Hi OliverB,

just to clear up some distances:

Evason Ma'in hot springs is right next to Dead Sea - about 30 mins, by staying there, you do not really break up the distance to Petra as your driver would take the scenic King's Highway anyway and will require around 3 hours.

Madaba to Petra is still around 3 hours, Madaba, Dead Sea, Ma'in are all right next to each other.

Wadi Rum is an excursion to be done from Petra NOT from Dead Sea - about 1 hour. From Dead Sea it would be 3.5 hours or more.

Jerash from Dead Sea is OK, around 1.5 hours

So from a vicinity perspective you should consider those distances...

Here's what I was thinking:

AUG 25 - American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem

Don't know how long it will take to cross over to Jordan. You will have to figure this out.

AUG 26 - Kempinski Ishtar, Dead Sea

AUG 27 - Kempinski Ishtar, Dead Sea, visit Jerash, Mount Nebo and Madaba from here

AUG 28 - Movenpick, Petra, visit Wadi Rum from here

AUG 29 - Evason Ma'in Hot Springs, Madaba and Mount Nebo
Return to Tel Aviv

I must say, however, that with the distances involved, what you are trying to achieve in this short period of time is quite a lot.