I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure in getting from Dallas to Dubai in Part One so here is Part Two of my Adventure: Wadi Rum and Petra in Jordan!
Fortunately after the nightmare that was getting to Dubai, it seemed to be smooth sailing from then onwards. I got to Israel first then took a tour bus with Tourist Israel from Tel Aviv to Eilat to cross the boarder into Jordan. The tour bus was quite late, but once on the bus we made good time and still got to Eilat with plenty of time for our activities for the day. There are several different tour options from 1, 2, or 3 days. I chose the three day option (and would recommend) with the bubble-tent add-on for Wadi Rum.
Once we crossed the boarder into Jordan the 1 day people got on a specific bus to go straight to Petra and back. The 2 and 3 Day people got onto the same bus that was going to take us to Aqaba (right down the road), then to Wadi Rum for a desert adventure and to spend the night in a luxury bedouin camp.
Aqaba seems to be in the beginning/middle stages of being more developed as a vacation spot since it also sits on the Red Sea (across the sea from Eilat). The Red Sea is known for having awesome diving so next time I’m back in Israel I’m planning to hang out there a bit more. We were in Aqaba probably about an hour then got back on the bus to make our way to Wadi Rum. Everyone tried to get some much needed sleep since we had to meet at the bus at 2am that day (but didn’t leave until 3:30am...). Bus sleep is 100% not ideal, but we were strapped in for adventure. We got to Wadi Rum and made our way into smaller groups to get onto the backs of some pickup trucks for a race across the desert. If you’ve ever seen Dune, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, that is what we were experiencing. It felt like we were on an alien planet. We climbed up some different mountains and dunes and had tea with bedouins before getting back into the trucks so we could get to our camp for the night.
The bubble tent camp was awesome. If you get the chance to go there are lots of different bubble tent camps so if not going with a tour group definitely check out what each one has. Ours had alcohol, but not all of them do (as I found out later). We all checked into our individual tents then met back up for dinner which was a big event. After dinner a DJ started playing music and we had an awesome time dancing under the stars and making new friends. Even though we had been up since 2am I probably didn’t get to bed until 11pm. It was a LONG day, but amazing.
The next morning we packed up our stuff, had breakfast, then said goodbye to the bubbles. We made our way back on the bus to Petra. The people on the 2 day tour needed to book it to be able to see all of Petra since they were leaving that day to go back to Israel. If Petra is your main attraction then staying for that third day is really worth it. I was able to take my time that second day as well as return later that night for Petra at Night (which I only recommend if you’re already going to be there. I would not go out of my way for it).
When everyone met back up in the afternoon for late lunch/early dinner the 2 day group left us and we got our new tour guide for day 3. He reminded me of the Jordanian version of Captain Jack Sparrow, like a desert pirate. He took our much smaller group to a new hotel and explained how Petra at Night worked as well how the next day would go. Not everyone for the 3 Day wanted to do Petra at Night but those of us who got the tickets met back up at the appointed time and we shuttled over to that experience. It was colder and darker (I know) than I expected. There are really not many lights to get you from the entrance to the Treasury where the show is, which is about a 30 minute walk. Keeping your battery on your phone charged for that flashlight option is imperative.
Once you get to the Treasury you find a seat and try not to get separated from your group. There are changing lights on the Treasury and when I was there they had some visiting singing groups for performance, but bedouins also still live in Petra and I don’t think they were super thrilled all of this chaos was happening. There was a lot of shouting and a few fights between the bedouins that I wasn’t initially sure if it was part of the show or not. It was not. It did make for an awkward experience and A LOT of people ending up leaving quite early. The show is about 2 hours and probably half of the people had left after the first 45-60 minutes. I stayed until the end to get better pictures, but again, would probably not recommend in general. It was another late night after quite a bit of hiking, with more hiking to be done the next day.
In the morning we had breakfast at our hotel and packed up our stuff again before being shuttled to the back entrance of Petra by Little Petra. Normally there is a shuttle that takes you from Little Petra to the base of the larger back entrance to the mountain by the Monastery at the end of Petra. It was initially not running, but then after awhile of walking suddenly it went past us… we finally got on the shuttle after some wasted time and made it to the REAL hike. It took quite awhile to actually make it all of the way up to the Monastery, but we felt very accomplished afterwards.
Fortunately it was not crowded and the weather was great, but I would NOT recommend going in high season or when it is hot. That would have been miserable. It’s also important to note that since this is a Muslim country both men and women need to be mindful of modesty when selecting hiking clothing. I was told that in more touristy areas it’s less of an issue, but I did notice that most people had their shoulders and knees covered out of respect. I wore long linen pants and a linen long-sleeve button up and was totally fine. Bringing water, sunscreen, and comfy shoes are also non-negotiables. There are plenty of places along the hike to buy water/snacks/trinkets, but it’s important to be well-prepared.
After the Monastery it’s not actually that far back to where we had been the previous day. Many people think the Treasury IS Petra, but it’s only the beginning. In between the Treasury and the Monastery there is a ton to see and explore. I found out later that you can also book to stay with some bedouins that still live in Petra. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site so I think technically the bedouins aren’t supposed to live there anymore, buttttt it seems that some still do.
After the hike we made it back to the restaurant from the previous day, said goodbye to our tour guide and got on a new bus with a new tour guide and made it back to Eilat to cross back into Israel. We made it back to Tel Aviv around midnight, very exhausted, but so happy and full of gratitude for the experience. I highly recommend adding not only Petra, but Wadi Rum to your travel bucket list. It was a whirlwind three days, but I’ll never forget it.
Stay tuned for Israel, Greece, Croatia, and Montenegro!
-Savvy