Visit Petra – A visit to Petra is a must – one of the most magnificent sites the world has to offer.

You can make your time there whatever you want it to be, but however you see it, it stays with you forever.

Your first visit begins with the walk down the Siq, a narrow crack in the valley down towards the city. With walls rising 40m up on either side as you make the half-mile approach to the city, the anticipation builds. What will be around every corner?

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When the Treasury facade emerges into view, the scale of the place hits home once again. The morning sunlight shines down on it, and the mystery of how artisans millennia ago could have crafted something so large and so ornate returns.

It is only an appetiser, however, as you venture beyond and further into the city.

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The Royal Tombs appear to your right, the Amphitheatre to your left. Beyond there are temples, excavation sites, caves at every turn. You can walk beside them, inside them, or up on high to look down on them. But every which way you turn you are struck by beauty and magnificence.

With so much to explore, you need days to visit Petra. But the reward is something very special.

Tours to Jordan – something quite remarkable, just five hours from the UK.

With so many sights to savour it can be hard to know where to begin when planning a trip, but there is an obvious starting point; Petra.

The ‘Red Rose’ city (you’ll have to go for yourself to discover that it’s not really red at all) is in the very middle of Jordan, a sprawling site nestled in the valley which runs like a vein through the country.

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Petra is full of surprises from the moment the sun shines directly on the Treasury in the morning until you walk through the valley in the early evening by candlelight. No visit to Jordan is complete without it.

That said, though Petra is crucial, it is just the start of what you can experience.

As someone who likes to be active on trips, there is nothing I like more than walking in Jordan. The opportunities are endless, and breathtaking.
Take, for example, the Dana Nature Reserve. Once you’ve drunk in the wonderful views from the top of the valley, the only thing to do is head down to the bottom! A five-hour walk through some wonderful flora later, and you reach Feynan – and the views are just as spectacular.

Or around Wadi Mujib, where the dramatic valley scenery would be spectacular enough in its own right, with its mix of rocks and springs, even without the shimmering waters of the Dead Sea appearing on the horizon.

And of course, if the walking does wear you out, then the spa hotels of the Dead Sea serve as the perfect relaxing treat afterwards…

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But a tour to Jordan should be something you experience your way – which is why all I ever do is make suggestions, and talk it over with you before putting together a personalised, individual itinerary for you and whoever you want to travel with.

Visit Petra – A visit to Jordan is defined by a visit to Petra. The rest of the country has some inspiring sights to see and experiences to enjoy, but Petra is a little bit special!

Every time I visit it inspires me and perplexes me. Petra is an ancient city whose artisans sculpted enormously ornate tombs directly on to the purple rocks.

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The feat would have been impressive enough had it been done last week – but these are the works of men living more than 2,000 years ago.

Petra is a place which captures you immediately, yet rewards you for the time you give it.

You only truly appreciate how sprawling the city is by getting there and exploring it on foot.

I get asked plenty of times how long one needs to see it – the truth of the matter is that you could walk a week there and still be covering new grounds, unearthing new areas.

In practical terms, most of us are not lucky enough to have that long to explore the city, but a couple of days is a minimum. We like to arrange a guide to walk with you for the first few hours – to give you your bearings, and set the stage for that breathtaking walk through the narrow cracks of the Siq and towards that first glimpse of the Treasury.

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Photos rarely do it the justice it deserves, but Petra is something a little special – and it’s only a five-hour flight away from us in the UK.

The Dana Nature Reserve is one of Jordan’s real joys – a little enclave of quiet and calm. Queen Noor of Jordan once described it as a place with ‘ten-star views’, and it’s hard to disagree.

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A rift valley runs through Jordan, responsible for the stunning rocky setting of Petra and the curious combination of sands and stone in the desert of Wadi Rum.

But while most visitors see those places, they don’t tend to get to Dana. And that’s a real shame.

Dana itself is a tiny village – almost deserted. About a dozen families still live there, and it feels abandoned when you arrive.

But when you come to the Dana Guest House, the place to stay here, the vibrancy returns.

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The balconies gaze out on views deep into the valley. Dana, around 1000m above sea level, quickly drops away to reveal a feast of plants, flowers and trees. Many of Jordan’s 415 varieties of birdlife can be found here too.

In fact, at any given time of year there is something a little different about the terrain, which because of its sudden drop boasts four eco-systems in close proximity to one another, to enjoy.

No wonder the RSCN, Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, work so hard to preserve it. The Dana Nature Reserve is one of several regions the organisation look after in the country, with an emphasis on having local people take a personal responsibility for the flora and fauna therein.

The projects the RSCN undertake extends to organising co-operatives and teaching people to be guides. And with the money from stays and visits to Dana going straight back into the communities and the conservation projects, it makes for some genuinely responsible tourism.

Petra Jordan Holiday- There is no place in Jordan, or indeed the Middle East, that I find more magical than Petra.

An ancient city set in the cocoon of rich red rocks, with remarkable tomb facades hewn high into the wall faces. A wondrous feat of artisanship set against a dramatic natural background – what more could one ask for?

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So it’s no surprise then that if you’re looking for a holiday to Jordan, that Petra is either the reason you began to consider it, or a cornerstone of your visit.

And of course, it has to be seen properly.

I’ve been at the site, which is a sprawling mass of treasures set across several miles, and seen busloads of tourists whisked in and out in three hours – a few pictures better off, perhaps, but with no sense of the place they have travelled all the way to see.

You have to give Petra time to unearth its secrets.

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Two full days to explore it are a minimum – walking, exploring, dallying, breathing it all in. The Treasury, the most iconic of landmarks within the site, is about a mile’s walk from the site entrance, and that is only really the start of the surprises.

The walk up to the Monastery is a half day’s journey – so is the trek up to the High Place of the Tunnel Siq. Then there’s the journey along the Tunnel Siq, or around the mountains to sneak an unforgettable view of the Treasury from on high. That’s just a flavour of what there is to see – the more time you give Petra, the more you get out of it.

But a Jordan holiday featuring Petra is about more than just the Nabatean city alone. There are other remarkable places to visit, great walks to take if that’s how you enjoy exploring.

And, of course, at the end of your time in Petra the possibility of a few days of relaxation, be it on Jordan’s coral-filled Red Sea coastline or by the Dead Sea, home to salts, muds and minerals to revitalise you before you return home.

Holidays in Jordan – No two holidays in Jordan should ever be exactly the same – there’s too much to experience for that to be the case. Jordan is a fascinating country – less than six hours in the car from its northernmost point to the Red Sea at the south. All its many wonders are never far away.

My first trip to Jordan was spent in the capital Amman. Sneaking away from my studies in North Africa for a week, I found some delicious falafel stands, walked up to the top of one of Amman’s seven hills and feasted on the view from the old citadel, and whiled away the hours chatting in cafes.

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My best-laid plans to see some sights further afield had to be put on hold until the next time!

Now Amman (or Philadelphia, as it was once known) is not the reason to book a trip to Jordan, but it did set the tone for me as a friendly, welcoming place – and that’s precisely what Jordan is – a home to dramatic scenery and rich history, with wonderful, laid-back people.

What is a holiday in Jordan? Well, to leave the country with a good taste of the country you must not miss out on Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

Petra stands with an elite group of places such as the Pyramids and Macchu Piccu as a life-changing treasure of antiquity.

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Wadi Rum is what we associate with Laurence of Arabia: a fierce, crimson desert with purplish rocks springing up amongst the sands.

The Dead Sea is the perfect spot for a little repose at the end of a visit. A holiday in Jordan can be as active or as relaxing as you choose to make it, but the Dead Sea is a rare treat, and the weather glorious.

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But how you arrange them, and what else you see and do is entirely your choice. Whether it is Roman history, Christian landmarks, early Islamic castles and forts, then Jordan has something to whet the appetite. If scenery is your thing, there are not merely deserts – there are valleys to trek through, lush countryside, forests and precious coral in the sea.

No wonder the same trip never comes up twice.

That’s the beauty of Jordan. And it’s why I keep going back!