Jordan for families: Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea

Arrive in Amman

Queen Alia International Airport to your hotel in Amman

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Amman
• Environ 45 min de route

Soir

Then we walk or drive to a family-friendly restaurant for a welcome dinner of mezze, grills and fresh bread, finished early enough for an early night before Jerash.

Compris

• Pick-up at Queen Alia International Airport (AMM)
• Welcome briefing with your guide at about 6 pm
• Welcome dinner in Amman

Jerash at opening, then a cooking class

Amman to Jerash and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Amman
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Jerash.

Soir

Back in Amman there is a rest at the hotel, and in the late afternoon the family cooks together at a cooking class: children roll, stuff and stir alongside the adults, and what you make is dinner.

Compris

• Jerash with your guide: Hadrian's Arch, the hippodrome, the Oval Plaza, the South Theatre, the Cardo and the Temple of Artemis
• Sit-down lunch in Jerash
• Jordanian cooking class in Amman, with dinner of what you cook

Madaba, Mount Nebo and a first float

Amman to Madaba and Mount Nebo, then down to the Dead Sea

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Dead Sea
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch in Madaba it is ten minutes to Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have looked over the Promised Land: from the terrace by the Memorial Church of Moses the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea lie below. Then the road drops about 1,100 m in half an hour to the Dead Sea shore, about 430 m below sea level. At the resort's beach everyone floats without trying, and the black mud is there for anyone brave enough.

Soir

The evening is free at the resort.

Compris

• The Madaba Map at the Church of St George
• A mosaic workshop in Madaba
• Sit-down lunch in Madaba
• Mount Nebo and the Memorial Church of Moses
• Time to float in the Dead Sea at the resort's beach

Karak Castle and Little Petra

Dead Sea to Karak Castle, then Wadi Musa and Little Petra

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Wadi Musa
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

Float once more before breakfast while the beach is quiet, then we leave at about 9 am. The road climbs out of the rift to Karak, about an hour and a quarter, where a Crusader castle begun in the 1140s sits on a ridge above the town. Children like the long vaulted passages and dark halls, so bring a torch.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Karak, then about two and a half hours south to Wadi Musa, the town at the gate of Petra, where we stay two nights. In the late afternoon we drive fifteen minutes north to Little Petra, Siq al-Barid, a narrow canyon of Nabataean rooms, cisterns and stairways that children can climb into. Look up in the Painted Biclinium for a rare 1st-century ceiling painting of vines and birds. It is a short, easy walk, and it gives everyone a first taste of carved sandstone before tomorrow's early start.

Compris

• Karak Castle with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Karak
• Little Petra (Siq al-Barid) and the Painted Biclinium in the late afternoon

Petra at opening

A day inside Petra, from the gate to the Great Temple and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Wadi Musa

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal inside the site, in the shade. After lunch families choose. The easy option is the walk back out by early afternoon to the hotel. The active option is the climb of about 800 rock-cut steps to the Monastery with the guide, which children of 7 and up manage with breaks.

Soir

The evening is free, and Petra by Night can be added on the evenings it runs.

Compris

• Petra from opening with your guide: the Siq, the Treasury, the Street of Facades, the Theatre, the Royal Tombs, the Colonnaded Street, the Great Temple and Qasr al-Bint
• Sit-down lunch inside Petra

Activités en option

• Petra by Night, on the evenings it runs; price confirmed at booking

Into Wadi Rum by 4x4

Wadi Musa to a camp in Wadi Rum

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Wadi Rum
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

A slow morning after yesterday's walk: sleep in, swim if the hotel has a pool, or visit the Petra Nabataean Museum near the gate. We leave at about 10:30 am for the drive south to Wadi Rum, about 110 km and an hour and three quarters, a protected desert of red sand and sandstone mountains listed by UNESCO in 2011.

Après-midi

Lunch is at our camp, followed by a rest through the hottest hours. At about 3:30 pm Bedouin drivers take us out by 4x4: Lawrence's Spring, the rock carvings of Khazali Canyon, a high red dune that children run down, and the small Um Fruth rock bridge, which older children can climb with the guide.

Soir

We stop on high ground for sunset, then dinner is zarb, lifted from an oven buried in the sand, and the stars come out over a desert with no town lights. We only use camps whose tents have a private bathroom, a hot shower and electric light.

Compris

• Afternoon 4x4 tour with Bedouin drivers: Lawrence's Spring, Khazali Canyon, a red dune and the Um Fruth rock bridge
• Sunset from high ground
• Lunch and a zarb dinner at camp
• Stargazing at camp

A camel ride, then the Red Sea

Wadi Rum to Aqaba and the reefs south of town

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Aqaba
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

Anyone who wants to can be up for sunrise over the desert before breakfast. Then a short camel ride with Bedouin handlers, about half an hour, gentle enough for children of 7, while those who prefer walk alongside. We leave camp at about 10 am for Aqaba, about 70 km and an hour, the country's one stretch of coast.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal by the water. In the afternoon, when the sun is less fierce, we snorkel from the beach on the coral reefs south of town, inside the Aqaba marine reserve. A snorkel guide gives a short lesson on the sand, children wear life vests, and the reef starts a few metres from shore, so there is no boat and nobody is far from their feet. Look for parrotfish, clownfish and corals in shallow, warm water.

Soir

The evening is free to walk the seafront or eat fish in town.

Compris

• Optional desert sunrise from camp
• Camel ride with Bedouin handlers, about 30 minutes
• Sit-down lunch in Aqaba
• Snorkelling from the beach with a snorkel guide, masks, fins and children's life vests

Up the Desert Highway and home

Aqaba to Queen Alia International Airport on the Desert Highway

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

A last breakfast by the sea, then we leave at about 9 am for the drive north on the Desert Highway to Queen Alia International Airport, about 300 km and three and three quarter hours.

Après-midi

It is the one long road of the trip, a straight, fast highway across the plateau, and we break it about halfway with a stop for a drink and a stretch, Lunch is not included today. Expect to reach the airport by about 1:30 pm, so book a flight leaving after about 4:30 pm. Your guide sees you to departures and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Families who would rather fly can take the domestic flight from Aqaba to Amman in place of the drive, with the schedule and price confirmed when you book; a stay at the Dead Sea or in Amman before flying home can also be added.

Compris

• Drive to Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) with your guide