I’ve been in Jordan only for three days but it felt like I spent a whole month in the country. Full of experiences, emotions and excitement for things to come.
At that point, I didn’t even know that I haven’t seen the best yet.
The main course was about to arrive.
After a dramatic and absolutely dreamy drive from Wadi Rum to Wadi Musa, we finally arrived at the hotel, thanks to the help of one of the tourists staying with us at the camp.
Even though the village looked very small on Google maps, I had no idea it’s actually scattered around the hills.
I booked the Old Village Resort in Wadi Musa, which looked like one of the best choices for quality and value for money, unfortunately, it also comes with some impractical setbacks. The hotel was on the other side of the village and even though they offer free rides to the Petra visitor center, it doesn’t mean they will be your private taxi and take you there as much as you need (ahem… is that so much to ask???).
Another thing which was not mentioned anywhere was the fact that you can’t get any wine at the resort. Something I got used to even though staying in Jordan.
You can’t just take a casual stroll to the nearest restaurant, because – you guessed it – there aren’t any. The closest ones are by the Petra visitor center and I have personally watched too many crime shows to stroll casually through a small Jordanian village at dark without attracting unwanted attention.
Even the horses gave me weird looks.
Anyway, Wadi Musa is very pretty traditional Jordanian village.
As we waited for our room to be ready, we settled in a small terrace at the back of the restaurant and enjoyed the service which was being broadcasted to the whole village from a nearby mosque. In the distance, you can see the glorious rock formation – that’s where Petra is.
The hotel had a very traditional architecture and seemed like a perfectly peaceful place to stay. That was until I found out they have happy hour in the Movenpick resort every day (more on that later).
The connection to the history is evident everywhere in the village and the hotel was no exception. Right next to the reception area was a preserved area with the hydraulic system which dated back to the Nabatean times. Those were the handymen who transformed Petra into one of the most important cities of their time.
Just a little trivia – the name Wadi Musa translates into Valley of Moses and it said to be named after Moses who passed through the village. While here, here struck water from some ruck for his followers and Nabateans used this spring to carry the water through a network of these channels to the city of Petra.
After exploring the hotel and finally unpacking the luggage, we took a lift to the village centre, where we struck gold – Movenpick resort!
As it happens, they had happy hour there every day and the heavens were on our side as we arrived right in time.
After admiring the oriental interior details, walking around nonchalantly like I totally stay in a place like this every day, it was time to finally have a glass of wine.
It was hard paying attention to the drinks though. The bar was like a dream. Aladin’s dream (although I’m not sure if he was old enough to drink?).
The intricate details on the walls and ceiling with golden tones and shiny finish will make you are sitting in a palace.
In a country where wine glass comes close to 10 eur, we didn’t miss any chance to make sure our needs are properly catered for.
For two days we stayed in Wadi Musa, we were in the Movenpick Hotel the moment the happy hour started, until it ended, without a shame. Every day we ordered Arak (if I remember the name correctly) and toasted to this wonderful adventure while enjoying the extra drink free (buy one get one free offers don’t come around as often as in Tesco).
One of our other ventures was this Cave Bar, close to the entrance to Petra.
It was actually quite disappointing, the cocktails were really poor and the food less than average (even Lonely Planet doesn’t get everything right). I think it’s because it’s managed by the 3 star hotel next to it and it probably shows. However, it was very cool and unique experience, especially if you go there in the evening and listen to the live music.
Jordan has some amazing wines and we were lucky to taste a few. After my arrival at home, I actually found out more about their wineries and I got very excited as that’s a great excuse to come back again.
At the end of our two-night stay, it was time to move on to the last night by the Dead Sea.
I will prepare a special update from Petra for next blog post, as that deserves a bit more than just a short mention!
On the way to the Dead Sea, our taxi driver luckily picked a route passing through Little Petra. Little Petra gets little credit unfortunately as it lives in shadow of the main attraction, but I have to say just driving through it felt like a dream.
A stunning landscape which takes your breath away!
I had to hold myself not to spam you here with too many rock pictures as I’m pretty sure by now you’re getting the message. Jordan is absolutely awesome!
Little bonus – few pictures from the Dead Sea at the end, more coming soon!
If you have any questions about visiting Jordan, please drop me a comment below. I will be preparing a little handy travel guide where I leave all my wisdom in one place!
Jordon is high on my list but what about safety tips I was in Marrakech I guess I know what to expect but have you had any bad experiences? Love ur blog omg girl goals!
Hi Kiki
that’s probably the most asked question and I was planning to do a separate blog about it when I finally get to it. Short answer – YES, it is safe. There are like tripple security checks at the airport, airport-type checks in each big resort, police stopping almost all cars on checkpoints on the main highway, hotel employees checking all cars coming into resorts (including mirror checking under car for bomb). The only time I felt uneasy was when our driver was going through some very remote rough looking villages but I dont think even that wouldnt be unsafe. They put a lot of effort into keeping people feel safe when visiting. There is police patrol car each day before Petra entrance for example. Hope that helps! I will try to get more details in the blog post next week.
No bad experience, except getting ripped off on taxi charges. And paying a LOT for a glass of wine, but there is nothing you can do about that.
Thank you for the compliments, much appreciated! xxx
Hi Kiki! I am a young woman travelling to Jordan with my partner later this week. I am wondering how you found the ‘dress code’ in different places? I will be staying in Amman (Hotel is in the modern area, but will visit the Old Town) and the Dead Sea, and planning to visit Petra for a day. I wondered whether I should pack clothes that fully cover my arms, legs, chest etc.? Thank you!
Hi Amelia
for staying in a hotel, you can wear pretty much anything you like, including bikini by the Dead Sea.
Outside of hotel and in Amman itself it’s better to wear long sleeves and pants generally (or long skirt). No need to cover your head with a scarf, I’ve seen plenty of tourists and if you’re not exposing yourself too much you will be fine.
For Petra – there are not that many locals actually visiting and it’s considered a tourist place, so you will be fine with short sleeve top and maybe a long skirt or light pants. I would not recommend wearing shorts even though I’ve seen some pretty questionable outfits in there.
So it would be good to pack mostly long sleeve tops and pants, but throw in some lighter clothing options for when you’re in a hotel, by the Dead Sea and for Petra you can easily wear short sleeves.
Hope that helps.
Lucia
Hi Kiki,
I am traveling to Jordan with my friend in december, only for 4 days. I know we won´t have time for everything, but could you recommend us how could we best use time and see at least two attractions? Our priority is to visit Petra….so I was thinking, after arriving in Amman, stay there for one night, rent a car and next day go to Petra, book some hotel there in Wadi and stay one night there….If you have any recommendation where to stay in which hotel in Wadi or Amman, let me know, I would appreciate your help. Thank you!
Hi Sandra,
is that 4 days and 3 nights or 4 nights?
For your first day, you have two options:
1. If you’re arriving late, you can stay in Amman where it’s easier to get a choice for rental cars. Haven’t been there myself so can’t recommend a hotel.
2. Even if you arrive late, you might want to stay by the Dead Sea, it’s not too far and you will get a chance to have a swim in the Dead Sea before you go towards Wadi Musa. In this case I recommend booking car ahead online as it can get more pricey if you book it on spot in the hotel.
For night in Wadi Musa village, the closest hotel to the attraction is Movenpick, or the Petra Guest Hotel or Petra Moon Hotel for more budget friendly option and looked very decent/value for money.
If you only have 3 nights, the last option depends on the time of your flight. If your flight is in reasonable hours on the last day, you could still spend the night in Wadi Rum, it’s well worth it.
Only problem is that it’s quite a drive back to Amman to catch your flight, you will need around 3-4 hours to drive back in time, so you need to take that into account.
If you dont want to go to Wadi Musa, there was a really cool nature reserve in the Dead Sea area, so you are closer to the airport yet get a chance to see a bit more.
Lucia