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I flew in to Amman airport and arranged a transfer straight to a hotel on the Dead Sea about 45 minutes away rather than stay the night in Amman. Bobbing about in the Dead Sea is an experience not to be missed because you're so much more buoyant than in normal sea water.
From there I visited the fabulous Roman ruins of Jerash from 100 AD which are amazingly complete.
It's about a three hour drive to Petra from the Dead Sea. It's well worth buying the Jordan Pass because it includes entrance to many tourist sites and includes the visa entry cost. Seeing Petra by Night at the Treasury is worthwhile although I wouldn't recommend doing it after a day hiking around the site because you will have to exit and re-enter which is 2kms there and back (so a 4 kms round trip)! There's no need to hire a guide to see the sites (unless you're a keen historian) because there are small panels in English describing the point of interest. Do enter the multicoloured caves opposite the amphitheatre. The Royal Tombs are impressive to walk past and of course the 850 stair hike up to the Monastery is not to be missed. Fortunately there's a restaurant/cafe up there so you can get some refreshments before making your way back down. It feels much further because the paths winds around the mountainside to get there. There's a fun look-out point over the Treasury which can be reached once you walk past the Royal Tombs. There's a bedouin tent up there so you can buy a refreshing drink when you finally get there!
Unfortunately I did see horses being mis-treated while I was there, especially by the men riding offering chariot rides to the entrance of the Siq. You can report the abuse you see but I hadn't realised that each chariot has a reference number on the back. So if you have the reference number they can follow up on your concerns.
Finally, if you're not an early riser like me, don't stress about getting there at 6am! If you're last out, after 6pm, you should have the Treasury and Siq to yourself - or at least I did.
From there I visited the fabulous Roman ruins of Jerash from 100 AD which are amazingly complete.
It's about a three hour drive to Petra from the Dead Sea. It's well worth buying the Jordan Pass because it includes entrance to many tourist sites and includes the visa entry cost. Seeing Petra by Night at the Treasury is worthwhile although I wouldn't recommend doing it after a day hiking around the site because you will have to exit and re-enter which is 2kms there and back (so a 4 kms round trip)! There's no need to hire a guide to see the sites (unless you're a keen historian) because there are small panels in English describing the point of interest. Do enter the multicoloured caves opposite the amphitheatre. The Royal Tombs are impressive to walk past and of course the 850 stair hike up to the Monastery is not to be missed. Fortunately there's a restaurant/cafe up there so you can get some refreshments before making your way back down. It feels much further because the paths winds around the mountainside to get there. There's a fun look-out point over the Treasury which can be reached once you walk past the Royal Tombs. There's a bedouin tent up there so you can buy a refreshing drink when you finally get there!
Unfortunately I did see horses being mis-treated while I was there, especially by the men riding offering chariot rides to the entrance of the Siq. You can report the abuse you see but I hadn't realised that each chariot has a reference number on the back. So if you have the reference number they can follow up on your concerns.
Finally, if you're not an early riser like me, don't stress about getting there at 6am! If you're last out, after 6pm, you should have the Treasury and Siq to yourself - or at least I did.