Private Full Day Tour to Umm Qais and Ajloun from Amman
About this activity
Highlights
- Explore ancient Roman ruins at Umm Qais
- Visit the historic Ajloun Castle
- Enjoy panoramic views of the Jordan Valley
- Discover the rich history of northern Jordan
- Experience personalized service with a private guide
Full description
Included / Excluded
- English-speaking driver
- Private Transfer by air-conditioned leisure new vehicle according to number of participants
- On board WI-FI
- Entrance fees to Umm Qais Ruins and Ajloun Castle; if option Jordan Pass not selected
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- All type of meals, unless option with lunch selected (Vegetarian meal by request)
- All type of beverages
- All type of gratuities (Tips to the Driver) – Recommended
- Personal Expenses
- Local Guide at Umm Qais or Ajloun
- Any other service not mentioned
Itinerary
Drive with your own private leisure vehicle and English-Speaking Driver who doubles up as your guide to visit Umm Qais where the Ottoman Governor’s House has been restored and opened as a museum. Umm Qais offers beautiful views over the Northern Jordan Valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the Golan Heights. Start the visit walking the "Docomanos" street that leads to the theater which is different than other roman theaters, since this one is directed west instead of north. Proceed to the basilica church to see its octagonal altar which was a temple. Continue to the main street "Cardomaximo" which means the main street. The direction of this street is from east to west, usually the roman streets are from north to south. Then, visit the town’s museum to admire some of the precious artifacts recovered from the site, including mosaics and marble statues It is a unique roman city different than Jerash, which is another roman city in Jordan worth the visit.
Proceed to visit the city of Ajloun with its Islamic Castle of the 12th Century in the time of Saladin. Also, this beautiful castle is a unique stone building admiring the spectacular views from its tower cliff. Your day ends with a hotel drop-off.
Important information
Know before you book
- Confirm your booking at least 24 hours in advance.
- Provide your hotel details for pickup arrangements.
- Be prepared for a full-day excursion with multiple walking sites.
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes suitable for uneven terrain.
- Bring a hat and sunscreen to protect against the sun.
- Carry a bottle of water to stay hydrated during the tour.
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Infant Seats Available
Good to know
- Confirmation will be received at the time of booking.
- Airport Pick-up and Drop-off by request.
- Contact your local operator (office phone number, emergency mobile number – out of office hours, or email address) a day before to reconfirm pick-up arrangements provided in your voucher.
- For Jordan Pass holders that purchased tour activity with entrance fees, please inform us to reimburse the entrance fees in destination.
- Tour activity is provided in English. For other languages by request.
- Clients with mobility issues, please contact us.
- Strollers and car seats for infants, please contact us.
- Most local tourist restaurants in Jordan do not serve alcohol, if you do not want a dry restaurant that does not serve alcohol, please contact us.
- For Arab and G.C.C. nationals, please book Jordan Pass option; visits without entrance fees included, as reduced entrance fees apply. It is better for Arab and G.C.C. passport holders to pay directly in destination their entrance fees.
- Clients are advised to bring hats, sun screen, and comfortable walking shoes.
Traveler reviews
Great Tour and Great Company
We actually signed up for this tour and a separate day tour to see Pella. Both tours were with the same company (Zaid Tours). Our driver recommended seeing Umm Qais and Pella together, and then seeing Ajloun the next day as this would reduce some travel time. The driver/guide we had (Basel) was excellent. He was prompt, spoke very good english, and provided very interesting insights into the Jordanian culture and ways of life. We enjoyed that as much as the sights. Our favorite sights were Umm Qais and Ajloun. The former was bigger than we expected and you can easily spend a couple of hours there. We would definitely recommend the tours and the company.
Great Company to Travel With
We actually took 4 tours offered by Zaid, and each one was very good. We were lucky enough to have the same tour guides for several trips so it allowed us to really get to know them. The service was very good, and the drivers/guides were prompt, friendly, spoke very good english, and provided us with interesting insights into the Jordanian culture and way of life. We really enjoyed our time on all the day tours. As for the sites, our favorites were Ajloun and Umm Qais. The latter was bigger than we expected and you could easily spend a couple hours there.6
Disappointed
My wife and I were quite disappointed in this tour for a number of reasons. First, emails sent to Zaid Tours were not answered, we had to call at our own expense to confirm. On the day of the tour, we were waiting right at the entrance to our hotel for our driver, but the driver did not find us - we eventually found him in the lounge, scrolling on his phone. The listing says that the driver is supposed to speak English, but he barely spoke English, and thus the hours of driving were spent in awkward silence. When we got to Umm Qais, we were informed that our local guide would not be there for another 45 minutes, and we could either wait or explore the site on our own. We didn't want to wait so we went inside on our own. We stopped at the visitor center - which was unmanned, and had no information about the site - only some brochures about Aqaba. Thus we wandered around with no idea what we were looking at. Also, we had gone to Jerash previously, and Umm Qais is shabby in comparison. Just go to Jerash instead, it's much better. We did enjoy the visit to Aljoun Castle, which is why I give the tour two stars instead of one. Finally, the last thing that annoyed us was the fact that for some reason, the driver did not allow us to keep the ticket stubs for the sites we visited. A small thing, but we like to keep them as keepsakes, and it was just one more issue on a bad day full of them.