An 8-Day Guide to Jordan from Petra to the Dead Sea

Ahlan wa sahlan (welcome)! Fly into Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), where an Intrepid Travel representative will help you transfer to the InterContinental Amman. This stylish hotel, situated atop a hill, boasts the city’s largest roof terrace, along with a spa, pool, fitness center, and an off-site nine-hole golf course.

If you arrive early, grab a coffee and ara’yes (pita stuffed with spiced meats) in a café. Then, take a self-guided stroll around the Roman Amphitheater from the era when Amman was known as Philadelphia, or celebrate Islamic creativity at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.

Tonight, you’ll meet your local leader and other group members for an orientation and dinner at a local restaurant. Delight in national favorites like falafel, tabbouleh, and mansaf (lamb over rice, topped with jameed, a goat’s milk yogurt).

Depart Amman and drive north to some of the world’s best Greco-Roman ruins, ancient Gerasa (Jerash). Walk among its archways, theatres, baths, public buildings, and colonnaded streets as your guide shares the city’s history.

Afterwards, return to the capital for a hands-on cooking class. Learn to make classic Jordanian dishes, such as mutabbal (roasted, smoked eggplant) and maqlubeh (meat, vegetables, and spiced rice), then enjoy the meal you created with your group.

A 90-minute drive takes you from Amman to the Mövenpick Dead Sea Jordan Resort & Spa. En route, the group will stop at Jabal Nībū (Mount Nebo), where, according to the Bible, Moses first caught a glimpse of the Promised Land. Later, stretch your legs at Madaba’s Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church, home to a 6th-century C.E. mosaic map of Holy Land sites.

You’ll have the opportunity to swim—and float—on the hotel’s beach on Al-Bahr al-Mayyit (the Dead Sea). The waters are 35 percent salt, almost nine times brinier than the oceans, making you incredibly buoyant. (Pro tip: This predominantly Muslim country appreciates modest bathing suits—and the mineral-rich mud or high salinity may stain or bleach what you wear.)

Depart the Dead Sea and drive to a fortress built to support the Crusade conquests, where you’ll tour chapels, catacombs, and a tunnel leading to spring-fed cisterns. Next, stop at the Dana Biosphere Reserve, which protects many endangered species, including sand cats and Arabian wolves.

You’ll arrive in Al-Batrāʾ (Petra), the ancient “Rose-Red City of the Nabataeans,” in the late afternoon. Check into the Petra Moon Hotel near the archaeological site’s entrance gate, then take a guided walk inside the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Follow the Siq, a narrow fissure through a pink sandstone massif, until the trail opens up, revealing the ornate Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), a structure carved into the cliff like much of Petra. It famously stood in for the temple in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The next morning, return and wander at your own pace. Adventurers may want to climb to Ad-Dayr (the Monastery), a 95 C.E. building later reused as a Christian chapel.

Avid walkers can take a free transfer to nearby Siq al-Barid (Cold Canyon), also known as “Little Petra.” Here you can wander the ruins or tackle the moderate “Back Door to Petra” Trail (4.3 miles), for a route to the main entrance, offering spectacular views and fewer crowds. Rejoin the group for dinner, then consider adding on Petra by Night, a multimedia show outside the Treasury, illuminated only by candles.

A 2.5-hour drive leads to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wadi Rum, also called Wādī al-Qamar (Valley of the Moon). Sandstone mountains surround this otherworldly landscape of dunes, canyons, arches, and ancient petroglyphs. It may look familiar as a filming location for movies including The Martian, Lawrence of Arabia, and the Dune and Star Wars franchises. You’ll have lunch in the village of Rum (not included), then 4x4 into the desert.

At Mazayen Rum Camp, join your hosts for a dinner cooked in a zarb (sandpit oven). Dishes typically involve roasted meat, vegetables, and rice. Then, retire to your tent and gaze at the stars, which shine extra brightly here thanks to the cool dry desert air and minimal light pollution.

Squeeze in one last walk over the shifting, mesmerizing dunes before breakfast and departing the desert camp. After a 4.5-hour drive back to Amman, check back into the InterContinental Amman. Then, join your fellow travelers for an optional last supper in a local restaurant (not included).

The next morning, bid your new friends goodbye at a farewell breakfast. For easy transit back to AMM International Airport, ask your guide to arrange a private transfer (at your own expense).