Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan: what a package should include

The honest picture

Petra is the rock-cut Nabataean city in southern Jordan, entered through the narrow Siq gorge that opens onto the Treasury facade, and it is the reason most Jordan packages exist. Wadi Rum, the sandstone desert to the south, is its natural companion; together with Jerash in the north, the Dead Sea and often a night in Aqaba on the Red Sea, they make up the loop that nearly every operator sells.

People package Jordan because the country is compact, the sites are spread along one north-south axis, and public transport between them is thin. A driver or a small-group vehicle turns a week of awkward connections into a smooth loop from Amman. The Jordan Pass, an official bundle of the tourist visa with entry to Petra and dozens of other sites, is designed for exactly this kind of trip and most packages assume it.

The honest picture: Petra is big and hot and everything is on foot. From the visitor centre to the Treasury is well over a kilometre through the Siq, the main city area is a further couple of kilometres, and the Monastery is a stiff climb of several hundred steps beyond that. A one-day visit is a long day with a lot of walking; anyone who wants the high places or a second look at the Treasury without the morning crowds needs two. The site is also busy: coach groups and, from Aqaba, cruise passengers arrive mid-morning and the Treasury forecourt is packed by ten.

Wadi Rum is more relaxed but has its own trade-offs. The standard visit is a jeep tour of the classic sights followed by a night in a camp run by the local Bedouin community, and the camps range from simple to extravagant. Winter nights are cold, summer days are fierce, and rain in winter can close the Siq at Petra at short notice.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Summer is very hot; winter can bring rain and occasional flash-flood closures at Petra.

What a typical package looks like

6 to 8 day loops from Amman: Jerash, Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum with a night in a Bedouin camp, sometimes Aqaba. Frequently sold as a Jordan-only package or combined with Egypt or Israel.

What the price includes, and where money leaks

The headline price for a Jordan package usually includes accommodation with breakfast, a vehicle with a driver or guide, the Wadi Rum jeep tour and camp night with dinner, and often the Jordan Pass or the site entries it replaces. It commonly excludes flights, most lunches and dinners, Petra by Night, the Dead Sea resort day pass if the itinerary only stops there rather than staying, and tips for the driver, guide and camp staff. Whether the Jordan Pass is included is the first line to check: without it the visa and the Petra ticket are separate and generally larger costs.

Leaks cluster at Petra and Wadi Rum. Inside Petra, horse, donkey and camel rides are offered constantly and the short horse ride nominally included with the ticket comes with an expected tip; the site's licensed guides are hired separately unless the package brings its own. Petra by Night is a separate ticket sold as an optional. At Wadi Rum the difference between a two-hour and a full-day jeep tour, and between a traditional tent and a 'bubble' or luxury camp, is large and not always spelled out. Single supplements apply throughout, including in the camps.

To compare quotes, ask for the number of days inside Petra, whether the Jordan Pass and the Wadi Rum protected-area fee are included, the length of the jeep tour, the camp name and standard, and whether there is a guide throughout or only a driver with local guides at each site. A quote that gives Petra one day and Wadi Rum a two-hour tour is priced accordingly, and the saving is usually smaller than the loss.

Getting there

Queen Alia International Airport south of Amman is the main gateway; Aqaba's airport handles some regional and European flights and makes a sensible start or finish for itineraries that end in the south. Petra is about three hours from Amman on the Desert Highway or most of a day on the King's Highway with stops, and Wadi Rum is roughly an hour and a half further south. Land crossings from Israel exist at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and near Aqaba, but their opening hours and rules change, and packages that rely on them should have a contingency.

Packages almost universally include the airport transfer and then keep the same vehicle for the loop, so arrival is straightforward. What to check is the arrival day itself: many itineraries have you land, transfer and start touring the following morning, and a late-night flight into Amman followed by an early Jerash departure is a common source of complaint in traveller reports.

Where packages put you

At Petra the hotels are in Wadi Musa, the town at the site entrance, and the useful distinction is distance from the visitor centre: a handful of hotels are within a few minutes' walk, the rest are spread up the hillside and need a shuttle or taxi, which matters for a dawn start. Mid-range packages usually use the hillside hotels. In Amman, hotels cluster in the western districts and near the centre; Dead Sea nights are at the resort hotels on the eastern shore, which is the only practical way to swim there, since public access to the water is limited.

Wadi Rum camps are the accommodation people remember. The traditional model is a cluster of goat-hair tents around a communal dining tent, with shared bathrooms and a fire in the evening; newer camps offer en-suite tents, and the bubble camps offer transparent domes with air conditioning at a much higher price. All operate under permits within the protected area and are reached by jeep from the visitor centre; what differs is comfort and, at the upper end, a feeling of being in a resort rather than in the desert.

Check these before paying a deposit

• Days in Petra. One day covers the Siq and the Treasury; the Monastery and the high places need a second. Many packages give one.
• Whether the Jordan Pass is included. It bundles the visa and entry to Petra and other sites and usually saves money.
• Wadi Rum: length of the jeep tour and the standard of the camp. Some 'bubble' camps are far pricier than the tented ones.
• Petra by Night is a separate ticket and often an optional extra.

Good for

History Desert landscapes Travellers who want a compact itinerary

Skip it if

Walking several kilometres on uneven ground in heat is a problem; there is no shortcut to the main sites.

What to ask the operator

Ask how many days in Petra and whether the second day is a full day or an early departure; whether the Petra guide is one of the site's licensed guides; the Wadi Rum jeep tour duration and the camp name; and whether the Jordan Pass is included and for which number of Petra days. Ask what happens if Petra closes for flash-flood risk, which happens some winters, and whether the itinerary can swap days around. If combining with a neighbouring country, ask which crossing is used and what the operator does if it closes.

Jordan requires tour guides to be licensed, and the guides at Petra and the drivers at Wadi Rum work under local arrangements: Wadi Rum jeeps and camps belong to the local Bedouin community, and every operator, however large, subcontracts to them. Group size has its clearest effect at Petra, where a group of twenty moves slowly through the Siq and rarely reaches the Monastery, and at the camps, where a small group gets a quiet evening and a large one gets a coach-tour dinner.

Mistakes people make here

• Giving Petra a single day and then regretting missing the Monastery.
• Arriving at the Treasury at eleven with the coach and cruise crowds instead of at opening time.
• Assuming the Jordan Pass is included when the quote only says 'entry fees as per itinerary'.
• Paying for a 'full-day' Wadi Rum experience that is a two-hour jeep loop before check-in.
• Underestimating the walking; Petra involves several kilometres and steep steps in heat.
• Packing for the desert and forgetting the cold; Wadi Rum in winter is near freezing at night.
• Booking Petra by Night without checking which evenings it runs.

Where to compare packages for Petra

For multi-day packages, start with a marketplace to see the field, then check the operator's own site for price and terms. For day tours inside a trip you have planned yourself, use an activity marketplace.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do I need in Petra?

Two is the right answer for most people: one for the Siq, the Treasury, the Street of Facades and the Royal Tombs, one for the Monastery and a high place, with an early start on at least one of them. A single long day is workable for fit walkers who enter at opening and accept skipping the climbs.

What is the Jordan Pass and should my package include it?

It is an official bundle sold by Jordan's tourism authorities that covers the visa fee for eligible nationalities staying at least three nights, entry to Petra for one, two or three days, and entry to Wadi Rum, Jerash and many other sites. Most itineraries save money with it. Ask the operator whether it is included and for how many Petra days.

Is Petra by Night worth it?

It is a candle-lit walk through the Siq to the Treasury with music, on set evenings each week, and opinions divide: atmospheric for some, crowded and brief for others. It is a separate ticket and usually sold as an optional extra, so check the evening falls on a night you are in Wadi Musa.

What is a night in Wadi Rum actually like?

A jeep tour of the classic sights in the afternoon, sunset from a dune, dinner cooked in a sand oven at the camp, and a night in a tent or dome. Traditional camps are simple and shared; luxury and bubble camps are far more comfortable and far more expensive.

Can I combine Jordan with Egypt or Israel?

Packages do both, with Egypt reached by flight or by ferry from Aqaba to the Sinai, and Israel by land crossing when open. The Israel crossings are subject to closures and changed rules at short notice; ask what the operator does if that happens mid-trip.

What should I wear in Jordan?

Practical, modest clothing that covers shoulders and knees is comfortable everywhere and expected in Amman and at religious sites; sturdy shoes for Petra, a hat, and a warm layer for desert nights outside high summer. Swimwear is fine at the Dead Sea and Aqaba resorts.