Home > Amman > Private Tour: Desert Castle Tour of Eastern Jordan from Amman
USD $88.00
Private Tour: Desert Castle Tour of Eastern Jordan from Amman
Amman, Jordan
Discover Lawrence of Arabia country on a half-day desert castle tour around the beguiling plains of eastern Jordan. With a private driver, you'll visit three of the region’s famous desert castles — UNESCO-listed Qusayr Amra, Qasr Kharana and Qasr al-Azraq — and hear tales of the powerful Umayyad dynasty for whom the fortresses were built. The itinerary on this half-day tour is flexible and can be tailored as you wish.
Start with a hotel pickup from Amman by air-conditioned minibus, and then travel to the parched plains of eastern Jordan with your private driver. While not an official Ministry of Jordan guide, your driver is knowledgeable about the area and its history, and is able to point out sites of interest as you travel. Local guides are also readily available at each of the castles, should you want to hire one at your own expense.
The region is strewn with the famous desert castles — many within a 15-minute drive of each other — that hark back to the days of the Umayyads. Hear fun historical facts about the dynasty, the first Muslim rulers of the Arab kingdom during the 1st century, and learn about their pleasure palaces, opulent spas and hunting houses.
After roughly 1 hour on the road, your first stop is Qusayr Amra, a UNESCO World Heritage site and highlight of any trip to the region. Once an Umayyad hunting hideaway, the impeccably preserved castle is now best-known for its 8th-century frescoes that depict hedonistic scenes of nude women, wine and wild times.
Ask your driver to recommend a nearby eatery for lunch, if you wish, and take a break to enjoy some food at your own expense. Then, continue to Qasr Kharana, the imposing 2-storey fortress that sits in the center of a vast and open plain. Believed to have been built on Roman foundations, the structure resonates with intrigue and Mesopotamian, Arabic and Greek influences are all apparent inside its walls.
The final stop of your tour is at Qasr al-Azraq, on the outskirts of Azraq town. Famously the headquarters of TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), the building was previously used as a hunting lodge by the Umayyads, and later fortified as a defense against the Christian Crusaders. Gaze in awe as you explore the setting, and discover its courtyards, towers and mosque.
If you would prefer to visit another castle in the area at your own expense, simply let your guide know. The itinerary is flexible and can be tailored to your interests. After your final castle visit, relax on the journey back to Amman and finish with a hotel drop-off.
If I knew earlier, I would have booked all of my tours through Zaid Tours. Hasan was an excellent driver/tour buddy.
Review by: slocatel2006, December 2017
Some of the information was wrong. He did not seem interested in the tour.
Review by: cynthiabrown1, October 2017
I added a City Tour to this Desert Castle Tour and was glad I did. Upon getting picked up by the driver, I informed him I had to be back at the hotel by 3:15 or at the latest 3:30 I had obtained a late checkout approval from the hotel until 4:30 in order to shower and prepare for my flight home.. It would have been helpful for the driver to inform me/us of the amount of time he suggested at each stop in order to meet that limitation because by the end of the tours we didn't return to the hotel until 4:15! Additionally, the driver had car problems engine died twice en route. Although stressful at the end of the tours, I did really like the Citadel, Roman Amphitheater, and the three castles, particularly the castles.
Review by: Steve B, April 2017
The tour started 1 1/2 hours late. The driver had zero information to pass on to us. There wasn't much info at the sights either. We were offered a lunch since the tour got off to a late start but by then it was 2:30 and we had to return to our hotel due to previous plans. They also had planned to take us to a gift shop which was not part of the original plan. We felt like we were hostages. The staff in the office were very apologetic and tried to make the best of a bad situation.
Review by: adrian w, January 2017
The desert sites are well worth the visit. The driver speaks good English and is a good driver, safe and stable driving. Unlike the promotion on the website, the driver is not really a guide, with only limited knowledge of the history of the castles. However, he is flexible if one wants to adjust the tour to include other sites, but possibly with some cost adjustments. _br/_ It is a half day tour to hit 3 sites, so a 8:30am departure would allow sufficient time to tour all 3 sites and then back to Amman for lunch at say 1-2pm
Review by: Allyson W, October 2015
Once again my driver was Shadi. I was the only one on the tour and the only one visiting, nice for me I got great pictures. Had Jordan to myself. On the way to the first castle, we drove pass one of the refugee camps in Jordan. It was hugh, very interesting. Lots of security surrounding the camps. High recommend this tour. Bring water. About a 2 hour drive thru the desert. Air conditioned van. Thanks again Shadi.
Review by: berta p, October 2014
driver showed up on time.the castles were wonderful to explore. however, the itinerary says 'admissions to the castles' under the 'inclusions' section, but the driver kept asking me to pay for the castle entrance ticket. According to the tour description the entrance to the castles were included. So why did the driver ask me to pay for the entrance tickets? Either the tour inclusions were wrong or the driver tried to make me pay. because of this, i'm rating this tour just a 3 stars. if not because of this, it would have been a 5.
Review by: Mark W, August 2011
For this tour, a driver takes you from your hotel out to the three sites and pays admission. You're generally on your own to tour the actual sites (guides can be hired, but you really don't need them).
Review by: Mark W, May 2011
For this tour, a driver takes you from your hotel out to the three sites and pays admission. You're generally on your own to tour the actual sites (guides can be hired, but you really don't need them).
Review by: Robert C, United States of America, March 2010
This tour took us to some of the forgotten places in history. The desert castles were interesting and simple, reminders of a time when travel in this region was a lonely trek across miles of barren land connected by remote outposts. Each location had a story. Our driver was great and the guides at the sites were very helpful in explaining the history of each site.
Review by: KRISTIA K, May 2009
The drive was great, the castles very interesting, but the driver spoke no English. He was great but the time could have been better if we could have communicated better.
Review by: Giovanni S, May 2009
Very interesting. The castles, completely different from one another, are outside the normal tourists' routes. Even our kind driver did not know them! We got to see the beautiful panorama of Jordan.
Review by: Krista K, United States of America, April 2009
The drive was great, the castles very interesting, but the driver spoke no English. He was great but the time could have been better if we could have communicated better.
Review by: KRISTIA K, April 2009
The drive was great, the castles very interesting, but the driver spoke no English. He was great but the time could have been better if we could have communicated better.
Review by: Giovanni S, Italy, June 2008
Very interesting. The castles, completely different from one another, are outside the normal tourists' routes. Even our kind driver did not know them! We got to see the beautiful panorama of Jordan.
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