I only heard about Wadi Rum when I started researching for this trip, but I knew straightaway I had to go there!

We booked a jeep day tour with overnight stay at Lovers Camp. After 1h30 taxi ride from Petra, we were greeted by our guide Hlyel at the Visitor Centre.

Hlyel took us all around Wadi Rum, stopping at all the main sights. We visited canyons, rock bridges, sand dunes and many sights made famous by TE Lawrence (of Lawrence of Arabia fame). In a couple of places there were also inscriptions left by caravans many centuries ago.

We stopped for tea and lunch along the way – Hlyel prepared everything and was fine with making veggie food for us.

Although this was a guided tour, we had plenty of time to explore by ourselves, which was really good.

We finally arrived at the camp at 5pm, with time to spare to watch the sunset from a vantage point a short walk from the camp.

After a whole day of exploring alone, this was the first time we were together with other tourists for any length of time.

At night we had Bedouin music and a traditional dinner cooked from a hole in the ground (best onions ever!). This was a really good and authentic experience – very simple and nice, and didn’t feel posed for tourists.

Another great thing was the night sky, with lots of stars and a very visible Milky Way.

We then went straight to bed for a good night’s sleep. After breakfast we were taken to Rum village to take the tourist bus back to Petra – but not before Hlyel gave us a gift of tea and wild sage!

HOW TO DO IT:

• Camps and tours: There are many options to choose from, but Hlyel’s Lovers Camp was amazing. He is really proud of his business and his tour was exactly what we needed. We did an 8 hour jeep tour which allowed us to cover a lot of ground, but tours can be tailored to the guests. Tour with overnight stay cost 80JD per person.
• Getting there: There is a daily tourist bus leaving Petra at 6am. The same bus returns from Wadi Rum at around 8h30. Tickets cost 7JD. Alternatively, a taxi ride takes about 1h30 and costs around 40JD.
• Weather: Not surprisingly, the desert is really hot and dry. After a whole day travelling around, you will probably start coughing and feel your nose really dry.