Jordan ..The Planning & Itinerary.. First Stop

Jordan ..The Planning & Itinerary.. First Stop - Dead Sea and beyond..

The main thing that had attracted me to plan a trip to Jordan was the pink city of Petra. However when I started researching I realised there is much more to Jordan than just Petra.

We planned about 6 days in Jordan - going from north to south of the country. Indians have visa on arrival to Jordan, however if you buy the Jordan pass with 2/3 consecutive visits to Petra and stay atleast 4 nights, you are waived off from paying the visa fees. First up let me tell you- Jordan is quite an expensive country. So budget well. It is also very touristy; so quite easy to navigate.

We had planned to cover the Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum and Amman. And fly to Bangalore from Amman. You can cover an additional place called Aquaba which known for snorkelling etc but we didn’t have the time. With that, route map done!

Day 1 - land in Amman in the morning.. picked car.. 1hr drive to Dead Sea

Day 2 - Dead Sea to Petra - 3.5hrs drive.

Day 3, 4 - Petra

Day 5 - Petra to Wadi Rum - 2hrs drive

Day 6 - Wadi Rum to Amman - 4hrs drive

Day 7 - fly out of Amman

Hotels - at the Dead Sea we picked Holiday Inn and I highly recommend it. Situated bang on Dead Sea with a private beach, it is just the place to chill.

Since we splurged at Dead Sea we chose a budget accommodation at Petra called Petra Sky hotel. Situated about 5 mins drive from the Petra visitor centre this is a modest hotel run by a father/son duo. Very basic but very nice people.

We splurged again at Wadi Rum at the Martian dome at Bubble Luxotel and then a modest Ibis in Amman.

City hopping - Driving is the most recommended mode of transport between cities. You can rent a car from any of the car providers, sign your contract and hit the road. You don’t necessarily need an International Driving Permit, your country license would be valid here, however, check with your car rental company to be doubly sure. We had booked our car through Monte Carlo. But I would place a caveat here - this is the left hand driving which we were not very used to. Also the roads in and around Petra and hilly with an inclination of almost 60-70 degrees. So take a calculated decision. Taxis are available as well who will take you between cities, but they do charge a bit.

We were contemplating on buying a SIM card, instead we took a wifi for the car which doubled up as our source of internet for the entire trip.

Jordan Pass - bought it online in advance.

Food - highly beef eating country but there are other non veg options. Veg as well quite abundant as a lot of tourists who visit are vegetation these days.

With that we landed in Amman in the morning only to be kept waiting at the visa police Office for 3 hrs!! I had a US Visa and my husband didn’t and he faced a lot of questions and scrutiny. Turns out anyone, especially Indians, who don’t have a US/Europe/Middle East PR or Work permit or valid visa is subjected to scrutiny. So budget your time accordingly. After a harrowing 3 hrs spent at the immigration we collected our bags and met the car rental spoc. He took us to his office, signed the contract and picked up our car to hit the road, already running behind schedule.

Our first stop was the Dead Sea. Amman to Dead Sea is a 1 hour drive through picturesque landscapes. Enroute we pit stopped to take in the breath taking views at Mount Nebo where Moses pronounced the Promised Land. We then reached Holiday Inn, checked-in and hit the beach! Dead Sea spanning between Israel and Jordan is the lowest point on earth - about 400m below sea level. It has high salinity of about 3-4times more than any Sea making it impossible for any flora or fauna to grow - hence Dead Sea. However the Dead Sea mud is rich in Magnesium and other minerals which have great impact on your skin, helps people with arthritis and other back and bone issues. Given the high salinity one can float very easily on Dead Sea. After spending some time floating, watching the beautiful sunset, and putting on the Dead Sea mud face pack.. life felt good.

Lets call it a night, we said, as we were to head out to Petra next morning.