I visited Wadi Rum on the last day of my trip around Jordan. I had chosen to do a full-day tour with Rum Stars, one of the more reputable local companies. The reviews on this website and trip reports elsewhere on the internet prepare you for the worst, for a tourist trap with touts all over the place. My experience was totally different, and Wadi Rum became one of the highlights of my stay Jordan.

I arrived at the visitor center at 9.30 a.m., driving down from Petra (1.5 hours). It is as if entering a National Park in the American Southwest. I paid the 5 JD entrance fee at the ticket office, and after inquiring with whom I had booked a tour, they sent me on to Rum village. I accidentally had arrived at the same moment as a South African woman, with whom I would share the tour.

After being welcomed in the “office” with sweet Bedouin tea, we got going with our guide Salem. He drove a 4WD pick-up with seats built in the rear, and a covering across against the sun. This is the most pleasant way to tour the desert I think, feeling the cool air, and getting close to the sand.

We drove a circuit connecting about 12 sights, varying from red sand dunes to rock art (lots of camel petroglyphs!), viewpoints, canyons and natural bridges. There were quite a number of other tour jeeps on the tracks, although they all tend to drive their own routes.

The weather was very fine, not too hot, even a little chilly in the shade. Fortunately, we spent ample time outside of the jeep. One of the best things was the half-hour hike through a narrow canyon. As it is blocked by huge boulders about halfway, you have to scramble on your hands and feet around them and even below one block to get to the other side. For the even more brave climbers, there’s also the option to climb onto the Um Fruth natural bridge.

The site is very “developed” in general and that way it lacks a certain authenticity that one would expect from a Bedouin cultural landscape. I found Dana a better place to see how the traditional Bedouin in Jordan currently lives. The desert landscape, and mainly the variety of shaped landforms, is the main attraction here. And while there are deserts to see in many places around the world, there aren’t that many on the WH list. Tassili n'Ajjer (Algeria) and Air and Ténéré (Niger) are the most comparable sites to Wadi Rum, but these are much less accessible.