Wadi Rum Fire Camp: Desert Hiking and Jeep Tours in Jordan

Days at Wadi Rum Fire Camp are built around guided excursions. The 4x4 jeep tours run from half a day to two nights or more, in open or closed jeeps set up for desert conditions. Drivers speak English and drive slowly so you can take in the canyons and dunes. You stop where you like — to take photographs, hike, climb, or drink Bedouin tea at one of the tents scattered across the desert. Sand boards are provided free for use on the dunes.

Camel and horse tours run from a half day up to four days. Your guide rides his own camel and the animals are roped together for an orderly trip. If you want to try leading, you can take the reins. Hiking tours run from one to five days, priced at JD 45–65 per person per day depending on group size and number of days. All hikes start in the morning, though the camp will adjust to your schedule. If you arrive too late in the day to start, you begin the next morning after breakfast.

Accommodation is at the camp itself, inside the protected area. Meals are traditional Bedouin food, served at camp. The camp takes credit cards, so you do not need to carry cash for the balance. Ibraheem grew up in Wadi Rum and is the person to ask about routes, timings and what is worth seeing; the camp has been hosting guests since 2003.

Wadi Rum itself is a high plateau near the western edge of the Arabian desert in southern Jordan, roughly 30 kilometres off the Desert Highway between Aqaba and Amman. The protected area covers 74,200 hectares. It holds 25,000 petroglyphs, 20,000 inscriptions and 154 archaeological sites. That is the context for the hikes — you are walking through a landscape people have been carving and writing on for thousands of years.

What separates this camp from a standard desert stop is the combination of a long-established family camp and the range of ways to move through the area. You can do a half-day jeep loop, a multi-day hike, or a four-day camel trip, and the camp will fit the itinerary around your arrival. It is a base for walking and riding, not a resort with a programme.

What's included

- Overnight stay at Wadi Rum Fire Camp inside the UNESCO Wadi Rum Protected Area - Traditional Bedouin meals served at camp - Guided 4x4 jeep tours (half day to two nights or more) - Camel and horse riding tours (half day to four days) - Guided hiking tours (one to five days) - English-speaking jeep drivers - Free use of sand boards on the dunes - Bedouin tea stops at desert tents - Credit card payment accepted

What's not included

- International flights - Travel to and from Wadi Rum (camp is 12 km from Rum Village, 17 km from the Visitors Centre) - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Tips for guides and drivers - Any tours or extras not booked in advance