Jordan
A country you can cross in a day, holding Petra, the Dead Sea, a desert of red sand and a Red Sea reef. Small, safe, and far easier than people expect.
Where to stay
Hotel Philosophy
Amman · walk to Rainbow Street
Walking distance to Rainbow Street, which is where Amman actually happens.
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A small boutique in Amman within walking distance of Rainbow Street — the cafés, galleries and Friday market that make up the city's most sociable stretch. Most Jordan trips start and end in Amman, and staying somewhere walkable rather than out on the airport road changes the shape of those days completely.
Boutique hotel in Amman
Walk to Rainbow Street's cafés and galleries
Close to the Citadel and downtown
A base for day trips to Jerash and the Dead Sea
Ramses Lodge
Tafilah · beside the Dana Biosphere Reserve
Mountain silence at the edge of Jordan's largest nature reserve.
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Near the Dana Biosphere Reserve in Tafilah, Jordan's largest nature reserve, with hiking trails and genuine mountain quiet. Dana is the part of Jordan almost nobody builds an itinerary around, and it's the part people remember — a village on a cliff edge, four bioclimatic zones stacked below it, and walking that could go on for days.
Beside the Dana Biosphere Reserve
Hiking trails from the door
Jordan's largest nature reserve
Mountain views and real quiet
Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa
Sweimeh · on the Dead Sea shore
Float in the lowest place on earth, then go straight to the spa.
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On the Dead Sea shore at Sweimeh, with multiple pools, a spa and seven places to eat. The Dead Sea sits around 430 metres below sea level — the lowest land on the planet — and the salt content means you genuinely cannot sink. Most people float once, take the photograph, and spend the rest of the day in the pools, which is precisely what the resort is built for.
On the Dead Sea shore
Multiple pools and a full spa
Seven on-site restaurants and bars
Private beach access to the Dead Se
Al Manara, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Saraya Aqaba
Aqaba · private beach on the Red Sea
Snorkel a Red Sea reef, then an infinity pool.
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Two hundred and seven rooms in Aqaba with a private beach on the Red Sea, two outdoor pools including an infinity pool overlooking the water, a full spa, three Mediterranean restaurants and a 24-hour gym with yoga classes. There's an art gallery, a garden, and a bonfire on the shore at sunset. Aqaba is where most Jordan trips end — reef diving, and a view taking in four countries at once.
Private beach on the Red Sea
Two outdoor pools, including an infinity pool
Full-service spa and 24-hour gym
Three Mediterranean restaurants
Sunset bonfire on the shore
10 of the best Jordan Tours
The best places to stay in Jordan
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The Jordan Pass bundles your visa waiver with entry to Petra and 40-plus other sites. Buy it before you fly — it pays for itself on the Petra ticket alone.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom, and only a fraction of it has been excavated.
The Dead Sea is around 430 metres below sea level — the lowest land on earth — and it's shrinking by roughly a metre a year.
Wadi Rum has stood in for Mars in more films than anywhere else on earth.
The whole country is small enough to cross in a day, which is why a week is genuinely enough.
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Best time — March to May and September to November. Summer in Petra and Wadi Rum regularly passes 40°C, and the Dead Sea is hotter still. Winter is mild in Aqaba but genuinely cold in Amman and Petra, and it snows some years.
Getting around — Distances are short. JETT buses link Amman, Petra and Aqaba reliably; hiring a car makes Dana and the Dead Sea far easier. The King's Highway is the scenic route south and worth the extra hours.
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Jordan is one of the easiest countries in the region to travel alone, and solo women travellers are common enough that it raises no eyebrows. Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees, and a scarf for mosques. Expect friendly persistence from vendors around Petra; a firm, cheerful no works. And in Petra itself, start early and carry far more water than you think you need: the site is far bigger than the photographs suggest, and the walk to the Monastery alone is 800 steps.
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