Discover the Middle East’s history, culture, deserts, and modern cities.
My wife Taniya and I have visited Jordan enough times now that we’ve stopped arguing about when to visit and started comparing notes on why. I’m German, she’s American, and between the two of us we’ve turned up at Petra in freezing December fog and sweated through Wadi Rum in July — so we’ve more…
If there’s one question that constantly pops up before planning a Jordan vacation, it’s usually some version of this: Do I really need a visa, and what exactly is this “Jordan Pass” everyone keeps talking about? I totally get it. Before Taniya and I packed our bags for our own 8-day trip across the country—driving…
Lakshitha Arunajith Hi, I’m Lakshitha Arunajith, the traveler and creator behind Traveliyo. I run this site to turn “let’s just go” into a full-time reality. Honestly? Most of what I know about travel, I learned by getting it wrong first—bad directions, questionable advice, and one too many “guaranteed authentic” jordan guided tours that were anything…
By the time Tania and I reached Madaba, Jordan, the light was already going soft and low. Late afternoon. We’d conquered the canyon that morning, stood on Mount Nebo, and then took a taxi ride through streets that kept narrowing the closer we got to the old town center. Neither of us had much left…
We were still slightly damp around the collar when our Uber pulled up to the gate just past midday. The canyon hike that morning had taken more out of us than expected—three hours of wading, climbing, and one memorable slip on a rock I’d rather not relive. The short ride up from the Dead Sea…
We were standing in a small, dusty gravel parking lot at 8:40 in the morning, both still slightly damp and smelling faintly of salt from our Dead Sea swim the evening before. That was when a local guide wearing a faded RSCN t-shirt walked over, squinted at his clipboard, and asked if we’d booked the…
We almost drove straight past it. After exploring Al-Karak Castle, Taniya and I were back in our rental car, heading north along the historic Route 35. It had already been an incredibly long day. We started early at Shobak in the morning, made a quick stop at Dana after that, and then spent two intense…
By the time we reached Al-Karak, it was already past noon.We had left Aqaba early that morning—rental car loaded, coffee in hand, the legendary King’s Highway stretching out ahead of us. Shobak Castle had been our first stop, followed by the Dana Biosphere Reserve. Both were worth every minute. But as we wound our way…
By the sixth day of our Jordan road trip, Taniya and I thought we had already experienced the best this country had to offer. We had effortlessly floated in the Dead Sea, walked through the ancient Lost City of Petra, spent a magical night under the stars in Wadi Rum, and explored historic Crusader castles…
After leaving Petra and beginning our long drive toward Amman via the historic King’s Highway, Taniya and I didn’t expect to make any major detours. The plan was simple—drive, take a few scenic breaks, and reach Amman by evening. But somewhere along the winding mountain roads, we noticed something unusual on a distant hill. At…
After days of walking through ancient ruins and crossing vast deserts, Day 5 of our Jordan journey felt completely different. Just a few hours after leaving the red sands of Wadi Rum, we found ourselves standing in front of the calm, crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea. There’s something beautifully unexpected about that transition. One…
By the time Taniya and I left Petra that afternoon, we were both completely exhausted—but quietly excited. Day 4 of our Jordan journey was the moment we had been looking forward to from the very beginning: a real Desert safari Jordan experience inside the magnificent Wadi Rum National Park. The moment we entered the vast…