Wadi Rum is Jordan’s second main attraction, apart from Petra. Everyone has probably heard about the red desert, which in many movies played the role of the surface of Mars 🙂 We have been to the desert in Oman before and we liked it very much, so we absolutely wanted to repeat our desert adventure, but in a new edition.

The desert in Jordan is completely different than the one in Oman. There are some single sand dunes here, but mainly the landscape is made up of various rock formations and canyons. When exploring the desert, it is best to go with a good guide who will take you to selected places in his jeep. Honestly, we don’t even know if it’s allowed to drive into Wadi Rum with your own car…
We decided to use Star City Wadi Rum , but I think whatever you choose will be fine. There are plenty of camps and guides in Wadi Rum. Virtually all of them have similar, high rates on the Internet, they offer tents of a similar standard and tours to the same places. We chose the option of a 6-hour trip by jeep with lunch in the desert, overnight in a Bedouin tent, with dinner and breakfast.

We left our car, like everyone else, in Wadi Rum Village, from where our guide took us on a trip. We started with a large dune, on which we burned our feet a bit 🙂 Then we went to the Khazali Canyon, famous for its many Nabatean inscriptions on the canyon walls and to the Little Rock Bridge (Rakhabat al-Wadak). Our guide was eager to be our photographer (taking a lot of photos with zoom, which I don’t like :)), so we have photos of the four of us this time 🙂 After climbing the bridge, it was time for lunch, which we ate in the middle of the desert. Our guide spread out mats in the shade of the rocks and prepared a delicious meal. Some of the dishes were already prepared (rice and chicken), but he made a fresh salad and boiled water for the mandatory tea on a small fire. The kids enjoyed the picnic so much!

After lunch, it was time to explore the Burrah Canyon, where we were left on one side and the guide was waiting for us on the other 🙂 It took us about half an hour to walk through it, but I must admit that we spent a lot of time rolling on the sand. The next point was the Um Fruth Rock Bridge, which is perhaps the most photographed place in Wadi Rum. This time we left the kids half way and we climbed to the top by ourselves, because it was very steep and dangerous. Sometimes I wonder how brave Europeans are outside of Europe 🙂 At the end of the tour, we were taken to one of the places where you can admire the sunset. On every larger or smaller rock in the area, you could see people admiring this beautiful show. There was the mandatory tea again and, to the joy of the children, cookies 🙂 After the sunset, we went to our camp, where a traditional Bedouin dinner was waiting for us, consisting of a dish called zarb (meat and vegetables cooked in a large metal, storied pan, which is put into a pit with hot coals and covered with sand – the preparation of zarb takes about 4 hours), rice, salads and bread. Unfortunately, we have to admit that zarb is not the best dish we have eaten in Jordan. The children did not like vegetables and chicken at all because of the specific spices (they ate other dishes without any problems). After dinner, we gathered in another tent. There were some conversations and some card games. Apart from us, there were 5 other tourists in the camp. And a dozen tents.

The tent we stayed in had 5 beds, the bathrooms were separate, but everything was really clean and we slept without a problem 🙂 The only challenge was what to do in the evening when the kids are asleep and the only light source is a large lamp hanging from the ceiling of the tent ? 🙂 The answer is simple. Go to sleep as well. Because the Bedouins start the day very early and they stubbornly offered us breakfast at 6.30 !!!! I don’t really know why they were in such a hurry. Do they want to get rid of the guests in the morning as soon as possible? We were in no hurry, because the plan was only to get to Aqaba (about an hour away), and yet we could not check in to the hotel at 9 am! As a result, we managed to eat breakfast after 7. On the way to Wadi Rum Village, we still had a chance to see the Lawrence Spring, and the kids caught a short camel ride.

Our impressions? I think it was one of the best days we spent in Jordan. The kids really enjoyed riding the jeep, climbing the dunes and the rocks. There was not much walking, and the temperature was not too bad. Personally, I think that it was a mistake to take a 6-hour trip, because we could probably see the same things in the 4 hours version. We waited an hour for the sunset, and yet we could have seen something else during this time (eg the Seven Pillars of Wisdom or other rock formations). It is definitely a must for everyone visiting Jordan, and an unforgettable experience for children 🙂

Practical info:
We paid 55 JOD for a night in a tent with dinner and breakfast.
We paid 150 JOD for a 6-hour Jeep trip with lunch (so the prices are a bit illogical, especially since the lunch itself cost 30 JOD).
Admission to Wadi Rum itself is paid, but is included in the Jordan Pass.