
7 nights / 8 days · Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Glamorous Jordan
Four nights in Amman working outwards — desert castles, Ajloun, Pella and Umm Qais — before Petra and the Dead Sea.
- Duration
- 7 nights / 8 days
- Where you stay
- Amman → Petra → Dead Sea
- Style
- Multi-city
- From
- AED 4,562per person
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About this trip
The only package that treats Amman as a base rather than a first night, and the only one that reaches the north and the eastern desert. Four consecutive nights in the capital buy three full days of day trips: the Umayyad desert castles out east, Jerash and Ajloun to the north-west, and Pella and Umm Qais up on the Syrian border.
It is the package for a second visit to Jordan, or for anyone who has decided that Petra alone is not the point. The trade is that Wadi Rum is a stop rather than a night, taken on the same day as Aqaba and the run up to the Dead Sea.
What you go for
- Qasr Kharana, Qusayr Amra and Qasr al-Azraq in the eastern desert
- Ajloun Castle, built by Saladin's general in 1184
- Pella and Umm Qais, the two sites almost nobody makes time for
- Four nights in one Amman hotel before the move south
The route
Day by day
Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.
- Day 1
Arrival in Amman
Queen Alia International Airport
Met off the aircraft by our representative, through the visa formalities and baggage reclaim, then the transfer into Amman.
Check in at your hotel for the first of four nights.
- Day 2
Downtown Amman and the desert castles
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Downtown Amman
Two hours in the old capital: the Citadel, the amphitheatre below it, the Archaeological and Folklore museums. Closed on Tuesdays.
AfternoonThe eastern desert
Out east to Qasr Kharana, then Qusayr Amra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose bathhouse still carries its eighth-century frescoes, and Qasr al-Azraq, the black basalt fort where Lawrence based himself in the winter of 1917 and wrote part of Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
EveningBack to Amman.
- Day 3
Jerash and Ajloun
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Jerash
The Roman city north of Amman: paved and colonnaded streets, hilltop temples, theatres, public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and the city walls.
AfternoonAjloun Castle
Qal'at ar-Rabad, built in 1184 by one of Saladin's generals to hold the iron mines of Ajloun and to watch the three routes down into the Jordan Valley. It is Islamic military architecture rather than Crusader, which is the point of putting it next to Kerak.
EveningBack to Amman.
- Day 4
Pella and Umm Qais
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Pella
A site occupied more or less continuously since the fourth millennium BC — a Chalcolithic settlement, Byzantine churches and houses, and a small medieval mosque.
AfternoonUmm Qais
Gadara in its own time, a town of classical poets and philosophers, and the setting of the miracle of the Gadarene swine. You walk the colonnaded street, the vaulted terrace and the ruins of two theatres.
EveningBack to Amman for the fourth night.
- Day 5
Amman to Petra
Overnight: Petra
Breakfast, then the road south to Wadi Musa and check in for two nights. Sightseeing en route is not fixed on this package; we settle it with the ground team when we quote.
- Day 6
Petra, all day
Overnight: Petra
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Full dayPetra
In through the Siq, a kilometre of gorge under eighty-metre walls, to the Treasury. Beyond it the Street of Facades, the rock-cut tombs, a Roman-style theatre, temples, sacrificial altars and the colonnaded street. The short horse ride to the mouth of the Siq is included and your guide walks you as far as Qasr al-Bint.
EveningSecond night in Wadi Musa.
- Day 7
Wadi Rum, Aqaba and the Wadi Araba road
Overnight: Dead Sea
MorningBreakfast, then south into Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum by jeep
A jeep tour across the desert floor between the sandstone massifs. The length of the drive is being confirmed with the ground team and comes with your quote.
AfternoonAqaba
Jordan's Red Sea town, and free time rather than a programme. It is the one place in the country with a coastline you can swim off.
EveningNorth up the Wadi Araba road to the Dead Sea, 430 metres below sea level, and the last night.
- Day 8
Departure
Breakfast, then the transfer from the Dead Sea to Queen Alia International Airport. The operator times it to put you at the terminal three and a half hours before your flight.
Where you stay
Hotel options
Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.
- 5★
- Regency Palace Hotel, Amman — 4 nights
- Hayat Zaman Resort, Petra — 2 nights
- Holiday Inn Dead Sea — 1 night
AED 4,562per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.
Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.
The detail
What is included
Included
- Meet and assist on arrival at Queen Alia International Airport, with the collective visa arranged at no extra charge. Full passport details are needed at least seven days before arrival, and this applies to non-restricted nationalities only.
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with a professional driver for the whole of the routing above.
- One local English-speaking guide at each site for parties of one to five. Six adults and above travel with a private English-speaking guide throughout the touring days.
- A short horse ride in Petra, from the visitor centre gate to the mouth of the Siq.
- Entrance fees to every site named in the day-by-day above.
- One bottle of water per person, per day.
- Seven nights sharing a double, twin or triple room, on bed and breakfast.
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with a professional English-speaking driver.
- Local English-speaking guide in Jerash, up to two hours.
- Local English-speaking guide in Petra, from the visitor centre to Qasr al-Bint.
- Bedouin jeep tour of the Wadi Rum desert.
Not included
- Flights.
- Meals other than those listed above.
- Beverages.
- Tips and porterage.
- Expenses of a personal nature.
- Optional excursions.
- Anything not named in the inclusions.
- All applicable taxes.
Seasons
- Low
- 8 January – 14 February, 1 June – 31 August, 1 – 22 December 2026
- High
- 1–7 January, 1 March – 31 May, 1 September – 30 November, 23–30 December 2026
Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.
Also consider
Other trips in Jordan
Multi-cityGems of JordanAmman, the King's Highway, Petra, a night under canvas in Wadi Rum and a finish at the Dead Sea. Five nights, four beds.FromAED 4,103pp5 nights / 6 days · Amman → Petra → Wadi Rum → Dead SeaDay by day
Multi-cityQuintessential JordanThe same route as Gems of Jordan with the pressure taken off: two nights at Petra, Little Petra added, and two at the Dead Sea.FromAED 4,793pp7 nights / 8 days · Amman → Petra → Wadi Rum → Dead SeaDay by day
Multi-cityGrand Tour of JordanThe full length of the country in nine nights, with two on the Red Sea at Aqaba and two at the Dead Sea, and a free day at each.FromAED 5,957pp9 nights / 10 days · Amman → Petra → Wadi Rum → Aqaba → Dead SeaDay by dayEnquire
Price Glamorous Jordan
Tell us your dates and who's travelling. We'll price every hotel line above against them and rebuild the days if you want them rebuilt.