Petra & Little Petra: Private Day Trip with Guide from Amman

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/8

Duration11h–12h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · FR +1

PickupAt your hotel

What you walk through on the way to Petra's Treasury

You're picked up from your Amman hotel before dawn and driven 245km to Petra, where a local guide leads you through the Siq canyon and past the Treasury, Royal Tombs, Theater, and Byzantine Church over two hours. Free time lets you climb to the Monastery or explore the museum, then you visit Little Petra on the return journey before hotel drop-off in the evening. Hotel pickup, private transport, entrance fees, and a local guide are all included.

11h–12h

Step-by-step itinerary

Private day trip to Petra from Amman

Leave hotel early morning
Drive south to Petra
Enjoy 2-hour guided Petra tour
Walk through the Siq entrance canyon
See the Treasury El-Khazneh
Visit Theater, Royal Tombs, Byzantine Church
Listen to guide about Nabatean history
Free time to explore or climb Monastery
Visit Petra Museum if time permits
Pass by Little Petra valley
Return to Amman and hotel drop off

The Experience

The drive south from Amman takes most of the morning—245 kilometers through desert landscape, your private driver handling the road while you watch the terrain shift. You leave early, which matters: it gets you to Petra before the heat peaks and before the main crowds arrive. The vehicle is air-conditioned, and if you want to ask about Jordan's history or the Nabatean trade routes that made this place matter, your guide is there to answer. When you reach the main site, you step out and walk into the Siq—a narrow rock fissure, 1.2 kilometers long, that was the only way in and out of the city 2,000 years ago. The canyon walls close around you, and then suddenly they open, and there it is: the Treasury, carved straight into rose-pink sandstone, so precisely cut it looks like it was built yesterday instead of two millennia ago.

Your guide walks you through what you're seeing—how the Nabateans, who controlled the spice and incense trade, sculpted these buildings without modern tools, how they engineered water systems to survive in this harsh valley. You have around two hours for the main Petra tour, which gets you to the Theater (it seats 3,000), the Royal Tombs stacked into the cliff face, and the Byzantine Church. After that, you get free time. Some people climb up to the Monastery or the High Place of Sacrifice, a clifftop altar where ceremonies once happened. Others just sit and absorb the scale of it. There's also a museum if you want to understand more about the artifacts and the people who lived here.

On the way back to Amman, you pass through Little Petra—a smaller rocky valley with its own carved buildings, what archaeologists think was a caravan stop and accommodation for traders heading to the main city. It's quieter, less crowded, and gives you a second angle on how the Nabateans built and lived. The return drive is long, but you're heading back with the light behind you, and your driver gets you to your hotel in Amman by evening. Bring comfortable walking shoes, a hat, and sunscreen—the sun at Petra is direct and relentless, and the ground is uneven.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from Amman, private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, a private English-speaking guide for the 2-hour Petra tour, entrance fees to Petra, onboard Wi-Fi, and a pass through Little Petra on the return journey.
A horse ride before the Siq is also included.
Specialized infant seats and golf cart service at Petra are available by request.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats available

Operated by Zaid Tours and Travel

Is this one for you?Right for travelers based in Amman without a rental car who want to see Petra's main sites in one day with transport and entry handled. Expect a full day out—the drive is long each way, which is what makes reaching Petra and returning to Amman in a single trip possible.