Jordan is home to one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a short flight from most places in Europe. It's a very easy destination to explore, quite relaxing and you can visit the main sites in just a few days. Here's our suggestion for an itinerary for a long weekend.
Day 1: Arrival
There are convenient flights to Aqaba in the aptly named Gulf of Aqaba, opening into the Red Sea. We recommend flying there as it's closer to Petra and Wadi Rum - the sites to visit during this trip. There are also low cost flights going there which makes it better budget wise too.
The alternative airport, in Aman, is also an option, but it will be more expensive to fly there and get around after that.
Depending on when you land you can spend the night in Aqaba and head to Petra early the next morning. There really isn't anything to do in Aqaba, and we mean the place is an absolute waste of time, so if you land earlier you can plan some water-based activities there or head straight to your next destination.
If you do have some spare time in Aqaba, the only thing we found worth doing there is eating. The food all across Jordan is excellent and Aqaba is no exception so you can hardly go wrong wherever you decide to dine. A highlight for us was Nafeeseh shop, a sweets heaven where we had amazing Arabic ice-cream (it's vanilla ice-cream with cardamom and pistachio) and one of the best kunefe's we've ever had.
Day 1/2: Underwater
There are excellent diving opportunities from Aqaba and we highly recommend you to explore those. There are multiple reefs with fantastic opportunities to observe marine life or you can explore the sunken military museum featuring cannons, battle tanks and armored cars. The most famous site is the shipwreck of the Cedar Pride - a massive sunken cargo ship which is "only" 30 meters below the surface making it accessible to most divers. There's a great overview of the top sites over on Culture Trip.
If you're not into diving you can still explore some of these sites by snorkeling or by a glass-bottom boat.
You can swap the snorkeling or boat ride for the last day if you're eager to go and see Petra, but we remind you to do the diving earlier in your trip to make sure you don't miss out because you need to catch your flight (like we did).
Day 3: Petra
Petra is only about 2-2.5 hours' drive from Aqaba and you can easily have an early start and still have time to explore the site. Have in mind it's massive and it could easily take you a few days to walk all around it, so you don't want to sleep in on this day.
Why is Petra interesting?
Long story short - it's a historic city that was the center of the empire of the Nabateans some 2.2 thousand years ago. The Nabateans were prominent merchants who made their fortune by harvesting (is this the correct word?) and selling incense. And by charging the caravans that were passing through the region, conveniently linking the Arab peninsula and the Mediterranean from one side and Egypt and the Silk road from the other. A crossroad they were able to capitalise on due to their mastery of living in the desert.
Fun facts about the Nabateans - their main focus was trade and they didn't seek to conquer the surrounding areas with violence (although they didn't have trouble defending themselves aggressively if need be) and they were one of the very few people of that era where women had an active social role and were treated with a fair degree of equality. Quite pragmatic in our view.
The city nowadays fascinates us with its buildings carved into the rock which make for some spectacular sites with how unusual this architecture is. There are also some roman ruins from the time they ruled the place but this isn't that exclusive.
The way that water was managed is also ingenious - the place is in the middle of the desert and yet they managed to secure fresh and cool (!!) water flowing into it not just for drinking but for life's small luxuries like cleaning/washing and bathing.
One of our favourite things was actually the nature surrounding Petra. The entrance to the city is a magnificent gorge formed by an earthquake that split the multi-coloured rock where the city is nestled. Its depth reaches 40+ meters in places and it really is quite something to see.
When you enter the site you'll be given a map with all the main places marked. We recommend that you go and visit the Monastery (the largest building in Petra and the one you probably recognise from all the photos) and take the Al Khubtha Trail that leads to a spectacular viewpoint over the Treasury. Have in mind this is an all day thing if you start early and don't mess about too much. You could also take a more leisurely walk to the Monastery and perhaps the Royal Tombs. Generally if you want to explore properly you'd need at least a couple of days.
One thing not to miss is the Petra by Night light tour. It happens on a couple of days of the week so you might want to time your trip accordingly. It's essentially going back to the city at night while the main road up to the Treasury is lit by thousands of candles. When you arrive there's a show with traditional instruments, music and even more candles. It's magical and highly worth breaking your legs a bit more.
If you do end up going on the Petra by Night tour please, please, please don't use your phone's flashlight to light up your way! The whole point is to immerse yourself in the atmosphere and travel back in time. There were no phones or flashlights back in the day when Petra was inhabited and you're killing the mood for both yourself and those around you. Also the path is pretty clear, there's nowhere to trip and the candles are so many they light everything well enough so using a flashlight is totally unnecessary,
Day 4: Wadi Rum
After Petra you can head over to the red desert and explore it. If you have more time you can use this day for Petra as well but otherwise one day should be enough.
Wadi Rum is a famous natural wonder in Jordan. The native nomadic tribes, the bedouin, live there and it offers a spectacular desert landscape to explore. Its characteristic red sand dunes are broken up by unique rock formations we haven't seen anywhere else in the world.
You can go on a jeep safari and explore the desert and we also found the camel rides to be a great experience. A word of caution - if you've never been on a camel before it might be a better idea to opt for the shorter, one-hour long tour. It is actually quite tiring and your bum wouldn't be used to a camel's back, which presents its own challenges :)
While it is possible to sleep in Aqaba and only visit for the day we highly recommend spending the night in a camp in the desert. The dwellings, although resembling tents on the outside, are traditionally decorated hotel rooms in the middle of the desert, so the stay is quite comfortable. In the evening you can have the special earth burrowed barbeque (it's just exceptional) and smoke some shisha with the bedouin.
Wadi Rum is about an hour's drive from Aqaba so you can head straight for the airport after exploring the desert.
Potential itinerary changes
Depending on flights and your preferences for activities you might want to switch around the days. In our case, we landed on a Wednesday evening and wanted to do the Petra by Night on Thursday so unfortunately we didn't do the diving and went straight to Petra in the morning. This left us with almost a full day in Aqaba at the back end of our trip which was horribly boring and we wouldn't recommend that.
If you end up in a similar schedule and still want to do the diving you can go back to Aqaba after Petra and then return to the desert on the day following the diving. This would however break up the historic/desert experience so it's less optimal but it might be the only option for a dive within the weekend.
There are of course more places to visit in Jordan, like the Dead Sea, the capital Aman or the roman ruins of Jerash. If you are short on time however, we feel this itinerary is a great way to explore the country and get a feeling of its unique history, nature and culture. Enjoy!
P.S. Don't forget to try camel meat - it's as tender and juicy as lamb but without the sheepy undertones :)