If you want to stay in the desert but are not wild about roughing it, Bait Ali is a recommended compromise. Tucked behind a hill, with a fine view of the wilderness, this ecofriendly camp is clearly signposted just off the road, 15km from the Desert Highway and 9km before the Wadi Rum visitor centre.
Accommodation is in comfortable air-conditioned chalets, twin-bed cabins or in army tents with a shared shower block, and facilities include swimming pool, restaurant with nightly barbecue produced from an open zerb (an oven buried in the sand), a circular meeting hall with a central fire, a bar and a comfortable, cushion-filled Bedouin tent that add an Arabian Nights atmosphere to the camp. The chef prepares delicious local, unleavened bread over a hot stone.
You can pitch your own tent (JD10) or park a camper van (JD10) and use the shower block. Advice is available on quad-bike rides, hikes, ballooning, skydiving (February and March) and other activities in the local area. The hike around Lion Mountain (12km, three hours) is particularly recommended.