Jordanian Food in Amman: Food Tour, Cooking Class or Market Walk?
4 min read
For most visitors, the women-led food tour is the best way to taste Amman. Of the five food experiences compared here it has the most reviews. It runs 3 hours, the page limits it to 7 participants and promises 10 tastings, including mansaf, kunafeh and falafel.
| Tour | Duration | Starts at | From | Reviews | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women-led food tour | 3 hours | Rainbow Street | €107.30 | 5.0 from 24 reviews | A small group and ten tastings |
| Food walking tour with a local guide | 3 hours | Rainbow Street | €67.63 | 5.0 from 6 reviews | Markets and souqs |
| Guided food tour in downtown | 2 hours | Paris Square | €63.49 | 5.0 from 3 reviews | The shortest route |
| Food tour with a local guide | 3 hours | Shukri Shaashaa Street | €98.01 | Reviews so far: 0 | French, Spanish or Italian guide |
| Walking tour with cooking class | 6 hours | Amman Citadel | €166.81 | Reviews so far: 1 | Sights plus a cooking class |
The three-hour tasting tours
The women-led tour starts at the operator’s meeting point on Rainbow Street and finishes at Habibah Sweets downtown. Its stops include a fruit and vegetable market, and the page says the guide covers food and coffee culture. Its description calls mansaf Jordan’s national dish. The page lists tips, travel insurance, personal items and hotel pickup as not included, so you make your own way to Rainbow Street. It advises comfortable shoes and warns about uneven sidewalks, and between December and February it expects Amman to be cold and wet.
The food walking tour with a local guide also meets on Rainbow Street. Its page describes local souqs, fruit and vegetable markets, spice shops and olive stalls, with traditional dishes and desserts along the way. Bring cash: the page lists personal expenses as extra.
The shorter downtown route
The two-hour guided food tour in downtown starts at Paris Square and lists the walking tour, the guide, food tastings and drinks. Its page names pregnant women and wheelchair users as groups it is not suitable for.
A guide in your own language
The page of the food tour with a local guide lists live guides in English, French, Spanish and Italian. It says vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free needs can be met if you state them when booking, and that extra tastings cost extra. If you follow a special diet, ask the operator of the other tours before you book.
The one cooking class
Among the Amman offers on GetYourGuide, only one combines a walk through the city with a cooking class. The walking tour with cooking class takes 6 hours, meets at the Citadel and is limited to 10 people. It covers the Citadel, the Roman Theatre, the Al-Balad markets and Souk Al Khodra, then ends with cooking “a traditional dish” at a local restaurant. Ask which dish you will cook before you book. Entry tickets to the Citadel and the Roman Theatre appear in its list of inclusions, which also mixes in extras, so confirm what is in the price. The page lists children under 8, people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users, people with heart problems, people with diabetes, visually impaired people, people after recent surgery, people with a low level of fitness, babies under one year, people over 135 kg and people over 70 as not suitable, and warns of a lot of walking.
Who should choose what
- Women-led tour: your first evening or day in Amman and you want a small group.
- Local guide, 3 hours: you prefer a route built around markets and souqs.
- Two-hour route: you have little time or want a lighter bite.
- Guide in French, Spanish or Italian: English is not your first language.
- Cooking class: you want to cook, and can walk for six hours.
The sights themselves are covered in our guide to Amman’s two walking tours. More options: Amman city and food tours and things to do in Amman.
Our recommendation: the women-led food tour; book the cooking class only if cooking, not tasting, is the point.
