Cycling holidays in Jordan

Generally, the fitter you are, the more you’ll enjoy these trips. Our cycling holidays in Jordan require a moderate to good level of fitness. You’ll need to be used to leisure cycling, and prepared to cycle in some heat, though biking tours are generally planned around the cooler seasons of spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). You’ll benefit from going on a few day rides before the trip to make sure that you’re comfortable being on your bike.

On the routes there are also occasional steep climbs, but many routes have been designed to be undulating, with some lovely long descents – after all, the only way to the Dead Sea is down! The distances can range between 20 and 60kma day on most small group trips. The Jordan Bike Trail offers a more challenging cycle, and our trips on a portion of it average 50km a day of cycling, and around 500m of elevation gain a day.

Our Jordan cycling trips generally include four or five days of cycling around a week-long trip, with a day off in the middle to explore Petra.

Whilst you won’t always be in the saddle, bear in mind that your non-cycling days might be strenuous, too. Visiting Petra, for instance, is a full day activity, involving a lot of walking, and a lot of climbing steps.

Our cycling holidays in Jordan are small group trips with a local leader guiding on a bike, and a support vehicle following on behind. Small group trips are usually with between five and a maximum of 18 participants, plus your leader. They are a fantastic way to share your experience with like-minded people, and you’ll usually find that fast friendships are formed, especially when you’ve got a hobby like cycling in common.

You’ll need to be comfortable cycling in a group, but don’t feel like you ‘must’ be able to keep up with the other cyclists. Distances and routes might be adapted to suit the ability of the group. There’s usually a shorter introductory ride on the first day, to make sure everyone is comfortable.

Don’t expect to be cycling on sand all the time. Jordan’s terrain is varied. On some trips most of the cycling will be done on quiet paved roads, with a very small portion on cycle paths on gravel and sand, and there might be one day of cycling on hard-packed dried mud at the Disi mud flats.

If you’re interested in cycling parts of the Jordan Bike Trail, which runs the length of the country, expect half of the trail on paved roads, and the other half off-road. Sometimes roads through the desert, whilst paved, can have sand and gravel blown across them – meaning you might have to take more care, but it’s just part of the experience of being surrounded by desert.

On some of our tours we can provide you with an e bike on request at an extra cost. E bikes have been late coming to Jordan, and e biking is less established than in other cycling destinations, but expect to see growing availability in the coming years. E biking is a fantastic way to tour with confidence, and electrical assistance will help you cycle the distance, even if your fitness isn’t fully there.

Our Jordan cycling tours generally include standard bike hire, but you will need to bring your own helmet.