Jerash (Gerasa)

I saw three great tourist attractions, Umm Quais, Ajloun, and Jerash in one day. All sights were amazing!

Our driver was Adnan who was smartly dressed and professional. We went to Jerash which from the outside looks smaller than it is but it's actually huge and you could spend hours there. It was magnificent. The next stop was atmospheric Ajloun Castle which sits on a hill so you get fantastic views.

This “tour” is really just a private driver from Amman to Jerash and the Aljoun Castle. Both are cool sights but the price for two people is more than what you’d pay for a taxi to take you to these sites.

Mohammed was great, on time pick up and started our day with a coffee. Great driving, conversation and assistance. Would recommend as a solo traveler.

We had a wonderful trip with Saad, our guide. The itinerary is great. This is the second trip we had with him. He is knowledgeable and very friendly - he bought local fruits and cucumbers for us to taste. When we were passing his mother-in-law’s house on our way, we had the pleasure to stop for a tea break and chat with the family. What a beautiful family and wonderful people! Thank you so much!! Saad also helped us booking and accompanied us the last day trip for baptism and city tour. The Jordan trip is so memorable filled with history learning and great experience of hospitality.

I booked this tour at the last minute and I am really glad that I did. When researching places to visit in Jordan Umm Qais and Aljoun Castle never came up. If the only reason you book this tour is for the amazing drive from Amman up through the lush green mountains of northern Jordan than that in of itself is worth it. Umm Qais is an obscure site with amazing well preserved Roman ruins high up in the mountains. The day I went my husband and I had to whole place to ourselves. It was a lovely hike among the ruins with breathtaking views of the Sea of Galilee with Syria to one side and Palestine to the other. There is a lovely open air restaurant at the site which I would recommend eating at since the only dining options at Jerash was a unappealing, over priced touristy buffet. Next we visited Aljoun Castle, a medieval looking castle, complete with a draw bridge and moat! It is a quick look, about an hour. The day my husband and I were there it was raining and very foggy but I am sure the views on a clear day are amazing. I think the fog and gloominess actually added to the spooky vibe of this place. Next to Jerash, which is huge and very crowded. The ruins were well preserved and awesome but it was a little bit overwhelming. I would definitely recommend spending less time at Jerash and seeing Umm Qais and Aljoun Castle within the same tour. Viator does offer tours just to Jerash but I thoroughly enjoyed this tour.

We all appreciated our driver, Mohammed's suggestions and tailoring our tour to fit our wishes perfectly!

We booked transportation only since we wanted to go relax, nice and slowly. Amer, was kind, patient and always ready to give a hint or recommendation about the sites we visited. There was not even a single offer made by him to push for a place, restaurant or guide which was great, 5/5. Great driver, we felt safe the whole trip.

Excellent communication prior to the trip. Very professional. Safe driver. Very knowledgeable about the local area. 10/10 would recommend.

We had a last minute adjustment to our itinerary and booked this rather last minute. Jerash is incredible and a must see! We were treated to an excellent English-speaking driver, Mohammad Bardaghawi, who loves Jordan and knows his way around. He listened to our interests and suggested a few other stops on the route for a real taste of Jordan, including some fresh (and delicious) pomegranate juice and a stop to see the olive oil processing which was definitely interesting to see. We ended up trusting him to take us all the way to Petra the day before leaving the country because we had confidence he would get us to our flight in time.

It’s a long trip between the 3 places. In the end, I only managed to do 2 out of the 3 destination as each places are far away from Amman and takes time to explore the place. I gave Aljoun Castle a missed as I was told it’s very similar to Shoubak ruin castle which I have visited. Jerash is a must as the place was almost a complete city by itself with Roman civic public places with marble and columns still pretty much intact. I spent too much time in Um Quais otherwise I would be able to visit Aljoun Castle. And all thanks to Ramadan period, ticket booth closed one hour earlier than normal time. Otherwise the tour would be fully completed. Thanks to my driver Murad who helped me the right decision to skip Aljoun Castle or else less time for Jerash. You need a good 3 hours in Jerash to explore all the important monuments and temples

Excellent trip and excellent driver ask for MO. The views of the Castle, Scenery, and Ruins are a must See!