Northern Jordan Travel Advice - 5 days

Hi,

I'm going to have four to five days in Jordan from July 26 - July 29 or 30. Since I'm on a rather large trip, I will have a lot of luggage with me and so would be happier limiting myself to day trips from Amman. Also, I'll be arriving at 4am on July 26 and expect to be extremely tired so I probably won't be up for anything that strenuous or busy my first day.

Notably, I have already been to Petra and to the Dead Sea, so as lovely as Petra is, I don't plan on visiting it again during this time; there should be enough interesting stuff to see that's not as far from Amman.

I'm thinking of spending one day in Amman, and then doing day trips to the following places:
- Jerash
- Madaba & Mt Nebo (most tours to these areas also seem to include the Dead Sea)
- Karak castle

I'm hoping that either the Madaba or Karak trip could be combined with Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve, since Lonely Planet recommends that one and I like nature areas.

I like history, good museums (preferably with English captions), sites of Biblical significance, and walking in natural areas, but given the heat in late July probably don't want to be doing anything overly strenuous.

What should I focus on seeing in Amman (I know there's some Roman ruins there, anything else of major interest?). How does my itinerary sound? Are there any other places I should make a point of trying to see?

Can anyone recommend inexpensive but good quality day tour operators in Jordan? This is what I particularly need help with. These guys look good and are well-reviewed on TripAdvisor but seem very expensive for the day tours: http://www.jdtours.com/tours/day-tours/day-tours-from-amman - however, I can't be sure of the cost because I don't know what currency KM stands for (the Jordanian currency is the Jordanian dinar, which is worth about $1.50, so if KM somehow stands for it the prices are far too high).

Thanks for your help!

Hi, I wouldn't book your day tours before you arrive. All the Hotels/Hostels will be offering you the days tours once you arrive at a far cheaper price then listed on that tour companies site.

So spend your first day wandering around Amman. You will have already seen the tours on offer from your Hotel, so it will give you time to think about what you want to do.

We did a tour to Jerash that also stopped in at other interesting places, I forget the names but one was a roman ruin right at the Jordan, Israel, Syrian border with a view towards Golan Heights. Another stop had ruins with lots of great Mosiacs. We then ended up at Jerash.

We also did the a tour out to the desert castles. We thoroughly enjoyed it, but it is definitely not a must see. We saw tours to Kerak with all different combinations of other sites included, so I am sure you will find one that fits in the other sites you want to visit.

gerard suggestion is good one.Stay at hotel/hostel in downtown Amman..check hostel world for hotel/hostel.
They orgnise tours/daytrips to all sites in Jordan where you can share tours with others and split cost if you want to.
Um Qais is a must visit as mentioned by gerard .It the ruins looks down on Lake Tabaria and theGolan Heights/Mt.Hermons and the Hemme (hot water springs) and it self is fascinating site to visit. from there visit the site of battle of Yarmouk where the Arabs beat the crusaders at Yarmouk river led by Khalid bin Alwaleed.
From there head down the Jordan valley scenic drive back to Amman pass/ stop at Pella little towns and villages and lots more to enjoy
A tour East of amman day trip visit Desert Castles some half a dozen and the Azraq wetland/reserve
cheers

KM is not a currency, but the distance of the tours in kilometers!

Hi,

Don't book in advance. It will be cheaper to arrange a tour in Jordan with your hotel/hostel or, cheaper, by yourself with a taxi driver (he will not be a real guide but used as driver. you will use a guidebook to have informations)

Pella is also a possibility as Aijlun too.

If you go to Kerak, stay on the King highway.

I'm not an addict of Amman. The roman theater and the "old part" of Downtown are not real highlights of a visit of Jordan.

Michel

Hi katherinemv!
Unfortunately july is a very hot month in Jordan. Still you can do some excursions in north jordan (with the heat!)

I agree with previous posts that the best is to arrange daytours after arriving there, your guest house can arrange tours, there is also the possibility you join other travellers in cheap guesthouses.
As for the tours, the Deadsea comes first, for myself. You can combine the deadsea tour with the mujib canyon, the water will be cold. Also dont miss the baptism site, near the deadsea very interesting, though expect very hogh tempertures in july. The only bad thing about this excursion is that it will not be that chap, you have to pay tickets and they are not cheap.
Second for north jordan is Jerash, easy to do with nearby castle of rabat but try to combine it with the Umm Qais ruins, you can also visit Pella ruins both near the lake of Tiberias.
Another tour can take you south to Madaba, mount Nebo. This can be done in same day with deadsea, but you can do also with kerak castle so you will spend a full day.
There are alsi the desert castles, a half day from amman if you do the three of them, Qasr el Qarana, Qusair Amra and Azrak. Combined ticket for all three was only 1JD. Interesting but in sunmmer will be hot, i done it last november with a nice taxidriver 9unfortunately cannot recomment him to you, he spoke only arabic)
Finally Amman is not something great on sights, you can do on a day, the only must could be the castle plus the amphitheater.

As for the local money JD is more or less same value with euro. I had been some ten times in jordan, is a friendly country, wish you the best.

Thank you all for your advice! Do you think Umm Qais is safe to visit, given how close it is to the Syrian border?

i think that is still very safe.
but just ask again before you go to verify the situation in your amman hostel.