Jerash, Ajloun & Umm Qais: Private Day Trip with Pickup

4.93

(151 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I remember is the way our driver greeted us at the hotel in Amman—big smile, easy handshake. He asked if we’d had breakfast and then laughed when I tried to pronounce “Jerash” like a local (I’m still not sure I got it right). The drive north felt quiet at first, just city sounds fading into olive groves. When we reached Jerash, the stones were still cool from the night. There’s this moment stepping through Hadrian’s Arch where it actually feels like you’re trespassing on someone else’s time. A local guide waved us over—he had this habit of pausing mid-sentence to let you really look at things. The amphitheater echoed even with just a few people inside; my friend tried out her “opera voice” and startled a group of school kids. They giggled and waved as we walked by.

Ajloun Castle sits up on a hill that looks steeper than it is (though my knees disagreed). The wind up there is sharp, carrying the smell of pine and something almost metallic from the old stones. Our driver pointed out the Crusader routes winding below, tracing them with his finger against the horizon like he’d done it a hundred times. Inside, sunlight slipped through arrow slits and made patterns on the floor—one corner was so chilly I could see my breath for a second. We didn’t rush; there was tea for sale outside but we skipped it, wanting to see Umm Qais before sunset.

By late afternoon at Umm Qais, everything felt slower—the light went honey-colored across the ruins and you could see all the way to Syria and Israel if you squinted through the haze. There was an old man selling figs by the entrance; he offered us one for free after catching me staring too long (I think he felt sorry for my indecision). Walking those black basalt streets with nobody else around except some sheep in the distance—honestly, I still think about that view sometimes when I can’t sleep back home. The return drive was mostly quiet except for someone’s playlist humming low in the background. It didn’t feel like a tour so much as just being let into these places for a day—you know?