My name is David and I work in the sales team at KE Adventure. This was my first guided KE trip and, prior to finding out where I would be going, I certainly wasn’t expecting Jordan! I was to embark on the "Jordan's Wadi Rum and Petra" trip and I was incredibly excited as well as a little nervous. Having never completed a group guided trip before — instead opting more for weekend/week-long city breaks as cheaply and independently as possible, this was going to be a thrilling new way of travelling, and a slightly more far-flung destination than my usual visits in and around the more familiar cities of Western Europe.

The buildup to a trip like this was a lot of fun. One of my policies is to try and learn a little bit of the language of any foreign country I visit and learning Arabic was both a lot of fun and a tough and interesting challenge. As a first active guided adventure, the packing needed to be a bit more thought through than the usual policy of chucking stuff into a bag on the morning of my flight, as I needed enough stuff for a week’s worth of walks, including comfy evening camping wear (and plenty of changes of socks!). Having spent the last few weeks being the envy of the KE office, the day finally arrived and before I knew it I was on a flight out from Heathrow to Amman, ready to start my trip to Jordan.

The trip itself was great, led by a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide, who showed us some of the main highlights of Jordan in a fun-filled, action-packed week. Experiencing a country through an active means is probably the best way of doing so in my book — you are so much more attentive to everything and you get to see and experience some of the most amazing landscape up close.

As is the KE way, we had plenty of time with the locals out in the Wadi Rum desert, which was also a real highlight, as the way of life is very different to our own day to day lives and there is a lot we can learn about slowing down and enjoying the pace of life a little more.

Meeting like-minded travellers who clearly cared a lot about Jordan and had done a lot of research into it made for a great group environment, and it is credit to how amazing our trip highlights and walks were that even the most avid guidebook readers were left breathless with some of the views.

Some of the highlights, to name just a few, were submitting Jordan’s highest peak of Jebel Um Adaami, scrambling to the impressive Burdah Bridge, trekking across the beautiful and barren Wadi Rum desert, visiting the ancient Nabatean temples in Petra and, one of my personal favourites, camping under the stars in the desert.

All of these things were great to experience with a guide, who brought a series of amazing sights to life with a seemingly endless supply of stories, descriptions and explanations. I say endless in the best possible sense as we all came away really feeling like we had learn a lot about the country and places we were trekking in.

My biggest takeaway was how much I had enjoyed a country I never even thought I would visit. Travelling as a group was the perfect answer to this as I met people who were in a similar boat and were there to marvel at everything they did for a week. But we also had people who had visited Jordan who had some very good stories from previous trips and, of course, having a guide and meeting our fair share of Jordanians who were eager to share a part of their country with us. It was a brilliant week and I would thoroughly recommend Jordan as a country to visit, and make sure you visit it the KE Way. You’ll have a lot of fun and learn a fair few things along the way.

David embarked on our "Jordan's Wadi Rum and Petra" expedition, a thrilling 8-day journey brimming with desert exploration, climbing Jordan's highest peak, exploring the archaeological splendor of Petra and immersing himself in the vibrant Bedouin lifestyle.

We have a variety of ways to explore Jordan, from leisurely to moderate trekking, family-friendly adventures or challenging cycling holidays. Explore here to find your perfect Jordan adventure.

If you would you like to know more about this holiday or any of our other adventures, then give us a call on +44 (0) 17687 73966 or USA/Canada toll-free 1888 630 4415. We offer trusted holidays with financial protection and flexible booking conditions.