the itinerary: L = Lunch, D = Dinner, all our lunches on this tour include tea or coffee, as well as one large bottle of water for each guest.
- Admission fees to museums, Dana Nature Reserve and Shummari Nature Reserve and sites as detailed in the itinerary.
- Tips to hotel and restaurant staff, drivers and guides in Jordan.
- Visa for Jordan: Visa fee will be waived for a limited number of nationalities, such as: American, Australian, NZ, Canadian & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival. This is subject to change.
- International airfare.
- Travel Insurance
- Personal expenditures (beverages, laundry, special meals, etc.)
- Tips
WildJordan.com
Arabian Oryx. Photo: shankar s., Dubai, UAE [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The Arabian Oryx, an elegant white antelope, is one of the few mammals indigenous to the Arabian Peninsula. It became extinct in Jordan around the 1920s, as a result of the increased hunting for its meat, coat and horns. The increasing range and power of rifles compounded by the factor of motorized vehicles were the key to the extinction of the Oryx. The last known wild Arabian Oryx in the world was killed by hunters in Oman in 1972. Fortunately, previous to this incident, in 1962, the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund had launched an international rescue effort known as Operation Oryx. A world survival herd was established in the USA, with three animals from Oman, one from the London zoo, one from Kuwait, and four from Saudi Arabia. This herd increased steadily in numbers, and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature proposed that the Arabian Oryx should be reintroduced into its native habitat in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.In 1978, eleven Arabian Oryx were relocated in Shaumari. The number of Oryx has now increased to a phenomenal two hundred! Operation Oryx has been so successful that Jordan now supplies Oryx to other countries, which are conducting reintroduction programs.
Guided only
Time: 3 – 4 hours
Altitude: 520 meters above sea level
Group size: 7 persons per car
Your professional nature guide will meet you at the gate to the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve in converted Land Cruiser safari vehicles. The tour begins with a brief about the reserve and what to expect on your journey through the desert. Midway through the safari, you will stop for a picnic and enjoy a hot cup of tea while taking in the beautiful semi-desert landscape of Shaumari. The reserve is an amazing place where you will learn about Shaumari’s unusual desert habitats and conservation history.
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