Name: The Grand Epic of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel
Brand: Odynovo
SKU: N/A
Price: 4781 USD
Availability: LimitedAvailability
Rating: 5.0 (2 reviews)

Middle East

Jordan

Read 1,162 traveler reviews on tours to Jordan.Compare trips from over 83 companies. Pick your perfect trip with confidence.

Jordan Tour & Trip Reviews | Travelstride

Exodus Travels

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G Adventures

Intrepid Travel

Trafalgar

Insight Vacations

Collette

Memphis Tours

Odynovo

Contiki

Exoticca

Charlie The Traveler

Well organised by Exodus and our local guide "Eddie".  Full and active days 
with no wasted time; be prepared for early starts to get to sites before 
other groups.  We had decent hotels with hot water in all locations, except 
of course the desert camp. We covered the whole of the western side of Jordan 
and the desert loop around Amman. The east is mainly just sand. We travelled 
to the Golan Heights then via the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba visiting a 
sequence of forts on the way.
Lunch and Dinner venues were a mix of quick snacks and full meals, including 
My Mom's Recipe Restaurant in Petra.
The obvious "most inspirational moment" would have to be Petra and the way 
our guide first revealed it to us, but there was also a recurring issue 
throughout the trip of how long the history of this whole region is and how 
different civilizations have come through and built on or developed the 
cities of their predecessors.
We spent 3 nights and 2 full days in Petra - any less would have meant 
missing key parts.
Our hotel was only a very short walk from the Petra Visitors' Centre.
Jordan clearly forms a peaceful oasis in the middle of a very troubled 
region; we never felt at risk or in danger.


Probably the best tour guide I have had.  Knowledgeable with the practice of 
knowing how much information to impart before we suffered information 
overload.  Eddie had a good sense of humour and his running funny stories 
about Asus added a balance to the historical facts.
Eddie also made himself available at all times should anyone need him and 
although there was no doubt that he kept a close eye on the group to make 
sure he had not 'lost' anyone we did not feel we were being controlled or 
herded as a school group might be.
I must emphasise how good his English was, it made the trip so much more 
relaxed than it would have been otherwise.


Don't bother doing Petra by Night.  It is a good concept and may have had 
good nights in the past but the night we were there it was a clear case of 
over selling of tickets and people being pushed into the front, with nothing 
to sit on, blocking those of us who were seated in what should have been the 
front.

Beer is expensive - 500ml costs £9 in a bar and £3 in a Liquor Store.  Best 
to go to the store and buy a few cans to take back to a room, don't forget 
your duty free on the way out.

The night before the desert camp, and before the beach at Aqaba, make sure 
that you have packed a separate small bag with the essentials as it makes 
life a lot easier.


We were a group of 16, all experienced travellers, and no one was ever late 
for the bus, but I would not want to see a group any larger than that.
My only negative for this trip was that the bus was uncomfortably full with 
no spare seats and insufficient space for luggage.  Four seats were badly 
compromised by the wheel arches. Using a bigger bus may have presented 
difficulties in traffic and parking so I think the number on this trip should 
be restricted to no more than 14, ideally 12.
Rather than distribute/sell small plastic bottles of water Exodus used two 20 
litre bottles of filtered water to top up our personal bottles, this worked 
well, no one had problems with drinking the water - take a decent refillable 
water bottle.

Exodus booked a day extra at each end of the tour for me, which also included 
airport transfers.  This worked well because the normal tour sees an arrival 
at or after midnight, a transfer to the hotel, a few hours sleep, breakfast 
and away.  My extra day before I used to take a leisurely walk in Amman, 
following the Lonely Planet walk, seeing some of the sites that are only 
covered fairly quickly on the last day of the tour and some that are not 
covered such as the Souks. The day after the tour I just had a relaxing day 
instead of having to have an evening dinner then off to the airport at 04:00 
AM.

A safe country with a lot of history and a great guide

Hidden Treasures of Jordan

A great experience, you get to see so much, from crusader castles to the Dead 
Sea and the delights of Wadi Rum.
Well this comes down to two:
- Petra, just amazing, nobody told me it was such a massive site. You will 
need a couple of days at least to fully explore.
- Wadi Rum and staying over in the Bedouin camp, once again an unmissable 
experience. Just don't bother with the camel ride, that's just slow and 
boring.


Eddie was just great, plenty of personality and did a good job of sheparding 
the group around. He did spout forth a lot history and I know sometimes his 
facts weren't 100% accurate but hey I wouldn't have it any other way.


Yep the hardest part is the lack of alcohol, it's not illegal they just do 
not serve it in the eateries. So beware and brace yourself for an almost dry 
trip.


Another great quality of Jordan is the people they are genuinely warm and 
friendly, which always helps.

A great tour. It covers so many places and sites; we felt we’d seen as much 
of the country as we possibly could in the time.
1. The desert trip to Wadi Rum was simply wonderful. Loved travelling in the 
jeeps. 2. walking down the Siq to the Treasury at Petra. 3. Having lunch 
overlooking the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee.  4. snorkelling at 
Aqaba. 5. the Mosaic at Madaba!!!!
Is that too many? There are more!

This trip is great! The varied itinerary explores all the major attractions 
of Jordan, its fascinating history and culture as well as the lovely 
landscape and, if course, its delicious food.
Discovering the delights of Petra - the High Places, Monastery and Treasury 
are just the tip of the iceberg. There's something special round every bend!

The ancient Roman city of Jerash was also a revelation.

Then there was the whole magical Wadi Rum experience, floating and mud 
bathing at the Dead Sea and snorkelling at the Red Sea.....


Zuhair knew the history of his country inside out and in particular his 
guiding in Jerash and Petra particular was exceptional. He was able to use 
his contacts to gain access for the group to areas not generally open to the 
public and also pointed out and explained features we would most likely have 
missed for ourselves. On a more personal level though he didn't make much 
effort to socialise or to get to know the group as individuals.


The pace is generally quite relaxed / moderate - until you get to Petra! 
You'll need good walking shoes (boots are not needed) and plenty of stamina 
as well as sun hat, sun cream and sunglasses. There's very little shade to be 
found. The Petra by Night optional visit was atmospheric but poor value for 
money and underwhelming as you walk for over an hour for a 30 minute show at 
the end of what was already a physically demanding day.

The snorkelling equipment for hire at Aqaba was really good, certainly better 
than I've found anywhere else in my (limited) experience.

You may want to pack some Immodium and rehydration sachets as some in our 
group had "issues"!


There's not much free time for independent exploration and at times the 
itinerary seems a bit rushed, eg at Jerash and the Citadel in Amman. Overall 
though this was a great trip with a great bunch of people and I'd highly 
recommend it.

An extremely comprehensive but whirlwind tour of Jordan. A lot of time spent 
on the coach between destinations and physical activity ranged from almost 
none on most days to extreme on the Petra days. Very friendly people and 
excellent food everywhere. The sites and places we saw were stunning but 
there was often not enough time to take it all in. We felt safe at all times 
and there is no need to worry (at the moment!) about its geographical 
position!
Reaching the High Sacrificial Places and the Monastery in Petra, floating in 
the Dead Sea, Jerash and the jeep drive round Wadi Rum, which included 
watching the sunset while Bedouin made us tea over an open fire. All these 
were real highlights.


Eyad (aka Eddie!) was extremely friendly and caring with a great sense of 
humour and a lovely smile.  He obviously loves his job and his country and is 
very knowledgeable about the places we visited and their history. There was 
often an information overload!!!! He enabled us to try a variety of 
restaurants and organized visits so that we missed bus loads of tourists and 
locals. We travelled at peak time but seldom met a lot of tourists. Eddie 
really made the trip. A huge thanks to him!


Be prepared for long drives in the coach and 2 long, hard days of walking in 
Petra. You are able to hire horses, donkeys or camels in Petra but it's not 
cheap. Maybe bring a walking pole? Bring a torch for Wadi Rum. Do your 
shopping in Aqaba - much cheaper than anywhere else. Dead Sea soap at the 
Dead Sea - £10, in Aqaba £2.50 !!!


Jordan was a surprisingly expensive country, except for food. Food was always 
cheap and plentiful but everything else was the same or more expensive than 
you'd pay in GB.
The trip should be at least 2 days longer, to enable proper exploration of 
Madaba and Amman. I backed out of some group time in order to have time to 
myself and chat properly with locals. Not enough free time was provided 
because of time constraints.

A great holiday with memorable sights.
Petra was amazing and two days well spent.


Eddie was great.


Take toilet paper and imodium.  You will need both.  If you drink then take 
duty free with you.  Drinking in Jordan is expensive and hard to find.  
Almost impossible during Ramadan.

Good walking shoes for Petra.  Hat is essential.


The people of Jordan are friendly and pleasant.  There is minimal retail 
hassle as compared with somewhere like Egypt.