The time has come for me to start another trip report and this is for me a place I have wanted to visit for a long, long time. Many years ago Kirsty and me had a brilliant holiday to Egypt. We cruised the Nile, visited Cairo and had an amazing time. We loved the history, culture, people and since visiting have wanted to head back for many years. One thing we wanted to add onto the trip but which we didn't get round to was Jordan and Petra.
But then a lot of things happened in that neck of the woods which kept it off many peoples radars for a long time. I always kept an eye on guidance and information about travelling to the Middle East and Jordan has always stayed on my bucket list. I always remembered that seen in Indiana Jones as he rode into Petra through the rocks and that first view of the Treasury and I knew it was a place I needed to see. I kept an eye on flights but the cost always seemed quite high so it stayed on the back burner. Then recently we watched Travel Man where he headed off to Jordan spending four days there and not long after I received an email from British Airways telling me I had qualified for a Companion Voucher so I started to look into flights again. The flights which were coming in at over £1000 orignally now came down to under £500 for the two of us. We spoke about it and looked at hotel costs and after we had a good chat about it decided to go for it. So now a bit more background information on the trip
As with the last trip we have just done it is just Kirsty and myself going. Sam is now in his first year of 6th Form and studying hard for his A levels and as much as he has loved his holidays with us in the past has decided that being away with his folks is maybe not as exciting as spending time with his mates. So its just the two of us and after having a great time in Pisa and Florence recently with two more trips already booked this year for just us we started looking into a bit more of what we wanted to see whilst over there. We fly out on a Saturday arriving in the evening returning home the following Thursday so we have four full days to explore this amazing country.
I started to price up hotels, things to see and trips and it seemed that most places people went to where either in small groups or with a private driver. Next I looked at what we wanted to do and see then starting to price up a private driver for the places we wanted to go to. The more I looked into it I found that four days would never be enough but it would give us chance to see the highlights. Most things where we wanted to see where covered by the Jordan Pass and adding in costs of a visa and entry tickets I had a rough idea of how much it would be. Whilst doing this a few local companies where stating that they could organise the whole thing for us so I emailed a few and found that the prices for this came back really competitive so after some discussion we chose to do the whole thing with one local company who will spend the time we are there showing us all the things we want to see. The company we are using are called Jordan Select Tours who are currently rated number 1 on Tripadvisor. The price they quoted includes all our hotel rooms, entry fees, visa, car and private driver (with wifi in the vehicle and water) they also supply us with a local mobile, plus a couple of guides at two main sites. So this is what we will be doing whilst we are there.
Saturday 1st February
We arrive at about 9.30pm after flying with BA from London to Amman. On arrival our tour company will arrange someone to meet us and guide us through security and immigration before taking us to our hotel and once we are checked in leave us until the morning.
Sunday 2nd February
After breakfast we head off on a full day tour starting off in Jerash where we will be exploring this ancient Greco-Roman city ruins which are meant to be really impressive. We've got a guide for a couple of hours too. Next its Ajloun and the castle there before we finish at our final stop of Um Qais. These are some more impressive ruins and the site commands views over the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights. We are dropped back off at our hotel in Amman for an overnight here.
Monday 3rd February
Today starts with a tour of Amman to see the sights of the capital. We will visit the Citadel, Roman Theatre and Umayyad Palace before visiting a couple of museums and having some free time in the old town. After this we leave Amman and drive down to Petra checking into a hotel here for the next two nights. We are looking into Petra at night which we may do as an additional extra on our first night here.
Tuesday 4th February
Full day in Petra today and we have a guide for the first couple of hours to explain more about this ancient place. We will also have plenty of time to head off and explore on our own and try to see as much of this place before we head back to our hotel for our second night. From looking into Petra the place is huge and there is a lot more to see in addition to the treasury so we will be making the most of our time here.
Wednesday 5th February
We leave Petra heading back up to the Dead Sea. We start in Madaba to see the ancient mosaics before heading off to Mount Nebo where God showed Moses the Promised Land. We then continue to the site where it is believed Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. We end the day at the Dead Sea spending our last night here so will hopefully have plenty of time to have a float, slap on some of the healing muds and chill before we leave.
Thursday 6th February
We are then picked up and taken back to the airport at Amman for our flight home to London where we'll drive home.
I have started to check vaccinations and what I need to do to take some prescribed medications I take across. It will seem different being ferried around on a private trip for just the two of us. In recent years we have always done things independently but as the cost of the private tour was coming in the same if not less than doing it myself I thought it would be good to experience this place with a company who are expert in what they do and a nice change for us too. Especially as we only have four days I really wanted to see as much as possible and these guys have sorted it so that we make the most of our time there.
As the trip gets closer and I research a bit more I will share more on the pre-trip report. Really looking forward to this trip as it looks to be shaping up to a great holiday