Petra + Jordan in 6 Days on a Budget
Six days adds the Dead Sea to the 5 day version without cutting anything else, since it’s under an hour from Amman and slots neatly into the first full day before heading south. Want less driving? The 5 day version drops the Dead Sea; the 7 day version adds Jerash and Aqaba onto this same spine.
Book these before you go:
- Buy the Jordan Pass Explorer tier online, 75 JOD, before you land
- Check Amman hotel rates for two nights near downtown or Rainbow Street
- Compare Dead Sea day trip options if you’d rather have transport and a resort pass bundled
- Check Wadi Musa guesthouse rates for both Petra nights
- Book a Wadi Rum jeep tour and camp , roughly 60-65 JD a person all-in
| Day | Focus | Distance / drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Amman | at destination |
| Day 2 | Dead Sea | Amman-Dead Sea ~60km / under 1h each way |
| Day 3 | King’s Highway to Petra | ~220km / 4.5-5h with stops |
| Day 4 | The Siq and the Treasury | 0km, on foot inside the site |
| Day 5 | The Monastery, then Petra by Night | 0km, on foot inside the site |
| Day 6 | Wadi Rum, then depart | Petra-Wadi Rum ~110km / 1.5-2h |
Where to sleep
Amman for two nights, a mid-range hotel near downtown or Rainbow Street. Wadi Musa guesthouses (Petra Guest House, Petra Moon Hotel) for the Petra nights, a fraction of Movenpick pricing and close to the gate. Wadi Rum’s overnight is bundled into the jeep tour itself, roughly 60 to 65 JD a person all-in.
Day 1: Amman
Most nationalities get a visa on arrival at Queen Alia International, waived if your Jordan Pass was bought correctly in advance. Spend the afternoon at the Amman Citadel and the Roman Theatre downtown, both covered by the Pass and easily combined into one half-day. Treat this as your buffer day for a late flight.
Day 2: Dead Sea
A day trip from Amman, under an hour each way by taxi or private driver. There is no genuinely free, maintained public beach on the Jordan side; skip the informal salt-crusted access points and pay for a day pass instead, roughly 20 to 25 JD at a standard resort or Amman Beach, per current Jordan tourism board listings, for showers, a pool and the mud. Bring flip-flops, since the shoreline salt crust is rough underfoot, and rinse off at the on-site showers before getting back in the car; dried Dead Sea salt is genuinely uncomfortable on a long drive.
Day 3: King’s Highway to Petra
Leave Amman and take the scenic route south; JETT’s Amman-Petra bus only runs the faster Desert Highway, so this leg needs a private car or driver. Dana Biosphere Reserve, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours in, is Jordan’s most dramatic canyon country. Kerak Castle costs 2 JOD (free with the Jordan Pass, open until 7pm April-September, per official entrance fee listings ). Arrive in Wadi Musa by evening.
Day 4: The Siq and the Treasury
Get to the Visitor Center at opening. The Siq, a 1.2km gorge with walls up to 200m, takes 30 to 40 minutes to walk and ends at the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), a Nabataean royal tomb facade from around the 1st century, not a treasury or a building with rooms whatever the name implies; the story of gold hidden in the stone urn on top is where the name comes from. Spend the afternoon at the Royal Tombs and the Street of Facades. Skip any horse or donkey pitched near the entrance; it’s sold as included, then a driver demands 20 to 50 JOD in tips at the end.
Day 5: The Monastery, then Petra by Night
Start before 8am for the Monastery (Ad-Deir), over 800 rock-cut steps and a genuine 45 to 60 minute climb each way, larger than the Treasury and with far fewer people up there. Check locally whether Petra by Night is running that evening; it’s a separate ticket around 30 JOD, patchy since a 2025 relaunch, so confirm rather than assume.
Day 6: Wadi Rum, then depart
Transfer south in the morning, 1.5 to 2 hours from Wadi Musa. Entry to the protected area is 5 JD, waived with the Jordan Pass. A full-day jeep tour plus overnight camp runs roughly 60 to 65 JD a person through the dunes and rock formations. From Wadi Rum, head back to Amman, or continue to Aqaba, another 2 to 2.5 hours, if you’re departing from King Hussein International instead.
Is the Dead Sea really worth a full day from Amman?
Yes, but budget for the day pass rather than expecting a free stop. A resort or Amman Beach pass runs 20 to 25 JD and includes showers, a pool and mud, which the informal free access points don’t offer at all. Given it’s under an hour from Amman each way, it’s an easy add that doesn’t eat into the King’s Highway or Petra days.
Can you skip the King’s Highway and still see Dana and Kerak?
Not really as day trips from Amman; both sit along the King’s Highway route south, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours and about 2 hours respectively from Amman one-way, so they work far better as stops on the way to Petra than as separate round-trip excursions.
Carry more water than seems necessary everywhere you go, since shade is minimal at both Petra and Wadi Rum. Keep small dinar notes on hand, since kiosks and tea stalls rarely break large bills, and in winter treat any Siq closure notice as final; flash floods move fast through that gorge and Petra has shut on short notice for exactly that reason.