If you are looking for a licensed private tour guide for your time in Jordan, at the end of this post you will have everything you need to know about booking a Jordan private tours and travel information.
For first-timers in Jordan, planning can get overwhelming and hiring a private guide can take the guesswork out of planning the best itinerary. No one knows a good itinerary like a local Jordan guide who spends every day traveling around the country.
I have seen plenty of bad itineraries, from both tour operators (who often have never done the tour) and from people who plan to see the country independently but do not do the proper planning. Jordan private tours will enable you to sit back and relax as your driver will take care of getting you from A to B and your private tour guide will take care of the itinerary and logistics.
A private tour guide in Jordan can offer the expertise that first-timers to the country might not think of. From quick detours enabling visitors to see even more that they never thought could happen, to a quick word with an employee of a site that is about to close that does not want to admit more visitors; Jordanian tour guides can often give you more than what you would get if you had shown up on your own.
What to Know About Booking A Private Tour Guide in Jordan
How to choose a guide?
The most important thing about choosing a private tour guide in Jordan is to ensure they are licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Taxi drivers and private drivers are quick to offer “guiding” services but are usually not licensed guides (or they would be doing tours not driving cars).
Licensed guides are permitted access to all of the sites in Jordan and often are given priority service in restaurants, handicraft shops, and some sites.
Having a private guide with you means you will not have to hire a local guide inside the tourist sites and they can give you a more detailed experience that a guidebook cannot afford you.
Why choose a Jordan Private Tour Guide instead of a Group Tour?
There are several reasons to book a private tour guide in Jordan instead of a group tour. The first is the option to completely customize your itinerary based on your time in the country, the level of comfort you are looking for and the sites you want to see.
The second reason why you should consider a private tour guide in Jordan is that they can cater to special situations that group tours cannot always accommodate. If you are traveling as a family, young children have different needs when it comes to having a “pool day” or rest afternoon. Also, large families can benefit from booking a private tour instead of taking up half the spaces on a small group tour. It can also often save you money.
The third reason to book a private tour in Jordan is that it caters to travelers who do not like group tours. If the thought of sitting on a bus from A to B and seeing something then getting back on the bus from B to C just turns you off tours altogether, then a private tour is perfect for you. You can lounge at lunch for as long as you want or stop for take-out shwarma without having to stick to a strict schedule. Jordan private tours offer the ultimate in flexibility.
How to Book a Private Tour Guide In Jordan?
You can contact a tour operator to book a private guide and they will take care of the rest! You can also book some guides directly. If you want my personal recommendation, feel free to let me know and I can put you in touch!
I have also built quite a few posts that include tours. Check out these private Aqaba Petra Tours.
If you are not convinced and want to check out the best groups tours, or maybe you just prefer group tours because you enjoy traveling with other people, I have put together a list of the best group tours in Jordan.
5 Things to Bring with You to Jordan
I have always been a guide book person and physically having that book in your hand as you plan your day, in addition to blogs like this one, can help immensely. Pick up a Lonely Planet Guide to Jordan (or the kindle version) before your trip to Jordan.
Whether you want to keep the sun off your head or want to show a little modesty, a scarf goes a long way in Jordan any time of the year. You can bring one with you or pick up one when you arrive, but don’t leave your hotel in the morning without it! It can serve as a hat to keep the sun off your head and neck in the summer and can add some warmth in winter and can offer modesty to cover shoulders for women.
A Grayl Water Bottle is something I recommend for every traveller, not just those going to the Middle East. Some people say the water is safe to drink from the tap, others say it is not; it is not something I am going to chance. And Jordan has a HUGE garbage problem. The streets, the forests and even the desert are littered with plastic bottles.
If you consider drinking at least 1-2 big water bottles a day while you are there, think of how much plastic that creates when every visitor and the population’s 9 million people do the same. With a Grayl, you can filter any tap water (or actually any water source) and have clean drinking water in seconds. Since most people travel with water bottles already, consider one like this with a filter so that you are not just pouring from big water bottles to small. It might sound expensive, but when you compare it to spending a few dollars per day on water while you travel (and do not forget how expensive the water is inside airports), you will pay for this very quickly.
Kleenex or Wipes are another thing to put on your list. Jordan’s public washrooms (and even restraint or hotel lobby washrooms can often be unstocked. Unless you are good with a bidet sprayer, bring yourself some kleenex or wipes just in case! You will find that most washrooms in tourist sites and rest stops have an attendant that will give you toilet paper and paper towel for a small tip. Usually, half a dinar is fine.
In Jordan, the plumbing is not set up to handle toilet paper. Every bathroom (even hotels) you should use the garbage can beside the toilet for your toilet paper and any sanitary products.
Motion Sickness Pills might be needed if you are prone to motion sickness and plan on traveling by bus or in the back of the car. There are many windy, hilly and bumpy roads in Jordan. Sea Bands might work for you if you are prone to motion sickness.
Travel Insurance for Jordan
There are a few other things to think about when it comes to travel. The first thing is travel insurance. Whether it is an emergency room visit for something as simple as strep throat, or an emergency appendix surgery, or an unfortunate moped incident things do go wrong when people travel everyday.
I highly suggest travel insurance and a good policy. I personally never travel without it, and I even checked into my policy about care for my children if I am every in an accident or hospitalized. There are just too many things to think about.
You can find out more information and buy your travel insurance here.
More Jordan Travel Resources
In order to help make your visit to Jordan as memorable as possible, I have created a number of resources from planning guides to local eats.
If you have just begun the planning, check out 101 Things to do in Jordan to give you some inspiration on the places you want to make sure you have time to see. Of course you are not going to see all of them, but it should give you some ideas that you may not have thought of!
If you are a foodie, check out where to eat in Amman or the best Petra restaurants in Wadi Musa. When you have a Jordan private tour it is much easier to make restaurant requests or try certain foods as there is so much more flexibility in private itineraries!