Wadi Rum
Sandstone mesas set on red sand, silence in surround sound and the Milky Way for a ceiling: Wadi Rum is the most memorable night of the trip.
Suggested stay — 1 to 2 nights
Lawrence of Arabia called it "vast, echoing and god-like"; Hollywood has cast it as Mars in half a dozen films. You leave your car at Rum village (the protected desert is driven only with a Bedouin guide) and climb into the back of a pick-up: the red dunes of Al-Hasany, the Um Fruth arch you scramble up barefoot, the Khazali canyon and its Nabataean carvings, sage tea in a goat-hair tent in the hollow of the afternoon. The full day (4 hours is not enough) ends facing the sunset, on rock still warm.
The night is the other half of the experience: Bedouin camps for every taste, from the simple encampment to space-station-style transparent bubbles. Dinner comes out of the ground — zarb, lamb and vegetables cooked for hours in an oven buried in the sand — then the generators cut out and the sky takes over: the Rum is one of the Middle East's finest stargazing spots. The most playful sleep on mattresses outside, wake-up guaranteed by the sun.
Don't miss
- The full day by 4x4: dunes, the Um Fruth arch, Khazali canyon, sunset
- A night in a Bedouin camp, zarb dinner cooked under the sand included
- The starry sky with zero light pollution, naked eye or the camp's telescope
- Sunrise from the rocks behind the camp — the free moment that beats everything
Our tips on the ground
- Book the camp directly (WhatsApp) rather than through a platform: cheaper, and the 4x4 guide is almost always from the same family — the day flows naturally.
- The desert freezes at night from October to April: camps provide blankets, not always up to the job — slip a light sleeping bag into your pack.
- The Rum entrance fee (JD 5) is covered by the Jordan Pass, but neither the 4x4 nor the camp: expect JD 50-70 per person for the day-plus-night combo when negotiating direct.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Jordan on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Wadi Rum
Can you drive your own vehicle in Wadi Rum?
No — and just as well: the protected zone is crossed only in the pick-ups of the Rum Bedouin, who read the sand like a map. Your rental car sleeps safely in the village or visitor-centre car park; rental insurance excludes off-road driving anyway.
Which type of camp should you choose?
Three schools: the classic camp (Bedouin tents, shared bathrooms, €50-70 half board), the comfort camp (private bathroom, €90-120) and the panoramic bubbles (€130 and well beyond). The sky is the same for everyone — put the difference into a second 4x4 day or a sunrise balloon flight rather than into the bubble.