Amman Jordan travel adventures today by alextravel.world? Think you can’t have a seaside vacation in the hot, dry Middle East? Think again. Aqaba, a beach town on the southern tip of Jordan, treats tourists to holidays on the breathtaking coastline of the Red Sea. Float, swim, snorkel, or dive – you can do it all from Aqaba. You can also get out on the turquoise water on one of the daily cruises offered by local hotels. Enhance your beach vacation in Jordan with a soak in one of the lovely hammams around the resort town. When you’re feeling peckish, dig into the local specialty of Aqaba: sayadieh, a dish of fish on flavorful rice with onion, tomato, and chili pepper. You don’t have to go all the way to Petra to see fantastic archeological sites in Jordan. In fact, the capital Amman (where you’ll probably arrive from abroad) is home to a variety of fascinating ruins, many of which are within short walking distance from one another. Discover additional info on The Best Jordan Adventures.

If you’re craving some R&R, the Ma’in Hot Springs is a natural spa 264m (866ft) below sea level. Herod the Great is said to have bathed in the area’s thermal mineral hot springs and waterfalls, where travellers have soaked since Roman times. Believed to help skin conditions and joint pain, water rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium cascades down the hillside and reaches temperatures of 60C (140F) for truly extraordinary bathing in the middle of the desert.

It’s a testimony to the sheer wealth of immersive history that still exists at the ruined city of Jerash that this site just north of Amman pulls in almost as many visitors as the legendary rock-cut temples at Petra. Yep, this medley of towering colonnades and old forums, fascinating temples turned to Byzantine churches, and great plazas is hailed as perhaps the most amazing Roman provincial city still on the planet today. You can come and stand where merchants from the Med would once have touted their goods, or imagine the hubbub of camel caravans arriving here straight from the dunes of the great Arabian sand sea.

You can access the Dead Sea from a couple of entry points, including Amman Beach. Better yet, splurge on a stay at one of the plush spa resorts on the Dead Sea’s northeast coast. They typically have private wading areas complete with buckets of Dead Sea mud. One bath with this red-brown sludge, and your skin will be softer than ever. Hot tip: Avoid getting Dead Sea water in your eyes at all costs. The intense salinity (10 times saltier than the ocean!) stings worse than you can imagine. Ask your tour guide to take you to the Khazali Canyon, where you can see petroglyphs of humans and antelopes that may date as far back as the 8th century BC. Discover extra details at https://alextravel.world/.

Petra is one of those iconic places that more than lives up to the hype created by Indiana Jones. Visit Petra first by day to catch raspberry rock swirls, donkeys and the famous Treasury. Then come back for a quieter experience called Petra by Night. Using only 1500 candles and all the stars that glimmer overhead, Petra’s passageway to the Treasury mixes inky silence with a reverential glow. Expect to walk for around half an hour in the dimly lit passageway before you reach this famous, glimmering view. Be ready to be still, be ready to be silent, and be ready to be moved. My only top tip? Visit Petra by day first.