Grand Jordan – Desert Castles, Petra, Wadi Rum & Dead Sea 7D/6N

Welcome to Jordan! Our representative meets you at Queen Alia International Airport, helps you with your visa and arrival formalities, and drives you to your hotel. Overnight in Amman.

After breakfast, enjoy a two-hour tour of downtown Amman: the Citadel with its Temple of Hercules, the Roman Theatre, and the Archaeological and Folklore museums. Then head into the eastern desert to see the Umayyad castles of Qasr Kharana, Qusayr Amra (a UNESCO World Heritage Site with remarkable frescoes) and Azraq, where Lawrence of Arabia stayed. Overnight in Amman.

After breakfast, visit Jerash, the 'Pompeii of the East' and one of the best-preserved Roman cities anywhere: Hadrian's Arch, the hippodrome, the Oval Plaza, the colonnaded Cardo, the temples of Zeus and Artemis and the Roman theatre. Continue into the green hills of the north to Ajloun Castle, built in 1184 by one of Saladin's generals to guard the routes to the Jordan Valley. Overnight in Amman.

After breakfast, check out. Drive south along the ancient King's Highway. In Madaba, see the famous 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land in St George's Church; then climb Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land, with views over the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. Continue to Kerak Castle, a vast 12th-century Crusader fortress on a hilltop. Arrive in Petra in the evening. Overnight in Petra.

After breakfast, explore Petra, the rose-red Nabataean city and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Walk through the Siq, a 1 km gorge between cliffs up to 80 metres high, to the Treasury, then on past royal tombs, temples and colonnaded streets, with a local guide as far as Qasr al-Bint. A short horse ride from the visitor centre to the Siq entrance is included. In the afternoon, drive to Wadi Rum and check in to your desert camp. Dinner and overnight at the camp.

After breakfast, set off on a two-hour Bedouin jeep tour through Wadi Rum, the 'Valley of the Moon', with its red sand and towering sandstone cliffs. Then drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, where the salt-rich water lets you float effortlessly. Overnight at the Dead Sea.

After breakfast, transfer to Queen Alia International Airport for your flight home.