Things to do in Amman
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Amman
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best season, 15 to 25C, wildflowers, green northern hills and ideal hiking and Petra conditions.
Hot and dry, 30 to 35C in Amman with cooler evenings, peak season for the Wadi Mujib water trail.
Joint best, warm days and cooling nights, harvest season and the second high season to early November.
Cold and wet, about 8C in January with rain and occasional snow, Wadi Mujib closed and lowest prices.
What's on
- Jerash Festival of Culture & Arts late July
Festival in Jerash's Roman theatres, stay in Amman and day trip up.
- Amman International Film Festival August
Film festival held in Amman in August.
- Souk Jara Fridays, summer
Friday flea and craft market just off Rainbow Street in summer.
- Amman Design Week October
Design week landing in autumn, in October in recent editions.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Amman
Amman Citadel
Hilltop ruins from many eras with the Temple of Hercules and a 360 degree view over all of Amman.
Roman Theatre
A 6000 seat Roman theatre cut into the hillside, with folklore museums in its side rooms.
The Jordan Museum
Jordan's flagship museum, with Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and the ancient Ain Ghazal statues.
Al-Balad Souks
Downtown markets for gold, spices and produce around the Roman Nymphaeum and Hashemi streets.
Rainbow Street
A free wander past old villas, cafes, bookshops and viewpoints back to the Citadel at sunset.
Darat al Funun
Contemporary Arab art in three historic houses with gardens and a cafe overlooking downtown.
King Abdullah I Mosque
Amman's blue domed mosque, one of the few in Jordan that formally welcomes non Muslim visitors.
Beit Sitti
Cook a four course Jordanian meal in a Weibdeh house, then eat it on the terrace at sunset.
Where to stay in Amman
Jabal Amman / Rainbow Street
first trip, all-round base
Historic cafe and gallery hill, walkable evenings and a short ride downhill to the Citadel and Balad.
Jabal al-Weibdeh
arts, quiet and local life
Tree lined arts quarter with Darat al Funun and Paris Square cafes, calmer at night than Rainbow.
Abdali
modern business and mall-adjacent comfort
New downtown with the Boulevard, Abdali Mall and tower hotels, central with easy taxis and parking.
Abdoun / 5th Circle
luxury
Affluent embassy quarter with the main luxury hotel cluster, quiet and polished but car dependent.
Downtown / Al-Balad
budget and maximum immersion
Cheapest hotels and hostels, walking distance to the Citadel, Theatre and Rainbow Street.
Think twice about
- Downtown / Al-Balad as a light sleeper's base
Not unsafe, but noise from markets, traffic and the call to prayer, thin walled older hotels and hard parking.
- East Amman beyond Balad
Residential and industrial areas like Jabal al-Nazif and Marka have little tourist infrastructure and you will ride everywhere.
- Abdali Mall / Boulevard immediate blocks
Not unsafe, just sterile chain mall and office towers with none of old Amman's character for evenings.
Best restaurants in Amman
Hashem Restaurant
No menu and plastic tables for hummus, ful, falafel and mint tea eaten by royals and backpackers alike.
Habibah Sweets
Queue and eat knafeh standing up at the original 1951 branch, cheese, syrup and pistachio.
Sufra
Jordanian home cooking in a villa garden, the place for mansaf, fatteh and warak enab.
Fakhreldin
White tablecloth Levantine in an old villa, Amman's long running special occasion dinner.
Al-Quds Falafel
Tiny counter claiming Amman's oldest falafel sandwich, eaten on the pavement for a few dinars.
Shawarma Reem
Beef shawarma sliced to order into small wraps at a hole in the wall stand with queues.
Wild Jordan Centre Café
Light Levantine cafe menu on a terrace facing the Citadel, with spending funding nature reserves.
Beit Sitti
The four course meal you cooked yourself, eaten communally on a terrace over old Amman.
Best bars in Amman
Balat al-Rasheed Café
Historic downtown coffee stop dating to 1924, for Arabic coffee in old Amman.
Outdoor things to do in Amman
Jerash
Colonnaded Roman streets, theatres and Hadrian's Arch you can walk end to end in green hills.
Dead Sea
Float in water you cannot sink in, coat yourself in mineral mud, then rinse and repeat.
Wadi Mujib Siq Trail
A water hike up a sandstone gorge, wading and scrambling against the current to a waterfall.
Madaba
Mosaic town famous for the 6th century mosaic map of the Holy Land in St George's Church floor.
Mount Nebo
The viewpoint where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land, over the valley to Jericho.
Ajloun Forest Reserve
Oak and pistachio forest trails in a cooler, greener reserve run by Wild Jordan and the RSCN.
Ajloun Castle
A 12th century hilltop castle with valley views, often paired with Jerash in one northern day.
Ma'in Hot Springs
Hot waterfalls and thermal pools in a gorge below sea level near the Dead Sea.
Best hotels in Amman
The House Boutique Suites
Apartment style suites near Rainbow Street with a rooftop pool, huge rooms and free laundry.
Four Seasons Hotel Amman
Amman's long standing luxury benchmark on its highest hill, with indoor and outdoor pools and a spa.
The Ritz-Carlton, Amman
The newest top end tower at 5th Circle, with the highest guest score in the luxury set.
Fairmont Amman
Contemporary luxury near Abdoun, strong for trips mixing business and leisure.
W Amman
Design forward tower in the new downtown, best for Abdali nightlife and rooftops.
Amman Rotana
Jordan's first tower hotel, 50 floors in Abdali and usually better value than 5th Circle.
The Sydney Hotel
Budget boutique hostel institution since 1963, with private rooms, dorms and a garden.
Canary Boutique Hotel
Small Weibdeh base for travellers who want the arts quarter over a pool.
Is Amman expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | JOD 39 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | JOD 96 a person |
| Splurge | JOD 220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Beit Sitti: a few days ahead
- Jerash: a few days ahead
- Wadi Mujib Siq Trail: a few days ahead
- Petra: weeks ahead
- Ayla Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Sufra: a few days ahead
- Fakhreldin: a few days ahead
- Beit Sitti: a few days ahead
- Buy the Jordan Pass online before you fly, from the official site only.
- Book Beit Sitti, Sufra at weekends and Fakhreldin days ahead.
- Book good Jabal Amman and Weibdeh boutique rooms ahead in March to May and September to October.
Is Amman safe?
- Amman is described as one of the safest, lowest crime capitals in the Middle East, with modest dress drawing less hassle.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
- Avoid demonstrations and large political crowds, and do not photograph police or military.
- Road safety is the biggest everyday risk, so use seatbelts and avoid night driving on desert and valley roads.
Amman travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Rainbow Street's priciest terraces charge for the view, with better and cheaper food two side streets away.
- Abdali Mall food courts and Boulevard chains are a mall, not an Amman experience.
- Do not drink tap water, use bottled or filtered water provided by hotels.
Getting around Amman: public transport and more
- Careem and Uber are the default, about 2 to 5 JOD for most cross hill hops and 20 to 25 JOD to the airport.
- Walk within one hill and take an app ride across the valley, as hills are steep and pavements break up.
- JETT buses are the reliable intercity option, and a private driver is how most visitors do the excursion loops.
Who Amman suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Amman your trip
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