jordan / israel
 

have 9 days off
traveling from vancouver

will it be a bit rushed or workable? any tips

Do you have 9 days total in total or 9 days at your destination?

I had 12 days at Jordan/Israel back in 2011 and here was my itinerary:

Jordan
Based myself in Madaba (just outside the capital Amman but way more chill- there are some awesome mosaics here. Had 1 full day to see the town. 3 nights here)
1 daytrip to Jerash and back (Roman Ruins)
1 daytrip to Amman and back
1 day drive to Petra with stop in Karak Castle and the Dead Sea (hired a private driver)
2 days at Petra (you'll need both days)
1 day at Wadi Rum (overnight in the desert)

Israel
Crossed the border at Aqaba/Eilat and bused to Jerusalem (1 long ass day- Israeli border guards don't fuck around)
3 days in Jerusalem w/ a daytrip to Bethlehem
1 day Tel Aviv

All in all a bit rushed, but both countries are really small. If I were you and had 9 days I could probably cut out Amman and Jerash and trim a day off Jerusalem. But then if I only had 9 days I'd probably only stick to one country.

I did both in 12 days, it was totally fine. People in Jordan was really well educated.

I did the dead sea in the jordan side. I spent 1 full day at Petra and hiked up (didn't need to ride no donkey/horses)

Israel was also really good.
I enjoyed the tours at Jerusalem
I spent a full morning at the Yad Vashem; (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center), it was really sad. Very dark / sad morning. Very modern building, really good experience

A few travel bloggers I follow have recently done Petra. I always envisioned it to be out in the middle of the dessert somewhere remote but it’s essentially right outside of the bigger city?

Nope it's in the middle of the desert, but they built a town called Wadi Musa to service all the tourists going there.

Oh I forgot about the Dead Sea....updated my itinerary above! Pro Tip: DO NOT shave your balls or really any part of your body the day you are going for a dip, you will regret it!! Very cool place though you can't sink!

noo unfortunately that includes travel time from Vancouver :(

here is what I have tentatively

Day 1 Tel Aviv
Day 2 Jerusalem
Day 3 Wadi Rum
Day 4 Wadi Musa / Petra
Day 5 Wadi Musa / Petra
Day 6 Aqaba
Day 7 Tel Aviv

is that economical? or +/- more days in any spots

should I add Amman in there and loop back, maybe hit up Masada / Nazareth on the way back or not feasible

With that tight of a schedule you're probably best to base yourself in once place (I'd pick Jerusalem) and then just do excursions of Tel Aviv and Petra/Wadi Rum. Changing hotels literally every day you're there will be a huge waste of time.

Tel Aviv is a really cool place but there really isn't that much to see there. It's more of a chill at the beach during the day and party at night kind of city. It's literally an hour away from Jerusalem so you could possibly even just visit it for an afternoon and evening. Jerusalem really deserves more than just a day, it's arguably the most significant religious city in the world. If you are flying into Ben Gurion Airport it's technically in Tel Aviv but it's on the way to Jerusalem, so it won't make a huge difference where you stay your last night.

Amman is skippable, Nazareth is too far from the others. Masada I myself missed, but I think it's doable from Aqaba to Tel Aviv. Again don't underestimate the time it takes to get across the borders (you can only cross at two places btw).

I heard crossing in the south is typically less hassle, is that true? did you get visa prior or on arrival

ok I'll spend max half day exploring tel aviv if anything then and add extra day in Jerusalem

I got a visa on arrival for Jordan. Israel is Visa free for Canadians.

Can't say...I only crossed at the southern crossing at Aqaba/Eilat. Even then, it was the longest border crossing I've ever done. They detained me for over 3 hours and there was hardly anyone else there.

It could have been because I was a solo backpacker than randomly joined up with 2 other backpackers right before crossing.

Or the fact that I had travelled to a few Muslim countries before. They seem particular fixated on the fact I had gone to Malaysia and that I mistakenly volunteered the fact that I had relatives there (they are Chinese-Malaysian though, not Muslims).

Then again the border guards were just kids with guns and could have just been bored.

^ did u get your passport stamped? again, when i went, i was told to not get ur passported stamped at sensitive countries.

Nope it was on a piece of paper. But the Jordan exit stamp location is a giveaway for the “sensitive” countries