Begin your tour of Jordan exploring the Ajlun Castle, the ancient Roman ruins of Jerash, followed by an afternoon city tour of Amman. The next day is en route towards Petra where you will tour the Biblical sites of Mt. Nebo and Medaba and on to Kerak - a wonderful example of the Crusader castles built in the region. Continue with the wonderment that is Petra - the rock-carved rose-red city full of mysterious charm that was "designed to strike wonder into all who entered it". Petra is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. From there its off to Wadi Rum for your day tour and deset safari experience. Making your way back to Amman, the tour concludes with an overnight at the Dead Sea and tours of Bethany (the Baptism site) and Umm Qais where it is believed that Jesus performed the miracle of the Geradine Swine.

NOTE: Travel in Egypt and Jordan often involves early-morning starts, designed to avoid crowds and the hottest midday hours. It can be hot, especially in June, July and August, but there is virtually no humidity and evening temperatures cool off dramatically. Egypt and Jordan are moderate secular states, well used to hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. While you'll want to avoid revealing clothing, loose shorts and short-sleeved shirts are fine for both genders while sightseeing.

Day 1
Amman
Airport meet and assist/transfer in Amman with a private vehicle and English speaking driver. Kensington Tours donates a portion of our proceeds to our charitable initiative www.kensingtoncares.com which supports education-based initiatives in disadvantaged communities. Enjoy lunch at leisure (not included in tour price). Enjoy dinner at leisure (not included in tour price). Recently renovated, the Amman Marriott Hotel offers comfort and convenience to those visiting Amman. The city center hotel is close to the business district and tourist attractions, just steps away from the allure of this modern yet ancient city. The location of the Amman Mariott ensures that you don't miss anything, with area attractions such as the Citadel and Jerash only minutes away. The hotel also offers delicious dining options, as well as a health club for maximum well being in the middle of the city. Amman's history dates from the bronze age and features grand Roman ruins and some of the region's finest mosques. The old city is centered around the Souk (a colorful traditional market) and the King Hussein Mosque. Since Amman resembles Rome, as it is situated on seven hills, the city was a favorite place for Roman soldiers and officials. Behind the Roman forum stands a Roman theatre—the largest theatre in Jordan—with room for 6,000 spectators. Amman is also home to some of the grandest mosques in the Middle East. The enormous King Abdullah I Mosque is capped by a magnificent blue mosaic dome beneath which 3,000 Muslims may offer prayer. The most unusual mosque in Amman is the Abu Darweesh Mosque covered with an extraordinary black and white chequered pattern and is unique to Jordan.

Day 2
Amman
The marvels of nature and the genius of medieval Arab military architecture have given northern Jordan two of the most important ecological and historical attractions in the Middle East: the sprawling pine forests of the Ajloun-Dibbine area, and the towering Ayyubid castle at Ajloun, which helped to defeat the Crusaders eight centuries ago. Jerash, located 48 km north of Amman and nestled in a quiet valley among the mountains of Gilead, rivals the grandeur of Imperial Rome being one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the World outside Italy. To this day, its paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theaters, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates remain in exceptional condition. Enjoy visiting the sites in the company of your Driver-Guide. Enjoy a half day city tour of Amman. The profusion of gleaming white houses, kebab stalls with roasting meat, and tiny cafes where rich Arabian coffee is sipped in the afternoon sunshine, conjure a mood straight from a thousand and one nights. Certified Private English speaking guide provided for daily tours. Overnight at Amman Mariott.

Day 3
Amman - Petra
Roundtrip Transfer to/from Petra with private vehicle and driver. According to Jewish and Christian tradition, Moses was buried on this mountain by God himself, and his final resting place is unknown. Scholars continue to dispute whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the mountain referred to in the Torah.
Madaba’s most famous site is the Mosaic map in the 19th century Greek Orthodox St George’s Church. Unearthed 1864, the mosaic was once a clear map with 157 captions (in Greek) of all major biblical sites from Lebanon to Egypt. The mosaic was constructed AD 560 & once contained more than 2 million pieces, only 1/3 of the whole now survives. Tour the magnificent Crusader fortress of Kerak - Crak des Moabites, or Le Pierre du Desert to Crusaders - which soars above its valleys and hills like a great ship riding waves of rock. Certified private English speaking guide for daily tours outside of Amman. The splendorous Mövenpick Resort Petra is the close neighbor of the ancient, dusty rose city of Petra. The hotel, offering 183 rooms and suites, plays host to wanderers aching for the short trek into this well of history and ruins. Upon returning, spend time at one of the seven hotel restaurants, each of which opens doors to culinary persuasions from across the world, though special focus is given to Middle Eastern specialties. The hotel itself remains a centre of activity, with a fully equipped fitness gym, health and wellness swimming pool and steam bath, and views of open horizons. Sit down to some traditional Arabic argileh at the end of the evening, and absorb the sun as it sets. Petra is famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time". A spectacular and unique sight, its massive buildings are carved directly into the sandstone cliffs. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra controlled the ancient commercial routes across the desert to the Persian Gulf. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark and narrow gorge called the Siq (the shaft), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks. It opens directly onto Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh ("the Treasury") hewn directly out of the sandstone cliff. A little farther from the Treasury is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view; and at the point where the valley opens out into the plain the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with tombs cut from the rock in the form of towers.

Day 4
Petra
Petra is the treasure of the ancient world, and the rock-carved rose-red city is full of mysterious charm. Indeed, it was "designed to strike wonder into all who entered it". Petra is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, this remarkable city of grand buildings carved into massive cliffs evokes wonder to this day. Enjoy being shown the wonders of the city in the company of your Driver-Guide. Certified private English speaking guide for daily tours outside of Amman. Overnight at Movenpick Petra.

Day 5
Petra
Explore Wadi Rum, a vast, silent place, timeless and starkly beautiful. Uniquely shaped massive mountains rise vertically out of the pink desert sand, which separate one dark mass from another in a magnificent desert scenery of strange breathtaking beauty, with towering cliffs of weathered stone. Certified private English speaking guide for daily tours outside of Amman. The splendorous Mövenpick Resort Petra is the close neighbor of the ancient, dusty rose city of Petra. The hotel, offering 183 rooms and suites, plays host to wanderers aching for the short trek into this well of history and ruins. Upon returning, spend time at one of the seven hotel restaurants, each of which opens doors to culinary persuasions from across the world, though special focus is given to Middle Eastern specialties. The hotel itself remains a centre of activity, with a fully equipped fitness gym, health and wellness swimming pool and steam bath, and views of open horizons. Sit down to some traditional Arabic argileh at the end of the evening, and absorb the sun as it sets.

Day 6
Petra - Dead Sea
Enjoy a private transfer from Petra to the Dead Sea. The transfer time is approximately 3hrs in duration. Drive to Dead Sea Area to visit The site of John the Baptist's settlement at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, has long been known from the Bible (John 1:28 and 10:40) and from the Byzantine and medieval texts. The site has now been identified on the east bank of the Jordan River, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and is being systematically surveyed, excavated, restored, and prepared to receive pilgrims and visitors. Bethany Beyond the Jordan is located an hour by car from the Jordanian capital Amman and 15 minutes from the Dead Sea Hotels Area. Certified private English speaking guide for daily tours outside of Amman. Set on the northern shores of the Dead Sea at the lowest point on Earth, the Movenpick Dead Sea deluxe resort is built in a traditional village style, and offers luxurious rooms, a range of outlets, first-class meeting and leisure facilities featuring the renowned ZARA Spa. The resort has a total of 358 rooms, of which over two-thirds are smoking; there are non-smoking rooms on several floors and blocks. All rooms have either a balcony or a terrace; interconnecting rooms and rooms for physically challenged are also available. With about ten different room categories to choose from, you can either choose a room in the main building, the village or the beachfront with mountain, garden or sea view. The rooms also vary in size, decor and furnishing. The Dead Sea is an inland lake lying 400m (1320ft) below sea level in the lower part of the Jordan Valley, it has more minerals and salt than any other body of water in the world and is renowned for its rejuvenating and health-giving properties. Other interesting sights around the Dead Sea include Mount Sodom, a 13km- (8 mile-) long mountain range made up of pure salt which has many caves with extraordinary hanging salt formations, and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls, written by Essene scribes, were discovered in ancient pottery jars.

Day 7
Dead Sea
Enjoy a private transfer between the Dead Sea and Amman. Depart from International Airport. End of itinerary.