Why I Chose to Host My first Group Tour In Jordan

This blog post is a bit different. I wanted to really dive into what made me host a group trip to Jordan. If I am being honest, there was a time when I would have hesitated. I even told people I would NEVER host one; I didn’t understand the business behind it, but I was curious.

Like many Americans, my understanding of the Middle East was shaped largely by Western media, political rhetoric, and decades of conflict-focused narratives. Even as someone who travels extensively, I realized that all of us absorb assumptions without interrogating them deeply enough.

That realization is uncomfortable to admit. But it is true. I knew I wanted to learn more about Jordan as a whole, and I started this process with podcasts, books, and I set my sights on visiting Jordan. I wanted so much more than what Instagram gave me, though, and I am sure you probably feel the same way.

I can remember sitting in my Kitchen and wondering how I could get to Jordan (one of our dogs was going through chemo treatment, and we were barely scraping by)

I wanted to experience community, I wanted to experience history without bias, and to understand what was going on in the region.

Confronting What We’ve Been Taught

When October 7 happened, and the war on Gaza intensified, the news cycle became overwhelming. The Middle East was once again reduced to breaking alerts, red banners, and simplified narratives.

I hated it.

It forced me to pause. It forced me to look at what was going on around the world and what stories really mattered and would shed light on questions I wanted answers to:

• What did I actually know about this region beyond headlines?
• How much of my understanding came from lived experience versus secondhand framing?
• How often had I let fear-based coverage shape my perception of entire communities?

And if I was asking myself these questions, why weren’t others? How was this affecting daily lives in the Middle East? How was it affecting family members scattered throughout the region?

Jordan sits in a region frequently discussed but rarely understood by Western audiences. It is geographically close tothe conflict. It is culturally lumped into broad generalizations. And yet it is politically stable, community-driven, and deeply rooted in hospitality.

Travel has always been about unlearning for me. Jordan became an extension of that. I also wanted other people to see what I had learned. It’s hard for me to vocalize and even write about war, history, and complex social issues, so what better way to learn than to travel in a group together?

There is something magical that shifts within others when they are learning about new things; it’s like lightbulbs going off in their head. To experience that first-hand is one of the coolest events to witness.

My trip to Jordan

Before ever deciding to host a group, I went to Jordan on my own through a group tour

How could I help shape a positive exchange and not just be another blogger pushing blog post after blog post out? How do I handle these stories with care and honesty?

The itinerary focused on history, movement, and local connection. We stayed in locally run guesthouses, including Beit Al Baraka. We learned from Jordanian guides. We spent time understanding the land, not just photographing it. This was not a surface-level checklist trip, which I was so incredibly thankful for.

It was immersive. Grounded. Educational. You can read about this group trip on this blog post here

And it shifted something in me.

There I was walking with shepherds in Jordan, cooking food with women in souf and hiking in northern Jordan (which was so beautiful!). I do a lot of culturally immersive activities when I travel, but for some reason, it hit home with me in Jordan. I felt centered.

The Veil That Lifted

I left Jordan with a different perspective.

I realized I wanted others to experience this feeling. I could have shouted from Instagram and made my feed all about it, but I went an extra step and decided to create a group trip that would bring people to Jordan and help them see different aspects of the culture.

I realized how narrow Western narratives can be. How easily entire regions are reduced to instability and conflict. How rarely are we encouraged to see daily life, generosity, structure, and resilience?

Jordan is not a headline.

It is communities.
It is families running guesthouses.
It is guides who care deeply about their history.
It is entrepreneurs building sustainable tourism models.

I felt embarrassed that I had allowed media framing to shape my assumptions more than firsthand experience. I mean, even as a well-traveled person, I was mad at the fact that we let people frame places this way. I completely respect my husband and my father’s service and understand why they were in the Middle Eastern region, but I wish we had done better.

As travelers and human beings, we have a responsibility to question the narratives handed to us.

And I hope I am doing it right.

Why This Is Personal for Me

I am a military spouse and a military brat.

I have family members who have been directly impacted by conflicts in the Middle East. I grew up between California and Texas and have witnessed how extreme rhetoric, especially far-right rhetoric, can isolate people in echo chambers.

I understand how narratives form. I understand how they harden.

It would have been easy for me to stay inside that bubble.

But travel disrupts bubbles, and I am thankful for that every day.

Had I not met my husband, had I not lived overseas, had I not intentionally put myself in environments that challenged my assumptions, I am not sure I would be writing this.

Jordan forced me to confront that.

The Women Who Shaped My Perspective

Before I ever set foot in Jordan, I was listening and learning.

Yulia Denisyuk’s work through Going Places Media profoundly influenced how I think about travel journalism and community-centered storytelling. Through her podcast and reporting, I learned about Jordan’s community foundations, about ethical tourism, and about how travel can either extract or contribute.

She also hosts group trips to Jordan, and one day I would love to experience the country through her lens and the relationships she has built there.

Sibu from Hybrid Tours has also shaped my thinking around ethical and sustainable tourism in places like Jordan. Her work centers responsibility, nuance, and long-term impact rather than spectacle.

Without women like them in this industry, I am not sure I would have had the confidence to step into this space and host my own community in Jordan.

Why I Am Hosting a Group Tour to Jordan

I am hosting a group tour to Jordan because I believe we need better storytellers, and when we travel to places, we need to be better about lifting voices up. Allowing others to form their own persepective.

We need travelers willing to step into places that have been misrepresented and experience them directly. We need travelers willing to learn history from local voices. We need to invest in community-run guesthouses, local guides, and sustainable operators.

Jordan deserves to be seen as it is.

Stable. Complex. Generous. Layered.

Hosting this trip is not about being provocative. It is about being intentional.

It is about allowing members of my community to experience what I experienced. To walk through Petra. To sit in the silence of Wadi Rum. To understand the region through people, not headlines.

We Can Be Better Travelers

Travel is not neutral.

The stories we tell shape perception. The places we choose to visit impact local economies. The assumptions we carry either reinforce harmful narratives or dismantle them.

Little by little, I am unlearning a lot. I am thankful for that.

It reminded me that curiosity is stronger than fear. That nuance matters. That community is the foundation of everything.

If we want to leave a positive footprint as travelers, we have to move beyond comfort zones and question the stories we have been handed.

Hosting this trip is my way of doing that.

And I believe it matters.