Staff Educational: A Tour Of Jordan

Today was the start of our wonderful adventure exploring Jordan. After a spot of breakfast at our hotel, boarding began on our Just You private coach, with our dedicated driver who stayed with our

After a short drive we arrived in the capital, first exploring King Abdullah’s Mosque in a guided tour, accompanied with headsets so we could follow and listen to our wonderful Holiday Director. We then spent the morning exploring the hustle and bustle of Amman; tasting traditional middle eastern street food such as Falafel and Kanafeh, being welcomed into local family run stores to sample their goods and finally discovering the historical ruins of the Citadel and Roman theatre.

Our day continued with a visit to Jerash, where we were able to visit the beautifully preserved Roman Ruins including Zeus’s Temple and the Theatres – a must see for any visit to Jordan.  After a day of walking, our stomachs were excited to be filled once again with a choice of sharing platters, dips, breads, meats, deserts and more at Tawahine Al Hawa restaurant. Yum!

Our second day was equally as action-packed as we headed to the vibrant streets of Madaba. It was lovely to be greeted each morning by our wonderful Holiday Director who was always eager and full of excitement to share the adventures that lay ahead. We started the day at St George’s Church where we got to view a magnificent mosaic map of Jordan depicting the Jordan River going through to the dead sea and beyond. Dating all the way back to the sixth century AD, it’s really remarkable to imagine how this was not only made, but also how it has withstood the test of time while remaining in such a pristine condition.

Following our visit, we were welcomed at The Food Basket, which has hosted a plethora of famous faces over the years. We dove straight into a taster class in mosaic making where we were each challenged to create a small mosaic of our initials (luckily mine was a straightforward ‘L’ unlike some of the others who had to work out the angles and curves of an ‘S’)! Whilst the class took place, our host invited us to try on traditional Jordanian robes and also have a shot at Arabic writing. Meanwhile the aroma of lunch being made soon filled the room and diverted our attention straight towards the dining table as it was filled with an array of appetisers, our starter of hummus and dips, and finally the “upside down” main course of Maqluba. A rule I swore by on my visit to Jordan was to try absolutely everything that is put in front of me, and I wasn’t let down once!

Day three was the day we had all been waiting for, exploring the magnificent wonder of the world that is Petra.

Our tour started with The Siq, a postcard-worthy view that is instantly recognizable. The Petra tour was guided by Rain, our holiday director who spoke so passionately about the history of the city and proved to be a fountain of knowledge when it came to interesting facts. Rain ensured we took our time in walking through The Siq so we could capture every bit of beauty this natural wonder had to offer.

As the walking path between The Siq’s walls grew tighter, small gaps opened up to show the most impressive façade of Petra – The Treasury. At almost 40 metres tall, the ever so detailed sandstone monument is the hallmark of Petra. After passionately speaking about the Treasury (and also making us aware of the tourist traps which were soon to be unveiled to us) Rain offered our group free time to split up and explore the remains of Petra by ourselves. However, upon our request (and with very little persuasion), Rain took us further into Petra to continue sharing his expertise and guiding the group through area’s we would have never discovered on our own.

Today marked our penultimate day of the tour. We set off towards the Wadi Rum Desert heading along The Kings Highway and stopping off at Shobak Castle.

Lunch was served within the peaceful setting of the Ammarin Bedouin Camp, where we enjoyed our food surrounded by the spectacular desert scenery. Our journey then continued to Wadi Rum, where we checked in at the Bab Al Shams Camp. Having been informed that we were the only group staying at the camp that night, we took full advantage of having the pleasure to roam freely for the evening. We chose to spend our night sat around the campfire and watching the sunset before dinner which created such a magical atmosphere.

As night fell, we headed out for a truly surreal star gazing experience which exceeded all my expectations! Our host for the evening spoke about the constellations and planets we could see, along with allowing our group to use 4 telescopes to have a closer look at the nights sky and the mesmerising stars that twinkled throughout. Yet we found the best option was to lie on the floor and stargaze as this provided an amazing view of the whole sky, giving you a chance to take everything in. It really was the perfect end to a perfect day!

And so our adventure sadly comes to an end. We departed early from Wadi Rum after awaking to a stunning sunrise that was topped off with hot air balloons floating throughout the sand sky. We continued our travels towards the infamous dead sea, which turned out to be an interesting and unique experience to say the least. A large keg of mud masks sat upon the shore which we were advised to lather on before entering the sea – although I would advise to approach this with caution if you have sensitive skin as upon submerging in the salty waters it created a bit of a stinging sensation. However, once the scrub washed off and the tingling subsided, the Dead Sea was wonderful! We had so much fun floating about and relaxing in the sun.

For our final afternoon together, we lathered up by the pool and worked our way through the cocktail menu whilst reminiscing on the once in a lifetime memories we had created in the past week.  

This was my first time doing a tour, and before this experience I would never have considered it. As a female solo traveller, it was always something I was a bit wary of but I couldn't have been more wrong! I honestly don’t think I could have been introduced to this new way of holiday making any better than with Just You. From the get-go, I was beyond fortunate to have the most amazing tour group of fellow solo explorers to experience this adventure with. Not to mention our Holiday Director, Rain was an absolute pleasure to spend the week with. I will forever be thankful for him sharing his knowledge with such passion and going out of his way to give our tour group a unique and memorable experience catered exactly to us!