Active Jordan
Jordan has some of the most spectacular scenery in the Middle East and this tour gets you right into the heart of it, on a programme designed for active families. You will visit the highlights but also get off-the-beaten-track as you explore the country. If you have younger children with you we can modify some aspects of the itinerary to ensure that the activities are suitable. You will be accompanied throughout by specialist English-speaking guides.
Highlights
Cover yourself in Dead Sea mud
Explore a secret wadi (canyon)
Hike down Wadi Feynan
Hidden entrance to Petra
Camel ride through Wadi Rum
Snorkelling in the Red Sea
12 days from £2,500 pp
Plus international flights from £500
An 12-day activity holiday in Jordan with a private English-speaking chauffeur usually costs from £10,000 based on mid-range hotels (excluding international flights)
Active Jordan day-to-day itinerary
Day 1 Amman – Dead Sea
When you arrive in Amman you will be met by a Stubborn Mule representative and transferred directly to your hotel on the Dead Sea. Many flights arrive into Amman very late in the evening so there is usually no time to do anything else today.
When you arrive in Amman you will be met by a Stubborn Mule representative and transferred directly to your hotel on the Dead Sea. Many flights arrive into Amman very late in the evening so there is usually no time to do anything else today.
Day 2 Dead Sea
A day to relax and enjoy being at the Dead Sea. This is the lowest place on earth and the children will enjoy wading into the warm water and bobbing up to the surface. It is impossible to swim, the waters are so buoyant that you can’t keep your legs under the water for longer than a few seconds. Lie on your back and enjoy the strange sensation! You can also give your skin a boost by covering it in thick gloopy mineral-rich mud; this is said to make your skin beautifully smooth and can work wonders for teenage skin!
Day 3 Secret Wadi – Dana
This morning head south, following the banks of the Dead Sea before cutting into the mountains. Your destination today is a little-visited wadi (canyon) which you will explore on foot. Springs drip from the walls, feeding hanging gardens which burst from cracks in the rocks. Waterfalls splash down the sides of the canyon and the sun disappears behind the high canyon walls. This is a wet hike (so you will be knee deep in water) and you can stop in the shade for a picnic and a glass of hot sweet Bedouin tea.
From here continue to the Dana Nature Reserve. This is one of Jordan’s hidden gems and home to a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna. You can stay either in a simple guesthouse or in a beautiful tented camp with incredible views over the mountains beyond.
Day 4 Dana (Wadi Feynan hike)
Rise early for a full day hike down Wadi Feynan. This is a magnificent valley that descends steeply from Dana Nature Reserve down to the Dead Sea. The mountains rise sharply on each side, the craggy cliffs dotted with occasional hardy trees and red boulders strewing the route. The route is about 15km and almost all downhill with superb views all along the way. You will be accompanied by a local guide and will stop for a simple picnic lunch. Brew a pot of tea over an open fire (as the Bedouin do) and cook some flatbreads in the flames. We can arrange for you to be accompanied by a mule which younger children can ride if they start to get tired.
(If you think that this hike is too much, there are other options; please speak to us for suggestions).
Overnight in an eco-lodge.
Day 5 Little Petra
Enjoy the morning at your eco-lodge. There is the option to take a (mostly flat) mountain bike ride through the Greigra oasis, amidst a beautiful landscape of sand-dunes, springs and palm trees. Alternatively you could enjoy a cookery class (complete with delicious lunch) or just relax at the lodge.
Later, take the back route through the mountains to Little Petra. The journey is stunning, a remote road that carves its way through the landscape with just the occasional shepherd and a flock of goats or a lumbering camel train.
Little Petra itself is a small ‘suburb’ of Petra located a short distance away from the main city. The ruins here are on a less grand scale than Petra itself, but there are usually very few other visitors. This lends the site a unique atmosphere. It is a favourite with children and you can spend a wonderful few hours exploring the ruins and enjoying the views from a shaded spot.
Continue to Petra for the night.
Read More Day 6 Petra Very few visitors come this way so you will often have the route to yourselves. After approximately two hours of hiking you will arrive at the Monastery, one of Petra’s most impressive monuments, carved out of a hilltop. You can stop here to take in the views and enjoy refreshments before continuing into the main part of the site. You will spend the rest of the day exploring the Nabatean and Roman ruins, ending up at the famous siq. This is the narrow canyon through the mountains that provides the main entrance into Petra. You will exit this way. (If you prefer to enter Petra the ‘normal’ way, this can also be arranged). Day 7 Wadi Rum This afternoon you will venture out into the desert by 4WD. Stop to climb a rock bridge and follow a short river trail through a narrow cleft in one of the cliff faces. This evening you will stay in a Bedouin camp. Congregate around the fire in the evening for a well-deserved feast under a blanket of stars. Day 8 Aqaba Day 9 Aqaba Day 10 Aqaba – Amman Continue north, crossing Wadi Mujib, a huge canyon that cuts its way east to the Dead Sea. The road drops 1,300m down the side of the canyon and the views are absolutely staggering. You will visit Mt Nebo, from where Moses surveyed the Promised Land and can stop in Madaba, where you can see the exquisite Byzantine mosaics. Day 11 Jerash & Ajlun Later, drive into the hills to visit the beautiful and little-visited fortress of Ajlun. This is not one of the most famous castles in Jordan but is all the more enjoyable because of the lack of other tourists. The views from the battlements are magnificent. Return to Amman for the night. Day 12 Amman
Today you will enter Petra through a very little-visited back entrance. Your day will start with a spectacular two hour hike through the desert and mountains with incredible views over the surrounding scenery.
After a leisurely morning, drive to Wadi Rum, one of the most beautiful parts of Jordan. This is the land of Lawrence of Arabia, an endless desert plain punctuated by vast outcroppings of rock. These have been carved by the wind into strange shapes that look as if they have been chiselled by hand, and huge drifts of sand have blown against them to create enormous dunes.
Rise early to watch the sunrise over the desert and perhaps take a camel ride. After a hearty breakfast drive south to the Red Sea town of Aqaba for two nights relaxation on the beach.
A free day. If you are still keen for action, you could take a snorkelling excursion on the Red Sea to enjoy the brightly coloured marine life.
Today you will head back to Amman on the scenic Kings Highway through the mountains. Your first stop is the crusader castle of Kerak, perhaps the best preserved in Jordan. The castle has thick battlements that soar over the town below, and many dusty tunnels and rooms to explore.
Drive about an hour north of Amman to the Roman ruins of Jerash. These are wonderfully preserved and extremely picturesque. Make sure that you explore some of outlying areas of the site, clambering over the ruins where goats still roam. In spring the area is a riot of wildflowers.
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
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01728 752751
Jordan in pictures
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