Jordan
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST · 6 PLACES
A Nabataean city cut into a sandstone gorge, Rome's best-preserved provincial town, a desert of red sand, the lowest lake on earth and a coral coast, all inside a five-hour drive.
Amman
Roman ruins downtown, galleries in Weibdeh, and the logistics base for everything else.
Petra
Enough days for the Monastery, the back route in from Little Petra and one Petra by Night.
Wadi Rum
Two camps, a jeep day and a walking day, with the nights as the point.
Dead Sea
Float, mud, and the Mujib Siq Trail if you are here between April and October.
Aqaba
Diving, snorkelling straight off the beach, and the only reliably warm winter in Jordan.
Jerash
The Roman city and Ajloun Castle done properly, rather than as a rushed half-day.
One month here
Roman ruins downtown, galleries in Weibdeh, and the logistics base for everything else.
Enough days for the Monastery, the back route in from Little Petra and one Petra by Night.
Two camps, a jeep day and a walking day, with the nights as the point.
Float, mud, and the Mujib Siq Trail if you are here between April and October.
Diving, snorkelling straight off the beach, and the only reliably warm winter in Jordan.
The Roman city and Ajloun Castle done properly, rather than as a rushed half-day.
Three months here
A base for day trips north and west, plus Arabic classes and a bar scene that actually functions.
Long enough for the licensed trails: Jabal Haroun, Umm al-Biyara, Wadi Sabra and the back route.
Climb, walk multi-day routes, and stop treating the desert as a one-night stopover.
Split between the shore and Mujib, with Madaba and the plateau on the days off.
Enough to qualify as a diver, learn the reefs, and still spend most of it doing nothing.
Northern Jordan slowly: Ajloun, Umm Qais, Dibbeen and the Roman city more than once.
Festivals worth flying for
Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts · Late July-early August
Music, dance and poetry staged in the Roman theatres and the oval plaza. The site stays open and the town fills.
Amman International Film Festival · Late July-early August
Awal Film: debut features and shorts with a focus on Arab cinema. The seventh edition ran 26 July to 3 August 2026.
Dead Sea Ultra Marathon · April
Run Jordan's 50km down to the lowest point on earth, with 21km and 10km options alongside. Held on 10 April in 2026.
Petra Desert Marathon · Early September
Albatros's 42km and 25km races from Petra, starting at 6.30am and capped at 500 runners. 5 September in 2026.
Independence Day · 25 May
Marks the 1946 treaty that made Transjordan a kingdom. Parades, a 21-gun salute in Amman, and a public holiday.
In an emergency
Emergency number 911
911 reaches police, ambulance and fire anywhere in Jordan. The country itself is calm and tourist sites are heavily policed, but it borders Syria, Iraq and the West Bank and the regional picture can change quickly. As of August 2026 the US State Department rates Jordan Level 3, reconsider travel, while its do-not-travel list covers only the Syrian and Iraqi border areas, the refugee camps, Rusayfah and Baqa'a; the UK FCDO advises against all travel within 3km of the Syrian border. Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Aqaba and Jerash all sit well outside those areas. Regional airspace has closed at short notice before, so keep flexible tickets and read your own government's advice the week you fly.
Language
Arabic is the official language; English is widely spoken in Amman and across the tourism trade, and signage is generally bilingual.
Money
Jordanian dinar (JOD), pegged at about 0.709 to the US dollar and quoted to three decimal places. Cards work in cities and hotels, but Wadi Rum has no ATMs, so carry cash.
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