Rhapsody Shore & Land Excursions > Aqaba - Jordan > Wadi Rum & Petra Overnight

Wadi Rum & Petra Overnight

Wadi Rum is a vast, silent landscape of desert and rocks sculpted by wind and time immemorial into enchanting formations of unsurpassed beauty, their color ranging from deep yellow to dark red.

Already inhabited in prehistoric times, witnessed by finds of stone tools dating to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods almost 7000 years BC, the great valley that once was, was roamed for millennia by hunters and nomads leaving behind a legacy of interesting traces to attest of their passage.

Today it is home to the Bedouin who live in tents made from goat’s hair, tending their herds and preserving a desert lifestyle that has lasted for thousands of years.

This is where the movie “Lawrence of Arabia” and Red Planet were filmed. Change into 4 wheel drive jeeps at the visitors centre before you drive into this unique landscape.

Experience the eerie silence when the engines are switched off and marvel at nature’s wondrous creations. Capture precious moments on film as stops will be made along the way.

Take time out to relax at Bedouin camp where lunch and Arabian tea will be served.

After lunch board your coach and continue to Petra.

In Petra, a welcome drink at your hotel will be served and check in for the evening. Dinner at hotel and overnight.

Following morning after breakfast get ready for a most memorable sightseeing.

Created by the Nabateans, Arab Bedouin tribes who came from Arabia almost 2,000 years ago, the fortress like city of Petra became an important and very rich stronghold by protecting passing caravans.

Called the rose red city half as old as time, Petra was lost to the world for centuries, hidden in the mountains of southern Jordan.

In 106 A.D. the city fell to the Romans providing the setting for one of the most unique cities ever built. They added a triumphant arc, markets, baths, temples, shops and houses to the existing Nabatean tombs and monuments by cutting into the rock of the surrounding cliffs creating an unparalleled masterpiece of sculpted art out of a living city. When the splendor of the Roman period passed the Bedouin took over once again.

In 1812 a young Swiss explorer re discovered Petra and it suddenly became known to the world, becoming the setting for Stephen Spielberg’s movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

A short walk will bring you to the entrance of the “Siq”, a very narrow, descending ancient riverbed winding its way through the gorge for approximately 3 kilometers.

Towering walls of rock reach 300 feet high and at the final turn, out of the gloom appears the brilliance of Petra’s Treasury, 140 feet high, 90 feet wide and carved out of solid rock.

Continue beyond the Treasury and marvel at the towering temples, royal tombs, carved Roman theatre, burial chambers, paved streets, large and small houses and public buildings.

Return the same way to your hotel, freshen up and check out. A lunch buffet will be served for your enjoyment. After lunch board the coach for the return trip to Aqaba.

 

Special Notes:
Tour begins with motor coach and changes into jeeps at the Tourist Centre of Wadi Rum.

Buses will be waiting at the Bedouin tent at the end of the tour for the transfer to Petra.

Participants need be sufficiently mobile to climb into the back of the 4 wheel drive jeeps.

Jeeps are open air for maximum optical views.

The drive is bumpy and dusty.

Wear comfortable walking shoes, hat and sunglasses. Natural fiber clothing for more comfort highly recommended.

Bottled water advisable.

Coaches are toilet equipped. There are toilet facilities at the visitor’s centre at Wadi Rum and the Bedouin camp.

Visitors’ centre at Petra currently under renovation. Toilet facilities at hotel and inside the site.

Limited horse drawn carriages carrying two persons available inside the main gate to the site at an extra fee and cannot be pre-booked.

They will take participants as far as the Treasury only.

The initial 10 minute walk to the “Siq” is a gentle descent on reasonably even gravel terrain.

From the entrance to the Siq until the Treasury the road is uneven cobblestones with partial gravel and boulders in between.

Although there are horses available at the entrance and can be used to transport people only from the ticket gate to the entrance of the Siq, they are not recommended. They have no insurance, vet certificate and no saddle.

Comfortable walking shoes and natural fiber clothing highly recommended. Bottled water advisable.

Not wheelchair accessible nor for persons with limited walking.

Participants must be fit and healthy and able to walk approximately 3kms (return walk) and stand for long periods.

 

Tour Timings:

Tours begin at times suitable for the ship's arrival in port. The breakdown of the excursions is as follows:
Day 1:
00hr00 -> Depart from Aqaba Port

00hr00 -> 01hr00 Drive to Wadi Rum
01hr00 -> 01hr30 Toilet facilities at the visitor’s centre and change into jeeps
01hr30 -> 03hr30 Desert jeep drive with photo stops
03hr30 -> 04hr30 Lunch in a Bedouin Tent
04hr30 -> 05hr30 Drive to Petra
05hr30 -> 06hr00 Check into hotel
07hr00 -> 08hr00 Dinner at hotel and overnight
Day 2:
00hr00 -> 02hr00 Wake up call and breakfast at hotel
02hr00 -> 02hr10 Walk to the gate of Petra
02hr10 -> 03hr00 Guided walk through the Siq to the Treasury
03hr00 -> 05hr30 Guided walk from the Treasury to the Royal Tombs
05hr30 -> 07hr00 Return walk to the hotel at will
07hr00 -> 07hr30 Freshen up and check out
07hr30 -> 08hr30 Serving buffet lunch
08hr30 -> 10hr30 Return drive to Aqaba with comfort stop en route

 

 

< Floating on the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea Experience >