- Jordan
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A great find in Amman! A good place to relax in the evening. Food and drink was good and the service was excellent. We came here about three times during our time in Amman and the staff recognised us and were very welcoming.
Grappa is the bar/restaurant on the top level of the complex with 'Salute' a bar/restaurant at the bottom level with a view of the city.
Seems to be the place to go in Amman with a lot of big cars pulling up on a regular basis.
A pint of Amstel cost about 5JD a pint.
Most of the bars (that sell alcohol) in Amman seem to be part of big hotels but this is the great exception.
Second Circle Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan
Best way to find this place is to walk from Rainbow street down the main road in the direction of the 2nd circle. As you pass the Iraqi embassy (with the big ornate gates and army guard outside) take your 1st right down the side of the embassy (I think Nina Hussein street) and continue to the end of the road.
We spent five days here in August. More towards a hostel rather than a hotel with a mix of rooms, from rooms with private bathrooms to beds in dorms with shared bathrooms.
For our room with the private bathroom we spent 33JD per night. Citadel and amphitheatre are on the doorstep.
There is a communal room where people can eat or meet other backpackers/travellers.
The hostel can arrange trips. They organised a car to take us and two other guests to Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea for 20JD (not including admission fees). Additionally they can arrange cars to and from the airport or to the Jordanian border.
Good breakfast served in the morning.
Staff always on hand (with perfect English) to assist with any queries such as how to handle taxi drivers etc.
Not luxurious but safe, comfortable and friendly.
www.jordantoweramman.com/
48, Hashemiyeh Street, Hashemiyeh, Amman, Jordan
+962(0)64614161
One of the few places in Wadi Musa that you can get a drink (alcoholic). Not cheap in that a pint of beer costs between 5JD - 6JD. Annoying that the price on the menu does not include the 26% tax and the service charge.
Having said all that it is a great location for a bar, occupying a 2,000 year-old Nabataean tomb only a stone's throw from the entrance to Petra.
Just near the entrance to Petra (on the right hand side as you face the Petra entrance).
Part of the Crowne Plaza hotel complex.
www.petra.crowneplaza.com/
P.O. Box 30,Wadi Mousa Petra 00000, Jordan
+962 (0)3 215 6266
Google map: bit.ly/Vi0peR
We only stayed here for one night but cannot speak too highly of this place. The staff were very friendly with the owner dropping us down to the Petra site after we arrived at the hotel. The hotel is situated above the main town but is only a short taxi ride down the hill to Petra/town centre. However there are a number of other hotels and restaurants around this hotel so it is not isolated.
When you see what Movenpick etc are charging in the town you will be amazed at this hotel's prices!
The owner's father was a previous governor of the area and he is very well regarded in the area.
We paid 28JD and were astounded at the quality of the accommodation. The whole place was recently renovated to a very high standard and would not look out of place in one of the good hotels in Europe. For example the bathroom was huge, enclosed in frosted glass.
The owner arranged for a bus to pick us up from the hotel for our trip back to Amman saving us a journey to the bus station.
My wife wished the accommodation on the rest of our trip in Middle East was like this!!
www.valleystarsinn.com/location.htm
Main Street, P.O. Box 88, Wadi Musa 71810, Jordan
+962 3 2155 733
Google map: bit.ly/Qhrr2V
The Red Sea is one of the best places to dive in the world (I think). The small piece of coast in the south of Jordan has over 15 dive sites protected by a marine park. There are a lot less divers getting in your way then on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea and the coral and fish are just as beautiful!
Ahlan Aqaba Scuba Diving Centre is highly professional, friendly and fun. I love diving with the team there and am impressed with their commitment to protecting the reef, through clean up dives and surveys.
diveinaqaba.com/
+962(03)2062242
Google map: bit.ly/sUYLZu
Just as a beer tastes best after physical exertion so a hammam is blissful when muscles are weary and the body has a degree of grubbiness. So head for Jordan and spend a couple of days trekking in the desert at Wadi Rum, sleeping under the stars and enjoying Bedouin hospitality but no washing facilities. Then on to Petra where a hammam just before the site provides sublime refreshment. It may not be a world beater but it will certainly feel like it and the staff are skillful and welcoming. You leave cleansed and reinvigorated, ready to explore Petra; a much larger site than expected where it is easy to escape the crowds. As the sun sets walk on to a second Bedouin camp where a traditional meal awaits plus an untraditional beer. Perfick!
Google map: bit.ly/gcPnZs
Whether you go for a budget public bathe, or to the luxurious hotel spa, you can benefit from the Ma'in hot springs. High thermal waterfalls - nature's ultimate power shower - blissfully toasty pools and an underground rock sauna all soothe and relax. Go during Jordan's cool season - stepping into 40 degree water from 35 degree air isn't fun - and soak up some winter destressing.
Jett bus goes daily from Amman or hire a taxi to take you there in style. Two hours scenic drive from Amman you can go via the mountains and return by the Dead Sea Highway.
www.sixsenses.com/evason-ma-in/
P.O. Box 801 Madaba, 11117 Ma'In, Jordan.
+962 5 324 5500
Google map: bit.ly/eFpQ3k
Unlike the more popular deserts I've experienced, Wadi Rum is how you imagined a desert to be - beautiful, playful sand beneath your feet, rather than ugly harsh rocks.
Enjoying a little financial comfort from the tourism dollar, you can expect Bedouin guides to take you bombing around the desert in a well-traveled 4x4 truck, stopping off to explore beautiful scenery, jump off sand dunes, and indulge a little rock climbing if you wish.
Expect to camp and eat in simple Bedouin camps with basic amenities, in the middle of the vast desert.
Wadi Rum can be enjoyed as a day-trip from Petra, but budget 2/3 days to properly appreciate it. We booked a two days/one night package through our hostel in Amman.
Everybody we spoke to about Wadi Rum had similar - excellent - experiences.
www.wadirum.jo/
Google map: bit.ly/cUKlyh
There are few locations in the world that remain as enduring and ageless as the magnificent yet sedate Wadi Rum. It’s longevity is perhaps because time shifts so gradually to the leisurely beat of life. It is conceivable that even the heartbeats of the indigenous Bedouin tribes tick that increment slower, with their face-wide smiles and calm presence. Wadi Rum was romanticised in T.E. Lawrence's magnus opus 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ who described it as ‘vast, echoing and god-like’. Inevitably comparisons will be drawn with the renowned Petra, but it was certainly not overshadowed for me, metaphorically or physically with the epic Jebel Rum reaching the soaring height of 1754m.
The desert of Wadi Rum, however, is not what you would conventionally expect. As if grandiosely carved by divine means, the region known as Wadi Rum is actually a series of valleys about 2km wide stretching north to south for about 130km, found in Jordan. The dunes are formed with a radiant red sand and are accompanied by a glorious backdrop of majestic rock formations. Besides the extraordinary desert scenes, you are also able to visit Khaz'ali Canyon, the site of petroglyphs etched into the cave walls depicting humans and antelopes dating back to the Thamudic times, or Lawrence spring, a large crevice in a canyon with ancient inscriptions as well as what is regarded as Lawrence’s house.
Days flow by so effortlessly, I recommend staying at least one night. You can organise a tour by jeep and night accommodation with a Bedouin tribe through an organisation. At the end of the day of touring, we retired back inside the tent, to be fed some of the most mouthwatering food, baked in an under-ground oven. After we were treated to the soporific rhapsodies of a tribe member, and then to confirm what was already an unforgettable day, we dragged our beds outside and slept under the opulent glimmer of the stars. It is the towering mountains that speak louder than the hubbub of a city ever could.
Wadi Rum can be found in the South of Jordan. You can reach it by taxi or bus from either Petra or Aqaba.
Google map: bit.ly/cEaGfO
I also recommend organising the company on arrival, because you will be able to haggle on arrival for a cheaper price.
A spa hotel, secluded, rural mountain area above the Dead Sea, and still 400m below sea level, overlooking a spectacular hot springs. The perfect place to relax in peaceful and comfortable surroundings. We stayed four nights before Christmas and it was blue skies everyday with temperatures of 25C, perfect spring weather
Evason Ma'In Hot Springs & Six Senses Spa, PO Box 801 Madaba, 11117 Ma'In, Jordan (00 962 5 324 5500; www.sixsenses.com
Google map: tinyurl.com/yd7ybw5
Ever since seeing the film 'Lawrence of Arabia' I wanted to visit Wadi Rum, one of the great locations of the film, and see for myself the towering sandstone towers rising from the desert sands. It didn't dissapoint and while I was there I enjoyed the legendary hospitality of the Bedouin.
In Aquaba stay at the Alcajar hotel.
Don't forget to drink mint tea on the beach as the sun sets over the Red Sea and snorkel over the reefs.
www.wadirum.jo/
Google map: tinyurl.com/y8rstfk
Take a bus or taxi from Aquaba on the shores of the Red Sea.
Wadi Rum is an absolute must if you visit Jordan, with magnificent sunsets and wonderful Bedouin food, topped off by the beautiful clear night sky.
A visit to the Monastery is a must. While a bit of a trek (set off early morning to avoid the heat of day), the route can be walked, or you can be taken up by Donkey.
Either way, it's well worth it, with a cave cafe opposite the Monastery to relax, take in the atmosphere and recharge your batteries
Jordan’s big tourist attractions are no secret. As a result, whether you’re bobbing around serenely in the Dead Sea or pretending to be Indiana Jones in rose red Petra, you’ll likely be swamped by other tourists. Much more adventurous than the former and less busy than the latter, Wadi Mujib provides a great afternoon of thrill-seeking for those who don’t mind getting a bit wet. Not far from the shores of the Dead Sea, visitors pay a small fee (used to maintain the valley) before getting some much-needed warnings about their expensive cameras, a life jacket and a pat on the back. Ahead lies a walk inland, up a dramatic wadi made of ambitious layer cake rock, with a permanent steam striving to reach the super salty sea below. From the very start, your feet are wet, but before you’ve reached the waterfall at the heart of the wadi, you’ll have swam, climbed and maybe sobbed a little. It’s like Petra in a puddle, but none the worse for it.
About an hour's drive from Madaba, just off the highway that runs along the Dead Sea. www.rscn.org.jo
The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilisation, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value - as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man. Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed.
The Dana Guesthouse is perched on the edge of the spectacular Wadi Dana canyon in the Dana nature reserve in southern Jordan.
It one of the most peaceful and relaxing places you can stay in the whole country, with only 9 rooms and amazing views. You can hike in the wilderness by day and gaze at starry night skies whilst contributing to Jordan's foresighted sustainable eco-tourism.
You will also be greeted with very warm hospitality and fantastic local organic food. Simple, wild, luxury.
Dana Village, 45min drive north of Petra. +962 6 4616523, rscn.org.jo
It's well worth staying the course and ending the day at Petra. The rocks take on a deep pink/red hue as the sun sets, plus as the site empties of people you are left to behold the beauty of the carvings in relative peace.
When I visited (April 2007) they were placing lit candles for a Petra At Night Walk - adding even more romantic beauty to the carvings and the walk back up the sique.
Much more than the Treasury famously visited by Indiana Jones (fantastic facade but no interior), Petra is a whole hidden city later overlaid by a Roman town. The walk down the narrow siq gives no clue as to the scale of what's in store. It takes at least two days to see it all. The red and pink striped colours of the soft sandstone are astonishing. After a glass of mint tea make the climb up to the monastery, or hire a donkey or camel to get you there.
It's worth visiting Little Petra a few kilometres away with more intimate streets and cave houses. Plenty of hotels of all grades in the busy small town that has sprung up to cater for visitors, and excellant levante food.
A few hours north of Aquaba via Wadi Rum, or half a day south of Aman. Plenty of buses or tours
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