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Jordan in 12 days: Amman, Jerash and the North, day by day

Twelve days from the capital to the hills of Ajloun: the citadel and souks of Amman, Qasr al-Hallabat and the Umayyad baths of Hammam as-Sarah, the basalt town of Um el-Jimal, Gadara facing the Sea of Galilee, Pella, the fortress of Ajloun, Jerash and the Ottoman old town of Salt.

Compiled by Kylian Surget, updated on 02/10/2026

The Umayyad Palace and its dome on the Amman Citadel, the city in the background
  • 12 days
  • 27 places
  • 12 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Amman (Queen Alia International Airport)
End
Salt
Main transport
Amman on foot and by taxi for the first four days, rental car from the evening of day 4
Recommended season
March to May and October to November: summer is very hot in the eastern desert and the Jordan Valley, winter cool and sometimes rainy in Amman, with the fortress of Ajloun closing earlier, at around 4pm

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 12 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 22 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 11

Jerash, the Pompeii of the East

Morning

Archaeological site of Jerash

Ancient Gerasa is one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world: Hadrian's Arch, the hippodrome, a unique oval plaza, a paved cardo with chariot ruts, the temples of Zeus and Artemis, two theatres and the Byzantine churches that succeeded them. Allow a good half-day.

Afternoon

Dibbeen Forest Reserve

A quarter of an hour from Jerash, this reserve protects one of the finest Aleppo pine forests in the Near East, mixed with oaks, a refuge for the Persian squirrel. Shaded trails lead to a viewpoint over the Wadi Jerash, perfect for ending the day in the cool.

Good to know

Best to arrive in Jerash at opening time: the site is overwhelmed by heat and groups from late morning. Entry included in the Jordan Pass ; bring water, a hat and expect 3 hours of walking on the paving.

Hotel · Night 11

Celestia Boutique Inn, Jerash

A 12-room guest house facing the north gate of the site, with views of the ruins from the terraces: a family welcome with a fine reputation, home cooking in the evening. Cash payment only.

Address
· facing the north gate of the site, Jerash
Check-in
2:00 PM · Check-out 11:00 AM
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Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €3.25 per day of travel

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  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

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Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 12 days

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The day-by-day rundown

11 stops, 230 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Arrival in Amman and the Roman heart of the lower town Arrival flight to Amman Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 The Citadel and the souks of the city centre Amman Citadel Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Hills and galleries: Jabal Amman and Lweibdeh Jabal Amman and Rainbow Street Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 From the Hejaz to the Seven Sleepers, another Amman Amman Hejaz station Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 Eastwards: Umayyad castles and the black city King Abdullah I Mosque Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 From Rihab to Irbid, ancient churches and museums Rihab, the village of thirty churches Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 The Decapolis: Capitolias, Abila and Gadara Roman theatre of Beit Ras (Capitolias) Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Yarmouk forest, hot springs and Pella Yarmouk Forest Reserve Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 From the Jordan Valley to the fortress of Ajloun Morning at the eco-park and Tall Dayr 'Allā Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 Ajloun Forest Reserve and the villages of Orjan Ajloun Forest Reserve and the Roe Deer Trail Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Jerash, the Pompeii of the East Archaeological site of Jerash Free
  12. Day 12 Salt, the listed Ottoman town The historic heart of Salt Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

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Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • Spring (March to May) and autumn (October and November) are ideal. Summer is very hot in the eastern desert and the Jordan Valley; winter is cool and sometimes rainy in Amman.
  • The stage plays across 1,000 m of height between the cool Ajloun highlands and the muggy Jordan Valley: layers earn their place on days 8 to 10.
  • Jerash, on day 11, is best entered at opening time: by late morning the site is overwhelmed by heat and groups, with three hours of walking on stone paving. At Um el-Jimal, on day 5, shade is scarce: carry water and a hat.

Transport and permits

  • The first four days run without a car: a taxi up to the citadel and a walk down to the lower town on day 2, a taxi out to the cave of the Seven Sleepers on day 4, about twenty minutes from the centre.
  • The rental car is collected on the evening of day 4. Drive defensively: speed cameras are frequent and speed bumps poorly marked; near the Syrian border, in the north-east, keep to the main roads.
  • Drives stay short: an hour from Amman to Qasr al-Hallabat on day 5, forty minutes to Gadara on day 7, an hour's winding climb from the Jordan Valley to Ajloun on day 9, 1 hr 15 to Salt on day 12.

Formalities and safety

  • The guide sets out the entry rules for French passport holders: passport valid six months beyond the return date, visa on arrival (about 40 JOD) or included in the Jordan Pass, bought online before arrival, for stays of three nights or more. Travellers on another passport should check their own conditions.
  • Border zone in the north: passport to hand at the checkpoints around Gadara on day 7, and on you in the Yarmouk reserve and at Al-Himma on day 8, with no photographs of the posts or military installations.
  • Three visits take some organising: the Yarmouk reserve trails are booked through the RSCN, the Rihab churches have to be opened on the spot or through a local guide on day 6, and the longer Ajloun trails need a reserve guide booked the day before at the visitor centre.

Budget and meals

  • The Jordanian dinar: 1 JOD is about €1.30. Cards are accepted in town, cash is essential in the souks and at isolated sites; cash machines are common in Amman and rarer in the east.
  • The Jordan Pass covers the Amman citadel (3 JD without it), the Roman theatre, the Jordan Museum, Gadara and Jerash. A simple meal costs 3 to 8 JOD, a restaurant 10 to 15 JOD.
  • The Celestia Boutique Inn in Jerash, on day 11, takes cash only. In Orjan, on day 10, what is bought at the Soap House and the Biscuit House goes straight to the villages.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is compiled day by day, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian Surget, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: Complete Jordan itinerary: 47 days, hotels and bookings

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