Compare Jordan Real Food Adventure by Intrepid Travel vs Jordan - Land of Contrasts by Petra Nights Tours

Day 1 Amman

Ahlan wa sahlan! Welcome to Amman. Your food adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm. This trip puts a focus on the delicious cuisine of Jordan, a gastronomy shaped by centuries of social and political change. Garlic, onions, tomato sauce, olive oil, lemon and za’atar (a blend of sumac, sesame seeds, salt and other spices) are all big-ticket items, and should pop up often on this adventure. After your meeting, get your first taste of Jordanian cuisine at a local restaurant that’s a favourite of royals, diplomats and celebrities travelling through Amman. Your plant-based dinner will consist of their famous Jordanian stuffed falafel, which is fresh and crunchy on the outside while fluffy on the inside. There’s also the chance to dip bread through smooth creamy hummus and moutabel – a smoky eggplant dip served with Arabic salad.

Day 2 Petra / Dead Sea

Start your day with a visit to a breakfast joint that’s a favourite among locals. Walk in, choose a hot, fresh loaf and fill it with baked eggs, cheese, spices or anything else you want from the counter. After a filling breakfast, board a bus and head to Madaba, home of the acclaimed sixth-century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land at St George's Church. Check out the mosaics then head to the Dead Sea. This body of water is famously salty – 9.6 times saltier than the ocean. As a result, it’s believed to have healing properties that can be tested during a swim (or float!). After drying off, prepare for a traditional picnic lunch, a mezze style spread of kibbeh (fried meat with wheat), manakish (flatbread with za’atar and olive oil), spinach bread and cheeses, followed by a cup of shaneeneh (an aged goat milk yoghurt drink) and a serving of hareeseh (a sweet, syrupy pudding). Continue to Petra for dinner, where you’ll learn from a local family how to prepare mansaf, delicious lamb with fermented, dried yoghurt sauce. After a hearty meal and a few shared stories with the family, arrive at your hotel near the ancient ruins of Petra. 

Day 3 Petra

Spend the morning exploring ancient Petra during a guided tour. Known as one of the new ‘seven wonders of the world’, this archaeological city sits within 80-metre-high cliff walls. The iconic treasury, carved into the face of one of these cliffs, is the highlight of this visit. The site is expansive and to explore it all requires quite a bit of walking, and a basic level of fitness will enhance your experience. With a free afternoon to proceed at your own pace, there’s ample time to see the museum, the Roman amphitheatre, the palace and other places – just chat to your leader for suggestions on the best spots to go. Once the day is done, head back to your hotel to put your feet up.

Day 4 Wadi Rum

Rise early – today’s breakfast will be shared with a local shepherd in the beautiful countryside. Tuck into a mezze spread and take the chance to chat to the shepherd about their everyday life and customs. Afterwards, head on to Wadi Rum, a place often referred to as The Valley of the Moon. Explore the sparse red sand dunes, steep craggy mountains and the legendary Seven Pillars of Wisdom rock formation on a 4-hour jeep ride through the region. Later, head back to a Wadi Rum campsite for a traditional Bedouin barbecue known as zarb, one of the staples of Bedouin culture, capturing a long running tradition of cooking food underground in earth ovens. Bedouin locals will prepare dinner by digging a large hole in the ground and stoking a coal fire underneath it. Then, meat is prepared with water, lemon juice, pepper and salt before adding a variety of vegetables. Dig into this hearty meal before settling in for an evening under the stars.

Day 5 Amman

Fuel up for the day with a delicious Bedouin breakfast, typically consisting of labneh (strained yoghurt), olives, za’atar, jebneh (cheese pastry) and tomatoes. You may get the chance to wash it all down with a cup of non-alcoholic Bedouin whiskey. Drive back to Amman through stunning desert scenery and stop for a yummy falafel sandwich along the way. The final meal of your adventure is an extra special one. Take part in a class at the Beit Sitti cooking school, run by three sisters in the home of their grandmother, dedicated to preserving her traditional recipes and sharing her legacy. Maqluba is on the menu tonight. Literally translating to ‘upside down’, maqluba is a casserole with rice, vegetables and chicken which is cooked, flipped, then served with either yoghurt or an Arab salad with tahina sauce. Dessert this evening is a slice of warm knafeh – delicious buttery cheese pastry soaked in sweet, sugar syrup. Savour this last meal with newfound friends before the trip comes to an end tomorrow morning. 

Day 6 Amman

There are no activities planned for today and you’re free to depart at any time today. If you would like to spend some more time in Amman, we’re happy to organise additional accommodation (subject to availability). Ask your leader for more tasty local recommendations if you plan to spend more time in Jordan. 

Day 1: Amman Airport – Salt Hotel

Accommodation: Overnight Mountain Breeze Lodge.

Welcome to Jordan! Our representative meets you with a signage in front of the immigration Amman Airport. Say hello to your friendly, English speaking driver, who transfers you for around 60 km to the countryside lodge, close to Salt. Check-in, remainder of the day free.

Day 2: Salt Hotel – Ajloun Castle – Orjan Village – Jerash – Salt Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Local Home

Pickup hotel lobby to drive 1.5 hours to our first destination. Ajloun Castle, known in Arabic as Qal’at Rabad, was built around 1184/85 by a general serving the famous Islamic leader Salah al-Din. Errected on higher grounds its purpose was to watch over the routes to the Jordan Valley and Syria. There is a small museum inside the castle and don’t miss the great view over the hilly landscape. Continue to the village of Orjan, surrounded by hills and olive trees, where you have lunch at a local home.

We continue to Jerash, once a member of the Decapolis, but its heyday had been under the Romans. It is considered as the best example of a Roman provincial city in the whole Middle East. A local guide will make history come alive. Explore the spectacular Forum, the Roman colonnaded street, the Nymphaeum, theatres and the Temple of Artemis. Return transfer to the lodge.

Day 3: Salt Visit – Dead Sea Beach – Dana Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight Dana Guest House or similar.

Check-out and short ride to Salt, the former capital of Jordan. Nowadays home to around 89,000 people. The town has a different identity and architecture than other cities in Jordan. Here you walk along Hammam Street to see the highlights of the 19th century architecture of this period, yellow houses with long-arched windows in picturesque narrow streets. Well known is the Abu Jaber mansion, built between 1892 and 1906, reputed to be the finest example of a 19th century merchant house in the region. It had been transformed into the Historic Old Salt Museum. You have time to wander up and down the alleys in the old city and get different perspectives and views of the old houses. Drive to the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The salty water of the lake lets you float, not swim. The mud on the shores is supposed to have healing properties for the skin. After some leisure time at the beach we proceed 2 hours southwards to the village of Dana.

Day 4: Dana to Feynan Moderate Hike – Feynan Ecolodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Bag, Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight Feynan Eco Lodge.

From the village escape today into the nature. The Dana Reserve is characterized by a chain of valleys and mountains which extend from the top of the Jordan Rift Valley down to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba. Meet your local Bedouin guide and hike about 14 km downhill through sandstone gorges to Feynan. You will see along the trail the beauty and various landscapes of the area. The tour ends in Wadi Feynan, where 3,000 years ago copper had been mined and worked up. Dinner and overnight in the Feynan Eco Lodge, located in the middle of the desert. The lodge serves vegetarian food only, is powered by solar energy and lit in the evenings by candles.

Day 5: Feynan Free Morning – Little Petra – Petra Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Bag

Accommodation: Overnight at 4* hotel like Petra Moon.

Free morning to discover more of the surrounding areas or sign up for one of the group activities the lodge offers. Possible is a hike or a Bedouin experience. A small fee might apply which goes directly to the local host families. Latest check-out from your room is 11:00.

A jeep ride takes you to th reception centre, where you meet your driver again and hit the road to Little Petra for about 2 hours. Little Petra gives you a glimpse what to expect in Petra. You enter the site through a narrow canyon which opens up to carved buildings, tombs and water channels. 15 minutes ride to your hotel in Petra.

Day 6: Petra Visit – Petra Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight stay Petra Hotel.

Today visit the highlight of Jordan, the red rose city Petra! You are able to start as early as 06:00, but early birds, don’t forget to ask the hotel for a breakfast box the day before. Meet your local guide and pass the narrow canyon, the so called Siq, with its colourful sandstone. At the end you will be rewarded with a view of the most beautiful monument: the Treasury. Continue via the Street of Facades to the Royal Tombs and Pharaoh's Castle. After around 2 hours the guide says farewell to you at the restaurant area. You have free time to explore Petra on your own. The young at heart for instance have the chance to climb the 800 stairs to the 45 meters high Monastery El Deir. Return to the main gate to return to your hotel.

Day 7: Petra Hotel - Wadi Rum 3 hours jeep ride – Madaba Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight 3* Mosaic City Hotel or similar.

Our day starts with a 1.5 hour drive to Wadi Rum. Embark a 4x4 and with your Bedouin driver uncover more of the vast desert. The rugged scenery, the changing colours of sands and mountains, the serene atmosphere will make you understand why Wadi Rum is one of the most impressing desert landscapes in the world. The setting had been used for Hollywood movies. You see canyons, red sand dunes, Nabatean rock inscriptions and a natural rock bridge formed over centuries. Say farewell to the desert and drive 3.5 hours to the town of Madaba, known as City of Mosaics.

Day 8: Madaba Hotel – Amman Airport

Meals: Breakfast

Depending on your departure time transfer to Amman Airport to say farewell to Jordan! If you booked an afternoon flight you have the possibility to explore Madaba on your own. Popular is the Greek Orthodox St. George’s Church with the 6th century mosaic map of Palestine. More Byzantine and Umayyad mosaic art can be seen in the Archaeological Park.