Hi... My wife and I will be visiting Jordan in December with our 7 year old son... What is the feedback for delf driving in JOrdan? We will be going to Dead Sea, Mt Nebo, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Jerash and Madaba...
I am an avid photographer so having the flexibility to drive by myself, change the route on the fly, add/ delete places in the itinerary and of course, stop often for pictures is VERY important to me... I prefer to drive on almost all of my European and American vacations... But how is it to Drive in Jordan? Is it easy? Is it safe? How is parking? Is it worth it?
Also, if I did not want to self drive, are there good reliable recommendations for a driver and a guide combination? Looking for someone who is a good driver but also very knowledgable to be able to be our guide too... And yes, english speaking,...
Your recommendations will be very much appreciated!!
Self drive in Jordan? Or recommendations for a good driver/ guide with car?
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We were in Jordan in 2008 and had a great driver Bashar Herzalla
bashar_herzalla@yahoo.com
We also had a separate guide (who was wonderful as well) but I think Bashar could do the combined job so long as you have done some reading. His English is excellent.
It is possible to do a self drive however - roads are clearly marked and good and the driving style is good (can't comment about driving much in Amman, though).
We used Desert Horizons and had a driver for our family of four for the week we were in Jordam. He had a business degree;spoke perfect English and I felt as though he was our Jordanian cousin as he fit with our family but wasn't intrusive-went where we wanted and when which was great!
Thanks a lot Elizabeth... I have read your other posts and will be sending Bashar an email... Do you know if he is still in the business and anyone you know has used him recently? Also, do you happen to have any contact info (prefer email) for the guide you raved out... Was his name Osamaha? I could not find any posts about him or any information on the internet about him...
Dutyfree... DO you happen to know the name of the driver? SO that I can request the same? Also, do you mind sharing how much you paid for the service? Did the driver stay with you for the whole week and would drive even at night if needed? Also, do you pay for the drivers lodging and meals?
Bashar is with Desert Horizons as well (I'm not aware that has changed).
Osamah Twal was our wonderful guide - here's a link to his Facebook page - it has a phone number or you could send him a private message
https://www.facebook.com/osamahst
Thanks a lot Elizabeth... I have emailed Bashar... hoping to hear back soon... Do you mind sharing how much was the cost and for how many days?
Any other recommendations for any other good tour operators?
vibhav - I don't have the costs for Bashar or Osamah broken out from our hotel/air Jordan costs - Desert Horizons gave me an all in price that was great so I didn't have it broken out.
We had Youseff with Desert Horizons in Jordan. What our family loved about him was he was so flexible-stay longer at the Dead Sea-no problem;"can we find a place that sells wine or beer in Petra-I just happen to know a store?",etc.He stopped off at a couple spots that weren't on our itinerary when he found out that my daughter was a geologist and that my husband and I loved history. He even took us to two "local" restaurants in Petra and back in Amman after asking him where the locals eat-amazing food.I don't have a price either as we had it an add on with Lady Egypt with our trip to Egypt before.
As I said before, it was like traveling with a foreign cousin who became part of our family but wasn't intrusive either!