Wadi Rum - recommended guides




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HOME WADI RUM PAGES Map of Wadi Rum Introduction Getting there and away What to see Jeep Tours at the Visitors' Centre Horses and camels Ballooning Sleeping in Wadi Rum Bait Ali Restaurants in Wadi Rum Recommended guides Rip offs and scams Disseh Hiking and scrambling Tours of Wadi Rum Horse riding Climbing and the Bedouin Roads Camels in Wadi Rum Bedouin of Wadi Rum Some Bedouin customs PHOTO GALLERY Photos of Wadi Rum VISITING JORDAN Some FAQs Suggested itinerary PETRA PAGES WADI RUM PAGES A walk around Petra Map of Petra Wadi Rum A walk around Petra Map of Petra Wadi Rum Tours of Wadi Rum Amman Aqaba Dead Sea Bethany Jerash Kerak Wadi Mujib Dana Mt Nebo Madaba Madaba Plateau Kings' Highway Mukawir Um Al Rasass GENERAL INFORMATION JORDAN OUT OF DOORS MEETING THE PEOPLE THE MIDDLE EAST LIST OF ALL MAPS CURRENCY CONVERTER WEATHER IN JORDAN HARD FACTS The Kingdom of Jordan Statistics Visas and exit tax ASEZ visas in Aqaba Transit visas Health care Vaccinations/innoculations Weather in Jordan Jordanian dinar Budgeting Bargaining and commissions Rip offs Public holidays Weekends Telephone cards Internet ATMs Credit cards Electric Sytem Drinking water Distance chart Buses and service taxis Driving in Jordan Car rental agencies Desert Highway Hitch hiking Trains GENERAL INFORMATION The flag of Jordan Map of the region Quick map of Jordan Tourist map of Jordan Souvenirs in Jordan The Ottoman room Made in Jordan Bedouin weaving JORDAN OUT OF DOORS NATURE RESERVES Dana Wadi Mujib Ajloun Azraq and Shaumari Trekking in Jordan Canyoning in Jordan Hiking in the Petra area Riding around Wadi Rum Camels & Camel trekking Wadi Rum climbing info Climbing El Habla Road to Mudawarra Diving and snorkelling Two Bedouin friends and their camels HISTORY OF JORDAN The Mesha stele Mosaics of the Madaba Plateau Early views of Petra Lawrence of Arabia The Kingdom : the beginning MEETING THE PEOPLE Etiquette and behaviour Marriage customs Bedouin of Wadi Rum Some Bedouin customs Villagers of Wadi Mousa THE MIDDLE EAST Women travelling alone Out of Egypt Jerusalem the golden The road to Damascus Time and money LIST OF ALL MAPS CURRENCY CONVERTER AROUND THE WEBSITE Links About me Tourist conditions in Jordan today Website news FUN STUFF Weather In Amman Weather in Aqaba Is this a good time to travel? Does anybody want to be a God? The Gates of Damascus (Why do we travel?) More Jordan links			Towns and Tourist Sites in Jordan Wadi Rum Reliable contacts and guides - ALL THE PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE CAN BE ENLARGED I am often asked for reliable contacts in Wadi Rum. Here are some people on whom you can absolutely count to give you a fair deal and a good tour. They are among the top guides working in Wadi Rum at the moment. It is essential to reserve with them ahead of time in writing at least three days ahead, or they will not be allowed to take you. NB when you call these numbers from INSIDE Jordan, then you leave out the +962 and add a zero before the rest, for instance Attayak Ali's mobile number becomes 0795.899.723. Please note that if you are trying to get in touch with any of these guides (or others) by phone, the worst time would be in the evening, when they are invariably in the desert where there is no mobile phone connection. Unfortunately, this of course is the most convenient time for most tourists! Sorry, but try to call in the morning instead. "The two Attayaks" are both marvellous guys, although in very different ways, and are among the elite of the younger guides. Here you can see them during a "private" camel ride! They do everything, climb, lead hikers, organise camel treks as well as visits in 4x4. During the high season they are in great demand. There are some stories about them both in the "Meet the people" section of this website. I always enjoy their company, they are both great fun! They used to work together but have recently agreed to split amicably, so you will have to choose between them! They are both excellent guides and are guaranteed to make you enjoy your time in Wadi Rum. They are still close friends, are not in competition, and are among the best of the few guides offering "adventure" trips. Attayak Ali phone +962.795.899.723 email : info@bedouinroads.com Attayak Ali is quieter than his friend Attayak Aouda, painstaking, meticulous, conscientious and utterly trustworthy in every respect. When I am with him I never worry about anything at all! He doesn't guide technical climbing, but is very experienced and very safe with the "Bedouin routes" into the mountains, which he enjoys and appreciates as much as Attayak Aouda does. His hiking programmes are excellent. He has a website at www.bedouinroads.com where you can see the possibilities he offers for visiting Wadi Rum. He works with a small team of Bedouin who guide people on the "easier" tours; they all speak excellent English and they all try very hard to ensure that tourists visiting Wadi Rum with them have a great time. Attayak Aouda, phone +962.795.834.736 email attayak@rumguides.com Attayak Aouda is a highly professional guide, cheerful, extrovert with an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes about himself and about his life in the desert. An evening spent with him at the camp fire tends to be unforgettable. He is completely reliable in every way. He is a specialist in "adventure tourism" but guides everything, including jeep tours and camel treks. He likes to spend as much time as possible on the mountains and in the desert, so it is a good idea to book up early if you want to use his services. He also owns several racing camels which he trains himself - (his camel treks are mostly done with more sedate animals). His website is at www.rumguides.com Aouda Abdillah is another conscientious guide who prides himself on going personally with his clients. He has a good tourist camp, and can organise any kind of jeep or camel tour. I always enjoy a day in his company. He offers very good value and has a number of "regulars" who come back or who send him clients. He is yet another good fun person! His mobile phone number is 0795.617.902, His website is at http://www.bedouinwhispers.com his email is bedouinwhispers@yahoo.com A number of people have written to me recommending Mohammad Hussein (website http://www.wadirumadventures.com/) He is another of the younger guides with a wide range of programmes offered at a lower rate than the previous guides, but please note that they do tend to be of a lower quality as well - for instance the camel tours, which appear on first sight to be very cheap, do not offer a guide with his own camel accompanying the tourists. The jeep tours do not go very far into the desert and most of his tours remain within 10 kms of the village. But he has a camp site in the desert and as I say, he is very much appreciated by his clients. For those wanting a short introduction to Wadi Rum at a price backpackers can afford, he offers a valuable service He used to use his uncle's "hostel" but I am assured that this is no longer the case. The "Sunset Camp" is by no means to be recommended wholeheartedly. Zedan al-Zalabieh is a specialist in cheaper tours, and works very largely with backpackers and budget travellers in his "Bedouin Meditation Camp". His clients mainly come from various hotels and drivers (who receive a generous commission - the guy on the bus from Petra to Rum is likely to recommend him warmly!). All tourists receive fair value for the price charged. He does not offer adventure tours, but can arrange camel treks if asked. If your budget does not run to the other guides, Zedan is probably your best choice. Email zedn_a@yahoo.com and cell phone +962.79.506.417 TLast but most certainly not least I highly recommend Salem (on the right) and Saleem Lafi - especially if you enjoy being in fits of laughter most of the day. They are both experienced guides, and Salem also works a good deal with Bedouin Roads and Attayak Ali. The word for them must be "exuberant". They bubble over with fun, but at the same time they know the Bedouin lore as well as their elders, and can unhesitatingly identify prints in the sand or medicinal plants in the mountains. They have recently opened an official travel agency, with all the necessary papers and listings, and they can organise your trip inside Jordan if you wish. The name of their company is "Jordan Tracks" and you can find full details on their website at www.jordantracks.com email saleemali@jordantracks.com. Their phone number is at +962.796.482.801. Saleem also owns a number of horses and offers riding trips into the desert if you are interested - see the page "On horseback around Wadi Rum". I have named the guides I know best as excellent and conscientious guides, but of course they are not the only good guides in Wadi Rum. I can't include everybody, however much I should wish to, but here are a few others, just to make your choice more difficult. I am only giving you those who have websites and who check their email regularly : Sabbagh Ali at `http://www.desert-experience.org,email` `sabbahrum@yahoo.comphone number is +962.796.819.447. Sabbagh does jeep and camel trips and guides scrambling on the mountains.` Mohammed Hammad at http://www.bedouinguides.com, mobile phone +962.777.359.856. As well as the classic jeep and camel trips, Mohammed is a specialist in the mountains, and offers guided climbing on the technical routes. Several of these guides have gradually assembled a team of men who work with them. These "secondary" guides all speak excellent English and you need have no worries about visiting Wadi Rum in their company. You will come to the main camp in the evening, where your "primary guide" will be present to check to see that everything is going well. These tours need a fair amount of organisation, and it is not possible for the top guides to be everywhere. However, you are still their responsibility and they, like everybody in their team, want to be sure that you are happy. Some tours are more difficult to guide than others, and it is not often that Attayak Ali, for instance, would be free to guide a simple jeep tour. Women travelling alone will be perfectly safe with all of these men. These are guys who would not dream of hassling female tourists who are, as they see it, in their care. A note here : if any other local should join the party and start annoying you, don't try to "humour him", just ask your guide to tell him to get lost. The guide may hesitate to interfere until it is clear that you are unhappy with the situation, but once he realises that, he will deal with the man immediately and more effectively than you can! top of page