UKC

Can’t remember when I was last on UKC, but I’m back......

Any suggestions for tour operators/local guides who’d be good for a family holiday in Jordan that’s a bit more adventurous than the average “family adventure holiday”? Ideally spending majority of the time camping in the desert rather than in hotels, and including some scrambles/easy climbs as well as the obvious tourist activities.

Kids are 9 & 12, regular wild campers in the Lakes (and loved a week camel trekking in the Sahara) and competent on easy multi-pitch climbs. We’re quite capable of doing the bulk of the looking after them on a scramble/climb if someone’s pointing us at the route (both mountain rescue, and husband’s a MIA).

Any thoughts?

In reply to Carolyn:

Wadi Rum is the obvious place. Some excellent scrambles of varying lengths. Amazing scenery. Petra isn't that far away either. Buy Tony Howard's book on treks, scrambles and climbs. Loads of ideas in there.

Worth bearing in mind Jordan is quite a small country. As an alternative to a tour company you could probably just hire taxis everywhere. You needed to hire local 4x4s anyway within Wadi Rum when I was there, although a lot of stuff is also close to Rum Village. Petra's easy to explore without a guide as well and I imagine more fun.

In reply to Carolyn:

We stayed with a Bedouin guide when we went to Rum about 7 years ago. We stayed at his house in Rum Village, but I believe they also have camps out in the desert. He was great, we largely operated independently but he arranged desert taxis for us etc to get to the climbs and also gave us lots of advice on what to do.

So I'm sure they would be able to offer something suitable, they now have a website which is called Bedouins of Wadi Rum. (My friend also did some guided scrambling with them last year and had a good time).

As mentioned above the scrambles book is also a good starting point for ideas.

In reply to Carolyn:
I would have thought Wadi Rum would be brilliant with children. Stock up with food and water and arrange transport in the village to get dropped off with all your stuff for a few days camping out the desert - almost anywhere will be amazing (I could suggest some particularly nice spots). The guidebook should point you at some of the easier scrambly "bedouin" routes to get started on (but don't underestimate the harder ones). Or just go exploring - the whole place is a giant kiddies' playground!

In reply to Carolyn:

Rakabat canyon in Wadi Rum is a nice little adventure. Spot on for kids I should think. If you can still do it (20yrs since I was there) a few nights at a Bedouin tent in the desert is fantastic. Fond memories.

In reply to Carolyn:

So much to do in Jordan...
Just a few years ago I used tropical adventures (http://td-adventures.com/adventures/#adventures-intro) a little hard to communicate with by email but highly recommended by contacts in Jordan. They run lots of weekend trips to trekking, scrambling, and climbing destinations. The wadis were such an unexpected part of exploring Jordan. I did the Wadi Kerak (5 abseils down waterfalls) with them. We did Wadi Mujib (trek through the water) by ourselves and stayed in the nature reserve 'chalets' on the dead sea (www.rscn.org.jo/sites/default/files/publication/Mujib-EN.pdf) We used tropical adventures to organise a multi day trek from the Dana reserve to Petra - camping out under the stars. Get the 2 day ticket for Petra then go in early on the second day and get to the high place of sacrifice before the crowds!
In Wadi rum stayed with Khaled's camp (recommended by the British Ambassador) .. they guided us up to Burdah bridge .. a fun 'scramble' I'm sure it is in the book the others are recommending.
If you want to add more there is snorkelling in the dead sea at Aqaba (Bus from Aman to Aqaba is really cheap) roman ruins and crusader castles...

In reply to Carolyn:

Ah, thank you - some great suggestions. I think we’ll probably want some “guiding” at least on a first trip - it all ends up a bit non stop if we’re trying to camp, read guide books, organise gear, cook and vaguely entertain kids. But someone like Bedouin Guides and a variation of their 4 day journey into the desert with some scrambles looks about right, and the canyons also look very appealing!

Must have a hunt, I thought I bought the climbuing guide a couple of years back, but I can’t see it at the moment.....

In reply to Carolyn:
We used KE adventure travel based in Keswick. They use a reliable local guide, do scrambling in Wadi Rum including a bivy on a mountain top. They make it simple in terms of food, water, providing tents etc you just walk, scramble, abseil and have fun. We also spent a few days exploring Petra afterwards on our own. Highly recommended - Jordan and KE (we've used them for other treks too.)

In reply to wert:

Ah, we used KE for Morocco, but their family trip for Jordan is very hotel based.