Jordan a perfect four days itinerary

Last Updated on March 14, 2023 by Roslin Dwivedi

Feel the magic of Arabian cities and deserts by staying one night in Petra, at Wadi rum, at Amman and tour of the Dead Sea on the departure day. It all sounds like a tight plan. Right! After all, who would like to have a short vacation in such a heavenly country? But if you are too busy, mostly working day and night or long days like us, then this is an excellent destination to relax for only four days. And you are still gone on vacation. This short itinerary will make sure you cover most of Jordan. And also a chance to strike off the world’s wonders from your list.

The City of Petra in Jordan nestles wondrous ancient architecture. You can experience a Mars-like landscape at Wadi Rum, admire the City of Amman, and float over the Dead Sea overlooking Israel. Vacationing or honeymooning in Jordan is an excellent plan. The heartwarming culture of Jordan makes your holiday memorable. It’s a great place for everyone.

We arrived at Amman airport after a long ten hours flight. We collected our bags, exchanged some money at the airport, and completed some paperwork for our rental car. Coming out of the terminal, as we walked towards our car in the parking lot, bunches of attractive purple blossoms on the top of a short tree refreshed our mood. It brought a smile to our faces. Rockets of emotions started flying. Yes, we are here finally. We are away from our busy life. We are here to explore and excited to start that rental car and drive away on our journey. 

Since we were short on time, we didn’t stop at Amman and drove for two and a half hours from the airport to the ancient ruins of Petra in Wadi Musa. After flying for ten hours, it was unthinkable to do almost three hours of driving. But the highway and fantastic reddish brown landscapes of the Jordan desert made it effortless.

Let’s talk about how to reach Jordan before you start touring. Why? Because this is the first step yo enter the country. 

How to get Jordan Visa And Jordan Pass

The Jordan visa is on arrival for many passports, which makes the Jordan vacation easy to plan. The Visa is for 40 JOD per person. But if you want to save on tours and attractions, buy the Jordan Pass. 

There are three types of Jordan Passes:

1. Jordan Wanderer: 70 JOD, Including – Jordan Visa, 1-day visit to Petra, Wadi rum entry, free entry to over 40 attractions in Jordan and free downloadable digital brochures.
2. Jordan Explorer: 75 JOD, Including – Jordan Visa, two consecutive visit days to Petra, Wadi rum entry, free entry to over 40 attractions in Jordan, and free downloadable digital brochures. 
3. Jordan Expert: 80 JOD, Including – 3 consecutive visit days to Petra, Wadi rum entry, free entry to over 40 attractions in Jordan, and free downloadable digital brochures.

Benefits: You will skip the queues in quite a few of these places. 

It becomes very convenient and time-saving to explore the country.

How we bought Jordan Pass: we emailed the official site of Jordan tourism. Email: info@jordanpass.jo and receive the pass online before your departure to Jordan.

Four days Itinerary for Jordan

Day 1 – Wadi Musa

Our first stop was Wadi Musa. A well-kept, small town that provides a base for tourists to stay and explore the city of Petra. 

We looked for our hotel, checked in and took a two-hour nap before exploring this place. After some rest, we left to get dinner and discover the city. Walking through a lane of souvenir shops and restaurants, we stopped for an early dinner at Oriental Restaurant.

We enjoyed Bedouin cuisine, delicious Turkish coffee, and a free dessert. 

Petra By Night

After a quick dinner, we headed to the Petra visitor centre. Eager to visit Petra, we couldn’t wait for the morning and went for a walking excursion called “Petra by night”. The Jordan pass made it easy to enter the tour. They told tourists to stand in line, and at 8 o’clock, as the gate opened, we followed the road lit up with floor lamps. 

Walking further inside, we were enlightened by the gorgeous view of the floor’s light-up lamps. Something around two thousand lamps on the way and in front of the Treasury, The Siq (shown in the picture). All the tourists sat on the floor on the carpet, receiving Jordan’s remarkable tea. Sipping the hot drink in the surrounding hills of Petra and listening to a soothing flute played by a local artist made the atmosphere pleasing. 

Note: It was dark in some places, but it wasn’t easy to see the surroundings and where we were walking. For a smooth tour, please wear comfortable shoes, preferably sports shoes. The paths are uneven, and you can fall if you don’t pay attention. Also, the tour is exhausting since it is an 8km walk forth and back. If you don’t want to get too tired though, I suggest you can do something else in the town that evening. You would walk to the same area again the following day anyway.

The City of Petra

The City of Petra is a well-deserved world wonder. And best enjoyed during the day. It’s best to be at the site before 8 am to skip the afternoon heat; it is a better experience to see in the early hours. The well-preserved ancient city is full of mesmerising architecture and carvings on the enormous sandstones. The long walk of one kilometre through Siq pays off when magically, a monument appears through a small doorway at the end called the Treasury.

The stone-carved so well, and the sheer size of it amazes you. Followed by the Treasury, you can easily spend two hours exploring the cave houses, prison cells, temple and Amphitheatre. The last part of Petra is the one which will make you work the most. 800 steps uphill lie The Monastery, and it’s wise to take a donkey or horseback ride to visit the top. Since we hired the horse to go up the hill, we saved quite some time and effort, and it took us five hours to visit Petra and get back.
After finishing Petra, we drove for two hours and reached Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum, The Valley of the Moon

Wadi Rum is also called the Valley of the Moon. The landscape of high-erected sandstone hills and red sand is also one of the famous shooting sites for many Hollywood and Bollywood movies. There are several Bedouin camps around here set up to entertain the tourists. We checked in to the Bedouin camp named Captain. The camp is set in a large area and had around 80 tents. From outside the tent, the room looks small, but from inside, it’s pretty spacious or, should I say, just about what you need. 

Desert Safari at Wadi Rum

Taking breaks after each drive will help keep your energy intact. We took a short break for an hour. In Wadi Rum, minor sand storms are pretty frequent. Staying inside during one of these is a good idea as it covers the whole area with sand flying every inch of the surroundings. We waited for a storm to stop and stepped out for a desert safari. Desert safari on camels was our very first camel ride. Ah! I was so excited. It was for 30 JOD per person.

We booked for Desert Safari at the reception of the camp. The man showed us a part of the Wadi Rum and then took us to a few hills nearby. One of these we climbed up, it’s called the Titanic rock. Sitting on the mountain, we spent our dusk watching that mesmerising sunset. The camp served a vast buffet dinner. The set-up is not the usual sit-down table and chair. It’s a set-up with long sofas, long tables, and carpet covering the floor.

The temperature in the desert went down in the evening, and we could feel the chill. After dinner, we relaxed on the campfire, set up outside the dining area and enjoyed sheesha while sipping Jordanian tea. I loved the tea over there; Jordanians serve it for welcome drinks, or they may not charge for it anytime during the day or evening. Sleeping inside the tent, we could hear the sound of the sandstorms and heavy wind blowing in the night. But not to worry, it is not scary at all.

The following day we woke early and went out in the desert for a walk. The clear sky, the bright atmosphere, and the air free of sand and dust made the desert look beautiful and pleasant. A long walk outside the camp in that chilled thin air and a little warm sunlight made the perfect combination to feel the romance.

Amman City

After breakfast, I clicked a few pictures (check the gallery) and left for Amman. We drove for three hours and reached our hotel in Amman. After we freshened up, we started exploring the capital city. Going through the town, it looks like a well-planned layout and well-organised roads, but sometimes it gets confusing. Well-organised colonies, houses and buildings made the city look marvellous.

You can see a part of the city from the Citadel. We visited the Amman Citadel, Roman theatre, Madaba map, King Abdullah mosque, Jordan Archaeological Museum, and Temple of Hercules. Rainbow street is one of the happening places in Amman, and it has many apparel stores, good restaurants, pubs, and a few government buildings. We had dinner in one of the restaurants over there. The food in Jordan is bedouin Arabian cuisine, and it is delicious in every manner.

We checked out from the hotel the next day and left to see River Jordan and the Dead Sea.

River Jordan

River Jordan is a famous place for Jesus Christ’s baptising ceremony place, and there is a Greek Orthodox church by the river, a memorial church for St. John, who baptised Jesus Christ near the river. I had not read about the Jordan river anywhere on the website while planning for our itinerary. The suggestion came from our friend living in Jordan, and she was right, this place was different. It is always nice to see the places where God has spent his time.

The river Jordan flows between Jordan and Israel. In my picture attached, you can see the other side. This is the Isreal side of the river, where people were taking a dip and getting baptised. They were dipping their babies too in the river. The weather was sweltering and humid. I took the water from the river in one of our empty bottles. One of my friend’s suggestions was that the water appeared clear and clean, Holy water, just like Ganga Jal in India. I gifted that water to my mom, who was thrilled to receive it.

The Dead Sea

The dead sea is the lowest point of land on earth, and it has a high salt level in the lake, making floating easier than swimming. Because of the high salt level, the lake doesn’t provide a condition for the plants, fish and sea animals to survive in the water, so the name is the Dead sea. We also applied those dead sea mud masks available in the shower area for tourists; the mud nourishes our skin and hair, and I felt it after using my skin was smooth.

But I suggest you wear the mask after thoroughly enjoying the sea, or the salt will take away the mud magic. It would be best to buy some of these souvenirs to return home. Many hotels and resorts are offering a package to access the dead sea.

They offer a package of 25 USD per person to 50 USD per person. 25 USD package includes access to the dead sea, swimming pool, shower and changing area and lunch buffet, and the 50 USD package offers a day room with the others mentioned above.

If you have a day to spend, you can book a hotel and enjoy the Dead Sea more than once. The road back to Amman from the Dead Sea was fantastic. We drove around for our night flight and returned the car. Bye, bye, Jordan.

SIM cards in Jordan 

We had bought a tourist sim for 12 JOD, which stayed for all our three days trips, and the network was active between the hills, in the desert, inside the city, and everywhere. There are many other cheaper packages; you can opt for any of those, but we had little idea to be on the safer side. I just bought the best one with maximum data.

Locals were very generous, helpful and friendly. The local police are also very friendly. They would welcome us, inquiring, “which country are you from, we said India, and he said, “oh India, we love Bollywood!! Welcome to Jordan, my home” This will leave you smiling for the rest of the day.

Shopping and Souvenirs 

Honestly, we didn’t do any shopping as we didn’t have much time and wanted to see the most places, but we bought lots of souvenirs which always take us back to the best moments of Jordan whenever we see them. Also, don’t forget to buy the Dead Sea mud soaps or masks.

Car Rental

Renting a car here will be time-saving and money-saving — a very convenient way to visit the country at your own pace.

Jordan is much affordable and easy to travel inside the country. This four days trip never made us feel we enjoyed less. Jordan has so much to offer, even for a short period. Do let me know your experience in Jordan. Also read my blog on Jordan Bag Packing Ideas.