Jordan Artist Tours

Pros: Nice people in the office organising the tours, very prompt and friendly on pre-trip communication; good guides in the destinations

Cons: Not all costs disclosed; poor communication of what actually the tour involves and where and how you meet your guides (see below if you want details).

We did the tour of Petra and Wadi Rum in one day,  as we were docking in Aqaba for 2 days (overnight). The first point is - if you are in a similar situation, rather do Wadi Rum in the first day and do Petra the second day starting EARLY morning (in the spring or summer months, at least).

The company sent a driver to collect us from the Port. However, they didn’t prepare us to the fact this was just a driver, not our tour guide for the day - which was very worrying given the nice driver spoke absolutely no English. Much anxiety could have been saved had they informed us.

The driver then took us to Petra - the small town next to the famous site. There we were received in the modest offices of rogue company. 10/10 for nicety and hospitality. Kind, friendly people. The facilities are super modest with a local-fashioned toilet. The worst part comes here - the owner informed us we needed to pay an extra of $150 U.S. to get into Petra. In other words, that is ON TOP of the agreed upon price which was quite hefty.

This is why I am giving them only 3 starts - with them deserving 2 for this fact, and extra one just for the fact they try hard and are nice.

The owner walked us to the gate and there we met another guide, a young and competent guide who took us inside. Prepare for a very long walk - 4 km to the very basic old city centre part; and then - you need to walk back. There are some carts to hire - but they are very expensive (we found). Last 800m - you can climb on the back of a led horse; this is included in the price, only when you arrive - you are expected to pay “bakshish” (tip) of at least $10 US per person (and they’re happy to tell you that this is the minimum, making a sad face at less than that).

The next surprise was that our guide left us alone once we got to the last point on the basic main drag - which was Al Bint castle. There are restaurant there (mediocre, overpriced).

We then walked back - midday. It was very very hot.

Now we couldn’t find our driver - and had no phone (as the guide left us). Luckily the driver found us walking dazed and hot outside the gate…

From there we were driven by the driver to the office and from there to Wadi Rum. 

Instead of meeting our next guide and Jeep driver in some organised visitors centre, we were taken into somebody’s home. Apparently, rogue driver’s house. Interesting excursion. But again - why not inform us of this?

The “Jeep” in Wadi Rum is actually an open  truck with uncomfortable benches adorned with some homemade cushions to make the bumpy journey bearable. But this is the norm with all companies touring there.

The guide we had was excellent and knowledgable and the trip itself very beautiful and enjoyable.

Again, the guide left us and the driver took us to meet our car driver, and we went to have a “typical Bedouin dinner”. This was in some camp which operates as a restaurant and desert hotel. Food was OK and plentiful. Hospitality warm and kind.

Edson Lima Lima

We found Edson a great communicator in the time leading up to our excursion. On the day he was very pleasant and thoughtful company, he really knows his material deeply and well. His English is excellent.