26 Hours in Jordan!
Believe it or not, you can see the main spots in Jordan in just 26 hours! This is not for those who are not in for some sleepless adventure!
How did it happen? I had mistakenly booked my ticket for only 1 night instead of 2 nights. I didn’t want to change the flight and pay extra for the change fee. Instead, I made it work and managed to see more than what I had initially planned for 2 nights!
From the airport, I went directly to the hostel and dropped my luggage. I literally mean, DROP; no looking back or unpacking or sorting anything. I stayed in Arab Tower Hotel which was great! It’s in a perfect location; everything is within few minutes’ walk.
I grabbed a map from the reception desk and started walking. It was my first time navigating around the city without Google map.
Here were my footsteps for 26 hours!
- Temple of Hercules (5 mins walk) – Great location for a panoramic view of the city. There are seating areas, so you can bring some snack and hang out while enjoying the view.
- Odeon Theater (10 mins walk)
- Kunafa Habiba (5 mins walk) – It is a must try! Kunafa is a Levant delicacy, and this is the best place! You don’t know the taste of a good kunafa until you try this one and it is so good that it will ruin your tastebud for any other kunafa you may have in the future. Nothing comes close to Kunafa Habiba.
Kunafa Habiba
- Jabri Restaurant (15mins walk) – You can’t visit Jordan and not try Mansaf! Mansaf is meat cooked with milk, and it is to die for. Al Jabri or Al Quds have the best ones in Amman.
Mansaf
- Hashem Falafel (5 mins walk) – And again, another must try. The best falafel I’ve had!
Hashem Falafel
- Jafra Cafe (2 mins walk) I needed a sit down for a few minutes while my stomach digests everything I have stuffed myself in less than 5 hours.Jafra cafe was very relaxing and I order a sahlab to warm up!
Sahlab
- Walked back towards the hotel (7 mins walk) and purchased some souvenirs along the way.
- Changed to warmer clothing at almost dusk.
- Boulevard Center (taxi) I don’t usually go to malls when I travel, I ran out of things to do in the city so I went to see the Christmas decoration for my first time and it was also featured in one of the articles I stumbled online.
Boulevard
- Shawerma Reem (taxi) – I read and heard a lot of reviews about them but it was not my personal favorite when it comes to shawarma.
- Rainbow Street (taxi) – The street is full of little cute coffee shops and shisha café. I was expecting a livelier street and perhaps stretched longer. It was rather empty and quiet. I went to a café and chilled a bit.
- Pasha Hotel Amman (taxi) – I moved to the lounge in Pasha for a livelier night. The locals played traditional musical instruments and sang through the night. They also showed the traditional dabke dance.
- Back to the hostel at 12 a.m. (2 mins walk) – I put my head down for about an hour or so and then the phone rang for my wake up call.
- 3:30a.m. Started my journey from Amman to Petra
- 7:30 a.m. arrived in Petra – I was blown away by the size of it! Right after I paid for my entrance, one of the workers gave me a map to follow through and the main trail itself is about 8km! I had no choice but to get on a horse to cover as much as possible in a very short time.
Petra
16. 10:30 a.m. drove to Dead Sea Amman (3 hours drive), en route to the dead sea, the amazing tour guide showed the public dead sea area and the rock formation of Prophet Lut’s wife.
Dead Sea
- 1:30 p.m. Dead sea – The dead sea and mud mask was exactly what I needed after being on the go for more than 24 hours. The Dead Sea has so many healing properties; I was rejuvenated after just 20 minutes. It felt like I had had the best sleep while I was awake the whole time.
Mud Mask
- 3:00 p.m. Mount Nebo – We drove towards mount nebo and I was quite disappointed when I got to Mount Nebo. I was expecting something more. I would suggest to skip mount nebo if you had to choose with something else.
- 4:00 p.m. Airport
- 5:00 p.m. Flight to Beirut!
And there you go!
For those living in the northern part of Saudi, you don’t have any excuse to not visit Jordan! Go overland and enjoy Jordan for a quick and budgeted weekend getaway! It’s only 3 hours away!
I’m more than happy to answer your questions and help you plan a budgeted trip!
And here’s the contact detail of my amazing tour guide who was willing to accommodate all my needs! Wael has been featured in several tour guide books too!
Wael (Tour Guide) +962796664834
Rajab (Driver Tabuk-Jordan) +968795601042 / +966564671709
Gian Carlo Alcantara
Hi, I am currently residing in KSA, Jeddah, and planning to have a 4 days of tour in Jordan, I am so excited for it. And also, Im gals I read about your blog. My friend is interested in seeing the night/candle light part of the petra, is there something like that? What else could I possibly see in my 3 days trip. Is it expensive? Hotels? Food? Taxi? I hope you will reach out to me thanks!
Nada Al Nahdi
Hi Gian!
Yes, there are candle light Petra but it is available only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I would recommend going on the day rather than at night unless if you are going for photography purpose which means bringing proper gadgets. The night petra will only show you the Treasury and it is not as lit as you think it would be. Petra is more than just the iconic Treasury so I highly recommend going during the day. It’s a large area which requires at least 5 to 7 hours.
The cheapest and best option is to stay in a Hostel. I stayed in Arab Tower Hostel which costs 50sr. It is walking distance to the market and many of the best food places I listed in my post and they are relatively cheap especially if you will be splitting the cost.
Taxis or Uber are cheap as well. You can contact the tour guide I mentioned and try to get a good deal to go long distances. There isn’t any transport in Petra or Dead Sea. So I would recommend going with a driver.
I paid 600sr for 14 hours covering from Amman to Petra, Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Lut’s wife and to the airport. Note that the distances are very far from each location. Amman to Petra itself was 4 hours ride. The Dead Sea has an entrance fee which was inclusive with 600sr plus lunch buffet.
Also, I would recommend getting to Petra by 6a.m. just as they open the gate if you want to get a picture without a swarm of tourists. Also, make sure to visit it after the first day of your arrival for a cheaper entrance ticket.
If you are into the wilderness, I would recommend camping in Wadi Rum and visit Wadi Mujib for some outdoor adventure and activities.
Overall, considering that you will be with a group and splitting the cost, it is very affordable.
Dead Sea Spas
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