3 Day Self-Drive Itinerary For Jordan

Ever since I saw Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade as a child, I was fascinated with the ancient city of Petra! We finally had the chance to see it in April 2019 during our short three night trip to Jordan. However, as amazing as Petra is, it is only a small part of what makes Jordan (mostly) a great tourist destination to visit. As we were on a tight schedule, we spent only three nights and explored this interesting country by car. Although we were not able to see every site in the country, our 3 day self-drive itinerary makes the most out of a short trip and gives an excellent snapshot of what Jordan has to offer.

Driving In Jordan

Jordan is not a big country and the roads are generally well maintained. It is very easy to drive outside Amman. With that said, there are some large speed bumps, an occasional pothole, and police checkpoints. We were initially nervous about the police checkpoints, but the officers were friendly and welcomed us to Jordan with a smile.

Jordan Pass

Be sure to purchase the Jordan Pass in advance online for $90 JOD. This includes your visa and entrance to many of the main sights in the country. The Jordan visa costs $40 JOD and the entrance to Petra costs $90 JOD, so it’s a pretty good savings.

Our Itinerary

Day 0: Evening Arrival, Drive to Madaba

Drive to Madaba

After a flight delay, we landed at the Amman Queen Alia International Airport late at night. The airport is located a 30 minute drive south of Amman’s city centre, so on we opted to drive 25 minutes west and stay in Madaba instead of Amman. We rented a car from Ace Car Rental, which I would not recommend. The car was not clean and we are still dealing with unauthorized credit card changes months after using the company. A representative picked us up at the airport and drove us to the rental outlet at a speed resembling that of a Nascar driver training for their next race. When we reached Madaba, we checked in to our hotel and hit the hay. We stayed at the Black Iris hotel, which had an incredibly friendly and helpful staff, and a great buffet breakfast consisting of local Jordanian foods.

Day 1: Madaba, Dead Sea, Wadi Musa

Explore Madaba

After enjoying our breakfast at Black Iris, we checked out of our hotel and explored Madaba on foot.
At the St. George Cathedral, we admired its huge floor mosaic map, which is the oldest known map of the Holy Land and dates back to the 6th century AD. Entry to the church cost $1JOD each. We then explored the Madaba Archaeological Park, which showcases the remains of several Byzantine churches. The entrance to the Archaeological Park is included in the Jordan Pass.

Drive to the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is one of the most salinated bodies of water on earth. It is also the lowest point of elevation on the planet at 394.6m below sea level. Floating in the Dead Sea is one of the most unique experiences we’ve had, as we felt completely weightless on top of the water!

There are many ways to experience the Dead Sea in Jordan, but most come with a fairly hefty price tag. Fortunately, we discovered a way to float in the sea for free. Along the Dead Sea Highway (Highway 65), we parked our car on the side of the road and changed into our suits in the car.

Search 31°35’50.1″N 35°33’34.9″E in Google Maps to find the specific location. There will likely be other cars parked along the road as well. We took a walking path down to the Dead Sea.

There are natural hot springs nearby to rinse off the salt afterwards. Be sure to avoid putting your face underwater and if you have open wounds, it may not be wise to go in.

Also, it is recommended to avoid staying in the sea for more than 20 minutes, as the salt levels can cause problems such as dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.

Drive to Wadi Musa

After our dip in the Dead Sea, we changed in the car and began the journey to Wadi Musa, the closest town to Petra. The drive took a little over 3 hours, which gave us enough time to reach our hotel while it was still daylight.

We also had a chance to catch the sunset over Wadi Musa from our hotel and have dinner in town before it got too late. We needed to go to bed early, as a full day at Petra was on our agenda for the following day.

Admittedly, we felt that the prices for hotels and restaurants in Wadi Musa to be high for the quality. We were not impressed with our hotel or our meals in the town, so I can not endorse any specific place to eat or stay.

Although, I would recommend to book early! We booked our hotel only a few days in advance and didn’t have many choices. We ended up spending a lot of money for a mediocre hotel. If you have a rental car, you can stay anywhere in Wadi Musa, as there is free parking at Petra.

Day 2: Petra

Visit Petra

We woke up nice and early and drove to Petra. We highly recommend being at the gates by 6am when it opens. There were maybe only 5 other people there when we entered the park, which gave us some time to peacefully enjoy the sites before the hordes of bus tours arrived.

We spent the whole day there and left around 4:30pm. See our related post “A Minute to Minute Guide for Petra” for everything you need to know about your visit.

After a long day of walking, we were exhausted and spent our evening having dinner at our hotel and relaxing.

Day 3: Jerash, Evening Departure

Drive to Jerash and explore the ruins

After a tasty breakfast at our hotel, we drove approximately 4 hours to Jerash. This city is best known for its archeological park containing ancient Greco-Roman ruins. It is a remarkable site to see and should not be left out of a trip to Jordan. We spent a few hours exploring the grounds and could have stayed longer. Unfortunately, we needed to make the 45 minute drive back to Amman to drop off the rental car and head to the airport for our evening flight.

And the Negative…

Since Jordan has been on the tourist radar for many years, there are many local people taking advantage of this. We encountered a bait and switch tactic at our hotel, where the pictures did not match the room we were given. We were also disappointed with the way the archaeological site of Petra has been overrun.

There are hundreds of stalls throughout the site with local people aggressively selling cheap trinkets, souvenirs, and even pieces of rocks from the site! We were also appalled to see stalls set up in places blocking beautiful viewpoints, where you can only enter if you purchase a $6 cup of tea.

There are also donkeys and horses being mistreated and damaging the site with their hooves. While we still had a good experience and made the most of our time in Jordan, we think it’s prudent to provide an honest account of our visit.

Final Thoughts

Although our trip to Jordan was quick, we feel that our 3-day self-drive itinerary gives a pretty good snapshot of what the country has to offer. If we had more time, we would have visited more places such as Amman, the desert in Wadi Rum, and the port city of Aqaba. We were able to appreciate the places we visited without cramming too much into a narrow time frame. We highly recommend renting a vehicle and seeing the country by car, as you have more flexibility.