Luxury Vacations in Jordan

Over millennia, Nabatean engineers have moved through Jordan’s ancient citadels, sandstone deserts and rock-hewn tombs, leaving behind a country of astonishing architecture amid cinematic landscapes. Their distracting, otherworldly drama has pulled focus from Hollywood stars like Peter O’Toole and Matt Damon in blockbuster movies Lawrence of Arabia and The Martian, but, like Petra’s iconic Treasury, there’s much more to Jordan than an impressive façade.

Amman’s Roman relics include the Nymphaeum baths, a 2nd-century theatre, the historic citadel and temple to Hercules; in Jerash, Corinthian columns, towering temples and a hippodrome built for 15,000 spectators makes for one of the world’s best-preserved sites of Greek and Roman architecture. And at Petra, archeologists continue to peel back layers of mystery around the temples and tombs of Al-Khazneh (with groundbreaking discoveries as recent as 2024).

The lunar-like valley of Wadi Rum is the poster child of desert escapes, and Bedouin culture is best experienced in a semi-permanent tented camp under the stars, where nights are illuminated by coal-fired campfire cooking, lanterns and starlight. Levantine cuisine is aromatic and delicious, with staples such as fattoush, mansaf and mouttabal served throughout Jordan; coffee comes laced with cardamom, and Jordanian women translate omens and fortunes from the dregs. Through A&K Philanthropy, guests can experience the essential work of Jordan Bike Enterprise, a project designed to combat rural unemployment.