Tour Details
  • Starts in: Amman / Ends in: Amman
  • Departs: Saturdays - year round
  • No local payment required
  • Breakfast:10, Lunch: 0, Dinner: 2
  • Hotel Rating: 3 star
  • Tour Guide: Yes
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Arabian Highway - 11 days

Chocful of eastern promise, this trip combines Jordan and Syria in 11 remarkable days. Explore crusader castles, legendary cities of the mighty Roman Decapolis such as Jerash, Umm Qais, Bosra and the Rose City of Petra, bob around in the Dead Sea and explore ancient Damascus.

Day 1: Amman
Saturday. Welcome to Jordan and the start of your holiday! Arrive Amman, included transfer to hotel and overnight. Overnight - Amman
Day 2: Jerash & Umm Quais
Amman - Jerash - Umm Qais - Amman. Driving north, we visit the awesome Roman ruins of Jerash. Second only to Petrain touristic appeal, Jerashis recognised as one of the best-preserved member cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of 10 Graeco-Roman cities. When Emperor Hadrian paid a visit in 129 AD, the place was buzzing. The citizens threw up a Triumphal Arch for him which still stands today. Exemplifying the finesse of Roman urban life, the town boasts a hippodrome, the old sports field that once held 15,000 spectators, a stunning amphitheatre with amazing acoustic abilities, a colonnaded street paved with original stones and the rut marks of chariots, a nymphaeum replete with ancient fountains trimmed with dolphins and various temples. From here, we continue to Umm Qais (Gadara), a dramatic black-basalt Roman city of the Decapolis with panoramic views over the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. Overnight - Amman (B)
Arabian Highway - 11 days Go Guide : :Check out the go guide for details of the tour, info on visas, climate, money, what to bring and more!
The treasury at Petrain Jordan
Day 3: Dead Sea
Amman - Dead Sea - Petra. Today, we tour the citadel, Archaeological Museum and enjoy free time in the local souq before descending from the elevation of Amman to the Dead Sea for a chance to take a dip in the mineral-rich waters. In addition, and perhaps famously, the intense salinity creates an unusually high degree of buoyancy. Opt for a dip, and you’ll bob about like a rubber duck in a bath, without any effort at all. No life rings needed here! Continuing on, we journey south to Wadi Musa, the modern town that has sprung up around the Rose City of Petra. Overnight - Petra (B)
Day 4: Petra
Petra. Explore Petra! Taking a walk through the mysterious siq (an ancient passage created thanks to a geological fissure) we are confronted by the spectacle of the breath-taking rose-red facade of the Treasury. Amazing Nabataean and Roman ruins are on tap here at Petra, including tombs, a Roman road, temples and amphitheatre. The intrepid can ascend the many stone carved steps to Ad-Deir better known as the Monastery. Consider opting for our Petra Kitchen bolt-on tonight! Overnight - Petra (B)
Float like a boat in the Dead Sea
Days 5 - 6: Wadi Rum
Petra - Wadi Rum - Madaba. Today, there is the opportunity to return to the Rose City before our afternoon drive to Wadi Rum and 4 x 4 jeep safari. Tonight tuck into dinner, Jordanian-style. On the morning of day 6, we explore the ruins and beautiful mosaics of Umm ar-Rasas and stop at Mt Nebo to take in panoramic views across the Promised Land and onward to Madaba. Overnight - Wadi Rum (1) Madaba (1) (B:2, D:2)
Day 7: Madaba's Mosaics
Madaba - Damascus (Syria). Famed for it’s Byzantine mosaics, including the fascinating map of the Holy Land made in the 6th century out of two million stone pieces and now housed in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, Madaba - the most important Christian centre in Jordan, its mosaics, little shops and cafe’s offers us gentle respite. Travelling onward to Amman bus station, we board one of the many touring coaches (reserve seated tickets) bound for Damascus. After attending to immigration formalities at the border, the coach continues to Syria's charming capital. Our representative will be waiting for you as the coach pulls in, transfer to hotel and evening at leisure. Overnight - Damascus (B)
Ummayad Mosque in the old city of Damascus
Day 8: Damascus
Damascus - breakfast. Today, we enjoy a tour of reputedly the oldest inhabitated city on earth. Thoroughly charming, compact and bustling Damascus (Ash-Sham to locals) is studded with rich examples of Islamic and Ottoman architecture. The heart of the city is Martyrs Square. In the side streets just off the square, there are lots of eateries serving shawarma and felafel and pastry shops serving sweetmeats. However, just east is probably the real beating heart of Damascus - the Old City. Surrounded by what was once a Roman wall and rebuilt several times over the last 2000 years, the Old City boasts a main thoroughfare, Straight Street which has been here since Graeco-Roman times. Just beyond the Citadel is the colourful Souk al-Hamidiyya, whilst just a stone’s throw from here is the Umayyad Mosque. Built in 705AD, the facades around the central courtyard are adorned with golden mosaics. South of the mosque is Azem Palace. This evening, enjoy a hamam at a Damascene bath house before enjoying the view and a drink on Mt Qassioun. Overnight - Damascus (B)
Day 9: Palmyra or Krac des Chevaliers
Damascus - breakfast. Free day to enjoy Damascus or book our optional excursion to Ma’ alula, an ancient town where the locals still speak Aramaic, the language of Christ & Krac des Chevaliers, a crusader castle of epic proportion OR the spectacular ruins of Palmyra – perhaps Syria’s number one sight! (payable locally). Overnight - Damascus (B)
The statue of Saladin sits proudly over the old city in Damascus
Day 10: Bosra
Damascus - Madaba. Bidding Damascus farewell, we travel south to Bosra , a city of the ancient Roman Decapolis, which boasts possibly the best preserved Roman theatre in the Middle East. Leaving Bosra, we continue south to the frontier, where we attend to customs formalities and cross back over into Jordan. Onward to Amman, we’ve the remains of the evening to relax. Overnight - Madaba (B)
Day 11: Amman
Tuesday. Madaba - breakfast. Spend the day at leisure before hotel check-out and included onward transfer to Amman airport. (B)

Perseids Meteor Shower Departure - 07 Aug 2010.
Why not combine this tour with the amazing celestial spectacle of the Perseids Meteor shower? The Perseids meteor shower is a spectacular celestial light show, that has mystified and amazed sky watchers for nearly 2000 years. The night sky is lit up by often over 60 meteors per hour! You can witness the incredible meteor shower from our desert camp in Wadi Rum, where you will spend two incredible nights star-gazing, when the meteor shower is at its peak on the 11th and 12th August. Please see the Go Guide for details of the amended itinerary. Supplement applies.

Other tours that include the meteor shower are:
Cairo to Damascus - departing 31 JUL 2010
Perseid's Meteor Shower - departing 07 AUG 2010
Road to Jerusalem - departing 07 AUG 2010
Passage to Petra - departing 08 AUG 2010

Option to end your tour in Damascus:

Should you wish to end your tour in Damascus, arrangements are as follows:

Day 10 - visit the ancient city of Bosra, return to Damascus and overnight.

Day 11 - breakfast and departure transfer to Damascus airport. Contact us for details.

 

NOTE: If more than 4 persons, the group will travel with a driver (not a tour guide) from Madaba - Damascus and from Bosra to Mdaaba. Our driver will attend to all immigration formalities for passengers and vehicles. If less than 4 persons, public transport will be used on the journey from Madaba - Damascus, with representation at the Syrian borde