whY go to Jordan?

[VPS]

Thanks for taking the time and effort. Good to read and whets my appetite for Jordan

 

[drron]

A very good TR.We both loved Jordan and it was good to be reminded by your wonderful photos.
Thanks.

 

[Danielb56]

Hi All,

Long time reader of this forum and high time I contribute. So, what better way to introduce myself then with a trip report. First things first a few things about me.

I’ve just passed two years of working full-time since graduating university and have quickly learnt that travel will be a necessity to help me through being an “adult.” For the past two years or so I’ve been VA SG thanks to a well-times Coles Mastercard and Velocity Explore Gold offer.

I’m Brisbane-based and have done some travel (mostly Europe and the USA) over the years but other than 3 sneaky J flights around Asia everything has been in Y. As the title suggests I’ll be continuing this trend on this trip and keeping it real in whY.

Tour:

This trip is centred around an Intrepid hiking tour of Jordan (Trek Jordan). I’ve always wanted to go on a proper ‘desert’ holiday and Jordan is the most obvious choice with a bit of fantastic food and history mixed in. This will be my second group tour but my first with Intrepid and my first small-group tour (the rest of the trip I’ll be traveling on my own). Jordan will also be my first ‘adventurous’ destination (don’t read too much into that definition) and definitely won’t be my last thanks to this forum. My father spent a little time in Jordan nearly 30 years ago, so it already had my family’s tick of approval (always important).

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Flights:

BNE-xMEL-HKG (Virgin Australia) with 3 nights in Hong Hong

HKG-xAUH-AMM (Etihad) with 2 nights in Abu Dhabi and 9 nights in Jordan

AMM-xAUH-xHKG-xMEL-BNE (Etihad and Virgin Australia) with a 3-hour layover in Abu Dhabi and 10 hours in Hong Kong.

The VA legs to and from Hong Kong were booked way back in February during a Double SC promotion (big help to re-quality for SG this year ) with a cheeky AUD520 return fare. The Etihad legs were booked a few months later for around AUD1100 when Etihad were offering free two-night stopovers on all bookings. Routing via Hong Kong not only earns me more SCs but was significantly cheaper than the direct Australia-Jordan bookings (well over AUD2100).

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Hotels:

Hong Kong – Only just booked the Eaton HK last week thanks to recommendations on this forum (AUD110 per night). I’m not too worried about travelling around Hong Kong but I am hoping getting into town from the airport will be easily when I arrive (Saturday night doesn’t have the best track record).

Abu Dhabi – Booked the Jumeirah At Etihad Towers for a grand total of $0 through the free two-night stopover Etihad were running a few months ago. I instantly gravitated to of the most expensive hotels they were offering (who wouldn’t). Current prices for my dates are over AUD350 per night so I consider that pretty good value.

Amman – The tour starts at the Art Hotel Downtown so I booked two additional nights there as I arrive in Amman on a Thursday and the tour starts on a Saturday. There were nicer options for a similar price (AUD135 per night) further out of the central area but I thought the convenience of being close too all the attractions and not having to move outweighed the ‘nice-ness’ factor.


This short two-week trip will be the first time I’ve taken more than 1-week annual leave in one hit (excluding over Christmas) so my excitement levels are through the roof. This will be my second visit to Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi but my first to Jordan obviously. I’ll try to keep this report as ‘live’ as possible depending in internet access in Jordan. Tips and trick are very welcome.

Kick-off is bright an early Saturday morning for the 6am BNE-MEL leg assuming I make it through the last two days of work. Thanks for making it this far!

Welcome lovetravellingoz...sounds like you are a more recent traveler than most. There is a lot to see and enjoy around the world. I have been travelling since 1985. My wife and I recently (Feb 2019) went to Egypt/Jordan/Dubai....Loved Jordan and the rest as well. I would honestly say that Petra and Wadi Rum are two on the top of my list of places to see around the world...spent 2 nights in Petra and 2 Nights in Wadi Rum desert "Clamtent". Hope you like taking photos.

The weather will be good for that area as you will be doing lots of walking...I presume you are going in Dec??? If so can be a little cool but hopefully sunny as well. At least it wont be 40 degrees...Jordan is a bit expensive as the exchange rate is 1/2 theirs - so basically double the local prices.

I presume you will visit Jerash which is in Amman...worth a visit. Big excavation...

Enjoy your trip...

 

[RooFlyer]

Nice TR. Looking forward to your next

 

[craven morehead]

Thoroughly enjoyed your awesome TR many thanks for putting in the time and effort

 

[jase05]

Nice TR, thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[JohnM]

Tune in just after Christmas for a trip on the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney over New Year's .

Great TR.

If you have any free time, PM me. I live close to the city and drive past the Perth rail terminal the IP leaves from every time I go to the beach.

 

[Cossie]

Thanks for your photos and a great TR.

 

[ellen10]

I enjoyed reading your trip report, thanks for sharing your travels.

 

[klm597]

Thank you all for your support. I quite enjoyed making this report and it already brings back lots of fond memories re-reading it.

If you have any free time, PM me. I live close to the city and drive past the Perth rail terminal the IP leaves from every time I go to the beach.

Thanks for the offer John, I have a few days in Perth prior to departure but haven't sorted out what I'm doing yet. I have a few friends there but will definitely let you know if I have any free time.

 

[Magoo]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report.

Jordan has been on my mind lately - and your report certainly encouraged me.