Are you planning to visit Wadi Rum? We stayed in Wadi Rum for three weeks and found out everything you can’t find on the internet. This is our brutally honest Wadi Rum review.
In the review, you will find out, it Wadi Rum is really worth visiting, which camps are worth staying at and what you should consider before heading into the desert.
Key Takeaways
- We visited Wadi Rum in 2023 and stayed there for a total of three weeks. Through different types of accommodation and plentiful desert experiences, this is our Wadi Rum review.
- Wadi Rum offers a range of different accommodation options, from luxury camps with stunning views to budget-friendly options for backpackers. We say: Don’t worry too much about where you stay. You are coming for the activities.
- Exploring Wadi Rum can be done through jeep tours, camel rides, and stargazing experiences. We say: Join a Full Day Jeep Tour to get a good idea of Wadi Rum’s history, culture and nature.
- Engaging with Bedouin culture is a highlight of visiting Wadi Rum, offering traditional meals, storytelling, and a deeper connection to the local community. We say: You’ll come to Wadi Rum for the sights, but you’ll remember the people.
Our Recommendation
Explore Wadi Rum and Save along the Way.
We stayed at Desert Guide Camp and have all the intel. Find out more about their tours and get your hands on a desert experience that’s really worth its money.
- Key Takeaways
- Explore Wadi Rum and Save along the Way.
- A Brief Introduction to Wadi Rum
- Where to Stay in the Wadi Rum Desert – Full Accommodation Breakdown
- We Joined these Wadi Rum Tours – and We Would Do it Again
- The Bedouin Experience
- Our Brutally Honest Review of Desert Guide Camp, Wadi Rum
- Practical Tips for Visiting Wadi Rum
- Summary
- Frequently Asked Questions
A Brief Introduction to Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a desert located in the South of Jordan. The region is renowned for its dramatic sandstone cliffs, narrow canyons, and vast desert landscapes that have captivated travelers for centuries.
The unique geological formations are not just visually stunning but also hold cultural and historical significance, hosting the Nabataean civilisation, hundreds of years of Bedouin life and T.E. Lawrence during the Arab Revolt.
In recent years, Wadi Rum has made a name for itself by appearing in multiple Hollywood movies. Its unique landscape earned it some high-profile appearance in the Dune movies, The Martian, some of the newest Star Wars releases and John Wick, just to name a few. On social media, Wadi Rum has also gained traction for its martian aesthetics.
Visiting Wadi Rum provides lots of things to do, from exploring ancient rock inscriptions to jeep or camel tours. Whether you crave the excitement of a jeep tour or the tranquility of a camel ride, the Wadi Rum experience caters to virtually all tastes.
Choosing the right accommodation is key when planning your visit to Wadi Rum. The desert offers a range of camps, from luxury tents with panoramic views and gourmet meals to budget-friendly options for backpackers, each providing a unique experience.
Before we tell you which tours we took part in, where we stayed and why in god’s name we spent three full weeks in Wadi Rum, we’d like to give you a breakdown of all types of camps you can stay at when visiting Wad Rum.
Where to Stay in the Wadi Rum Desert – Full Accommodation Breakdown
In the Wadi Rum Protected Area you will find a bunch of options for overnight stays. Tourism is a Hugh source of income for the Bedouin community of Wadi Rum and they are not shy to provide offers. To break down the complexity, we sorted all hotels, bubble hotels and other camps in Wadi into three categories: Luxury Camps, Mid-Range Camps and Budget Camps.
This is everything you need to know about each type of accommodation in the Wadi Rum desert:
Luxury Camps
For those who prefer a touch of luxury amidst the rugged desert, Wadi Rum offers some exceptional options. One standout is Memories Aicha Luxury Camp, where guests can enjoy:
- Panoramic tents equipped with glass domes that offer breathtaking views of the desert sky and private balconies
- Comfortable stay with stylish interiors and plush bedding, ensuring a restful night under the stars
- The experience of waking up to the serene desert landscape right from the comfort of your tent—it’s an experience that’s hard to beat.
The service at these luxury camps is amazing and impeccable. For instance, guests at Aicha Luxury Camp can indulge in gourmet breakfasts and delicious meals prepared by chefs onsite.
Luxury Camps such as Aicha Luxury Camps are an amazing family and a great shout for couples on a romantic getaway.
Our opinion: While we do think, that luxury camps in Wadi Rum can be worth their money, we recommend investing in activities instead. At the end of the day, you will spend most of your time exploring, feasting and socialising, so little time will be left to enjoy your luxury room and amenities.
Looking for a Bubble Hotel? Check out our review of Wadi Rum’s famous bubble hotels and find out, if they are really worth the splurge.
Mid-Range Camps
If you’re looking for a balance between comfort and cost, the mid-range camps in Wadi Rum are perfect. These camps offer spacious tents with comfortable bedding and en-suite bathrooms, providing a relaxing stay without breaking the bank.
The amenities at mid-range camps often include on-site restaurants in form of dining tents serving local cuisine and recreational areas where guests can unwind in the middle of a day of exploration. With prices ranging from $40 to $80 per night, these camps provide excellent value for money.
Mid-range camps are a great pick for those who are looking to combine comfort with cost savings. The larger tents offered in mid-range camps offer extra space and privacy, making them perfect for couples traveling with kids and older guests.
Our opinion: We highly recommend staying in a mid-range camp, when visiting Wadi Rum, if you consider yourself a conventional traveller. These tents offer all the comfort and privacy you would encounter in any other hotel, while not breaking your bank.
Budget Camps
For budget-conscious travelers and backpackers, Wadi Rum offers several affordable camps that provide a basic yet comfortable stay. One such option is the Desert Guide Camp, known for its cleanliness, hospitality and the variety of activities it offers to guests. With prices starting as low as $10 per night and person, these camps are perfect for those looking to experience the desert without spending a fortune.
Despite their affordability, these budget camps ensure a memorable stay by focusing on essential comforts and engaging activities. Most of these camps include a buffet style breakfast, and a traditional Bedouin dinner as well as transfers to and from Wadi Rum Village, as long as you also book a tour along with your stay.
Budget Bedouin camps are ideal for backpackers who want to immerse themselves in the desert environment while keeping costs low. The tents, accommodating up to five people, are also fit for groups travelling and exploring together.
Our opinion: We stayed in budget camp for three weeks and would happily do it again – under one condition. Budget tents usually don’t have air-conditioning, so we cannot recommend staying there in summer. But otherwise they are fine. They offer a comfortable place to sleep, clean shared bathrooms, great food and amazing prices.
We Joined these Wadi Rum Tours – and We Would Do it Again
Exploring Wadi Rum is an adventure in itself, and the Wadi Rum Tours available offer a variety of ways to experience this stunning desert landscape.
From jeep tours that take you deep into the heart of the desert to camel rides that connect you with centuries-old traditions, there is no shortage of ways to explore Wadi Rum.
Before we dive deeper into some of the tour offers and our personal experiences on the tours, we’d like to get one thing out of the way. It is IMPOSSIBLE to explore Wadi Rum without a tour guide. Virtually impossible. And this is coming from two seasoned backpackers who are happy to go the extra mile to save some money.
The attractions of Wadi Rum are spread all throughout thew Wadi Rum desert and several kilometres apart. Without a jeep, there is no way for you to get to most of them. Additionally, apart from Khazali Canyon, we couldn’t find one attraction with signage or explanations of its history. You will need a Bedouin guide to show you around and teach you about every single place.
Te explore Wadi Rum, there is jeep tours, camel rides, and stargazing experiences, each providing different perspectives of the desert:
- Jeep tours highlight the famous sites and touristic places that make Wadi Rum so special.
- Camel rides allow you to navigate the narrow canyons and marvel at ancient rock inscriptions.
- Stargazing experiences let you gaze up at the clear night sky and sleep under the stars.
These tours offered something for every type of traveler. We’ll give a a quick rundown of each of them to help you understand which tour to pick. Later on, we will elaborate more on the Full Day Jeep Tour we joined when staying in Wadi Rum.
Camel Ride Experience
For a slow-paced, more immersive exploration of Wadi Rum, camel rides are an excellent choice. Riding a camel through the stunning desert landscape allows you to connect with a centuries-old tradition and experience the desert in a unique way.
While the guides for camel tours may have limited English proficiency, the overall experience remains deeply enriching. There’s something profoundly special about traversing the desert on a camel, much like the Bedouins have done for centuries.
If you are worried about the camels’ well-being, we recommend getting familiar with our guide on ethical camel riding in Wadi Rum. Overall, we found the camels of Wadi Rum to be well taken care of in comparison to other places in Jordan and the Middle East. Camels are a Bedouin status symbol and mostly treated with great admiration and respect.
Stargazing Tours
Stargazing in Wadi Rum is an experience like no other. With minimal light pollution, the night sky here is incredibly clear, offering unparalleled views of the stars. Stargazing tours are best experienced on clear nights, allowing for optimal visibility of the Milky Way and shooting stars. While we did not join a dedicated tour, we did do some stargazing in-camp and the views did not disappoint.
Some camps are praised for their beautiful places and peaceful atmospheres, perfect for stargazing. The Desert Guide Camp, where we stayed, is one of those places. Tucked away deep in the Wadi Rum desert and far from any light pollution, the camp offers some spectacular views of the Milky Way that left us speechless.
Additionally, certain tours offer photography services to capture the magical moments under the stars, ensuring that you can take a piece of the night sky home with you. It’s an incredible experience that adds a magical touch to your stay in Wadi Rum.
Jeep Tour Highlights
One of the best ways to explore Wadi Rum is through a jeep tour. These tours typically showcase remarkable sites such as Lawrence’s Spring, Khazali Canyon, Lawrence’s House and Um Fruth Rock Bridge.
Khazali Canyon is particularly famous for its ancient petroglyphs and rock inscriptions, offering a glimpse into the region’s rich history. The striking Um Fruth Rock Bridge, with its unique rock formations, is another highlight that leaves visitors in awe.
Besides the main attractions of Wadi Rum, jeep tours come with meals and black tea along the way, offer chances to buy souvenirs and end with a breathtaking sunset session, before dropping you at your desert camp again.
This amazing experience is often cited as one of the most memorable parts of the trip, and we couldn’t agree more. We opted for the Full Day Tour of Wadi Rum and couldn’t have been more satisfied with it. Yes, it is exhausting, but it was worth every minute of it, from the amazing history to the tasty meals and the one-of-a-kind desert sunset.
The Bedouin Experience
Setting aside the sightseeing for a minute, one of the most enriching aspects of visiting Wadi Rum is experiencing the Bedouin culture. The local Bedouin community has a rich cultural history, maintaining many of their traditions while adapting to tourism.
Staying at a Bedouin camp offers an authentic and immersive experience, allowing visitors to learn about Bedouin life and enjoy their warm hospitality.
The Bedouins are known for their incredible hospitality, often welcoming guests with traditional meals and communal activities. This great host cultural exchange not only enhances your understanding of Bedouin life but also makes your stay in Wadi Rum truly special.
We volunteered at a Bedouin camp run by an amazing family of the Al-Zalabiah tribe, and these are two main reasons why you should stay at a traditional Bedouin camp when visiting Wadi Rum:
Traditional Bedouin Dinner
A highlight of the Bedouin experience is the traditional Bedouin dinner. Meals are often cooked using the ‘Zarb’ method, where food is placed in a pit with heated stones, infusing it with unique flavors.
Other traditional dishes like Mansaf, made with goat or lamb, are typically served during celebrations or gatherings, showcasing the rich culinary heritage of the Bedouins.
The dining experience is communal, fostering a sense of community and sharing among guests and hosts. Meals featuring delicious food are often followed by Bedouin tea, shared around the firepit with stories shared by travellers and hosts.
Bedouin Music and Stories
Storytelling is a cherished tradition among the Bedouins, where elders pass down tales of history, nature, and morals to younger generations. Get cozy around the firepit after dinner and witness this cherished tradition firsthand.
In addition to storytelling, traditional Bedouin songs are often shared around the campfire, creating a magical atmosphere. These musical sessions are not just entertaining but also offer insights into the Bedouin way of life, featuring some instruments and sounds virtually exclusive to Wadi Rum and the Middle East.
Our Brutally Honest Review of Desert Guide Camp, Wadi Rum
In 2023, we stayed at Desert Guide Camp in Wadi Rum for three weeks in total. We worked at this particular Bedouin camp as volunteer social media managers and got the chance to get to know the camp, its activities along with other camps in Wadi Rum. This is our brutally honest review of Desert Guide Camp.
Desert Guide Camp is nestled deep in the Wadi Rum desert. To get there, the jeep transfer takes you past numerous other camp before arriving in the shade of a mountain. There, you will find 19 Bedouin-style tents, two communal tents, a fire pit, a kitchen house and a bath house with showers and hot water.
The camp is run by three members of the Al-Zalabiah family: Hussein, Eid and Zayed. It offers accommodation, buffet-style meals and a variety of activities. Some of the most popular activities are jeep tours, camel rides and night stays under the start. After three weeks and several tours, we know that Desert Guide tours offer some of the most authentic perspectives of Wadi Rum.
The English-speaking guides, all from the Al-Zalabiah family, take time and effort to cater to their visitors’ needs and create a unique experience each time around. In camp, after meals, the guides stay around to converse with the guests, share their perspectives of life and learn from their visitors.
At all points, our hosts were doing the most to make us feel at home in their camp. After sharing countless conversations at night, numerous meal in-camp and in Wadi Rum Village and several trips in the desert, we are proud to say that in Desert Guide Camp, we not only had a good stay, but found friends for a lifetime.
Practical Tips for Visiting Wadi Rum
Visiting Wadi Rum is an unforgettable experience, but please keep in mind that you are venturing into a remote part of the Jordanian desert. Prep accordingly to ensure an enjoyable and safe experience in Wadi Rum.
Here are some practical tips to make the most of your visit to Wadi Rum:
- When to Visit: The ideal months to visit Wadi Rum are from March to May and September to November, when the temperatures are milder and more comfortable for exploration. During these months, the weather is cooler, making it easier to enjoy outdoor activities and tours.
- What to Pack: For your trip, consider packing, lightweight, breathable fabrics to cope with daytime heat, layered clothing to adapt to temperature changes, especially cooler nights and sturdy footwear for navigating rocky terrain and sand dunes, ensuring comfort throughout your explorations. Also, do not forget to pack a comprehensive first aid kit, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses.
- Safety Tips: Jordan remains the safest country of the Middle East, so the only thing you really need to worry about is the sun. Staying hydrated is key. Drink water and don’t hesitate to ask your hosts for more water when you run out. Take rest in the shade and make sure to rest well during the night.
- Camel Rides: First-time riders on camel tours are advised to wear comfortable clothing, stay hydrated throughout the ride and to be cautious and aware of your surroundings, as encounters with wildlife such as snakes or scorpions, though rare, can occur.
- Lessons Learned: Take some to understand Bedouin culture, engaging with tour guides and camp hosts. They are not merely guides and hosts and cooks. They are beautiful people and amazing families offering insights into a unique, but endangered, culture. Don’t miss out on it.
Summary
From luxurious camps with panoramic views to budget-friendly options for backpackers, there is something in the Wadi Rum desert for every type of traveler. Whether you are drawn by the stunning landscapes, the intriguing history, or the warm hospitality of the Bedouin people, Wadi Rum promises a journey that is both enriching and inspiring.
Even after three hot weeks in Wadi Rum, we would choose to return to Wadi Rum in the blink of an eye. The Wadi Rum desert is not just another destination on a map, but the home of a unique and rich culture, a beautiful and welcoming society and a chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. We are happy to call Wadi Rum not only a wonderful place worth visiting, but family.
We hope this guide has provided you with valuable insights and practical tips to make your visit to Wadi Rum a memorable adventure. Pack your bags, plan your itinerary, and get ready to discover the magic of Wadi Rum.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time of year to visit Wadi Rum?
You’ll have the best experience in Wadi Rum if you visit from March to May or September to November when the weather is just right for exploring. Trust me, those milder temperatures make all the difference!
What should I pack for a trip to Wadi Rum?
For your trip to Wadi Rum, make sure to pack lightweight, breathable clothing along with layers for the cooler nights, sturdy footwear, sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. Don’t forget a first aid kit for any unexpected situations!
Are there budget-friendly accommodation options in Wadi Rum?
Absolutely! You can find budget-friendly camps like the Desert Guide Camp in Wadi Rum, where prices can start as low as $30 for four people.
What safety precautions should I take while visiting Wadi Rum?
It’s important to stay hydrated, wear protective clothing, and have a first aid kit on hand while exploring Wadi Rum. Plus, keep an eye on your surroundings to steer clear of any wildlife encounters.
What are some must-see sites in Wadi Rum?
You can’t miss Lawrence’s Spring, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and the stunning Red Sand Dunes in Wadi Rum—each spot showcases the area’s breathtaking natural and cultural beauty. Enjoy exploring!
Wadi Tribe 