SEVEN DAY ITINERARIES FOR JORDAN: TWO GREAT OPTIONS THAT COMBINE CULTURE, HISTORY AND RELAXATION.
Religion and modernity are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Queen Rania of Jordan
Before we travelled to Jordan, I’m not sure exactly what it was that we thought we would find. What I do know is that what we actually found far surpassed any expectations or preconceptions. Wadi Rum was bigger and more beautiful, Amman more colourful and Petra more breath-taking (and full of more vendors than we expected – but that’s another story!)
In this blog post, you’ll find two options for seven day itineraries in Jordan – as well as some details about how to spend longer (up to 10 days) in the country. This is based on our experience of visiting and exploring Jordan from top to bottom.
Is seven days long enough to visit Jordan?
Is one week long enough to see Jordan? Depending on your goals and appetite for travel, it can be.
Jordan is truly an accessible destination even if you are limited to one week of travelling time. With seven days you can visit the main tourist sites of the country, either by tour or independently.
With a flight time of less than five hours, it’s classed as medium and not long-haul. The time difference is 3 hours ahead of the UK, whilst you may need to adjust your body clock slightly, you are not likely to suffer with Jet Lag.
Jordan Itinerary for Seven Days
Here are two great options for one-week itineraries in Jordan. We’ve made recommendations as to how long you should spend in each place, but this is of course flexible, based on your needs. The itineraries are both feasible, regardless of whether you have a car or are relying on public transport.
To find out more about driving in Jordan, you can find our short guide here.
Option One: Jordan Itinerary 7 days (Flying into Aqaba)
This one week itinerary is an anti-clockwise loop around the South of Jordan, starting from Aqaba. It could be reversed, if this suits you and your flight times better.
Jordan itinerary 7 days
Day One to Two: Wadi Rum
We loved Wadi Rum and enjoyed four full days there, but in a one-week itinerary there is not likely to be time for this. However, you can get the “Wadi Rum” experience if you are able to spend one or two nights and at least one full day.
If you have only one night, make sure you arrive by sunset, which is always stunning in Wadi Rum and that you have enough time to sit by the campfire drinking tea. If you want to take a tour in Wadi Rum, you can normally book these once you arrive at the campsite, but if you have your heart set on something unique, then you may want to contact the camp in advance.
You’ll notice that this plan allows for two full days in Aqaba. If beaches aren’t your thing, you could easily spend an extra day in Wadi Rum and less time in Aqaba! There’s plenty to do and see and having two nights in the desert may just be what your weary soul needs when you first arrive.
WHAT TO DO
1/ Relax at your camp: honestly, there’s something so special about taking the time to chill out by the campfire with a book or just enjoying the silence of the desert.
2/ Hiking in Wadi Rum: You can book an organised hike with tour operators or campsites, many offer the chance to climb Jabal Umm ad Dami (the highest mountain in Jordan), which sits south of Wadi Rum and overlooks Saudi Arabia. Or you can take independent hikes around the aera – just be sure to take safety precautions.
3/ Jeep Tours in Wadi Rum: Most camps will run 4 x 4 jeep tours. Full day tours will cost between 30 and 40 JOD, but can cost less depending on group size. Full day tours tend to include lunch and a day of visiting the main sites of Wadi Rum.
4/ Camel Rides in Wadi Rum: Many camps will offer the chance to take a camel ride for an hour or two. Personally, we did not take up this option as we were not huge fans of how the camels were being kept (many chained up), although we completely understand this is normal within this industry, it is not something that we choose to support.
WHERE TO STAY
The Wadi Rum protected area is vast and there are loads of choices for accommodation. We recommend considering what activities you’d like to do and choosing a camp accordingly.
For example, For stargazing consider Rum Stars Camp or Wadi Rum Bubble Luxotel. Or, for the best sunsets consider Real Bedouin Tours and Camp, Wadi Rum Candles Camp or Khaled’s Camp.
Find our full guide to the best places to stay in Wadi Rum here.
Day Two to Four: Petra
You will need at least one full day in Petra, more if you’re very interested in the history or intend to do any hiking. But, if you just plan to take one day in Petra, we recommend arriving to Wadi Musa the night or afternoon before, getting rested and enjoying dinner in town, before spending the next day in Petra.
If you wanted to leave after this and drive onto The Dead Sea, you could do. Based on our experience, you’re likely to be quite tired after a day exploring Petra, so it may be prudent to plan for two nights acomodation in this area.
WHAT TO DO
The main thing to do is visit Petra itself. Don’t forget that access to Petra is included if you’ve bought the Jordan Pass (which we recommend you do – more info here.)
Something I hadn’t fully appreciated before I visited Petra is that there are lots of hiking trails within the protected area – so you can have a quite active day if you choose to. Or, you can take things a little more steady and just visit the main sites of Petra (The Monastery, The Treasury and The Royal Tombs.)
You can find our full guide to visiting Petra and surviving the experience here.
WHERE TO STAY
You can’t stay overnight within Petra itself. But you can stay in Wadi Musa (the town just next to Petra.)When picking accommodation, opt for anywhere close to the Petra visitors centre.
We stayed at The Cabin Hostel, which is very close to the visitor centre. An interesting place with “Japanese style pods,” which were quite small. But the location was excellent, and it was not expensive.
If you’d prefer something more upmarket, Petra Corner Hotel is one of the best located hotels in Petra, and the prices are reasonable. More upmarket still, you can try Petra Moon.
Day Four to Five: Dead Sea
From Petra, you can take the highway North towards the Dead Sea. You have a few choices at the Dead Sea, you can either stay in one of the hotels on the Dead Sea, which gives you access to the water and facilities. Or you could take a day trip to one to the sea by buying a pass from one of the hotels and stay elsewhere.
The other option is to swim in the Dead Sea for free. If you want stay overnight away from the beachfront, Madaba may be a good option for you. Accommodation is reasonable and there are some interesting historic sites in and around the area to visit.
WHAT TO DO
The main things to do are chill out and float in the Dead Sea. If you have a hotel on the waterfront, access will be included. Otherwise, you can book a day ticket with a hotel like the Movenpick.
We opted to visit the free area of the shore, where you can bob at leisure without paying for entry. Find out more about how to do that here.
If you want to do something a little more active and you have a car, you can visit Mount Nebo and nearby Madaba.
WHERE TO STAY
The ideal hotel on the Dead Sea would be somewhere beachfront with private access to the water, as well as a swimming pool.
The Hilton is a super option and is refreshingly reasonable for a five star hotel. The Movenpick is the height of luxury on the Dead Sea, another five star hotel with everything you could possibly need.
More independent travellers may prefer to stay in nearby Madaba, especially if you have access to a hire car. Consider the Mount Nebo Hotel or The Black Iris. Both have central locations and reasonable price tags.
Day Five to Seven: Aqaba
Finally, head back to Aqaba ahead of your flight. It’s a fairly big distance from the Dead Sea to Aqaba, so you may want to work this into your schedule. You will want to spend at least one day relaxing on the beach in Aqaba, before enjoying one of the many restaurants in the evening.
WHAT TO DO
1/ Snorkelling: One of the main activities in Aqaba is to go snorkelling. The Red Sea is well known for tropical fish and impressive diving. You can book a boat trip with snorkelling here.
2/ Relax at the beach: Your hotel may have a beach club, if not – we recommend Berenice Beach Club. Entry is inexpensive, and the beach is very enjoyable for a day of total R&R. Plus, transport is included. Book your day pass in advance of arrival here.
WHERE TO STAY
If you’re on a budget, then Taj Hotel may suit you best. We stayed somewhere similar to this, a small 3* hotel in the city and it was ideal.
If I returned to Aqaba, I would try to find a hotel that has direct access to the beach. This means you can avoid having to take a day trip to a beach club and instead enjoy the privacy of the hotel beach. If this sounds ideal to you, consider Al Manara Hotel or The Westin Saraya Aqaba Resort & Spa.
You can find our full guide to visiting Aqaba here.
Option Two: Jordan Itinerary 7 days (Flying into Amman)
Jordan itinerary 7 days
Day One: Amman to Petra
Depending on your flight time, you may need to factor in an overnight stay in Amman at the start of your trip rather than at the end.
If you can, we recommend heading straight to Petra.
Day One to Three: Petra
We would recommend spending your second full day in Petra and then your second night in Petra too, before leaving early on the morning of your third day. A few hours in Petra is not enough, so try to avoid splitting your day up when you visit Petra.
Find our full guides to Petra above (under itinerary one) and here.
Day Three to Four: Wadi Rum
The distance between Petra and Wadi Rum is around 70 miles, so you can easily arrive into the desert with enough time to catch sunset and arrange your tours for the next day. Enjoy a full day on our fourth day and then take the short trip to Aqaba.
See notes above in the itinerary one section about what to do and where to stay in Wadi Rum.
Day Four to Six: Aqaba or the Dead Sea
Depending on your personal preference – we recommend either a visit to the Dead Sea or to Aqaba. Or one night at each, if you’d rather.
Alternatively, if you’re really not into the beach life, you could return to Amman (visiting Madaba and Mount Nebo on the way), then either spend a couple of days there or venture to Jerash or Umm Qais – both are beautiful places to visit for history and culture.
Day Six & Seven: Back to Amman
It would be a real shame to fly in and out of Amman without visiting the city itself. We really loved the rawness of the city – it’s a real shame that any people skip it.
WHAT TO DO
1/ The Citadel – The Citadel has to be the top Amman attraction, particularly if you’re looking for history and culture in this capital city. Perched atop Jabal Al Qal’A in downtown Amman, it is a beautiful historic area of interest.
2/ The Ancient Theatre – The Roman Theatre in Amman is another site that is included in the Jordan Pass, but it only costs around 1 JOD to enter if you choose to pay separately.
3/ Take a street art tour – We were fortunate enough to find Amman Underground Tours during our stay in Amman. We joined one of the 2-hour walking tours, which takes you on a guided walk up town and downtown Amman to visit the best Street Art in Amman.
These are the top things to do in Amman, but there are lots of others. We recommend reading our full city guide for Amman here.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at The Cabin Hostel, a budget option. The location is great, a 30 second walk to Hashem (famous for falafel) and close access to the souks downtown.
If you want to spend a little more money and stay downtown, then The Castle Star Hotel is in a similar location and has excellent reviews.
Jordan itinerary 10 days
If you have longer in Jordan, we would recommend extending your stay in the main sites of Wadi Rum, Petra and Aqaba to get the most from your trip.
Within Wadi Rum, there are many different camps that you can choose as well as different tours, so you could easily enjoy three nights in the desert.
Personally, we would not choose to stay longer than one day in the Dead Sea resort, but we would potentially recommend Madaba (more on that below.) In addition, there are some great options to the North of Jordan, if you would like to travel a bit more off the beaten track.
Our top picks for 10 days in Jordan
Amman: Spend at least two nights in Amman if possible. There’s lots to see, including the impressive Citadel.
Jerash: To us, Jerash was one of the most beautiful places in Jordan. If you have more than seven days, we would recommend spending a night in Jerash, or if you’re staying in Amman, you could extend your stay there and take a day trip to Jerash
Madaba: Two nights in Madaba would allow you to spend one day visiting the Dead Sea and one day seeing both the mosaics in Madaba and Mount Nebo. We enjoyed Madaba, but found the Mosaic visits did not take long and we found Mount Nebo a little underwhelming. If both sites are not of interest to you, then we wouldn’t recommend staying in Madaba.
Ajloun and Umm Qais: Two or Three nights in Ajloun and the surrounding areas is a pleasant addition to any trip to Jordan.
Personally, we love hiking and very much enjoyed the hiking in this area. That alone, was enough to fill our time. If you’re not a fan of hiking, we would suggest sticking to one night in either Umm Qais or Ajloun.
Find out more about all of these places in our blog post – 11 most beautiful places in Jordan.
Best time of year to visit Jordan
The best time of year to visit Jordan is probably during the spring (March to May) or autumn (September to November). We visited in late October to November.
The weather tends to be mild during these periods, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit). If you want to do some of the best hikes in Jordan, visit the desert and explore Petra easily, this is the best time.
Visiting Jordan in the summer (June to August) is not really advisable. Temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius making travelling and exploring pretty hard! Winter can be a good time to visit (December to February), but do keep in mind you’ll need to tailor your Jordan packing list to pack extra layers, especially if you visit Wadi Rum. Anecdotally, we have noticed that prices in Jordan do drop a little in late November/ early December.
Jordan Travel Guides
Find more information and travel guides for Jordan below.
- How to spend two nights in Amman
- Nightlife in Amman: A guide
- Can you drink alcohol in Jordan
- Where to stay in Wadi Rum
- How to survive visiting Petra
- How to swim in the Dead Sea for free
- The Jordan Trail: Trekking from Dana to Petra
- Everything you need to know before visiting Jordan for the first time
- 11 most beautiful places in Jordan
- Food and drinks to try when you visit Jordan
- Is Aqaba worth visiting?
Written by Emma
Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.
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