TOUR LEADERS
Nick & Iris Van Gruisen
TOUR DATE: 4 APRIL 2025 – 14 APRIL 2025
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: £1,790
Price Includes
- Accommodation throughout as shown in the itinerary
- Breakfast daily; 8 lunches; 8 dinners
- Snack on arrival, day 1
- One soft drink, bottled water and coffee/tea with included meals
- All visits and excursions as per the itinerary
- Group transfers and transportation as detailed in the itinerary
- All entrance fees
- Local English-speaking guide/s
- Group visa
- Gratuities in restaurants; gratuities to driver/s; gratuities to guide/s; porterage
- The services of your tour leaders throughout
Price Excludes
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Items of personal expenditure (e.g. telephone calls / laundry etc.)
- Government levies or taxes introduced after costing and publication of this programme on 12/12/23
London / Amman
Suggested flight (not included in the cost of the tour) Royal Jordanian RJ 112 departing London Heathrow at 17.05 hrs arriving in Amman at 00.10 hrs. Group transfer to the centrally located Fairmont Hotel, where four nights are spent. A light snack will be provided on arrival.
Amman, Jerash
Morning tour of Amman, visiting some of the city’s ancient ruins and buildings, such as on Citadel Hill – one of the seven jabals (hills) that originally made up Amman – the Temple of Hercules Temple and the Umayyad Palace. Visit the Roman theatre and museum in the lower part of Amman.
Lunch at the Lebanese House Restaurant. Transfer north to Jerash, one of the best examples in the Middle East of a Roman provincial city which is remarkably well-preserved. Walk through original temples, theatres, plazas and colonnaded streets, all enclosed within the remaining city walls. Return to Amman. Dinner at Fakhreldin, one of the best restaurants in Amman.
Amman, Bethany, Mount Nebo & Madaba
This morning drive south to Bethany, the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. Continue to Mount Nebo, mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land, and climb to the very top to take in its spectacular views over the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. Continue to Madaba, known as the City of Mosaics, famous for its large Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor of St. George’s Church, depicting all the major biblical sites of the Middle East.
Lunch at Haret Jdoudna restaurant, serving traditional Jordanian home-made dishes. Return to Amman for an afternoon at leisure. Dinner at Jafral restaurant.
Amman, Qasr Al-Hallabat
Drive east to visit three desert castles. Heading north-east we come to Qasr al-Hallabat, originally a Roman Fortress, constructed under Emperor Caracalla to protect its inhabitants from Bedouin tribes. The site dates back to the second and third century AD, although there is evidence of Nabataean presence. Continue to Hamman al-Sarah. Lastly, we visit Qasr Amra, considered to be one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture. This desert castle was built early in the 8th century, sometime between 723 and 743 AD by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future Umayyad Caliph Walid II.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Return to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure. Cooking demonstration followed by dinner Beit Sitti restaurant.
Amman, Kerak, Shobak, Petra
Drive (with luggage) south to Kerak to visit the magnificent 12th-century Crusader fortress built by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1142 AD and featured in legendary battles between the Crusaders and the Islamic armies of Saladin.
Lunch in Kerak, before continuing to the ruins of the early 12th-century Shobak Castle, formally known as ‘Mons Regalis’, named in honour of the king’s own contribution to its construction. Continue along the Desert Highway to Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Check into the Petra Marriott hotel, where three nights are spent. Located a short drive from the archaeological site of Petra, the hotel has spectacular views over the surrounding valley. Dinner in the hotel.
Petra
Full day’s sightseeing at Petra. Hewn from towering rust-coloured rock in the valleys of the Shara Mountains, Petra is testament to the prosperity of the Nabataeans. Walk through the narrow, winding 1.2km-long fissure, known as the Siq, with walls towering up to 200 metres overhead. At the end lies the unforgettable sight of the ‘rose-red’ Treasury, Al-Khazneh with its stunning 40-metre high façade.
Lunch at The Basin Restaurant. Option to walk up to the Deir Monastery (800 steps) and back. Walk back down to the treasury and on to the site entrance. Return to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel.
Petra
Drive to Little Petra, a magical spot with its own miniature version of the Siq. It is believed Little Petra was an important suburb of Petra, the entry and exit point for the trade routes to the north and north-west. As in Petra, the buildings were carved into the sandstone, used as residences, storages and tombs, with water channels and cisterns. In one of the cave buildings, you can find the remains of painted frescoes with birds, grapes and flowers, dating from the first century AD.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Return to Petra. Dinner at the hotel.
Petra, Wadi Rum
Drive (with luggage) south-east to Wadi Rum – forever now associated with T. E. Lawrence – a spectacular desert landscape broken by 800-metre high mountains – rust-coloured jebels – capped with sandstone rising sheer from the wide, sandy valley floor. Check into the Memories Aicha Luxury Camp in Wadi Rum.
Lunch at the camp. Desert safari in 4×4 jeeps seeing the rock bridges of Jebel Burdah and Umm Fruth and the Khazali Canyon. Optional camel rides. Traditional desert dinner in the camp.
Wadi Rum, Umm Ar-Rasa, Machaerus, Dead Sea
Drive (with luggage) north to Umm ar-Rasas to see the mosaics in St. Stephen’s Church, one of four churches in the original village. Look at its magnificent mosaic floor dating back to about 785 AD. Continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, sitting at 400 metres below sea level.
Lunch at the Panorama Dead Sea Restaurant. Check into the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea. The resort has excellent amenities including a beach, several swimming pools and a spa and treatment centre, which offers a range of restorative treatments (payable locally). Dinner under own arrangements.
Dead Sea
Free day at leisure. Lunch under own arrangements. Farewell dinner at the hotel.
Dead Sea, Amman, London
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