Discovering Jordan in 12 days

During Spring break, or rather the previous Thursday.. the journey begins.

Noémy, my daughter-in-law, says she is lucky because she will miss all of her Friday classes as well as the ones on Monday following spring break.

Checking in with Royal Jordanian is very quick and we are through security in no time. A stop at the National Bank lounge in the cross-border area is a must, as it is on every trip abroad.

A very good advantage of having the National Bank World Elite Mastercard, especially when you are with a teenager with a stomach that is close to a bottomless pit. We’ll come back to that stomach later.

I had rented a car for all the duration of the trip and very quickly we arrived at the Amman Marriott Hotel, where we would sleep the next five nights.

Why five nights? Because the fifth night is free when you redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for four nights!

What a surprise also to know that we were upgraded to a larger room but also that we had access to the executive lounge, all because I have the Gold Elite status.

The lounge was visited twice a day, for breakfast and supper. Didn’t I already tell you that I was traveling with a glutton?

I think Noémy was eating an average of 4 plates every visit. We loved the lounge and the bedroom too. The hotel is highly secured with a police car patrol in the parking lot and a quick search of the vehicle at each entrance.

We spent our first days exploring the north of the country by visiting the enormous archaeological site of Jerash, the site of Umm Qeis, the city of As-Salt as well as the castle of Ajloun.

We also took the opportunity to see the city of Madaba further south, Mount Nebo where Moses saw the promised land and the site of the baptism of Christ. What can we say about the Roman theater of Amman or its citadel, if not that it is magnificent and grandiose!

The only negative point I could mention is the way Jordanians drive in Amman. Forget about driving as fast as you can and quickly take your place in this jumble of traffic circle… but mostly, learn to honk like the locals do! I found it a little stressful to tell you the truth.

We headed to Petra for the rest of the trip. We spent two nights in a youth hostel in Petra and Noémy had to adjust to another level of comfort. The Marriott in Petra looked great though but I didn’t have enough points.

How to describe the site of Petra other than by saying that it is grandiose! There is so much more to see than the canyon and the treasury that everyone recognizes. I advise you to plan your visit over 2 days because there is a lot to see. Don’t miss Petra by night, i.e. the visit of the treasury after dark by candlelight!

Arriving in the village of Wadi Rum, we left the car at the Wadi Rum Rest House and were quickly greeted by a guide from the tour company. We were treated to a private tour, Noémy and me in a Jeep in the desert.

Whether it was visiting the canyons or having tea with the Bedouins, we were charmed by the Jordanians’ hospitality and the beauty of the place!

The buffet dinner is cooked underground in the traditional way and was most succulent. Our night in a tent in the middle of the desert delighted us greatly! The next day it was back to the village but this time on camelback to take the car and hop to the dead sea.

We had intended to stay only one night at the Marriott Dead Sea and Spa, but with all that the site had to offer (and I must admit, also with the accumulated fatigue) we changed our booking at the last minute to stay for two nights. We did not regret our decision!

Two nice surprises awaited us, the first one an upgrade to a room with a balcony with a partial view of the Dead Sea. I’d call it a full view of the dead sea! From the very first moments after arriving in the room we were very excited about how our stay there would be.

I am almost forgetting the second surprise: the hotel offered us the buffet breakfast for the next two days. All because of my Gold Elite status.

The site includes a spa offering massages, an indoor pool, three outdoor pools, one of which is heated, as well as a private beach overlooking the Dead Sea, several restaurants, a beautiful souvenir store and much more.

Let me summarize the hours that followed our arrival in one word: relaxation. After all these days on the road and all these visits, we had to spoil ourselves!

And unfortunately this wonderful site concluded our beautiful adventure in Jordan.