road to damascus - 14 days

Tour Information
Starts in: Amman
Ends in: Amman
Prices and Departures: Click here
Local Payment Required: No 
Breakfast: Daily, Dinner: 2
Hotel rating: 3 , (+ Wadi Rum camp)
Jordanian Tour Guide: Yes

Day 1: Amman
Saturday. Welcome to Jordan and the start of your holiday! Arrive Amman, included transfer to hotel and overnight.

Day 2: Roman Cities, Roman Ruins
Amman- Jerash - Umm Qais - Amman- breakfast. Driving north, we visit the Roman ruins of Jerash and continue to Umm Qais (Gadara), a dramatic black-basalt Roman city of the Decapolis. Overnight - Amman.

Day 3: Take a Dead Sea detox!
Amman- Dead Sea - Petra/ Wadi Musa - breakfast. This morning we visit the citadel, Archaeological Museum and enjoy free time in the local souq before descending from the elevation of Amman, to the Dead Sea. Straddling the border between Jordan and Israel, the Dead Sea is the lowest spot on the earth’s surface. The mineral content of this saltwater lake tops out at 33%. Think of a glass of water a third full of salt! Obviously, power boating is an impossibility but floating is very much a possibility! Whilst giving your skin the best detox it will ever have had thanks to the curative qualities of the water, the salt-rich waters will have you bobbing about just like a cork. Continuing south, we arrive at Wadi Musa, the modern town that has grown up around the legendary Rose City of Petra. Overnight - Petra/ Wadi Musa.

Day 4: Petra
Wadi Musa (Petra) - breakfast. Possibly the jewel in Jordan’s glittering archaeological crown, Petra is now one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Accessed on a walk through a penetrative, narrow, deep siq, the end prize is the hidden valley where the Rose City of Petra lies. As you reach the end of the Siq, you’ll come across the spectacular façade of Al-Kazneh – the Treasury of Petra. It’s natural to have an Indiana Jones moment here as it was this building that served as the Holy Grail’s resting place and the prize that Indy so coveted. As the Treasury is passed, the hidden valley widens to reveal the remains of the city proper. An erosion-hewn masterpiece all but lost to the modern world until 1812 when a Swiss explorer rediscovered it, Petra is full of ancient tombs and ruins ripe for modern-day discoverers like us! The intrepid or should we say, very fit, can ascend the myriad stone steps to Ad-Deir, better known as the Monastery. Overnight - Petra/ Wadi Musa.

Day 5: 4 X 4 safari through Wadi Rum
Wadi Musa (Petra) - Wadi Rum - breakfast. A chance to revisit Petra before our afternoon drive to Wadi Rum. A vast, silent landscape of ancient riverbeds and pastel coloured stretches of sandy desert. The desertscape of Wadi Rum represents some of the most stunning and unspoilt countryside on the planet. The region is also home to semi-nomadic Bedouin living in their great goat hair tents, tending their herds of sheep and goat and preserving a lifestyle that has been practised here in the desert for centuries. Boarding 4 x 4 jeeps, we can get up close and personal to the picturesque scenery. Tonight, we enjoy a Jordanian dinner. Dinner and overnight - Wadi Rum camp.

Days 6 - 8: Aqaba, Red Sea retreat
Wadi Rum - Aqaba - breakfast. Leaving Wadi Rum we drive to Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba for a 3 night stay. Swim, snorkel, dive, relax and take it all in at Jordan’s premier seaside town. Azure blue waters brimming with kaleidoscopic marine life are a real attraction here at Aqaba. Why not undertake some Scuba diving? Overnight (3) - Aqaba.

Day 9: Downtown Damascus
Aqaba - Mt Nebo - Damascus - breakfast. Leaving Aqaba, we strike north toward Wadi Araba. We visit Lot’s Cave and take in the views of the Promised Land from Mt Nebo. 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 onward 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.

Day 10: Explore Damascus
Damascus - breakfast. Today, we enjoy a tour of reputedly the oldest inhabitated city on earth. Lying about 80 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea, Damascus has a wealth of historical sites dating back to many different periods of the city’s history. Since the city has been built up with every passing occupation, it has become almost impossible to excavate all the ruins of Damascus that lie up to 8 feet below the modern level! Damascus is made up of a sizeable old city, divided into the market area, Muslim area, Christian area and the Jewish area. All three groups are still represented in Damascus, even if the Jewish community now only counts a few thousand. Straight Street (Sharia Medhat Pasha), was one of the main streets of Roman Damascus and cutting a swathe through the Old City, still exists today. Studded with rich examples of Islamic and Ottoman architecture including the Umayyad Mosque - one of the largest mosques in the world, and one of the oldest sites of continuous prayer since the rise of Islam, Damascus is a charming city. This evening, enjoy a hamam experience at a Damascene bath house before enjoying the view and a drink on Mt Qassioun. Overnight – Damascus.

Day 11: Palmyra or Krac des Chevaleirs
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! See our website for further details (payable locally). Overnight – Damascus.

Day 12 & 13: Madaba
Damascus - Madaba - breakfast. Bidding Damascus farewell, we travel onward to Madaba via Bosra, a city of the ancient Roman Decapolis. Tonight, we enjoy a wonderful traditional Jordanian feast. Day 13, Madaba a bustling Muslim-Christian market town, is renown for its mosaics including the stunning 6th century Byzantine mosaic map depicting Jerusalem and other holy sites, located at the Greek Orthodox Church of St George. Small shops sell excellent copies of miniature mosaics and exquisite trinkets, onward travel to Madaba. Dinner (1) and overnight (2) - Madaba.

Day 14: Madaba/ Amman
Friday. Madaba - breakfast. Morning at leisure before hotel check-out and included onward transfer to Amman airport.

NOTE: If group numbers less than 6, local guides will feature for the Syrian portion of the tour program (in Damascus and for sightseeing in Bosra). The group will travel un-escorted by coach from Amman - Damascus and with a driver from Syria to Amman. Both journeys exclusive of guide accompaniment.