16 days in Jordan and Syria - please help us!

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Dear all,

between 1 and 17 may, my wife, our 3 year old daughter and I are going visit Syria and Jordan. We´ll arrive at Damascus and depart from Damascus. We have 16 full days to visit both countries. This is our itinerary (most times, we will use public transport to get from one place to another; we have already booked almost all our hotels and have a visa for Syria - we should get the Jordan visa at the border).

30 april Damascus (arrival)
1 may Damascus
2 may Damascus - bus to Palmyra
3 may Palmyra - bus to Hama
4.may Hama - tour to Krak dC - evening: bus to Aleppo
5 may Aleppo
6 may Aleppo - tour to Dead Cities
7 may Aleppo - train to Damascus
8 may Damascus - bus/service taxi to Amman
9 may Amman - tour to Dead Sea or Jerash
10 may Amman - bus to Petra
11 may Petra - bus to Aqaba
12 may Aqaba - diving
13 may Aqaba - tour to Wadi Rum
14 may Wadi Rum - Aqaba - bus to Amman
15 may Amman - bus to Damascus
16 may Damascus - city - or trip to Maalula?
17 may Damascus - departure in the early morning.

Do you think the itinerary is nice? And is it realistic, as well? What would you skip? What else would you suggest?

Best,

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george5
george5

2 may Damascus - bus to Palmyra

3 may Palmyra - bus to Hama
4.may Hama - tour to Krak dC - evening: bus to Aleppo

I think that is doing it too quickly, especially if you are planning on taking public transport. I'd add one day in Palmyra and include an overnight stay in Hama. You'll also need a full day for Petra.

So I'd do :

30 april Damascus (arrival)
1 may Damascus
2 may Damascus - bus to Palmyra
3 may Palmyra
4.may bus to Hama
5 may taxi to Aleppo via Krak dC
6 may Aleppo
7 may Aleppo - tour to Dead Cities, late evening flight to Damascus
8 may Damascus city tour
9 may Damascus - bus/service taxi to Amman
10 may Amman - tour to Dead Sea or Jerash
11 may Amman - bus to Petra
12 may Petra
13 may Petra to Aqaba via Wadi Rum
14 may Aqaba - diving
15 may Aqaba - bus to Amman
16 may Amman - bus to Damascus
17 may Damascus - departure in the early morning.

If you are lucky could can save an additional day if you get up early on May 15 and get to Amman in time for a shared taxi to Damascus in the afternoon.

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h5n1
h5n1

Damascus-Palmyra-Aleppo-Hama-Crak-Damascus.

there are several buses Palmyra-Aleppo. I took the bus in the early afternoon.
I think you will travel quicker than expected and you will have enough time to visit from Amman 4 desert castles (3 hours by taxi).
From Amman to Petra take a taxi to Mount Nebo and then let you drop in Madaba. Vist for 2 hours by foot. Take a second taxi around 11-12 am to Petra via Kings Highway. Stop at Karak castle.

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katatonia1
katatonia1

i suggest for Amman to rent a car - English speaking driver - it will save you the headache of public transportation, it might cost you extra, cause taxi will almost cost you the same! if interested i have some connection, let me know

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emilyfrances
emilyfrances

Make sure you spend at least one night in Wadi Rum... it is not to be missed, the natural landscape is wonderful.. and you have one massive sandbox for your daughter to play in.
Personally I would recommend staying with Zedane Al-Zalabieh at The Bedouin Meditation Camp. You can e-mail him to make a booking on zedn_a@yahoo.com. There is an early morning bus that will take you directly to his office in Rum Village and from there you can take a tour and then finish at his camp for the night. Then the following morning you can leave early to arrive in Aqaba for diving. Zedane has been working with the tourists for 20years and will look after you well.

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patonki
patonki

I'd suggest spending a bit more time in Hama, seems you will only stay the night and then move on... it's a nice place to wander around for a bit

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