Things to do in Madaba
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Madaba
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring brings warm walkable days, green hills and wildflowers on the Nebo and King's Highway drives.
Autumn is the other best window, with October the single best month and Wadi Mujib open into October.
Summer heat is the worst condition, extreme down at the Dead Sea, with sightseeing a dawn sport.
Winter is cold and rainy but quiet and cheap, and Ma'in hot waterfalls are at their best.
Wadi Mujib Siq Trail normally opens in April and runs to October, weather permitting.
What's on
- Christmas in Madaba December
A town tree, lights and church services in one of Jordan's largest Christian communities.
- Easter in Madaba March to May, dates vary
Western and Orthodox Holy Week and Easter fill the churches with pilgrims, so book everything.
- Epiphany at Al-Maghtas January
Annual Epiphany pilgrimages and services draw large gatherings to the Baptism Site.
- Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts July
Jordan's flagship summer arts festival in the Roman ruins at Jerash, about an hour north.
Best things to do in Madaba
St. George's Church
A working Orthodox church whose floor holds the Madaba Map, the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land.
Madaba Archaeological Park
Sheltered Roman streets and church mosaics that explain how Madaba floors worked inside real buildings.
Church of the Apostles
A quiet church with a near complete floor centred on the Sea, and a caretaker who wets the stones to life.
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church
A living shrine church with an underground museum and a steep bell tower climb for the best view in Madaba.
Madaba Archaeological Museum
Heritage houses built over mosaic floors, joining the churches together with objects and folk life.
Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration
The diploma school where mosaicists still train, free to look in on cutting and setting done by hand.
Madaba City Mosaics
A family workshop where you place marble pieces yourself and take home a mosaic you actually made.
Al Hakaya Museum
Life size dioramas of biblical and Jordanian life on the Nebo road that wake up children bored by churches.
Where to stay in Madaba
Historic Centre
first trip, walkable base
Every mosaic sight and most restaurants are within a ten minute walk, on flat, lived in streets.
Northern Madaba
drivers, families and airport nights
Larger hotels with pools and parking, quieter nights and the fastest exit to the airport and Amman.
Dead Sea shore
luxury, spa and float first trips
International five star resorts with private beaches in splendid isolation, 45 minutes west of Madaba.
Think twice about
- Airport Road and King's Highway strip outside town
Isolated roadside properties with no pavements and no restaurants in walking distance. Fine for one night with a car, a poor Madaba base otherwise.
Best restaurants in Madaba
Carob House
A farm to table kitchen in a 1930s house rethinking heritage Jordanian dishes from local farms.
Haret Jdoudna
The classic Madaba dinner, Jordanian dishes family style in a restored 19th century courtyard house.
Jaw Zaman Restaurant and Caffe
A big local favourite with generous Jordanian cooking, a garden cafe and local wine and craft beer.
Medab
Madaba's resto pub, open late, loved for its clay pot fukhara dishes and relaxed service.
Mrah Salameh Restaurant
Lebanese and Mediterranean food served inside a historic cave that stays cool in summer.
Hikayet Sitti - Food Basket
Grandmother style home cooking, with mansaf and home made sweets, best at a quiet lunch.
Fokar & Bhar
The best cheap eat in town, falafel, mezze and sizzling sajiyah pans at local prices.
Ayola Cafe
Opposite St George's since 1995, Jordanian dishes and pizza for the most convenient good meal in town.
Outdoor things to do in Madaba
Mount Nebo
The ridge where Moses saw the Promised Land, with fine mosaics and a vast view over the Dead Sea.
Wadi Mujib Siq Trail
A seasonal water hike up a towering slot canyon to a waterfall, wading, scrambling and floating back down.
Amman Beach
The public Dead Sea beach club, with pools, showers and mud, for the float without the resort price.
Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea
A garden resort day with a private beach, many pools and a serious spa, cheapest on weekdays.
Machaerus
A steep climb to Herod's lonely hill fort above the Dead Sea, fragmentary ruins and no crowds at all.
Umm ar-Rasas
A UNESCO town with the largest mosaic floor in Jordan and the only surviving stylite tower.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan
The UNESCO Baptism Site, a guided walk past pools and churches to the Jordan River itself.
Ma'in Hot Springs
Steaming mineral waterfalls pour off a cliff into pools, a winter soak in a deep hot gorge.
Best hotels in Madaba
Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea
The luxury stay for this trip, a garden five star with a private beach and a serious spa.
Grand Hotel Madaba
Madaba's full service four star, with a pool, parking and a terrace cafe on the quiet north side.
Mosaic City Hotel
The centre's best reviewed larger hotel, quiet rooms a short walk from St George's Church.
Black Iris Hotel
A modest hotel run like a boutique, spotless rooms, good food and staff who sort your whole trip.
Mariam Hotel
The classic family run Madaba hotel, with a big pool, a rooftop breakfast and a famous travel desk.
Tell Madaba Hotel
A small, quiet, well kept budget hotel about 600 metres from St George's Church.
Saint John Hotel
A plain, central, good value house hotel whose staff arrange Nebo taxis and airport cars with ease.
Is Madaba expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | JOD 25 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | JOD 55 a person |
| Splurge | JOD 130 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Madaba City Mosaics: a few days ahead
- Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea: a few days ahead
- Bisharat Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Carob House: a few days ahead
- Haret Jdoudna: a few days ahead
- Mrah Salameh Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea: weeks ahead
- Buy the Jordan Pass online before arrival if visiting Petra, but note it does not cover St George's or Mount Nebo.
- Book Carob House and weekend tables at Haret Jdoudna and Mrah Salameh a day or two ahead.
- Dead Sea day passes change by season and some resorts suspend them, so confirm the day before.
- Wadi Mujib is first come in season, so arrive before the 8am opening.
- Madaba hotels fill around Easter, Christmas and major pilgrimage periods.
Is Madaba safe?
- At the Dead Sea float on your back, keep water from eyes and mouth, and rinse off at once.
- Obey Wadi Mujib closures absolutely, as flash floods are deadly and the trail shuts after rain.
- Carry water and wear grippy shoes at Machaerus and Ma'in, where there is no shade.
- Dress modestly for churches, and check your government Jordan advice before travel. Emergency number 911.
Madaba travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Tourist Street mosaic shops quote wildly different prices metres apart, so compare and haggle cheerfully.
- Agree any unofficial guiding price at the Archaeological Park firmly in advance or decline politely.
- St George's is a 15 to 30 minute visit, not a half day, so do not judge Madaba on a rushed day trip.
- Free Dead Sea shore spots have sharp salt, no real facilities and a paid hauled in shower.
Getting around Madaba: public transport and more
- Walk the flat historic centre, where every town sight is within about 15 minutes.
- Queen Alia Airport is about 30 minutes by road and Amman about 45 minutes in clear traffic.
- Book a private driver through your hotel for Nebo, the Dead Sea and King's Highway days, price agreed in advance.
- There is no useful public transport for the sights, and rideshare cover in Madaba is patchy.
Who Madaba suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Madaba your trip
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