Camping in Wadi Rum: A Bedouin Experience

Camping in Wadi Rum is a unique experience that allows you to explore the isolated desert landscape and relax in the peaceful atmosphere. The region is home to Bedouin camps, where you can stay and enjoy the traditional hospitality of the local people.

Wadi Rum offers an opportunity to explore its diverse terrain, from sand dunes and rocky plateaus to mountains and canyons. With its stunning views, it’s a great place for a camping trip that will be truly unforgettable.

The Area

Wadi Rum is a 720km² area of desert located in southern Jordan and is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The iconic Mars looking red sands and canyons have been growing in popularity throughout the years.

Petroglyphs are scattered around the canyons and rocks, telling a story of the former tribes that once ruled over the land. Today, many people of Bedouin ancestry live in the Rum Village and help with the preservation of the park.

Wadi Rum is also a hotspot for movie studios. In 1961, Lawrence of Arabia was the first western movie filmed there, and since then the protected area has been showcased in various films, including Dune (2021), Aladdin, and The Martian.

Best Time to Camp in Wadi Rum

An ideal time to visit Wadi Rum for great weather is during the spring (March-May) or autumn (October to November). Daytime temperatures currently are more comfortable and range from the low 20s to 30 degress Celsius.

Summer temperatures can rise to 40 degrees Celsius, at which point it becomes necessary to avoid the peak sunny hours of the day. Most activities or outings are best experienced in the early morning or in the evening.

Winter temperatures will experience a drop to 0 degrees at night. While this could be considered extreme for camping, the structures on site are well insulated and the inclusion of extra blankets is more than enough to stay comfortable.

I visited Wadi Rum during mid September. Having spent three days previously hiking through the desert, I found Wadi Rum to be much cooler than expected. The evenings required a light jacket but overall, the temperature was mild in comparison to Ras Al Freid.

Getting to Wadi Rum

Most camps in Wadi Rum will arrange for you to be picked up from the Wadi Rum Village or Visitor Centre and transported to your desert sleep-away camp. The roads throughout Jordan are well paved, however, once past the Visitor Centre, it’s nothing but sand.

Buses, private transfers, or taxis can be taken to reach the protected area. During my stay in Jordan, I had arranged for a custom tour of Wadi Rum. This included a private transfer to the Wadi Rum Village, where my host met me and transferred me via 4×4 to his campsite.

From Amman: The capital city of Amman is located 4 hours from Wadi Rum. Unfortunately, Jordan’s public transportation does not go directly to the protected area. From Abdali, buses run to Aqaba 6 times a day and cost 10JD for adults and 7.6 JD for children.

From Aqaba: JETT bus has a daily route that goes from Aqaba to Wadi Rum Visitor Centre. It leaves at 8am and takes approximately 1 hour. The price is 15 JD for both adults and children.

JETT Bus schedule here

Admission Fee

A small admission fee is required to enter Wadi Rum. This fee helps the local communities within Wadi Rum and is used to help preserve the protected area from further development. This admission is paid for at the Visitors Centre, located just before the official park entrance.

International guests: 5 JD

Children under 12: free

Camping in Wadi Rum

There are several different types of accommodations and camps within Wadi Rum. Camps can range from traditional Bedouin style with raised structures and shared toilet stalls, to more luxurious camps with Wi-Fi, king size beds and air conditioning. The difference in price ultimately comes down to the level of amenities and services available at different camps.

Many of the camps in the area pull from the same pool of activities and excursions, so you’re likely to experience them all the same regardless of the expense of the camp you stay in.

I visited one of the first authorized camps in Wadi Rum, Mohammed Mutlak Camp. The owner, Salem, with the help of his brothers and family, has successfully set up and run a Bedouin camp for over 20 years.

The camp is about a 30-minute drive from Wadi Rum Village, deep in the desert. Perched beside a giant rock cliff, the camp is sheltered from the blazing sun for most of the day. The compound is comprised of tents (no more than 20), washroom blocks, two lounge areas and a kitchen.

Each tent is raised off the ground with wood flooring and comes with their own locked private entrance. Tents range from having a cozy single to king size beds. They are beautifully decorated inside with local Bedouin designs, carpeted walls, and ceilings. The room is fully furnished, spacious with windows and has plenty of bedding for colder desert nights.

The washroom block was very clean and included flushing toilets with plumbing, hot water, and a shower unit. Sitting areas can be found outside each raised tent and throughout the camp, providing views into the desert.

Every camp is all inclusive, providing breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course plenty of mint tea.

Breakfast is usually a buffet style, offering an array of vegetables, yogurt, and other tractional Jordanian delicacies.

At dinner, a traditional gourmet Bedouin Zarb is created for the guests. This cooking method is like BBQ but with a twist. It’s an underground oven dug into the sand. The food, which is often a mix of vegetables, rice, and meat (usually chicken or lamb), is lowered onto coals and wood and cooked under the sand for several hours.

It’s very delicious!

Activities in Wadi Rum

While some come to the desert to enjoy the silence and read, others come for adventure. This camp offers multiple affordable excursions from camel rides, jeep tours, sand boarding and trekking.

4X4 jeep tours are usually offered in the late afternoon to avoid the heat of the day and last around 4 hours. My jeep tour included sand boarding down a massive sand dune, visits to famous lookouts and arches and a visit to a spring with ancient inscriptions.

Other activities offered at the camp included hiking (with or without a guide) and camel rides. I took a 2-hour self-guided hike around the camp and surrounding areas. The weather was pleasantly cool, and I was able to experience the peace and quiet the desert had to offer.

I even came across some camels grazing in the middle of the desert.

Wadi Rum has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. As the sun sets, the sands turn a deep orange, and the sky begins to darken. Most people find a quiet spot to enjoy this small yet serene event.

After a long day in the desert and dinner, a fire is lit outside of the lounge areas. Guests and Bedouins alike sit and enjoy the stars, while sharing stories of past and present.

It’s very easy to disconnect yourself from the larger world when you are out among the dunes. You do take part in a little community of your own out in the desert and depending on the time of year, even that may seem a little crowded. But beyond the perimeter of this little speck in the vast desert is just that… a vast desert full of sand and silence.

If you are looking for a change in scenery from what might be a normal vacation in a city with noise, traffic, and lots of moving around; staying in a local Bedouin camp is something that I highly recommend you consider. The camp, the service and of course the landscape effortlessly provide the opportunity for visitors to have both a relaxing and exciting stay out on the dunes, away from the rest of the world.