Helpful Tips for How to Plan a Trip to Jordan with your Family
I’m sharing these tips for how to plan a trip to Jordan with your family as part of a sponsored campaign with Visit Jordan. #MyJordanJourney
The Middle East is an area of the world with such rich history and culture. Jordan is inviting international visitors to come experience and explore what makes their country unique. If you’re ready for an adventure, here are some tips and resources to help you plan a trip to Jordan with your family.
When to Go to Jordan?
If you’re traveling based on the weather, you’ll probably want to travel in the spring around March to May. This is when the weather is the nicest, warm days, cool nights, but be prepared for high rates since this is a popular travel time. You can also look at traveling in the fall shoulder season, but it’s brief so you could end up with scorching summer days or rain. The summers are stifling, with temps rising above 100 most days, but you’ll probably get great airfare deals during those months.
It’s important to be aware of the month of Ramadan if you’re planning a trip to Jordan. The dates vary (Saturday, May 27 to Sunday, June 25 in 2017), and this holy month makes a big impact on cultural expectations for travelers, as well as the ending celebration of Eid al-Fit affecting room availability and rates heavily.
Where to Stay in Jordan?
All of the main cities around Jordan feature a wide variety of hotel options for travelers, even five star accommodations. Upon flying into Jordan, you’ll probably want to arrange a stay in Amman, the capital city. This is the closest major city to the airport, and features a lot of family friendly activities. The historical UNESCO site of Petra is a must see, and another location to arrange for accommodations. For a family looking for a beach vacation, definitely look at booking a stay in Aqaba, a beachy, family-friendly city. There are also a lot of great hotel options near the Dead Sea, which would allow you to relax and unwind while floating in the Dead Sea in Jordan. The Visit Jordan Hotels page is a great option for helping plan your Jordan vacation.
What to Do in Jordan?
There are so many things, it’s more a matter of what all you can fit into your schedule! The most popular activities are probably visits to Petra and the Dead Sea. But there are also nature reserves, desert castles, temples, and museums that are sure to be a hit for families. The best place to plan what you’ll do in Jordan is the My Jordan Journey website. It has a load of itinerary plans, including some great family adventure daily adventure itineraries. Be sure to consider getting the Jordan Pass if you’re planning to visit a lot of historical sites.
A fellow TravelingMom travel writer, Christine Tibbitts, recently visited Jordan and I asked her what she thinks families should do. She recommends attending cooking school in the small town of Petra as hands-on fun for foodie families; hiring donkeys, horses, camels at Petra since the walking is immense; and also recommends a camel caravan in the Wadi Rum desert, including planning a stay in a Bedouin tent.
How to Get Around in Jordan?
When navigating the area via taxi, it is customary to direct the driver to a specific area or a nearby landmark (a large hotel, ministry building or supermarket, for example) and then continue with instructions to your destination. This can be a little difficult for tourists.
It’s highly recommended that families hire a tour guide for their trip to Jordan. After my own recent trip to Israel, I highly recommend looking for a personal guide, or very small group, instead of joining a large tour group. From my experience you can arrange private guides who can also act as your driver, or hire a personal driver for you. This allows families to move at your own pace and not be held to a strict schedule. Definitely worth it to get the most out of your trip to Jordan.
How to Get There?
There are many airlines who fly to Jordan, including the national carrier, Royal Jordanian, which offers non-stop flights from a few east coast airports. And the flights aren’t as long as you may think, only about 10 hours from NY to Queen Alia International Airport.
Visas are required and can be obtained at the airport for North American travelers. Visas are free of charge for groups of five or more provided that they have booked their tour with a Jordanian ground operator and staying a minimum of 48 hours. More information on getting to Jordan can be found on the My Jordan Journey site.
Jordan is hosting the 2016 U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup in September and October, so if you’re a soccer (football) fan, tune in and hear more about Jordan! You can even dream and start planning your own trip to Jordan with the Build My Jordan Journey site.
It would be so amazing to visit Petra and also explore some of the other parts of Jordan. I like how you created that flight time comparison image to highlight why it shouldn’t be off the radar for travel. a
It really is amazing to see how close it is for east coasters!
This is so interesting. I have never considered traveling to Jordan with the kids before. But, Claudia from Travelling Mom also mentioned it as one of her favorite trips. I’m intrigued!