10-day Jordan itinerary

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A Guide to visiting Jordan in a 10-day itinerary

Discover a detailed itinerary for visiting Jordan in 10 days or two weeks. In this travel guide, we’ll look at a sightseeing tour that covers the must-sees and the best places to see in Jordan in a limited amount of time, assuming you start your adventure from Amman, Jordan’s capital.

In this travel guide, you will find a varied sightseeing tour with diversified activities and attractions to get a complete experience of Jordan and what it has to offer in 10 days, for example: experience floating in the Dead Sea, diving in the Gulf of Aqaba, visiting the ancient city of Petra, discovering Roman historical sites and more.

 

Insure your trip to Jordan
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Plan your trip to Jordan

An itinerary in Jordan always starts with a visa application! Discover our practical guide to obtaining a tourist visa and information about the Jordan Pass :

• How to get a visa on arrival (VOA)
• How to obtain a visa online (e-visa)
• Duration and entry requirements for Jordanian visas
• Jordan Pass packages
   

🔎 Jordan visa: a pratical guide
 

Jordan itinerary
– Day 1 : Amman

We won’t include the day of your arrival in the Jordanian capital in this tourist itinerary, as the first day in a new country is usually a time when you’re busy with other things than sightseeing, or a time when you’re getting your bearings and getting your bearings before starting your journey.
 

1. Arrival at the airport

You’ve got your visa for Jordan, now you can withdraw or change money and pick up a SIM card in the arrivals hall if you need one.

2. Where to stay in Amman

You should choose a hotel close to Amman Citadel as this is the heart of the city and home to the majority of tourist attractions. Budget travellers can find rooms for less than €10 in the surrounding area.

🔎 Find a hotel in Amman
 

3. Places to visit in Amman

Your Jordan travel itinerary starts right here, as the capital has some interesting tourist sites to discover.

Amman Citadel

Entry fee: 3 JD without Jordan Pass

The citadel of Amman, Jabal Al Qala’a, was the capital of the Ammon kingdom (from which the present-day city takes its name). It is a place with a great history that has been occupied by many empires, including the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Byzantine, Roman and Umayyad empires… It is one of the most beautiful places in the Jordanian capital: a must-see.

📍 Location
 

Roman Theatre

Entry fee: 3 JD without Jordan Pass

The Roman Theatre in Amman is one of the must-see places in Jordan, as it is the largest in the country, with almost 6,000 seats! This ancient monument has survived for almost two millennia.

📍 Location
 

Visit the Old city

The capital’s old town, Amman Downtown, is definitely the place to stay when you visit. It is one of the liveliest areas in Amman and also the location of the two tourist attractions mentioned above.

Amman Downtown is an ideal popular area as there are also many accommodation options of all ranges, including hostels, youth hostels and even rooms for less than €10 for backpackers on a budget.

There are also plenty of places to sample Jordanian cuisine, as well as Cairo, Lebanese, Saudi and many others. It’s also a district with many shops of all kinds, perfect for buying a few souvenirs, and plenty of places to smoke shisha in the street.

Jordan itinerary
– Day 2 : Jerash

Entry fee: 10 JD without Jordan Pass (museum included)

Jerash (Gerasa) is the largest Roman city in the Middle East and one of Jordan’s most important tourist sites. A unique and exotic place where Roman temples (Hercules, Zeus, Artemis…), Ottoman monuments, an Umayyad mosque, and even the remains of a converted synagogue can be found, as Jerash was under Jewish rule before the Romans took over the city.

Gerasa is an incredible city where the ancient city is literally part of the landscape, which is why you should definitely visit it and include it as a destination on your Jordan sightseeing tour.
 

What Jerash looked like in the past

Take a look at what Jerash looked like in the past via a National Geographic reconstruction! You’ll see the hippodrome set back to the south-west, then the emblematic oval forum, as well as the theatre and the elevated temple of Zeus at the current entrance to the archaeological site, not forgetting the immense temple of Artemis further north…

📷 See the picture
 

How to get to Jerash from Amman

To get to Jerash from Amman, you need to go to the Al-Shemal bus station in the north of the city. The journey costs 1.50 JD and takes about 45 minutes. I advise you to sleep there, but you can also easily make the return journey in the same day.

📍 Bus station location
 

How to return back to Amman

To get to Amman from Jerash, you need to go to the bus station at the entrance to the city. The journey costs 1.50 JD and takes about 45 minutes. There are also shared taxis waiting nearby, which are faster and cost just 2 JD per person.

📍 Bus station location

Jordan itinerary
– Day 3 : Dead Sea

The “Dead Sea” is in fact an immense lake of water so salty you can float in it! This destination is coveted by tourists from all over the world who come for the experience, but above all for the incredible benefits that swimming can provide. Indeed, the water of the Dead Sea contains more than 20% more mineral salts than the average salinity of seas and oceans. It is rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, lithium, strontium, manganese, phosphorus and many other elements.

The top benefits of the Dead Sea are found in its mud, which has multiple properties: it purifies and detoxifies the skin, reduces back pain, strengthens bones, slows skin ageing, combats hair loss and boosts blood circulation (…).
 

Where to swim at the Dead Sea?

Many areas of the Dead Sea are privatised by hotels, resorts or other organisations and are generally expensive to access. You can ask any hotel to let you swim. The mud is most prevalent around Swemeh, the northern tip of the lake.
 

Free bathing at the Dead Sea

There are several places where you can swim without paying an entrance fee to the Dead Sea, with showers for around 1 JD, but you should be aware that these places are often very dirty and full of rubbish. Personally, it takes enough to put me off but that was the case at these public beaches. The mud is full of rubbish, which isn’t great if you’re going to smear it all over your body. What’s more, the camel and horse droppings attract hundreds of flies. I visited two of these beaches, here’s one with showers:

📍 Dead Sea public beach
 

I preferred to leave and not bathe in this filthy place. I took two litres of water to rinse off (salt on the skin is very unpleasant here) and set off in search of an ideal spot, which I eventually found. I was completely alone on a clean and free wild beach, with excellent mud available and, above all, no rubbish! Be aware that if you travel too many kilometres, it will be non-existent as the beaches are only made up of mineral salts after a few dozen kilometres. On the other hand, these are the most beautiful beaches in terms of aesthetics, as they are covered in salt and the contrast between the blue water and the white shore is sumptuous.

📍 My free bathing Dead Sea spot
 

Another option is to bathe in front of the wadis on the other side of the road. This way, you can take a bath and then rinse off in the wadi. You’ll have no trouble finding the most beautiful beaches if you travel with your own vehicle!
 

How to get to the Dead Sea

To get to the Dead Sea from Jerash, go to the bus station [location] for Amman. Once there, take a taxi to the Mujaharin bus station in the south of the city [location], which will take you to the town of Al-Rama. From here, it’s just a short taxi ride to the Dead Sea, which is only a few kilometres away.

📍 Bus station location

Jordan itinerary
– Day 4/5/6 : Petra

Entry fee: From 50 JD without Jordan Pass

Petra is an archaeological site (not a monument). It is one of the most grandiose on the planet, and is still considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Founded 2,800 years ago by the kingdom of Edom, it was later occupied by the Nabataeans, a nomadic people from the Arabian Peninsula. Wealthy from their trade in spices and aromatics (among other things), the Nabataeans chose Petra and made it prosper because of its strategic position for the caravans that passed through here on their way to the port of Gaza, Egypt and Syria in particular. At its peak, the city had over 25,000 inhabitants.

Petra can be visited in 3 days for a complete experience and exploration, but two is enough to see the major sites. It’s a breathtaking, photogenic place that is now Jordan’s leading tourist attraction. Hike through the ancient city, meet the Bedouin people who now live there, and marvel!
 

Best places to visit in Petra

• Rayal tombs
• Nabatean Theatre
• Nabatean Great Temple
• Byzantin Church
• Deir Monastery
  (Wrongly called “Little Petra”)
• Khazneh tomb
  (Emblematic monument of Petra)
  
   

How to get to Petra from Dead Sea

There is no direct transport from the Dead Sea. You have to go to the small bus station at Al Rama and then take a minibus to Madaba. From there, you’ll have a direct link to Wadi Musa (Gaia), the town where Petra is located. But it would be a shame not to drive along the Dead Sea to get there. I was able to take the road that offers this view during my hitchhiking trip to Jordan and the scenery was magnificent. That’s why I recommend that you take a taxi to Petra from the Dead Sea (between 40 and 50 JD) and enjoy these beautiful views yourself.

Jordan itinerary
– Day 7 : Aqaba

Aqaba is a city in the far south of Jordan. It’s a pleasant destination that Jordanians themselves appreciate for its beaches on the Gulf of Aqaba, off the Red Sea, and for its warm, dry climate all year round. In winter, there is a difference of more than 15 degrees with Amman! Aqaba is also popular with visitors for diving and snorkelling, as the Red Sea is one of the best diving spots in the world. What’s more, the city is in the direct vicinity of Wadi Rum, which is the next excursion on this Jordan itinerary.

Don’t miss a visit to the small ancient city of Ayla, which is the original town of Aqaba. It lies directly on the coast, just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre.
 

How to get to Aqaba from Petra

To get to Aqaba from Wadi Musa (Gaia), go to the bus station. You will easily find local buses to this destination, provided you leave in the morning. After 1pm it will be more difficult, if not impossible, to get a bus, otherwise you will have to take a shared taxi. Aqaba is only an hour and a half’s drive away.

📍 Wadi Musa bus station location

Jordan itinerary
– Day 8/9 : Wadi Rum

Entry fee: 5 JD without Jordan Pass

Wadi Rum is a desert valley in southern Jordan. It is a place of breathtaking beauty that attracts many people in search of adventure and a change of scenery. Wadi Rum promises a breathtaking experience, as if time had stood still.

Wadi Rum is a historic site listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its many rock inscriptions and petroglyphs dating back to prehistoric times, which number in the thousands (literally) and bear witness to 12,000 years of human occupation since the Neolithic period. It is for this reason that Wadi Rum is protected, but tourists are rarely interested in the history and come to visit just for the spectacular views. Photos of the desert are everywhere on the internet, but travellers have little or no interest in its extremely important historical aspect. Yes, Wadi Rum is a place of breathtaking beauty, but above all it is one of the most important places in human history! So be sure to visit the archaeological sites.
 

Things to do in Wadi Rum

Here are the top things to do in Wadi rum :

• Desert jeep tour
• Visit to prehistoric sites
• Meet the Bedouins people
• Spend a night in tourist camps run by Bedouins
• Admire the most beautiful viewpoints
   
   

How to get to Wadi Rum from Aqaba

The best way to get to Wadi Rum is from Aqaba bus station, where you can find shared taxis or a minibus (5 JD). Alternatively, you can easily get there with a private driver who you can hail on the street (30 JD).

📍 Aqaba bus station

Jordan itinerary
– Day 10 : Back to Amman

As your stay comes to an end, it’s time to head back to Amman. To do this, you’ll need to take a JETT bus from Wadi Rum, which leaves every day at 10am from the Visitor Center. Alternatively, you can take a private taxi for around 80 JD.

If you need to return to Aqaba, you should go to the Visitor Centre to find a local bus or take a taxi to the village of Rashidiyah and stop a minibus on the way. From Aqaba, you can leave for Amman from the bus station:

📍 Aqaba bus station

Watch my Jordan trip

Follow me on Instagram to see all the stages of my itinerary in Jordan in my highlight stories.
 
📷 Follow on Instagram
 

Guided tours in Jordan

Summary of your itinerary in Jordan

10-day itinerary in Jordan

• Day 1 : Amman
• Day 2 : Jerash
• Day 3 : Dead Sea
• Day 4/5/6 : Petra
• Day 7 : Aqaba
• Day 8-9 : Wadi Rum
• Day 10 : Back to Amman
   

15-day itinerary in Jordan

• Day 1: Tour of Amman: Jabal Qala’a citadel – King Abdullah Mosque – Roman Theatre
• Day 2: Visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Jerash
• Day 3: Visit to Tabaqat Fahil + Umm Qeis
• Day 4: Return to Amman, destination Dead Sea
• Day 5: Day at the Dead Sea
• Day 6: Visit to the wadis of the Dead Sea (Wadi Mujib is the most spectacular but also the most popular (although it is rarely visited during the low tourist season). If you want to get off the beaten track, then head for Wadi Attun or Wadi Himara).
• Day 7: Head for Dana and overnight stay
• Day 8: Visit to the Dana Biosphere
• Day 9: Head for Petra and overnight stay
• Day 10: Visit to Petra
• Day 11: Head for Aqaba and visit the city
• Day 12: Day in Aqaba, diving and snorkelling
• Day 13: Visit to Wadi Rum
• Day 14: Visit to Wadi Rum
• Day 15: Back to Amman

A quick update on security in Jordan

Jordan is one of the safest countries to travel to in the Middle East. Crime remains very low (even in Amman) and solo travellers are unlikely to encounter any major problems in this country if they remain vigilant, as they would in any other destination in the world.
 

Is it dangerous to go to Jordan because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Travellers should not worry about the conflict between Palestine and Israel, as Jordan is simply not part of it. The situation might be different if the conflict were located in the West Bank, but this is not the case.

There is no tension in Jordan due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and everything functions normally. However, there may occasionally be demonstrations in the Jordanian capital, but they remain peaceful, without confrontation or excesses. They take place near the government quarters, far from the citadel. Don’t forget that Jordan is home to a large number of Palestinians, who make up a significant percentage of the Jordanian population. Since 2014 alone, almost 3 million Palestinians have been registered (naturalised and refugees). Imagine their total number since the largest waves of immigration from 1947 onwards!

When to visit Jordan

The best time to visit Jordan

The best time to visit Jordan is in November. The weather is ideal and there are few foreign visitors, which is perfect for visiting the tourist sites. They are also deserted throughout the winter, but the temperatures are cool. However, this is a positive point for backpackers or budget travellers as these months fall in the low tourist season, which means that everything is cheaper and accommodation can be negotiated down.
 

Visiting Jordan in spring

Spring, around March and April, is also a good time to visit Jordan in optimal conditions. The remaining months are warm and there are a lot of tourists, but perhaps that’s what you’re looking for. In any case, Jordan can be visited all year round!