Now youdthink, given that we were just up the hill in Little Petra, that Petra itself would be our next stop. Instead, we stopped for lunch in Wadi Musa (and worked for a few hours, I couldnt help it!), before continuing south to Wadi Rum.
Continue reading: Review: Glamping In Wadi Rum
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@ Tiffany -- We spent a week in Jordan about 6-7 years ago. It was possibly our best trip ever. What a great destination. Thank for sharing your experiences.
@ Gene -- Did you guys stay in Wadi Rum? Would love to know if there's a place that's FCQ-approved!
Loving your report! How feasible do you think Jordan would be for solo travel (21, male)? I'm really interested in going there, but worried that getting anywhere outside of Amman would be difficult without paying boatloads. Keep up the reporting!
@ Tommy L -- Oh, super easy. If you didn't want to rent a car there are lots of buses, and taxis are cheap. You can easily take a bus to Petra, or Aqaba, and could take a taxi from either to Wadi Rum, or have someone in Wadi Rum arrange transportation for you. The country seems pretty well set up for those who don't want to drive.
Beautiful. Wonderful. Such a great report!
If you haven't had a lifetime's worth of rocks and sand, I strongly suggest visiting Sossusvlei in Namibia. The utter desolation is magnificent. And the stargazing is mesmerizing; I would spend hours each night on my back just staring into the night sky. Just be sure to go during the new moon phase. That damn moon is too bright.
A quick question:
"ZOMG GEOGOLOGY"
Um...what?
Hey Tiffany I've been loving your Jordan series so far! Great writing as usual, and the pictures are stunning. I just came back from a kinda somewhat similar trip to New Zealand, consisting of driving and camping and it's really the only way to see what some of these wilderness/nature oriented countries have to offer. I feel bad for people who refuse to venture out of their luxury hotels and are hence stuck to cities, they'll never get to experience that! Keep it coming, this is definitely putting Jordan on my bucket list :)!
I'm a huge fan of Suleman and the guys at Fox Camp in Wadi Rum ( https://www.facebook.com/BedouinsofWadiRum/). It's definitely a bit more basic than where you stayed (tents, but just mattresses on the ground with heavy blankets instead of beds) but half the fun is that you can drag your mattress outside and sleep under the stars! I stayed at the camp six years ago and have been sending friends ever since - everyone has had a great time.
Too bad it looks like your itinerary doesn't include Jerash, Ajloun (another great crusader castle), or the desert "castles".
Tiffany, great write up and what an elegant way to split the difference with the geology porn!
Have always wanted to do Petra but this is making me reconsider Jordan as a weeklong family vacation instead of a one day border hop. Thanks! Looking forward to the rest of the trip series.
@ Tiffany -- The FCQ stay somewhere with "amping" in the name? I would be in big trouble...
Ha, I didn't even notice your head wrap until you said it. We kept wrapped the whole time too and for the same reason - it was amazingly functional for the cold evening weather. The scarves were beautiful too, so it was hard to not want to always wear them.
I had dinner at Discovery Bedu. 😉 It was very nice!
@ Imperator -- I would love to go to Namibia! Not super practical at the moment, but on my list for sure.
Re: "ZOMG" -- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=zomg
I think I'll stick with using word found in the Oxford English Dictionary. And not wearing sweatpants in premium cabins.
Yeah, I'm just a crusty old fart.
Oh fuck tiffany please stop with the blog.
Its incredibly painful reading this tripe.
Wonderful. Your reports and photos are a joy to read and admire.
We stayed at Bait Ali camp and they took good care of us. There was a film crew staying there also. They have tents similar to yours as well as cabins. The food was good.
They took us on the Wadi tour and showed us where the Martian was filmed as well as Lawrence of Arabia cave. Also where the film crew was filming.
For those who don't want to drive like us we hired a car with driver/guide/guard for a week from Amira at Jordan direct tours at [email protected] for a very affordable $1000 that included the Wadi rum camp and 2 nights in Petra at the Movenpick at the entrance. The other hotels were on reward stay at the Marriott Dead Sea, intercontinental Aqaba and Sheraton Amman. Very affordable country.
Fantastic! I'll take geology porn, cultural travel location porn, or even foreign fruit/food porn anytime!! I get so sick of the boring airplane info and sterile hotel/lounge/expensive flight reviews! Show me places I can MS to get to and see something I've never dreamt of!
Also, love the color of your scarf! It is very attractive with your coloring (Muslim country travel porn- ooh la la, haha)
@ tripe ripe
I suggest you stop reading the blog as I found it very interesting and anything other than "tripe". No-one makes you read it.
Very nice report Tiffany! Really enjoyed the pictures and the details. Planning to visit Jordan/Morocco/Egypt in 2018 Summer. Your reports will be very helpful.
Keep 'em coming..
Nice report, and it does look like a place worth visiting.
I know this might sound like a nitpick, but why does ful medames get the italics treatment but hummus doesn't?
The Wadi Rum Luxury Nights camp is definitely nicer. At least in terms of the tents and the bathroom facilities. The tents have additional mesh flaps, which allow air to circulate but still keep bugs out. They also have real queen beds and nice linens and bean bag chairs out front of each tent. The food and service is about the same as you would get at any of the camps, though.
When going more basic, I found that Wadi Rum Starlight Camp is my favorite. The service and camp location/views are the best in my opinion. www.wadirumstarlightcamp.com
Living in Utah spoiled me for adventures like these...while it's more developed and getting busier by the year we have loved trips to Arches National Park in Moab, the area looks very much like Jordan but just more vegetation. The high desert in wintertime is the place to be. And even somewhere as simple as parking at Balanced Rock the stars were amazing.
@ Jacinda -- Hah, I guess that is rather arbitrary! My thinking was more that people would be familiar with the latter, but not necessarily with the former.
I noticed that the US has a travel warning for Jordan. Did you feel unsafe at any point?
@megan - living there for more than two years, I can honestly say that we never felt unsafe. We avoided a few places, like Ma'an and way out near the Iraqi border, but those are places that the ordinary tourist wouldn't be going to anyway. And even those, probably would have been fine. The people of Jordan are incredibly welcoming and warm, but the country is certainly in a bad neighborhood and there are threats. The security forces do a great job and again, we never felt unsafe.
@ Megan Nope, I agree with Mike. Never felt unsafe, and wouldn't hesitate to go even as a solo female traveler.