Is Jordan suitable for children?

Jayne Walters on 18 February 2020
When thinking, “where shall I take my family on holiday?” it is easy to discount places that aren’t seen as traditional family destinations. But if you do, you and your family could miss out on some unforgettable experiences. As a travel consultant in Welwyn Garden City, I can use my knowledge and expertise to help you put together your perfect trip.

Here is our experience of the majesty of Jordan.

At the end of last year, I was looking for somewhere for myself, my husband and our two boys aged 12 and 7 to go in February half term. As much as a week relaxing in the sun would have been lovely, it was not what I was looking for. I spotted some good value flights to Jordan if you fly via Malta (I will talk about Malta in a separate blog) and as I have always wanted to experience Petra, a UNESCO World heritage Site and one of the New7Wonders of the World, we decided to go for it.

Day one

We arrived into Amman Airport mid-morning and easily picked up our hire car. We were soon on our way to experience the Dead Sea, about an hour’s drive from the airport. Originally we had planned to just use the free access to the Dead Sea but changed our minds and headed for the Amman public beach. The facility is pricey at approx. £70 for the four of us and you must pay for lockers, towels and mud but I’m glad we had the changing rooms, running water to wash all the salt and mud off and somewhere to buy snacks and drinks.

Despite the February weather in Amman being chilly, the Dead Sea area was warm and sunny, the water temperature was pleasant and the children and I loved floating in it, although the salt stung. Do take a bottle of water down to the beach with you as if the salt gets in your eyes it hurts a lot! We couldn’t leave without covering ourselves in Dead Sea mud (which you also have to pay for!) but it takes a lot of washing to get it off once it is dry.

Once we were salt-free and dressed, we headed straight to Aqaba along the Jordan Valley Highway. It is one long road and as you drive along the length of the Dead Sea you get to see the amazing colours and patterns the salt makes. It took us about three hours, arriving at 6pm.

We checked into the InterContinental, a luxury 5-star resort right on the Red Sea with its own private beach. Our family room was large, with a separate sleeping area for the children, the beds were comfortable, and the hotel was wonderful.

We went for a walk and found a welcoming restaurant called the Neptune, with a lovely view of the water at the Royal Yacht Club Marina and after a quick bite to eat headed back to the hotel.

Day two

After a good night’s sleep, we had been looking forward to chilling by the pool and snorkelling in the sea, but it was overcast and a bit chilly. However, it was a lovely surprise to find the family pool was heated and could still be enjoyed despite the weather. We started the day with a swim then headed to Raghadan Street for a traditional Jordanian brunch. This included hummus, falafel, labneh and pitta bread and was delicious and very filling although my husband couldn’t drink the Turkish coffee as it was too bitter.

We wandered along the beach to Aqaba Castle where the boys enjoyed running around it and I worried about its complete lack of anything regarding health and safety!

The boys still really wanted to snorkel as I had told them how amazing it was supposed to be, so we drove 20 mins to South Beach anyway. There is a diving club on the beach, and I had a chat with them about where to find the fish. They assured me there was a reef very close to shore and easily accessible, even to my 7-year-old, so although it was raining and there was hardly anyone was in the water, in we went. We hired wetsuits for the boys, but I swam in just my swimsuit. It was chilly but manageable.

We snorkelled for about an hour. It was incredible! I could not believe the reefs that were teeming with brightly coloured fish were so close to the shore. We saw clown fish in sea anemones, butterfly fish, angel fish and parrot fish and my son spotted a moray eel and a sea urchin, both of which we moved away from quickly!

We were all buzzing about the snorkelling but the boys still weren’t done with swimming. They spent several hours in the pool at the hotel and only got out when it closed at sunset. We settled down at the beach bar with a drink and the boys had fun playing on the sand. It was peaceful and relaxing and we wished we could have stayed longer.

The boys wanted something familiar for dinner and we had spotted a chicken wings restaurant on our walk the night before so we headed there. The food was plentiful, tasty and well-priced and once we were finished we headed back to the hotel via a liquor shop to buy some beer for our desert stay

See part two for the rest of our amazing holiday.