The final week of our three week adventure for Shae’s birthday was spent in Jordan.
All three places we visited – Dubai, Egypt and Jordan – had a lot to love about them, but Jordan ended up being our favorite of the three in terms of where we’d most like to revisit.
Here’s a roundup of everything we did in Jordan from how we got there to where we stayed to what we did and more.
How We Got There
We’d flown from Dubai to Egypt on Egyptair and flew with them again from Egypt to Jordan as we booked those two flights together as part of a multi-city itinerary.
As I explained in our post about what we did in Egypt:
I booked a multi-city itinerary from Dubai-Egypt-Jordan (Jordan was our next destination after Egypt) on Egyptair using Aeroplan points (Air Canada’s loyalty program). Aeroplan is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, so I transferred points from there seeing as we didn’t have any Aeroplan points.
I booked us in economy and it cost us 20,000 miles + 122.44 CAD (~98 USD) in taxes and fees per person. While 20,000 points and almost $100 in taxes and fees was higher than I would’ve liked, at least that covered the cost of two flights. I didn’t make a note of the cash cost of these flights, but for our dates it was better value using points rather than paying cash for our tickets.
The flight was fine, although once again the Egyptair flight attendants were far from being warm and fuzzy. A carb-heavy meal was served on the short flight (two small sub sandwiches and a dense muffin), but the “highlight” was the in-flight entertainment. The seats didn’t have their own TVs, so we all got to watch the same movie which was a black and white Charlie Chaplin movie – nothing but the most contemporary of movies for Egyptair passengers 😉
Jordan COVID Testing Requirements
Jordan required a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before our flight departing into Jordan. Seeing as we were flying in from Egypt, Jordan had an additional requirement as they only accept PCR tests from a few different labs in Egypt. Thankfully there was one of those labs near where we were staying at the Marriott Mena House, so we got it done there.
When checking in for our flight in Cairo, we were advised that we had to have another PCR test in Jordan upon arrival which had to be paid for ahead of time. We therefore had to go over to an adjacent desk to pay for that. I think it cost 315 EGP (~20 USD) total for the two of us, so very cheap.
Upon our arrival in Jordan, that PCR test was conducted at the airport before going through customs and immigration. We received notification of our negative results that night via WhatsApp, so it’s worth having that app downloaded on your phone. We weren’t advised ahead of time what would need to happen if we tested positive, so thankfully we didn’t have to find out.
Visa Requirements
We had to get a tourist visa costing 40 JOD (~56.50 USD) per person to enter Jordan. This was paid for at the airport when going through immigration, although you can pay for it ahead of time as part of a Jordan Pass. That’s definitely worth doing if you’ll be staying at least three nights in Jordan and will be visiting Petra for at least one day as it’ll save you money.
How We Got Around
In Dubai and Cairo, we relied on taxis and Ubers to get around seeing as we weren’t traveling too far afield. In Jordan though, we were going to be visiting much more of the country and so we rented a car from Budget.
Driving around Jordan was super-easy, so don’t be nervous about driving there if you’re considering a trip to Jordan. Here are 10 tips for driving in Jordan as there are a few things to be aware of.
Where We Stayed
We ended up staying at three different hotels in Jordan. The first was the Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa which, as the name suggests, is right by the Dead Sea. It was a very nice hotel in many ways, but it was also a party hotel with dance music pumping out from 11am to 11pm every day, so it wasn’t as peaceful as we were hoping.
Check out my full review for more about our stay.
Our second hotel was the Petra Marriott (see my full review here). This too was a very nice hotel with a fun Bedouin tent dining experience, beautiful views and excellent service.
On our final night in Jordan we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Amman. It was only a quick stay as we got there in the evening and had to check out at 4am in order to get to the airport in time for our morning flight, so I won’t be writing a review of our stay.
That’s probably a good thing as the service we received there was very poor. Still, it only cost us 8,000 World of Hyatt points and meant we got a few hours of sleep and a shower before heading back to the US.
What We Did
One of the highlights of our time in Jordan was getting to float in the Dead Sea. It was such an unusual experience being able to stand up in the water with our hands above our heads and not sink.
The complimentary mud massages at our hotel made the experience even better, as did using the Dead Sea for the salt when doing tequila shots. Check out this post for more about our Dead Sea experience.
On our way down from the Dead Sea to Petra, Shae and I stopped off at the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth, so named because it’s 1,329 feet below sea level.
It has numerous artifacts from Jordan’s history, including many from the first few centuries AD. Entry to the museum is free if you have a Jordan Pass or only 2 JOD (~2.80 USD) if you don’t. It wasn’t the most amazing museum ever, but it was worth stopping at, especially seeing as it’s so cheap or free to visit.
The other highlight from our time in Jordan was getting to visit Petra. We bought a two-day ticket, but felt like we saw enough of it on the first day that we didn’t return the next day. That was partly because I had to work and partly because we were tired and wanted to just relax on our last proper full day in Jordan.
Check out this post for more about everything we saw at Petra.
On our way back up from Petra to Amman we stopped off at Shobak Castle, a castle built in 1115 during the Crusades. There seemed to be quite a bit of work being done during our visit to reconstruct it, so I’m not sure how much of the castle is original.
Shobak Castle is another attraction that’s free if you have a Jordan Pass. If you don’t, it’s only 1 JOD (~1.40 USD).
Continuing northward, we stopped off in Madaba, a city just outside of Amman to the south. The reason we stopped there is because Madaba is home to St George’s Greek Orthodox Church.
St George’s Greek Orthodox Church is famous for having the Madaba Mosaic Map. The map dates back to the 6th century AD, but was only discovered in 1896. It’s the oldest known map of the Holy Land and consists of 2.3 million tiles.
Before heading inside the church, we visited the gift shop which had an unobstructed view of what the map looks like with some of the notable locations marked. We also got to watch a five minute video about the map’s history.
We then went inside the church to see the map in person.
Unlike some of the other attractions we visited, entry to St George’s Greek Orthodox Church isn’t included in the Jordan Pass. However, it only costs 1 JOD (~1.40 USD) to visit. Note that your legs have to be covered, so shorts aren’t acceptable attire. We’d seen this online beforehand and so got some pants out of our luggage and changed in the restrooms, but they do have items you can borrow to cover up if needed.
COVID Testing For US
In order for us to return to the US, we had to have a negative COVID test taken within three days of our departing flight into the US. The US is a little more lenient with what kinds of tests are eligible, but we played safe and had a PCR test done.
This was arranged through the Petra Marriott hotel we stayed at. They arranged for a private doctor to come in and test us in our hotel room. We received the negative result that night via WhatsApp, then he dropped off printed copies of our negative tests at the front desk the next morning.
After that it was time to fly back to the US where we flew Turkish Airlines in business class.
Check Out All The Posts From Our Dubai/Egypt/Jordan Trip
- It’s Time For Shae’s Secret Birthday Extravaganza!
- Flight Review: Emirates First Class – Chicago (ORD) To Dubai (DXB)
- Hotel Review: Grand Hyatt Dubai (1 Bedroom Grand Suite)
- Awesome Dubai Desert Safari For Shae’s 40th Birthday
- 1 Week In Dubai: Here’s What We Did
- Hotel Review: Ramses Hilton In Cairo, Egypt
- Exploring Babylon Fortress In Old Cairo, Egypt
- Visiting The Pyramids Of Giza In Cairo, Egypt
- Hotel Review: Marriott Mena House In Cairo, Egypt
- 6 Days In Cairo, Egypt – Here’s What We Did
- Our Dead Sea Experience: Floating, Mud & Tequila Shots!
- Hotel Review: Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Jordan
- 10 Tips For Driving In Jordan
- Visiting Petra In Jordan – One Of The New 7 Wonders Of The World
- Hotel Review: Petra Marriott, Jordan
- 1 Week In Jordan – Here’s What We Did
- Flight Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class – Istanbul (IST) To Chicago (ORD)
- Hotel Review: Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport, IL
- Spending Breakdown: 3 Weeks In Dubai, Egypt & Jordan – Here’s What It Cost
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