General Information

Wadi Rum with children

An increasing number of people bring their children to Jordan and naturally want them to visit Wadi Rum. While we enjoy meeting these children, we have to admit that very few of our programmes are really suitable for them.

There is no difficulty with the jeep tours; the children are welcome to travel with their parents, and we usually make a discount for the smaller ones. We do expect their parents to take full responsibility for them, and to look after them at all times.

For camel rides : a child of two years or less can ride for a short time, two hours maximum, in front of one of his/her parents. Quite frankly, this supposes that the parent does not take up all the place on the saddle! If the parent is a large size, you should bring a "child bag" so that the child can ride on your back. (This solution is not acceptable for any other programmes)

A child of 8 years old or older can ride his own camel on a leading rein for one day. We do not advise more than about 4 hours in the saddle and we also advise against more than one day, however enthusiastic the child may be.

Hiking : This is often our main problem. Our hiking programmes are deliberately designed to leave any vehicle out of sight and reach for most of the day. Many of our clients do not realise the difficulty involved in this. Parents systematically overestimate a child's stamina and tell us "Yes, he can do it!" Our experience is that very often he cannot, however strong the will to do it may be. This leads to a great deal of distress for everybody.

Please remember that in the desert of Wadi Rum, hiking is done almost entirely in the sun, often on soft sand, and usually in temperatures of 28C to 35C. These conditions are much harder than those most visitors are used to, and it is not surprising that children tire more quickly here than at home.

We are sorry, but after a number of unhappy episodes we cannot accept children younger than 12 years old for hiking on the sand for two or three hours at a time.
If you are very anxious to hike with your child, we draw your attention to the programme "One day jeep and hike" which is designed for those who are unsure just how much they want to walk and where the vehicle is within reach all the time. This is the only hiking programme where we will accept smaller children.

Our guides are always anxious to help out, but they must remain free and unencumbered in order to be able to react quickly in an emergency. Obviously they cannot do this when they are carrying a small child and we have instructed them not to do so.

Scrambling in the mountains : any programme involving the mountains in any way is unsuitable for children younger than 14 years old. We refer here to the simpler scrambles and we reserve the right to refuse any child who appears inapt at these, even if he is older than 14.

More difficult scrambles, such as the Rakebat Canyon should not be attempted by children before the age of 16. The Rakebat is more difficult than it appears at first sight and our responsibility is totally engaged in these routes.

We are perfectly happy to discuss this with you when you and the child are here. This doesn't mean that we would change our minds very easily. In no circumstances would we accept any advance reservation for a programme which we judge unsuitable to the age of the child.

General information about the trips

Here we try to answer a few of the questions that are most often asked by people before their arrival.

Food : we believe we offer a variety of dishes, based on local ones, ample in quantity and well cooked. In warm weather, lunch is usually a salad dish, supper is always hot. Vegetarian food can be supplied, but if possible, please tell us about this before you arrive. Breakfast is bread or buns which we can warm on the fire, and a choice of cheese, jam and etcs (whatever we see in the shops that looks good!). And of course, plenty of tea! We can also offer instant coffee for breakfast.

Sleeping equipment : we supply mattresses and blankets. In cold weather then we have comforters which keep you nice and warm. There is no real need for you to bring sleeping bags, but it is true that some people prefer to use their own. This is up to you.

In general : You should wear something on your head and bring plenty of sunscreen with you. You will also need a shoulder bag or rucksack for for daytime necessities. They would chiefly be a camera, a bottle of water, some kind of head covering, a snack if you think you will need one, perhaps a light sweater or something with long sleeves, and of course anything personal you think you might need.

Arriving in Wadi Rum : there is a daily bus from Petra to Wadi Rum, leaving Petra at about 6.30am. The procedure for this bus is that you aks your hotel to reserve you a place and the bus then comes to pick you up. When we are expecting clients coming from Petra, we meet this bus on its arrival at the Visitors' Centre. There are two buses a day from Aqaba which leave there at 1pm (13h00) and at 3pm (15h00). These two buses do not run on Fridays, but the Petra bus does.

Onward transport : except on Fridays buses leave Wadi Rum in the mornings for Aqaba at about 7am and for Petra (every day) at about 8h30am. We can always get you to Rum in time for these buses. If you are going anywhere else, there are plenty of connections in Aqaba for Amman and points north. I do warn you that the bus for Aqaba is usually crowded out with local people and it is difficult for a tourist to find a seat on it.

There are no other buses from Rum that go every day. If you leave later in the day, we can usually take you 30kms to the Desert Highway where there is a bus stop (the normal price for this is 5JD), or we can arrange a taxi for you to whatever destination you wish. This is a service we offer to our clients and we take no commission on it (if you were wondering!) You may pay us or the driver directly as you wish.

Some taxi prices (in every case the "vice versa" is the same price) :

Times : our standard jeep tour usually begins at about 9.30am. If you are in Wadi Rum much earlier than this, either because you have come on an early bus or because you have spent the night here, we suggest that you might like to stroll up to Wadi Shelaala above the Resthouse and look at the dripping well there. The path is very straightforward and you can go there and come back easily in 40 minutes or so. But the timing of the other tours is flexible, and we can start later or finish earlier to fit in with whatever your plans are.

Toilets and rubbish : There is a toilet in the camp where we usually spend the night. Otherwise, out in the desert, we are sorry but one has to go behind a rock! Please be sure that all wastes are buried, and push a bit of sand over any "evidence". Toilet paper should be burned or put into a plastic bag for you to bring back and add to the camp rubbish.

It is a good idea always to have a plastic bag or two with you for the rubbish that tends to accumulate. There will usually be a general rubbish bag with the car, there is always one in an overnight stop.

"Good" guides in Wadi Rum do not leave rubbish lying around. Most of us pick up any objects discarded by less careful souls.

Clothes : Don't try to look smart! You can wear almost anything that will let you sit on the ground / ride a camel / scramble into a jeep / etc. We do ask ladies not to wear anything too skimpy when they are in the village (halter necks, short shorts, etc). When you are out in the desert then it doesn't matter, we are used to just about anything! But please do keep a tee shirt available for the village.

Shoes : trekking sandals will be enough for most people (NOT beach sandals!) For scrambling you might prefer to bring sturdy shoes or boots, and certainly for the mountains like Jebel Rum or Jebel Khazali. Don't forget a supply of cotton socks. Otherwise whatever you like : tennis shoes or sneakers, boat shoes or trainers are all fine for hiking, as of course are the trekking sandals previously suggested.

Contact information

My phone number is +962.795.834.736 (or 0795.834.736 from inside Jordan). . It is a mobile phone and you can also send SMS text messages.

You can reach me by email at attayak@rumguides.com.

Hiking and Trekking on foot in Wadi Rum

The problem with hiking in Wadi Rum is that many people find that just walking in sandy valleys, however beautiful, becomes boring after a fairly short time. For us this is a challenge, and we have therefore put in place the following practice.

We concentrate on short hikes of 3 or 4 hours, often less, through the narrower valleys and canyons and we intersperse these hikes with jeep rides when the walking becomes monotonous.

This is very popular, since in this way tourists can get a maximum of sightseeing in a jeep as well as covering more ground and having a more attractive walk.

We offer here one and two day tours, but they can easily be extended, either by adding on all or part of another programme, or by taking a few other routes not described here.

We can also provide a more varied week in Wadi Rum by combining the hiking trips with the simpler scrambling. Many groups coming from tourist agencies much appreciate our week long trekking tours in Wadi Rum.

Footwear: these trails are straightforward, and hiking boots are not necessary. You can wear trainers, boat shoes or trekking sandals as you like.

Other equipment: You are likely to be in the sun for much of the time and should have a head covering of some sort - this is the time to learn how to tie a Bedouin kefiya!

You will also need a rucksack or shoulder bag for water, and such oddments as your camera, sunscreen, a light sweater according to season and perhaps some biscuits for a snack. Chocolate melts quickly, but the guide willl show his devotion to duty in helping you to eat it.

Camel trekking in Wadi Rum

There are basically two ways to visit Wadi Rum with a camel : the first is with somebody (usually a young boy) leading the camel. The second is to have a mounted guide with you.

While most people arriving at the Resthouse take the first option, we always prefer to offer the second one to our clients.

It is certainly a bit more expensive, since the camel for the guide has to be taken into account, but in our experience there is no comparison in the enjoyment felt. With a mounted guide, you go faster, you therefore cover much more ground, and since the basic technique of camel riding is easily and quickly mastered, within a few hours most people will be guiding their own camel and will feel much more independent. Just about everybody does this when they are here for a second day.

A camel is not like a horse and few people have any problem with one. Although they look decidedly unfriendly, in fact this is deceptive, and most people come quickly to appreciate their qualities.

They make little noise and you will be able to experience the complete silence of the desert.

We offer camel trips lasting from one to five days, and also trips combined with either jeep riding or hiking - and with both. Not all of the itineraries are given here for the longer trips, we can supply them at your request.

No special equipment or dress is necessary. As always you will need a shoulder bag or rucksack, and please, ladies - you will be more comfortable in trousers! Any kind of shoes or sandals will be fine.

The prices take account of the mounted guide in every case: if you prefer to have a guide on foot with you, the itinerary as well as the price will be altered so please let us know in advance.

Private tours - "just us and the guide"

We realise that sometimes it is difficult for people to pay the cost of our tours, although we still insist that we give good value.

If we have several people wanting the same programme on the same day, we therefore automatically take you all together and apply the cheaper price. However some of you prefer to be alone with the guide and we ask you to state this when you make your reservation - or in any case AT LEAST A WEEK BEFORE you arrive in Wadi Rum. We make an extra charge of 10JD/person per day for this. During the high season the service may not be available or the charge may be doubled. We do realise that this charge is high, but so many people are asking for this service that we are running short of good guides.

So unless you are on your honeymoon or are travelling with three turbulent children, please try not to ask us for this service during the main tourist periods.

These periods, incidentally, are March to May, and September to November and also the two weeks including Christmas and the New Year.

We should like to make it quite clear that if you do not arrange specifically for a private trip, it is entirely possible that you will find yourself with others on your tour to a maximum number of 8 people. There are likely in any case to be other clients in the camp for supper and for the overnight. But there are plenty of places to be private around our camp. It is very seldom that we have more than a dozen people there. In fact we have found that on the whole our clients get on very well together. You have a number of things in common:

So don't be afraid that you will find yourself in a package tour group!

Visiting Wadi Rum when you are alone

This is a problem for all of us we are afraid.

Our prices are structured for a minimum of two people and we have already cut them down as much as we can.

It is quite impossible for us to take just one person for the price that two people pay individually, and we have to add a surcharge which is usually about 50%, depending on the requirements of the tour.

Many people write to us saying that they "would like to join a group" but it doesn't work like this. The groups we have are private or family groups and often they do not want outsiders with them - which we consider to be very reasonable.

During the peak holiday months of April and October, there is a good chance that we can fit you in with somebody else, but even then you should not count on this. The rest of the year if you cannot link up with other people (in Petra for instance) you should only contact us if you are willing to pay the extra price. There is no point in your asking us if there are any other bookings for the dates you are interested in - we have found the hard way that people frequently change dates, change their programmes or cancel altogether.

We are sorry about this, but while we are anxious to do the best we can to help you, there is a limit to what we can do.

Wadi Rum Mountain Guides

Wadi Rum with children