11 independent reviews for Jordan vacation on a shoestring
Reviews for Jordan vacation on a shoestring
Charlotte Payne review 21 May 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Petra and wadi rum2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Spend 2 days in Petra and 2 days in wadi rum3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Good! It could have been better as one of the people on our trip lost their phone in Petra so we spent about 3 hours trying to find it. This meant we didnt have a lot of time in wadi rum which was really disappointingMelissa Sundqvist review 27 Apr 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Overall it was a great trip. Most memorable moment was when we got caught in a rainstorm in a castle and the guide suddenly said, "I need to leave now!" and ran off back to the bus.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Jordan is a great place to visit. The tour was well organized. The guide was not great. He said a lot of words but did not say anything important.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I am not really sure.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The trip and the group were great. The guide was not value added.Jackie Kent review 10 Oct 2022
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Visiting Petra.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don't feel that you have to join the rest of the group all the time! Our guide offered us an opportunity to eat "traditional Jordanian food" every lunch time but it was priced at 10-15 JD each time which simply wasn't good value - particularly for any vegetarians. Ask the guide if you want to do something particular, I wanted to get to the monastery at Petra, but it was evident that it was never going to happen at the pace of the group. Guide was flexible in timings to enable me to do so with a couple of others in the group who were keen.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I'm afraid not! I don't think it benefitted local people other than the restaurants. As for environmental impact, there were no recycling facilities anywhere and nobody was encouraged to bring their own water bottles, in fact only 2 of us used them at all and filled them at the hotel, everyone else took the plastic water bottles (which were tiny) offered on the bus.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
It was really good, there were a few niggles but nothing that detracted from the overall enjoyment. The itinerary was good and allowed enough time at most places and for the guide to be flexible where we might have wanted more time (i.e. Petra!).Asked to respond to q3 - 23/12/22
Virginia Hoffman review 9 Oct 2022
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Wadi Rum and the Bedouin Desert experience2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Travel light and have enough JOD to cover extra meals and tipping. Don’t feel compelled to take your guides suggestions for lunch or dinner as they are usually expensive and sometimes too much food.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Tourism benefits Jordan on a broad scale so definitely4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent due to an excellent guide and driver and a very comprehensive itinerary. With more time you could slow the pace.Anne Wales review 8 May 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Our time in Petra.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for a lot of driving. The amount of money needed to let you be generous with your tips. Be prepared to drink a lot of water (bottled water was always available free on our minibus). Possible variation in temperature (we expected spring but summer suddenly appeared with high day temperatures) .3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes in all ways.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent value for money, very good organisation, although only 5 days many of the wonderful historical sites were well covered without feeling rushed.Tom Capper review 14 Oct 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Petra closely followed by Jerash when I realised it was Antioch. Petra was a long rewarding day with the Treasury and a donkey ride up to the Monastery more than memorable. The sense of history when being in Jerash/Antioch was very special. Looking down over the Jordan valley from Mount Nebo towards Jericho and Israel was a sight to behold.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
It is probably a vacation for people younger than 60 as on this particular tour nearly everyone was younger than we were. We were the only two people who had upgraded to 4 * so we felt a bit disassociated from the rest of the Group which was a pity so it might be wise to stick with 3 *. The Bedouin camp is an experience but be prepared for a less than salubrious stay.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
It benefited local people but there was no particular environmental or conservation impact.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
We enjoyed our vacation very much and whilst the ambiance and food at the Bedouin camp was great, the lack of hot water and the many mosquitos made it somewhat disappointing. Also, the bus had seen better days but on a shoestring not a big issue. All the vacation arrangements went well and according to plan and whilst we had some security concerns in advance of our arrival these were unfounded and we never felt in any way unsafe.nathan bradshaw review 3 Apr 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
all of it2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
be aware this can be quite exhausting few days3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
local people yes, environmental no, conservation yes4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
GreatSheri Strick review 1 Apr 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Petra at night - stunning! Although we had not planned to arrive later than scheduled, the fact that the walk to the Treasury was not crowded with other tourists (ie using torches and being really loud as on the way back) made the experience even more special.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
We were really cold in Amman (end March), take warm clothes! Take shoes for the swim in the dead sea - its rocky (and sharp) in the sea, and the beach is pebbled.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Individual bottled water on the coach was not necessary - a main water supply would be better - to refill the same bottle.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Petra, Wadi Rum dessert, and swimming in the Dead Sea were unforgettable moments. Sightseeing in Amman was nowhere near as interesting.Henrietta Whipsfield review 22 Oct 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The Dead Sea. The feeling of floating and bobbing helplessly made me laugh and laugh.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared to see a lot of other tourists, and to be time limited at many sites due to the amount that is packed into the trip.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
No. I believe the guide, who was superb, was stressed and over-worked from trying to fulfil the promises that the tour company had made to travelers.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The guide was superb. The country was fascinating and very welcoming. The driver was a hero. But I don't believe this vacation is well managed, or responsibly managed by the travel company. There is too much packed in here and it is the guides, drivers, vacation makers and the historical sites that suffer because of that. I feel the travel company sells vacations by making promises that are not realistic or responsible.Read the operator's response here:
Dear Henrietta,
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your recent experience on our Jordan on a Shoestring tour.
I'm sorry to see that you decided to give us a 1-star rating for this particular trip, especially since it sounds as though you did have a good time in Jordan, enjoyed the places visited and found the guide and driver to be superb. We have also reviewed all of your email correspondence with us before booking and departure and can see that all your queries were responded to in a timely manner and apparently without any issues.
In Jordan we offer a range of different tours, for those with different budgets and different travel durations - this 6-day Jordan on a Shoestring tour being our most budget friendly and shortest tour. It is designed specifically to give people a taste of all the main highlights in Jordan in a short time, which I imagine was part of its attraction. As a result, it is quite busy, but what we include in each of the days is by no means unusual compared to many other tours you'll find and we do believe that ample time is given to get a good experience of all of the places being visited. For those who wish to spend a little more time in Jordan and slow the overall pace down a bit, we have several longer tours including two more Shoestring tours, our 7 day 'Best of Jordan' and 8-day 'Week in Jordan', as well as an 8-day Small Group tour, 'Jordan Encounters' which also includes a local homestay in Ajloun and more time with the Bedouins in Wadi Rum. Any one of these may perhaps have been a better option for you if you found this tour too rushed.
Overall, I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like the overall package we offered in Jordan but thank you for your excellent feedback on the guide and driver.
Louise Denniss review 24 Nov 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Our day in Petra.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Check the location of the hotel in Amman before deciding how many days to stay in that city (ours was very far out of the city center which made sightseeing difficult).3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
It was not obvious how it was helping local people, aside from using local guides. From an environmental perspective, I also didn't see anything which clearly supported conservation. One thing I would flag is the way the tour gets through plastic. Unlimited small bottles of water were provided on the tour - it may be a small point but I think there could be a better way.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The trip was great, very enjoyable and over too quickly!Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your feedback about the tour. We're delighted you enjoyed it. With regard to plastics, that is something we're working on at the moment and have been trying different things. We did trial providing only large bottles of water but felt that any waste reduced was being balanced out by a large increase in wasted water. We do want to provide drinking water, and are now trialling some large water containers which people can refill their own bottles from.
Clara Downton review 14 Aug 2015
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Petra was AMAZING, the site, and number of different ancient relics is unbelieveable, and truly awe inspiring to see how sophisticated they were, so long ago.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Make sure you spend your evenings exploring, it's all too easy to get meals in hotels, but walking into the town in Petra (it's a little walk from the hotel, but there are taxis as alternative), and taxis into Amman - it is so worth while.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I think this trip used local guides, and locally owned hotels very effictively, and visited local restaurants to support them. The only concern with the choice of restaurants, was that sometimes they then over inflated their prices, which was a little frustrating - a premium is fine, but i think sometimes the restaurants could be better sourced, so you are helping the local people without feeling that they are taking advantage of tourists!4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT - highly recommended - knowledge of guides Fantastic - information shared brilliantly, areas visited stunning and awe inspiring, tiring (as so much to see and do) but well worth every ounce of effort in walking!Holiday Reviews
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