Matt Loveland

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"We specialize in adventure and experiential tours of the Middle East, particularly Jordan and Israel Palestine, offering hiking, biking and experiential sightseeing tours. Our experienced guides will take you off the beaten path, to see the real highlights of the region, meeting the people, experiencing the hospitality and tasting the delights of the Middle East.

We aim to be the best inbound tour operator in the region, offering you the perfect trip, tailored to your specific requirements at affordable prices, with excellent customer service.

We know you’ll love our trips, because they are all the result of our own adventures around the region, sharing all the authentic treasures we have found and love. All the Experience Jordan team love exploring and we’re here to help you create the perfect tour for your needs, whether it’s sightseeing, hiking, cycling or family adventures. Do you want to stay with a local family, camp out under the stars in the desert, learn to cook Arabic food, explore the markets, ride a camel, engage with the people and even learn some Arabic greetings? Our international team has travelled the world, so we know what it’s like to be travellers, so we aim to give you outstanding service and include the best practices we’ve learned global into our trips.

As part of our commitment to the people of Jordan, we continue to pioneer new tours and experiences to create jobs and generate income for our local partners throughout the country, both in Amman, but also in the rural communities and Bedouin families across Jordan."

How did you get involved in travel?

"In 2004 whilst at university I wrote a business plan for a “life changing” tour company, life changing for both the travellers and the local people. The vision was for tours where the travellers see and experience the real destination, off the beaten path, engage with the people and culture and where the locals truly benefit through ethical and responsible tourism. I wanted to create a business that I believed in, one that both I and others would enjoy working for. A few years later, after careers in Engineering, Project Management and managing a climbing centre, I started Experience Jordan.

My own life has been changed and shaped by my travels and encounters with so many people around the world, and I wanted to create experiences that were equally life changing both for travellers and the locals.

In 2008, after time living in China, the US and back in my home England, I moved to Jordan and fell in love with this historic and beautiful country and its amazing people. Experience Jordan was born. We aim to provide authentic adventures and the best tours of Jordan, where you truly experience this wonderful country, enjoy the hospitality of its generous and kind people, learn about the culture, history and even language and have lots of fun."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"My first travelling adventures began in 1997 when I set off on a year of exploration and adventure, working and travelling around China. At the end of my time, I didn't want to leave suddenly, so I took the long way back overland by bus and train from Hong Kong, via Beijing, to Moscow and on through Europe back to London. On the train crossing Siberia, I used up my cash, with no ATMs until I would arrive in Moscow. I was living off the large bag of pot noodles I brought with me, yes noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A lovely Russian family on the train took pity on me and shared their fish and more wholesome food with me. I spoke no Russian, and they spoke no English, but we connected, and I was touched by their kindness to a complete stranger. I love that travelling exposes our vulnerabilities, not speaking the language or knowing our way around, it forces us to rely on others and through that we grow and make lots of new friends."