7 days itinerary from north to south, with the detailed list of the stages of the journey, the timing distances, where to sleep and eat and the related map and links. This guide is organized in: 
- Schematic resume of all the stages of the journey, the distances and where to sleep, in addition to general local considerations (local currency, language, weather, local people and community) 
- A more extended story telling, day by day, with all the informations above, personal suggestions, pictures and food hints. 

Petra, Giordania

Ma'in Hot Springs, Giordania

Shobak, Giordania

al-Karak, Giordania

Little Petra, Al-Baydha, Giordania

Wadi Rum Village, Giordania

Aqaba, Giordania

Dead Sea

Amman, Giordania

Mount Nebo, Giordania

Madaba, Giordania

Jerash, Giordania

Jordan on the Road

Amman, the modern and ancient capital of Jordan, is a fascinating city full of contrasts between ancient and modern. Built on seven hills, the city has many attractions to offer, whether you are looking for history, local culture, food or just for a stroll in the real jordanian mood. 

You don't need to rent a car or take a taxi to visit the city, you can just walk through its beauties, spending one day in the city and following these stages: 

- Amman Citadel (I suggest you to go there just before sunset; sunsets in Amman are special, and from the Citadel you get the view of the whole city with the red lights of the sun leaving).  

- Kalha stairs (a very narrow and short streets between to stairs that take you to Downtown, where you can find a tiny bar that serves you great juices and buiscuits);

If you land in Amman, you'd better rent the car directly to the airport, go to your hotel (I suggest Hotel Philosophy, that has a great position that allows you to walk everywhere in the city without taking the car/taxi, and they also have the spot for you to park your car), leave the car and start exploring.

Then, before the sunset, you go back to Amman, and I recommend you stop to one of the many sunset points you will find on your way back to the capital: you will find few sheds (impossible to find on google maps or on the internet) that arrange tables and seats in front of the sunset - very spartan but very impactful! 

Day 2: Mount Nebo, Madaba, Dead Sea and Ma'in Hot Springs

Early in the morning In the morning (I suggest around 9am) you leave Amman and drive 40 minutes to Mount Nebo - from where Mosè looked at the holy land (and you will see it too!). In fact, this was precisely the final stage of the journey of Moses, who led the Jewish people through the desert after their liberation from Egyptian rule.

The main street will take you to the golden domend mosque, and there you will find many tiny restaurants where you can enjoy local and traditional food. Still in the main street you will find friendly and hospital people offering you tea, that I invite you to enjoy and take this day slowly! 

In this case, I suggest you to do not visit the archeological sites (but I am from Rome, so I am used to archeological sites and Roman ruins!) and leave Madaba after lunch, and start driving towards the Dead Sea. 

From the entrance to Mount Nebo, you drive 15 minutes towards Madaba, the city of mosaics. This is a small city, where you can leave your car next to the visitors' center and walk peacefully in its quite streets, admiring the tiny shops with their mosaic artefacts. 

The visit shouldn't take long (1 hour and a half/ 2 hours maximum - the path from the entrance to the exit is quite short, and circular), you will enjoy the view from the Mount and then go back to your car and leave for Madaba. 

It is important to know that not all areas of the death sea are accessible for bathing: therefore, you must insert, when you're still in Madaba, a specific address for your final destination for taking a bath in the Dead Sea, that is SALT BEACH (you will find it on google maps) - it is also important to keep in mind that the more you get near to Dead Sea, the less you phone will have signal (even the mobile wifi has no signal!), this is why it is better for you to select the destination why you are still in Madaba. 

When you arrive at SALT BEACH (marked by a small sign on the road), you will see a cliff and a small hut selling water and snacks, there you must park your car and descend to the Sea walking (2 minutes walking). Then you arrive to the "beach", that is not a real beach, just a tiny narrow and short strip of sand: at this point you just bath and enjoy the float! 

IMPORTANT: it is not allowed to swim or to submerge your head in the water, because it is too salty and your face burns! After the "bath", you will find a shower right outside the water, you can take it for 3 JOD. 

This place is not really a tourist attraction, but, in my opinion, it does deserve a chance if you are looking for some relax after a long day. It is a thermal spring located in a valley 40 minutes away from Salt Beach, where local people go to relax and have massages. The name of the structure where you will stay is MA'IN HOT SPRINGS, the rooms and the views are incredible, there, is of course, a thermal pool and a trail that takes you to thermal waterfall; for dinner and breakfast they have a very rich buffet option, with live music and local wine if you want - it is also possible to have, on request, wine and cheese tastings. 

Be aware that, since it is a thermal station, and it is in a valley, the temperatures are very high in the summer, therefore it is not recommended to go in August. 

Day 3: Wadi Mujib, Kings' Road and Bubble Lux Hotel (Petra) 

You will now start your trip towards Petra, driving through the spectacular Kings' Road, that will take you to different tourist attractions and castles (all included with your Jordan Pass). To be sure you don't leave anything behind, you'd better insert in google maps all your destinations in sequence, starting from: 

Today you wake up early in the morning and descend again towards the Dead Sea, near to Salt Beach, where you will find the entrance for Wadi Mujib (by 9.00 in the morning), the lowest natural reserve in the world, where you can choose between different trials, the more relevant of which are: 

- Al-Hidan trial:  the route starts from the visitor center and moves from south-west to north-east; you will swim from pool to pool until the arrival point where the ancient grain mill is located;

- Steinbock trial (available only in the winter): the route begins at the Mujib Adventure Center and follows the Dead Sea Highway before climbing back up towards the reserve. The trail, which splits off to the south, runs parallel to the Dead Sea, which creates a stunning blue backdrop for the entire hike. You then continue along a series of dry wadis to the Raddas Ranger station, where you can observe the Nubian ibex; 

- Malaqi trial (available only in the summer): the route starts from the Mujib Adventure Center and follows the Dead Sea Highway south (starting point). The excursion continues up to the confluence with the Hidan River, where you can swim in natural pools before descending a 20 meter high waterfall under the supervision of an expert guide. After descending the waterfall, the hike continues along the Siq Trail back to the Mujib Adventures Center; 

- Canyon trial (available only in the summer): the route starts from the Mujib Adventure Center and follows the Dead Sea Highway south (starting point). Shortly after entering the gorge, you reach the top of a spectacular 20 meter high waterfall, which you can admire under the watchful eye of an expert guide. After descending the waterfall, the hike continues along the Siq Trail back to the Mujib Adventures Center. 

- Siq trial (recommended): the route begins at the Mujib Adventure Center where you take the cantilevered walkway and follow the river between towering sandstone cliffs to the base of a large waterfall. Depending on seasonal rainfall, the gorge may contain pools deep enough for swimming. This route is available only in the summer.

I recommend you to take the Siq trial, as it is the shortesr( 1.5 - 2 hours) and will leave you the time to do all the rest of the activities of the day, during your trip towards Petra.

- al-Karak castle (1.5 hours from Wadi Mujib): an ancient crusader stronghold, Karak is located 900 meters above sea level, within the walls of the old city. The city today has a population of around 170,000 people and continues to boast a number of restored 19th-century Ottoman buildings, restaurants, places to stay and the like. But it is undoubtedly Karak Castle that dominates everything, 

- Dana (1.5 hours from al-Karak): here you can choose between visiting Dana reserve or (recommended) to visit just the small village of Dana, the smallest in all Jordan, perfectly preserved and where you can stop for a super cheap and quick lunch at RAINBOW RESTAURANT, that will serve you a unique plate for only 6 JOD per person. 

- Shoback castle (30 minutes from Dana), the most suggestive of all the route, with a breathtaking view on a harsh and wild but at the same time boundless landscape. 

30 minutes from Shoback castle, you will arrive to Petra Bubble Lux Hotel, it is undoubtedly one of the most expensive options in Petra but it deserves the sacrifice. Your bubble room is just in front of Petra (you can see it from your jacuzzi), and you will enjoy a breathtaking sunset over the valley and over Petra itself, that you will see again the next morning when the sun rises, colouring everything in pink. 

Here you will have, included with your reservation, dinner and breakfast, both served at buffet, and after dinner you can go to the beduin tents to listen to them singing ad to join them smoking some shisha, jordan's narghilè. By the way, this "performance" is, in my opinion, too much turistic and not really authentic, so if you stay at Petra Bubble Lux just enjoy the view and the nature and relax before your visit to Petra. 

Today will be entirely dedicated to the visit to the archeological site of Petra and the city. Before I went there, I had totally a different idea of what I was goint to see and to live. 

First of all, I highly recommend you to take a secondary route, that no one explains in guides or websites, but is much more convenient in terms of time and effort: taht is to say, to take the "inverse" trial, from the Monastery back to the visitor Center. In order to do so, you have to start your trial from the Visitor Center anyway, where the employees to the desks will show you where to take a free shuttle (next to the entrance) that will take you to Little Petra. From here, you will have to pay 5 JOD per person to take a cross-country vehicle that will take you for 5-10 minutes through the sand and the mountains until it stops: here will begin your trial to the Monastery, in my opinion, the most suggestive of all the archeological site. First of all, you will have to climb just few steps in the mountains (and not 800 like in the case you started to walk from the Visitor Center!), and travel a route entirely in the mountains, with spectacular views that can't be described by words. Another important factor is that in this case, you will be in the shadow until you arrive to the Monastery, and the fresh air of the mountains will help your path. 

Then you start descending (and not climbing!) the 800 steps towards the Monastery, and from now on, it is all a descending path towards the Treasury, walking through all the many other points of interest of the site. 

IMPORTANT: Petra is not only an archeological site! It has a lot of climbing and trekking trials, this is why you might need to choose, for your Jordan Pass, more than 1 day to Petra. If you choose only 1 day, I highly recommend the Sacrifice Trial: it is probably the hardest (you have to climb on an infinite number of steps, for more or less 2 hours), also because, when you are almost on top of the mountain, you will have no more steps and you will have to climb on the mountain itself (which is not steep, don't worry!). But when you arrive on the top, the trial will give you the best gift of all the journey: a breathtaking view on all Petra, and you will be quite alone (that is a rarity, since the site is super crowded) for a perfect moment of peace and glory. 

The more you get close to the Treasury, the more the site becomes crowded - in front of the Treasury it is full of camels, donkeys, tourists, and local people who try to sell you everyting - do not surrend to this behaviours, and try to go alone on the view point in front of the Treasury. They will tell you that you can accede there only if accompanied, but is not true (is a small hike that takes from 30 seconds to 1 minute!) - they just want to steal you 5 JOD. 

My suggestion is to spend only 1 day in Petra: if you follow the hint to start from Little Petra and descend from the Monastery to the Treasury, it will take you 6hours, included the Sacrifice Trial and several "photo breaks". 

Another important suggestion is to not eat inside the site: I've heard a lot of people getting sick after eating and drinking inside there. 

After a necessary shower to your hotel (Infinity Lodge, in Petra) you can walk around Petra, that has not much to offer but you can enjoy a real nice sunset view at one of the many hotel/restaurants with terrace - dinner at RAINBOW RESTAURANT, with a super shawarma and a super host, and then, after dinner, you can go to the cave to enjoy some wine or even cocktails. 

After relaxing in your jacuzzi at Infinity Lodge, you go with your car to little Petra (where you took the cross-country vehicle the day before) and start the trial - it is super short, you can read on the internet 1 to 2 hours but it took us just 30 minutes until we arrived at the end, a nice hut on a cliff, surrounded by cats, incense and mountains. Here you can enjoy the tea and descend through a tight, steep and short downhill that will take you into the mountains and on the sand: here it starts an alternative trial to the Monastery, less suggestive and much longer than the one you took the day before. So it is not recommended to start it, just take a few steps (if you are lucky enogh you will meet the ancient sheperd with his goats and dunkeys) and then come back to the hut and then back to your car: is time to go to the desert. 

First of all, choose a great campsite that provides you with pick-up service and other activities; one of the best (for a combination of price, position and activities) is the Desert Magic Camp & Resort. You will go to leave the car in the car park of the hourse of the bedouin owner of the camp, in Diha, 1.5 hours from Wadi Musa. The landscape will start changing, you will start to be surrounded by the red sand of the desert, and camels will start to cross your way while you're driving. Then, the bedouin will drive you on a cross-country vehicle through the desert's sand, until you will arrive to your tent - in the summer the tents are very hot in the day, but fresh in the night, even with no air conditionate. I suggest you to book (in advance) one of their desert excursions, preferably the 6 hours one or the 4 hours one, that will take you on a tour of the desert until the breathtaking sunset (they have different options, from 8 hours tours to 2 hours tour). Once back at the campsite, the bedouins will show you how they cook their traditional dinner and then will serve it in a buffet; later on, after singing around the fire, they will take you (optional) to the star gazing experience: they will drive you in an isolated spot in the desert to watch the stars and the Milky Way. 

To conclude your desert experience, we suggest you to take with them the camel ride in the sunset: camels are really gentle, and the landscape will take your breath away. 

Since you woke up very early, you won't loose a minute today, your last day, and drive straight to Aqaba (1 hour driving) - once you've left your luggages at your hotel (Alena Hotel), your drive directly to Berenice Beach club. About this point, please be aware that public beaches are frequented by local people - mainly men or women fully dressed, often with integral burqa. Therefore, if you want to take a bath and a swim in the Red Sea without hurting others' sensibility (and without being hurted), I recommend you to go to Berenice, even if it is super touristic. Here you can rent snorkeling equipment and snorkle on your own near the shoreline, where is a reef with its variety of fishes; otherwise, the Club organizes diving tours and boat tours, that you can book directly at the club. 

In the night, just take a walk downtown, it is full of restaurants (Khubza & Seneya is one of the best) and shops where you can enjoy your last night - do not go towards the seaside, it is empty and with poor restaurants, downtown and the city center are much more alive! 

The trip ends here, you can leave from Aqaba airport or drive back towards Amman and fly from here (4 hours driving from Aqaba)- in this case, I suggest you to stock up some shawarma at Aqaba Shawerma Reem, then stop for lunch at Madaba, that is only 20 minutes away from Amman's airport (while Amman is at least 40 minutes). Anyway, before leaving Aqaba, you visit Aqaba fortress. 

- When to go: the best months to visit are September, October and November, April, May and June. August is really hot, but it's not weat, as it is a very dry climate, therefore, if you can stand high temperatures, do not exclude July and August for your visit!

- Local people: Jordanian people are the most hospital, polite, kind, available and friendly people I have ever met on the planet. In order to not hurt their sensibility, it is better for women to cover at least the legs; no one will bother anyone for uncovered arms!

Jordan on the Road

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