Hi everyone I'm just back from this most enjoyable tour, seeing all the highlights that Jordan has to offer. This was a great holiday and Jordan is a safe and interesting country to visit. The people are friendly, the scenery often spectacular and the tour was varied, busy but not exhausting.
Highlights for me were having a float in the Dead Sea, visiting the well preserved Roman remains at Jerash, the amazing rock buildings and geological formations at Petra and the spectacular scenery at Wadi Rum. At Petra, there is quite a long walk over uneven ground to get to the Treasury and we walked for miles around the extensive site, so it is certainly not suitable for anyone with limited mobility. It was very impressive and there was much more to see than I had realised. For me, Wadi Rum was the highlight of the whole tour, with incredible views of rocky mountains and sandy desert.
In Aqaba we had free time and most of the tour went on the Neptune semi submersible submarine, where we had wonderful views of the coral and tropical fish in the Red Sea. A couple of the group went snorkeling instead. The town of Aqaba is not worth visiting, so if you do this tour, enjoy the facilities of the resort instead!
All of the hotels were of a good standard, with the Petra Guest House being the best. The dinners were buffet style and although most of the lunches weren't included, we were taken to restaurants along the way as part of our sightseeing excursions so we all ate together throughout the tour. The lunches had various options, such as wraps, baguettes, mezze or buffet. Be warned - in general prices are high, particularly alcohol - a glass of wine cost in the region of £7-10, with beer being a little cheaper! The flights were with Royal Jordanian and were excellent - new planes, comfortable seats and good food.
We had a small group of 18 and it was one of the best groups I've travelled with - everyone was friendly and mixed together extremely well. There were just three men and the ages ranged from 30-80. As is usual when you travel outside Europe, a couple of people had tummy problems but nothing too severe and they were sorted out pretty quickly. Our coach was full size, so we had a double seat each and there were two doors!
Finally a word about our tour manager Steve Hodgson - after ten tours, nine with JY and one with Travelsphere Steve was the first male tour manager I've had! He was absolutely excellent, very professional and organised, great fun and with a terrific sense of humour. He was also very helpful and went well beyond the call of duty to ensure that we got the very best out of the holiday. He really did sum up everything that a good TM should be and he was a credit to the company. Elias the local guide was also very good; he gave us just the right amount of information and his pride in his country was clear to see. He also had an interesting perspective, being a Christian in a country that is 95% Muslim.
So in conclusion, Jordan is a great country with lots to offer. It has suffered a tourist downturn because of strife in neighbouring countries but we all felt very safe at all times. I thoroughly recommend this holiday as being very interesting and enjoyable, with some great experiences along the way.
Cheers,
Bob
