Jordan is a beautiful country with a rich mix of stunning scenery in its deserts and Wadis, historic castles and ancient Roman ruins, as well as unique sites such as the city of Petra and the Dead Sea. This tour gives a comprehensive introduction to all of these allowing you to enjoy and learn all about this fascinating country.

After your arrival in Amman, the tour starts with a tour of some of Jordan's remaining Roman remains, including Amman's impressive amphitheature and the extensive ruins at Jerash, one of the best preserved Roman sites in the Middle East. We then do a day trip out to the 'desert castles' to the East of Amman. Not actually castles as such, these old ruined fortresses, palaces, bath houses and other complexes have been swallowed up by the expanding desert since they were abandoned over 1000 years ago. When they are open, we also visit the Azraq Wetland Reserve, an area of marshland and lakes in the middle of the desert, and the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, where endangered species such as oryx, ostriches, onagers and gazelles are being successfully re-introduced.

We see some more Roman remains on our journey south towards Aqaba when we stop to see the incredibly well preserved mosaics at Madaba. The Desert Highway then takes us the rest of the way to Aqaba, where we have a free afternoon and morning to enjoy some snorkelling, scuba diving, or just to relax on the beach.

Our next stop is the beautiful desert scenery of Wadi Rum with its towering rust coloured rocky 'jebels'. We include a a jeep safari through the desert here, and a traditional Bedouin lunch.

The tour then arrives in the 'lost' city of Petra, which rightly makes it onto so many lists of wonders of the world. We enjoy a full day inside the city here, exploring, and learning about the way the tombs and buildings were carved into the mountains, and admiring the many colours in the rocks. Extra visits are available to do the Petra by Candlelight tour and to explore the main site further the following day, after we have visited 'Little Petra' in the morning.

From Petra, a drive up the beautiful King's Highway, through villages and winding up and down many deep Wadis, brings us to the Dead Sea, with stops en-route to visit the old crusader castle of Kerak, and to enjoy spectacular views across to Israel from Mt. Nebo.

Once at our Dead Sea resort, we have time to swim in the strange salty waters, and to enjoy some of the famous local spa treatements before the tour finishes.

Extensions are available to visit the Baptism Site at Bethany, Ajloun Castle and Umm Qais in Jordan, or to head into Israel to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem. If you would like to combine a visit to Jordan with time in Egypt, then please check our Pyramids & Petra, and Classic Egypt & Jordan tours.