Self-Launched Highlights of Jordan: Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum & the Dead Sea in 7 Days

Land at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA). Buy the Jordan Pass online before arrival (from ~£56 / 70 JOD, waives the ~£34 visa fee and includes Petra entry) and take the Sariya Express airport bus to Amman's Tabarbour or the 7th Circle for ~£4-5, or a shared/private taxi for ~£17-25 depending on haggling. Check into a downtown hostel or budget hotel near Rainbow Street or Hashemite Plaza. Evening: walk Hashemite Plaza, grab cheap falafel/mezze at Hashem (a classic) and knafeh at Habibah, then plan tomorrow's Jerash trip. Buy your Jerash/Ajloun day-trip transport tonight via your hostel or arrange a shared taxi with other guests.

🚌Sariya Express airport bus ~£4-5 each way, or shared taxi ~£17-25

🛏Downtown Amman hostel or budget hotel (dorm ~£10-14, private ~£25-35)

• →Jordan Pass purchase (online, before travel)
• →Sariya Express airport bus to Amman
• →Hashemite Plaza and downtown Amman evening walk
• →Street food: falafel, knafeh

Take a JETT bus or minibus from Amman's Tabarbour station to Jerash (~£4-6, 1 hour) and spend 2-3 hours walking the huge Greco-Roman city — Hadrian's Arch, the Oval Plaza, the colonnaded Cardo Maximus and the two theatres. From Jerash take a local taxi or shared minibus north to Ajloun (~£8-12) to see Ajloun Castle (Qal'at Ar-Rabad) perched over the Jordan Valley. Return to Amman by late afternoon. Optional: a GetYourGuide day tour from Amman covering both sites runs ~£40-60 if you'd rather not juggle transport.

🚌JETT bus/minibus Amman–Jerash ~£4-6; local taxi Jerash–Ajloun ~£8-12; return ~£8-12

🛏Downtown Amman hostel or budget hotel

• →Jerash archaeological site (Jordan Pass covers entry)
• →Ajloun Castle / Qal'at Ar-Rabad
• →Optional GetYourGuide Amman–Jerash–Ajloun day tour

Spend the day on foot in Amman. Start at the Citadel (Temple of Hercules, Umayyad Palace) and the Roman Theatre below, both covered by the Jordan Pass. The Archaeological and Folklore museums sit on the Citadel and beside the theatre respectively — free or low cost. Walk down Al-Balad for the Gold Souq and craft shops, view the King Abdullah Mosque from outside, then finish on Rainbow Street with a coffee and a graffiti/mural wander through Jabal Amman's back lanes. Dinner at a budget local restaurant in downtown (~£5-8).

🚌All on foot; occasional service taxi ~£1-2

🛏Downtown Amman hostel or budget hotel

• →Amman Citadel
• →Roman Theatre
• →Jordan Archaeological Museum
• →Folklore Museum
• →King Abdullah Mosque (exterior)
• →Downtown souq and Rainbow Street walk

Take the JETT/Trust bus or a minibus from Amman's Mujamma' (north) station to Madaba (~£2-3, 45 min) and see St George's Greek Orthodox Church and its 6th-century mosaic map. Local taxi to Mount Nebo (~£6-10 return) for the Moses Memorial and Jordan Valley views. Continue south by JETT bus to Wadi Musa/Petra (~£6-9, 2.5 hrs; alternatively use the daily Amman–Petra JETT around 06:30) and, if time allows, taxi 15 minutes to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid) before sunset (Jordan Pass covers entry). Overnight in Wadi Musa budget hotel/guesthouse.

🚌Minibus Amman–Madaba ~£2-3; taxi Mount Nebo ~£6-10; JETT/minibus to Wadi Musa ~£6-9; local taxi to Little Petra ~£6-8

🛏Wadi Musa guesthouse or budget hotel (~£15-22)

• →St George's Church mosaic map, Madaba
• →Mount Nebo church and Moses Memorial
• →Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)

Enter Petra at opening (~06:30) via the Siq to the Treasury, then climb to the Monastery (or the High Place of Sacrifice) — allow 5-6 hours. The Jordan Pass covers the 1-day Petra ticket; the Petra Museum by the visitor centre is free and worth 30 minutes. Optional: hire a licensed local guide at the gate for ~£25-40 for 2-3 hours, or book a GetYourGuide Petra guided walk in advance (~£30-45). In the late afternoon take a shared taxi/minibus from Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum village (~£10-15, 2 hrs), where your camp's 4x4 picks you up. Dinner is typically included in camp rates — many run traditional zarb (meat and veg buried and slow-cooked in sand).

🚌Shared taxi/minibus Wadi Musa–Wadi Rum ~£10-15; camp pickup included

🛏Wadi Rum desert camp — bubble tent or basic tent (~£35-55 incl. dinner and breakfast)

• →Petra: Siq, Treasury, Monastery, High Place of Sacrifice
• →Petra Museum
• →Optional licensed Petra guide
• →Shared taxi to Wadi Rum village

Do a 2-hour 4x4 safari through Wadi Rum's rock formations and Nabataean inscriptions (Lawrence's Spring, Khazali Canyon, the Red Sand Dunes) — book through the camp for ~£20-28 per person shared, or a private jeep for ~£40-60. Then depart for the Dead Sea: from Wadi Rum take a minibus to Aqaba and a JETT/local bus north, or share a taxi via the Desert Highway to a Dead Sea public beach or Amman Beach (~£20-30 shared, 3-4 hrs) — float in the salt water, mud up and watch sunset. Most budget travellers base the night in Amman or a Dead Sea-area guesthouse rather than pay resort prices.

🚌Shared taxi Wadi Rum–Dead Sea via Desert Highway ~£20-30; shared taxi to Amman ~£8-12

🛏Amman budget hotel, or Dead Sea-area guesthouse (~£20-30)

• →Wadi Rum 2-hour 4x4 jeep safari
• →Nabataean rock inscriptions and Khazali Canyon
• →Dead Sea float and mud

Final morning for coffee, last shopping for Dead Sea salts and spices in the souq, and a lazy breakfast. Take the Sariya Express bus or a shared taxi back to Queen Alia Airport for your flight (~£4-5 bus, ~£17-25 taxi). If your flight is very early, book your airport transfer the night before through your hostel.

🚌Sariya Express to QAIA ~£4-5 or shared taxi ~£17-25

🛏None (departure day)

• →Souq shopping
• →Final breakfast in downtown Amman