Jordan

Jordan packs three of the great Middle East experiences into a country you can drive across in a long day. Petra is the headliner — bigger and stranger than photos suggest. Wadi Rum delivers Mars-on-earth desert. And the Dead Sea floats you whether you like it or not.

The route writes itself: a night or two in Amman with a half-day at Jerash, then south to Petra — take the slower King's Highway if you have time — then Wadi Rum, then a Dead Sea resort to wash it all off. A week covers it without rushing. Give Petra two full days; the climb to the Monastery beats the Treasury. Most of the money goes to the Jordan Pass, a Wadi Rum camp, and one fancy Dead Sea hotel night.

The honest part: Petra's vendors and donkey touts are persistent, midsummer is brutally hot for a site you cross entirely on foot, and the food outside Amman gets repetitive — you will eat a lot of hummus and grilled chicken. Amman itself is a stopover, not a destination, and Jordan costs more than its neighbors. But few countries stack this much within a few hours' drive, and standing in front of the Treasury at opening time, nearly alone, ends the debate.