The Middle East was a mystery to me before this trip and the only other place I have visited in the region was Istanbul. This trip was a guide tour from Israel and everything was planned (1 Day Wadi Rum and 2 Days Petra). There are plenty of tours ranging from 1-3 days and honestly I feel you really get the most experience from the 3 day tour and it makes the travel journey so much more worth it.
Transportation
The coach picked us up from the Textile Building from Tel Aviv and drove us down to the Eilat Border Crossing via Jerusalem. The journey was about 6 long hours (don't believe the website) and honestly if you have the time you could have just flown down instead the night before and join everyone at the border in the morning. It was an 2:00am start and we didn't get to the border until 7:00am.
Accommodation
As this was a tour, accommodations were covered but you do have options to upgrade. On this tour I opted for the upgrades both nights. However the standard version according to my tour mates are basic but decent enough.
With the Wadi Rum Dessert I upgraded to the Martian Dome and it comes with its own front terrace facing the dessert. I love the room and the down side is that I wish I could stay longer maybe just for a few more hours to take in the view. However that's where the terrace comes in handy, as you can go get your breakfast and eat it outside your own room. We were expected to leave the site at 9:00am.
For Petra Upgrade I was staying a resort style 5 Star hotel. The great thing about the 3 day tour is that with 2 very early starts at the beginning, you can finally have a more leisurely morning on the 3rd day, as it is a free day for you to explore Petra in your own time. 1 Day in Petra only gets you the highlights but with such a world heritage site you really need 2 days to do it justice.
Restaurants
All meals are covered in the tour apart from 3rd day lunch in Petra and also snacks for the journey. We didn't really have time to try enough restaurant to compare but with Google's Ratings we decided to try My Mom's Recipe Restaurant and I would certainly recommend it. It is very close to the entrance of the Petra site.
Attractions (Day by Day)
Wadi Rum and Petra are a very well established tourist sites so most of the tours are pretty standard and they already know the best places to take you to. I would say the only things I would recommend is that you avoid buying any souvenirs (probably made in China) and have a lot of small US$ notes in case you need to pay your way through certain places.
Day 1: Aqaba & Wadi Rum
Once we crossed the Eilat Border (Israel) to Aqaba Border (Jordan) we were given a short tour in this seaside city before we had lunch in a fancy complex. From there it was another 1hr on the coach before we reached the Wadi Rum Dessert. We got on to an open-air Jeep and explore various sites of interest. We returned to our Dessert Camp at about 6pm where we just relaxed and had dinner.
Day 2: Petra Guided Tour
In the morning you have the option to meet at 6:00am for a camel ride to see the sunrise. If you have not ridden a camel before this could be a good experience and it comes with a morning tea.
The first day of this guided tour was lead by our wonderful tour guide and you get to hear the stories of the city. He will only take you up to the Treasury (the famous one) and you are free to roam around for the rest of the afternoon and have your inclusive lunch. You will then be dropped off at your respective hotels.
In the evening you can choose to do the Petra by Night Tour and see the site lit up with a musical performance right outside the Treasury.
Day 3: Petra in Your Own Time
On your 3rd day you can choose when to start your day and just book your own taxi to the Petra site. We decided to to go via the back and do a 1hr hike to get to the Monastery first, before walking backwards towards the entrance. At the main entrance there should be transit to take you to the back, where you will then need to take another jeep to the start of the hiking spot. There is only one way so you don't have to worry about getting lost.
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