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The Mom Behind the Blog

Hi! My name is Shaina (pronounced like the country China, with a ’S’). I am a Pakistani-American, living as an expat in Amsterdam with my husband and two toddlers. Although travel is a bit different with kids in the picture, it can still be done and enjoyed! This blog aims to share tips based on our lessons learned so that other parents can travel with their tots (or even move abroad) – because life continues to be an adventure, even with kids.

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Wadi Rum is an absolutely majestic desert, full of

Wadi Rum is an absolutely majestic desert, full of red sand. You might recognize it from the movie, the Martian. It is a 2-hour-drive from Petra and was a highlight of our travels. We spent one night in the camp; although some people make a day trip out of this. With our young kids, this would have been difficult, and staying a night was amazing.

For more details on the the Wadi Rum camps, the Bedouin people who manage the camps, and things-to-do while there, visit my full blog post - link in bio!

Prior to the visit, we booked a professional photo

Prior to the visit, we booked a professional photographer to accompany us on our Petra tour. He can be found on Instagram on @the_beauty_of_petra.

Benefits to having a professional photographer in Petra when you have young kids include:

⭐️The photographer is familiar with the prettiest spots and can help you navigate your journey through Petra.
It was individual to just our family, so he moved at our pace while we managed the kids.
⭐️During activities that required our full attention, such as riding animals and easy hikes, it was nice to have someone else documenting photos of our whole family. He also made videos of our family.
⭐️He helped us navigate communicating with the locals at Petra, who tried to convince us to go certain routes.
⭐️Our photographer was reasonably priced and provided over 100 photos within 2 days; of which he edited the 15 photos I asked him to.

I will forever treasure these photos from our special trip!

Petra with Tots: Prior to going to Petra, I put in

Petra with Tots: Prior to going to Petra, I put in a ton of research in how we would manage the experience. Here are our take-aways!

Where to stay: The Petra Marriott (@marriottpetrahotel) hotel is very nice with great views, prompt customer service, quality breakfast, good amenities such as as spa or office space where my husband got some work done! I didn’t live that it was a bit of an uphill drive from Petra; but my husband managed.

Where to eat: Elan Restaurant and Al-Wadi Restaurant - from both places get the shwarma, fries, hummus, and knafeh.

What to do: We set our expectations that we would not be able to do everything at Petra. We focused on riding horses and walking down the Siq towards the Treasury. For the specific details on how we managed this experience with our two toddlers, visit the full blog post on 'Jordan with Tots' - link in bio!

Getting to Petra from Amman: Petra is one of the m

Getting to Petra from Amman: Petra is one of the most iconic spots in Jordan, considering it's one of the seven wonders of the world. It is generally on most Jordanian visitors bucket list - so this first post on the ancient site is on the practical topic of "how to get to Petra?" .

🚗Rental Car: We drove ourselves in our car rental. The drive took three hours. We mistakenly drove at night/in terrible weather, and I would never recommend someone do that. During daylight and no rain/fog, it is manageable for a confident driver. We did not see many rest stops along the way, so make sure your kids have eaten and have plenty of snacks for the drive!

🚕 Airport Taxi or a Private Driver: You could hire a driver to take you from Amman to Petra for an average cost of $110 for the three-hour drive.

🚌 Bus: The cheapest option is to take the JETT Bus which costs just about $18 one-way, but takes around 5-6 hours to reach Petra.

If you’ve made the trek from Amman to Petra, what was your experience like?

Amman with Tots: We only spent about 1.5-2 days in

Amman with Tots: We only spent about 1.5-2 days in Amman, but we enjoyed our time!

Where to Stay: We loved the Amman Marriott hotel, their comfort, service, and location. We also loved using our Mariott Bonvoy points here!

Where to Eat: These are three restaurants that had tasty food + excellent service for our young kids!

⭐️Shams El Balad (@shamselbalad) for a Jordanian brunch + great latte
⭐️Sufra Amman (@romerogroup): The dinner options were good and child-friendly + the Pistachio Rose dessert was great
⭐️Jubran (@jubran_jo): This menu was VAST with many dinner and dessert options; as well as exceptional service. Our waiter kindly sped up our childrens food order and brought out portable chargers for our kids tablets so we could eat in peace. A true hero.

What to Do: We only had 1.5 days in Amman, but we did the highlights that we felt our kids would enjoy!

⭐️Amman Citadel (amman: This site was manageable for our younger one to nap in the @babyzenstrollers YoYo and our older one to walk around and explore.
⭐️Grand Husseini Mosque + Nearby shopping area for local and Jordanian shopping.
⭐️Abdali mall: The mall is big, but for our kids sake we were able to get them chicken nuggets/fries in the food court and let them play in the children's area of the mall (that included robot animal rides). This was a nice way to spend an afternoon for them, and a quick break from the nature/exploring of the week.

If we had time, the Childrens Museum was highly recommended and we would love to go next time!

Dead Sea with Tots: We enjoyed our experience at t

Dead Sea with Tots: We enjoyed our experience at the Dead Sea. Things to consider when planning your trip there.

Weather: Even in December, the Dead Sea area was not as chilly as Amman. It was warm enough for us to enjoy dipping our feet in the Dead Sea water and swimming in the heated resort pool. However, I tend to get cold easily, and I would have preferred it to be a bit warmer. But if this is the only season you can make the trip to Jordan, it is still worth the experience.

Time Length: Because our itinerary was quite packed for the week, we made the Dead Sea a day trip from Amman. It was only a 1-hour-drive which was great! If you stay for a longer time, IMO 2 days would be enough (given how much more there is to do in Jordan).

Resort: With our young kids in tow, it was ideal to stay at a venue that had access to the Dead Sea, pools, massages, kids club, etc. Because of our limited time, we simply purchased a day pass at the Movenprick Resorts for $70 JOD. We were happy with our time there! There are several other resorts - just message them if they have a day pass (if you are interested in a day pass over a longer stay). If you’re going to go in the winter, make sure they have heated pools.

Dead Sea Water: I wish I had brought water shoes for myself and the kids. There were rocks going into the water (from the area we entered). Also, the salt from the Dead Sea needs to be taken off asap from little ones, to avoid it touching sensitive areas. We learned the hard way with our son, but thankfully wonderful life guards assisted with cleaning him off. And lastly, from our resort, it was a downhill walk to get to the Sea, which involved quite a few steps. If you’re concerned about the walk and steps, call the resort beforehand to plan ahead.

Dead Sea with Tots: ⭐️Located on the border

Dead Sea with Tots:

⭐️Located on the border between Israel and Jordan, the Dead Sea is an amazing natural phenomena. Other than microorganisms and algae, this salt water lake does not have any life. There’s no seaweed, fish or any other creatures found in or around its turquoise waters.

⭐️The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, with almost 10 times more salt than ordinary seawater. (Keep in mind this salt NEEDS to be washed off, especially the little ones)

⭐️The high salt and mineral content of the Dead Sea mean that this body of water has powerful healing properties. It’s a popular destination for treating skin problems such as acne, psoriasis and cellulite, as well as muscle ache and arthritis.

To achieve the benefits, people go to the Dead Sea, get wet in the water first, then scrub the mud on themselves, then go back in the water, and then finally get hosed down to clean off.

Jordan with Tots - General things to Know: Car re

Jordan with Tots - General things to Know:

Car rental: Jordan is very drive-able. We pre-booked a car rental at the airport in advance (used Google). We requested carseats, and the employees had installed the seats. We drove around the city of Amman, to the Dead Sea, to the King Hussein Bridge (border with Israel), to Petra, and to Wadi Rum. The only time we felt unsafe was when we drove at night/in rain/fog to Petra. As long as the drive is done in the daytime, it is fine. An alternative is to hire a private driver, which many people have said was affordable. With our young kids, we enjoyed the flexibility of our own car.

Attire: Although it is okay to wear anything, in particular areas (such as around the mosques), it is likely better to dress more conservatively - for females to cover their shoulders and knees. This is not mandated; simply respectful of the culture.

Warm personality: We were blown away by the kindness and hospitality of Jordanians. From the beginning of our trip of the car rental employee properly installing the seat/buckling in our kids to every waiter who lovingly welcomed our kids into their restaurants/accommodated our toddlers with patience and extra efforts, we felt incredibly comfortable and welcomed.

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