Petra and other treasures
Jordan travel itinerary
1 Day
6.20 – “Wizzair” flight from Warsaw Chopin to Eilat – 3h30
From the airport, take bus no. 50 to the center of Eilat (NIS 4.20 per person, tickets can be purchased at the stand inside the terminal). From the bus station in Eilat, take a taxi to the border crossing with Jordan (crossing Yitzhak Rabin or Wadi Araba) for NIS 36.50, 15 minutes.
On the Israeli side you have to pay departure tax (NIS 101 per person + NIS 5 additional fee, you can pay by card). You have to go to Jordan on foot – at the crossing you get a document (manifest) that exempts you from the Jordanian visa fee (e.g. at the airport the visa fee is 40 JOD). There is a system in Jordan – if you buy a “Jordan Pass” (a special ticket to visit Petra and 40 other attractions in Jordan) and spend more than 3 nights in Jordan, there is no visa fee and exit fee of 10 JOD. From the border, a taxi to the center of Aqaba for 12 JOD – there is a strip of land abroad that cannot be covered on foot, so you are forced to rent a taxi and therefore it is difficult to bargain with the proposed fares.
We rent a Kia Ceed car from the office of “Thrifty” for 5 days (through rentalcars.com, about 150 euros). We go to the hotel and park the car on the street for free.
Overnight at the “Afnan” hotel – 45 JOD – good conditions, clean. For lunch we go to the “Syrian Palace” restaurant – mango juice (1.75 JOD), humus (1.500 JOD), mutabal, baba ghanoush, chicken with bread (3.500 JOD), Aleppo style kebab (in tomatoes, 3 JOD), sayadieh (spiced fish with rice, 5 JOD) – good food.
We walk along the promenade over the Gulf of Aqaba with a view of Eilat and Egypt and to the hotel zone (the “Movenpick” hotel has an interesting garden and its own beach). At the liquor store – a small bottle of Jordanian “Mount Nebo” wine for 6 JOD, and a large bottle for 10 JOD. In the store, 1.5 l water for 0.500 JOD.
2 Day
For breakfast we go to the “Al-Tarboosh” restaurant – we eat dumplings (sambusa) with various fillings, eg with meat, oregano, cheese (1x 0.250 JOD). We go by car on road no. 65 at the border with Israel to the Dead Sea – police checks on the way (they pass without any problems). At the gas station – petrol 90 for 0.825 JOD for 1 liter.
Along the way, the Museum of the Lowest Place on Earth (entrance under the “Jordan Pass”) – not very interesting, in the old style. We go to the resort on the Dead Sea “Amman Beach Tourism Resort” – entrance 25 JOD / adult and 15 JOD / child – we rent a locker and a towel (you pay 5 JOD and when you return the key they give back 3,500 JOD) – two swimming pools as part of the resort, a beach by Dead Sea (you can put on silt for 3 JOD), changing rooms with showers.
We are going to Mount Nebo at an altitude of about 800 m above sea level – entrance 2 JOD per person – from the terrace view of the Holy Land (from Mount Nebo Moses saw the Promised Land), in the church there are numerous mosaics, e.g. with animals from Africa. Coffee for 1 JOD in the cafe. We are going to Madaba to the hotel “Black Iris” – 45 JOD with breakfast – large room with a bathroom – good conditions. You can buy wine at the hotel – a small bottle of Jordanian wine for 7 JOD.
We go to the restaurant “Al Mandi” – a plate of rice with raisins and spices with grilled chicken and boiled chicken, lentil soup, tomato salads, ayran, water – we pay JOD 10,250 in total. We walk around Madaba in the evening – an atmospheric city. We take rest in “Ayola” cafe – “Petra” beer, 3 juices of lime with mint, tea with mint, baklava and kunafeh (cheese cake) – we pay 15,500 JOD.
3 Day
Breakfast at the hotel in the form of a buffet – a choice of various types of pastes (hummus, white cheese with paprika), falafels, vegetables, cakes. We go along road No. 35 to Jerash (entrance to the ruins as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – one of the better-preserved Roman cities in the Middle East – we visit the Forum, Hadrian’s Arch, Southern Theater (good acoustics), Agora, Nymphaeum, Temple of Artemis, Northern Theater.
Coffee in the cafe for 2 JOD. We go to Amman to the Citadel (entrance as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – view of the city located on the hills, visit the Museum (not very interesting), the Umayyad Palace and the Temple of Hercules. In the cafe – coffee for 2 JOD, chicken or cheese sandwich (1×1,500 JOD). We go to the center of Amman and park on the street for free – generally difficult to drive in Amman (narrow streets, traffic jams). We visit the Roman Theater, the Folklore Museum (small, Bedouin costumes) and the Odeon – all entrances under the “Jordan Pass”.
We go to the restaurant “Hashem” – 2 portions of falafels (10 pieces), 2 x mutabal, baba ghanoudz, hummus, tomatoes, fries, bread, tea with mint – we pay 12 JOD together.
We walk around the bazaar in Amann – we buy coffee with cardamom (small package 2,500 JOD), pomegranate juice (2 JOD) and souvenirs (a bottle with sand for 1 JOD, magnet for 1 JOD, a plate with Petra for 2 JOD). There are a lot of people and cars on the streets in general.
We return by car to Madaba. We go to the Ayola cafe – mango juice, lime juice with mint (the best), Philadelphia beer, Jordan River small wine – together we pay 13,500 JOD.
4 Day
After breakfast at the hotel, we go sightseeing Madaba. First, we visit the Orthodox Church of St. George with a mosaic from the 6th century depicting the Holy Land (entrance 2 JOD per person).
We go to the Archaeological Park and to the martyrs’ church (entrance as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – many renovated mosaics, including the most famous one representing Aphrodite and Adonis. Then we go to the Archaeological Park II (aka Burnt Palace) – many preserved mosaics with scenes from hunting, next to it is the Institute for Mosaic Art & Restoration (you can see what is the renovation of mosaics). On the street, pomegranate juice for 1,500 JOD.
We go by car on road no. 35 and 45 to see the so-called desert castles. As the first we visit Kasr al-Harana from the 8th century (entrance as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – well preserved on a square plan with rooms with decorations – no tourists and a very atmospheric place. At the entrance to the castle in the nomad’s tent you can drink coffee with cardamom or tea for 1 JOD.
Then we go to the castle Kasr Amra (entrance as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – on the UNESCO list, it served as a place to relax with baths, frescoes depicting the signs of the zodiac, women and animals (colorful and well preserved) have been preserved. It is worth taking a local guide who will show you the details and the history of this place for 5 JOD.
We take road no. 15 (Desert Highway) and then road no. 50 to Karak – we leave the car on the street at the entrance to the city – in the center the streets are winding and narrow. We go on foot to the Castle of the Crusaders from the 12th century (entrance as part of the “Jordan Pass”) – a nice view of the city from the walls, partially destroyed, some rooms have been preserved. We eat dinner in a restaurant next to the Castle – humus, mutabal, kebab, mansef (chicken with rice in spices and fruit), shish taouk (chicken shashlik), water – we pay JOD 39 in total.
We return by car to road no. 15 and then take road 814 to the so-called Kings Highway (road 35) and finally to Wadi Musa. Overnight at the “Rocky Mountain” hotel in Wadi Musa for 50 JOD with breakfast – good conditions, a Bedouin-style cafe on the top floor with a view of the entire city (tea for 1 JOD).
5 Day
Breakfast at the hotel in the form of a buffet – pastas, eggs, cold meats, cake. We go by car to the Visitor Center (free parking). We visit Petra (entry as part of the “Jordan Pass”, children up to 12 years old for free – the “Jordan Pass” costs 70 JOD and then a 1-day tour of Petra, you can buy via the website www.jordanpass.jo, without the Jordan Pass a ticket to Petra costs 50 JOD).
Petra is one of the most fascinating places in the world – the preserved city of the Nabataeans with buildings carved in the rock from the 3rd century BC until 1st century CE. We go the so-called Siq, i.e. a 1.2 km long gorge carved in the rocks to The Treasury (preferably illuminated by the sun until 11 am) – the Treasury cannot be entered inside. Next we go the Facade Street with tombs (empty in the middle) and stairs up to the High Place of Sacrifice – ruins of the altar and the basin, a great view of the whole city. We go down the trail through Wadi Farousa – the Lion’s Fountain and Garden Temple on the way.
We climb to the Monastery – it is forbidden to enter. In the cafe, 2 coffees with cardamom for 4 JOD, lemonade for 2 JOD, large bottle of water for 2 JOD. We go down and on the way we visit the Great Temple, the Royal Tombs and the theater.
We come back through the Siq to the car and drive to the center of Wadi Musa to the restaurant “Al Mehbash” – shawarma with rice, falafels with fries, grilled chicken with fries, mutabal, hummus, tea with mint, juice, bread – we pay JOD 25,500 in total.
We go back to the Visitor Center and go to the “Cave Bar” – a bar in an old tomb (atmospheric place, live music) – “Philadelphia” beer, mango juice, pineapple juice – together we pay 14,300 JOD. We drive back to the hotel by car.
6 Day
Breakfast at the hotel and we go to the Little Petra (Siq al-Barid) – free entry – there are several tombs in the gorge, the most interesting is the Painted House with colorful frescoes. You can go up the stone steps to the top – a view of the valley with rocks and the beginning of the trail to the Monastery. In the Bedouin cafe – 2 coffees and 2 tea for 4 JOD. We take road no. 35 and then road no. 15 (Desert Highway) to Wadi Rum.
Entry to the Wadi Rum valley is covered by the Jordan Pass – you need to rent a jeep for 2 hours for 35 JOD (you can stay longer, but 2 hours is a minimum). First, we go from Rum Village to the Lawrence’s Spring – an oasis in the desert where you can ride a camel (3 JOD per ride), and then to Khazali Dune (you can climb to its top).
Next we go to Khazali Canyon (a narrow crevice in the rock and rock drawings, the so-called petroglyphs) and to the rock arch, the Little Rock Bridge (you can enter it, nice view of the countryside). We return to Rum Village and then drive to Aqaba by car.
Overnight in Aqaba in the hotel “Afnan” – 45 JOD for a large room with a bathroom. We return the car at the Thrifty rental agency and we go to the Syrian Palace restaurant for lunch – humus, mutabal, mango juice, sesame kofta (tahini), grilled chicken, casserole (potatoes, chicken) – we pay JOD 31,700 in total.
We walk along the promenade with a flagpole, Fort (closed) and we go to the hotel zone (hotels with gardens and private beaches). In the shopping center “Gateway” in the pub “Rovers Return” (referring to the fictional pub from the British soap opera “Coronation Street”) – beer from the tap “Amstel”, lime juice, tea – 15 JOD in total.
7 Day
We eat breakfast in the “Al-Tarboosh” restaurant – dumplings (sambusa) with various fillings, such as cheese, oregano, meat, 2 coffees, 3 mango juices – a total of 5,500 JOD. On the street, we buy 2 pomegranate juices for 4 JOD.
From the hotel we take a taxi for 5 JOD (from Aqaba prices are lower than from the border) to the border crossing with Israel, the Wadi Araba. Quick control on the Jordanian side (we pay nothing extra) and on the Israeli side. From the crossing, taxi for NIS 37 to the center of Eilat. Overnight at the “Tzabar” hotel with a swimming pool – 2 rooms with a kitchen for 310 NIS.
Shopping in the “Breeze Market” store – Israeli wine for NIS 17, challah, tomatoes, water, humus, yoghurt (1 for NIS 2.70), ham – together we pay NIS 80.
We eat lunch at “Cafe Optimi” on the Promenade – shakshouka (59 NIS), pizza with mozzarella, fish & chips, hummus with pita bread (20 NIS), eggplant with tahina (9 NIS), tonic – generally very large portions. In the evening we walk along the Promenade – hotels and a public beach. We go to the musical show of fountains near the City Museum (show at 19.30 and later).
8 Day
We make our own breakfast – challah, hummus, tomatoes, yoghurts. We go from the bus station to Ramon airport by bus number 50 for NIS 4.20 per person. You must be at the airport at least 2 hours before departure, quick check (although they ask about the purpose of your stay, etc.)
12.05 – “Wizzair” flight to Warsaw Chopin – 4h 15
Practical information
Currency
Jordan
1 Jordanian Dinar (JOD) = 100 piastres = 1000 fils
1 euro = 0.861 JOD 1 USD = 0.709 JOD
Israel
1 euro = 3.97 NIS 1 USD = 3.27 NIS
Entry
120 hours (72 hours on some pages) before departure to Jordan, you must perform the Covid PCR test and take out medical insurance. Upon arrival in Jordan, you must perform another Covid PCR test for 28 JOD (this test must be paid for prior to departure).
At the airport in Jordan, you can buy a visa for 1 month for 40 JOD. There is a system in Jordan – if you buy a “Jordan Pass” (a special ticket to visit Petra and 40 other attractions in Jordan) and spend more than 3 nights in Jordan, there is no visa fee and exit fee of 10 JOD. The departure fee is valid only when leaving the country through land crossings.
Jordan Pass
At www.jordanpass.jo it is worth buying the Jordan Pass for 70 JOD. The Jordan Pass for 70 JOD includes a 1-day tour of Petra and 40 other attractions in Jordan (a ticket to Petra normally costs 50 JOD). Please note that children up to 12 years of age have free entry and you do not need to buy a Jordan Pass for them.
Transport
It is best to rent a car on site, e.g. through rentalcars.com. The roads are in good condition – Amman is the hardest to drive. At the station, 90 petrol for 0.825 JOD for 1 liter.
Arrival
The cheapest way is to fly to Eilat by “Wizzair” or “Ryanair” – but remember about the departure fee from Israel in the amount of NIS 101 per person + NIS 5 additional fee. It is worth looking for the promotion “Ryanair” directly to Amman.
