DISCOVER JORDAN

You will be met at Queen Alia International Airport and whisked to a luxury hotel in the centre of Amman. Drop your bags and refresh with a quick dip in the rooftop pool overlooking the city below. Come late afternoon, you’ll meet our Local Insider – they’ll be accompanying the group throughout the trip. At 6pm, if you haven’t already, you’ll meet your fellow travellers over a welcome dinner at the hotel – the rest of the evening is for chatting and relaxing.

After fuelling up at breakfast, we’ll be driving an hour north across open desert to take a hike through history in Jerash, one of the most important and best-preserved Roman cities in the Middle East. Later, we'll pick up the trail back in Amman, taking in the Citadel and the Roman Theatre, and learn about local customs (and costumes) at the Jordan Folklore Museum. By the time you’ve strolled the old markets and the Al-Husseini Mosque, you’ll have worked up an appetite – luckily, our next activity is a street-food tour, which includes a stop stop at a local restaurant, where we’ll tuck into authentic Falafel and Hummus. Come evening, and you’ll be drinking in the history of this magical place – literally, with a tasting session of Jordanian wines. We reckon you’ll sleep well tonight.

Leaving Amman behind, this morning we’ll drive three hours south through Jordan’s timeless desert landscape to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. Entering the high-walled canyon is like stepping through a portal into another world – you’ll come face-to-face with extraordinary edifices, from the Siq to the Treasury, carved directly into the red rock walls. In the evening, we’ll head to the village of Umm Sayhoun where you’ll take part in a cookery class in a local family’s home, learning how to whip up a traditional Jordanian meal, from appetisers through to dessert.

There’s more to Petra than meets the eye – you’ve had an initial glimpse of some of its most well-known sights already, but today we’ll take you to a place fewer visitors make it to. We’ll start off by driving to Little Petra, home to the extraordinary frescoes of the Biclinium. From here, you’ll transfer to a 4x4 for a shortcut to the ‘backdoor route’ into Petra, a one-to-two-hour hike that winds up through the Wadi Ghrab mountains to Petra’s Monastery, before descending an ancient staircase back down into the main Petra site. The hiking route will give you a second bite of Petra’s main sights (the Treasury), before ending at your hotel. The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend however you like – perhaps sloughing off the desert heat in the hotel’s rooftop pool?

After breakfast at your hotel this morning, we’ll leave Petra and head south to the extraordinary Wadi Rum. It’s not hard to see why it has been picked as the setting for a number of sci-fi blockbusters, from Star Wars to The Martian. You’ll get your own piece of the action on a four-hour 4x4 tour that delves deeper into this otherworldly landscape. At each stop you’ll have the opportunity to explore in your own time – scrambling your way up dunes for unforgettable views. Come evening, you’ll have the chance to see the night skies like never before, with a mind-blowing stargazing experience.

By now, you may well be ready for a break from the desert heat. In which case, today’s itinerary will be just the ticket. We’ll be speeding across the sand to the port town of Aqaba on the Red Sea, where you’ll board a boat bound for the coral reefs. Spend the best part of the day exploring these technicoloured underwater worlds with a snorkel and flippers, before surfacing for a slap-up lunch on board. Refreshed, you’ll be dropped off back in Aqaba where you’ll have the afternoon and evening free to explore its cafes and markets.

After breakfast, we’ll check out of Aqaba and drive to the Dead Sea for the last night of the tour. Here, you’ll check into your 5 start resort after passing the Mujib Biosphere Reserve, the lowest nature reserve on earth. You’ll have the opportunity to float in the dense Dead Sea, kick back with a final sunbathing session, or ask our Local Insider about a dramatic hike along the Wadi Mujib Canyon trail – if the weather and season allow for it. We’ll also tuck into a delicious local ‘farewell’ lunch, – the perfect way to wrap up a truly special trip.

After a final breakfast you’ll be picked up and driven to Amman Airport, where you can swap details with your new travel buddies before heading home – or onwards, to new adventures!