beth_c_142

I'm considering a trip to Jordan and Israel in October.

As a solo female traveler in Jordan, I keep going back and forth on whether or not to join a tour. The thing is, I'd like the camaraderie of a group, particularly since it would be my first time visiting the country, but all the tours seem to go to places I'm not particularly interested in. Left to my own devices, I'd do Jerash, Petra, Ajloun, and the Dana Biosphere Reserve. (But I'd skip Wadi Rum and Aqaba, and probably just use Amman as a starting point). Just my personal preferences; time is limited to a week in each country.)

Are there any tours that do anything close to my itinerary? I haven't been able to find them.

colduphere

This won't quite answer your question but out recent experience in Jordan was that our hotel manager was very good at putting groups of guests together for tours to the places you mention. You might want to check with a couple of hotels.

beth_c_142

What hotels did you stay at? (If you don't mind my asking.)

colduphere

As I wrote in our trip report, the man who ran the:

http://www.blackirishotel.com/

... was incredible. You will see on their site they have a tours page with prices listed. We could not go with others as there were already five of us. But every day we saw him trying to put groups together.

It was the same at the Al Rashid in Petra. But there were very few guests there so I don't think the system worked as well.

But I don't want to mislead you. You would have to be there at a time when others were there as well. At the Black Iris there were a lot of young people, including small groups of women. I read somewhere that the hotel is a favourite for single or groups of women.

beth_c_142

Thank you! That's a great tip!
I'll check out your trip report.

colduphere

I found the reference to women. It is in the Lonely Planet guide on Jordan. It says "women travelling alone will feel comfortable here."

beth_c_142

Thanks again!
I looked at the reviews for that hotel; it does seem like a good choice.

moremiles

Definitely go to Dana and/or Feynan too-there is a great 16km hike between the two and everything can be arranged once you're there. Feynan Ecolodge is fantastic and the Dana Hotel is true Bedouin hospitality, inc. great music in the evenings with lots of camaraderie.

JerryS

With only 2 weeks, I would devote more time to Israel as there is so much more to see and experience.
IMHO, you can see all that you want in Jordan in no more than 4 days.

beth_c_142

Thanks, moremiles! Dana Hotel looks intriguing.

Jerry S, I hope that isn't true! Well, I like to take my time with places -- half of the experience for me with traveling is trying out ordinary activities and interacting with people, not JUST sight-seeing. I want to have the opportunity to test out the Arabic I have been learning as well.

I did go to Israel, albeit many decades ago, but have not visited any other countries in the Middle East. I wish I had more time with both but the trip will likely not be much more than two weeks.