But why is Jordan so famous? Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Amman and Aqaba are the strongest highlights of the country! But let’s go find out our trip in details, information about visa, transportation, cost and sightseeing!

Jordan roadtrip petra

A few words about Jordan

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan or simply Jordan is a state of the Middle East. It borders Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and the West Bank (the Jordan, an area occupied before 1967 and occupied by Israel) to the West. It shares with Israel the coastlines of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea. The main religion of Jordan is Islam and the main (official) Arabic language.

Travel itinerary in Jordan

Itinerary in few lines

• Airport Alia Airport – Petra 203 km (2.38 ‘)
• Petra – Wadi Rum 112 km (1.46 ‘)
• Wadi Rum – Dead Sea 295 km (4 hours)
• Dead Sea – Amman 65 km (1 hour)
• Amman – Airport

Jordan roadtrip petra wadi rum

Jordan itinerary

Day One

On first day we landed at Queen Alia Airport in Amman on a low-cost flight (see costs below), the other option is to land at Aqaba Airport so you will follow the opposite program of ours! We had already rented a car so our vehicle was waiting for us outside the airport. After we completed the standard procedures we departed to Petra and to the village of Wadi Musa. The journey time is around 2.40 hours.

At Wadi Musa we found easily our accommodation’s location which was very central and had many restaurants nearby and was only a 4 minute drive away from the entrance of Petra! There is also the option to stay right next to Petra’s entrance and walk just for 4 minutes. There is also the option to stay at the entrance of the village in order to enjoy the view of the whole area but prices are higher there of course! After we ate at Beit Al Barakah and we got some traditional sweets from the bakery we headed to Petra to enjoy the evening show Petra by Night candles show. For our experience there and useful information read more here.

Day two

Second day, waking up and departing towards Petra! In 4 minutes we were in front of the entrance next to the museum. The size of the whole area is huge so get ready for a lot of walking, hiking and even climbing! Overall we stayed there for 9 hours and that is only beacuse we had to depart to the Wadi rum. Read all the information you need to explore Petra with a special map, times and prices in our Petra blog post. Lunch time at Beit Al Barakah and departure to Wadi Rum.

Extra Tip Before leaving the village, stop and enjoy the panoramic view of the area where the # ? Petra sigh is.

After a couple of hours driving and a fantastic ride full of used tires on the roadside, countless trucks, sandstorms and desert views we arrived at Wadi Rum Visitors Center where you have to get tickets and then enter the site either with a guide who you find on the spot or with your vehicle if you have arranged a local driver to be waiting inside for you. Having seen the prices (see below) and from personal experience we can tell you that prices are lower if you pre book eg. Via Internet, as we did, rather that get a guuide over there. Salem, was waiting for us, a Bedouin born in the village of Wadi Rum, owner of Bedouin tents for rent and organizer of experiences and hiking in the desert. We were tranferred to our tents (you cannot go on your own, either ways have to book a tour guide).

Jordan roadtrip petra

Day three

The night before, as well as the morning we experienced in the desert was a magic time for us! We had experienced a similar experience in the Monument Valley desert  in the country of Navajo but the scenery here was also truly unreal, like a storyline from Mars. Morning found us waking up with a flock of camels that were all around our tent!

Read all you need to know about entering, staying and organizing experiences at Wadi Rum here!

We spent half the day exploring the desert, climbing hills of sand, feeding camels, hiking in canyons, sipping tea with Bedouins and eating in the middle of nowhere, lunch!

We said goodbye to Salem and Wadi rum (we will definitely return there though) and started our trip to Amman. The route is just uncomparable as it includes villages, towns, deserts, fields, mountain, countless camels, solar parks and of course the Dead Sea on the Jordan side this time (the side of Israel has been explored on our previous journey). After about 5 hours a stop at the Dead Sea for a  quick dive we arrived in Amman (attention while driving).

Day four

Awakening in the capital of Jordan, Amman, and waiting for the friend and old classmate in Thessaloniki city, Sofian, who offered to meet and take us around in his city! Those of you who don’t have Sofian can easily move around with Uber, almost all routes cost about 1.5 dollars, while going to the airport depending on where you are, of course, will cost you about $20 (price from West Amman to the Alia airport). After seeing the points of interest that we outlined below our friend, transferred us to the airport for our departure.

Things to do in Amman

First of all, you cannot imagine how many hills this city has! For food and coffee visit Rainbow Street and Jabal Al Lweibdeh. Amman is the capital of Jordan, and its a quite modern and prosperous city!

Tourist attractions in Amman:

• King Abdullah Mosque
• Amman Citadel
• King Hussein Mosque
• Jordanian Museum
• The Royal Automobile Museum
• Jordan Archaeological Museum
• Jordan Museum of Popular traditions
• Jordan river  and baptism site (few miles from Amman)

How much does a trip to Jordan cost? Prices per person

• Air Tickets €10 Roundtrip
• Car Rental €70 (3 days)
• Food €30
• Accommodation €50 (3 days)
• Visa Jordan Pass 75 JOD
• Candle Show 17 JOD
• Souvenirs €5

Is it safe to travel to Jordan?

Having traveled to various countries that may not be considered as safe ones as others, and except the fact that special attention must be payed during driving (it has many roundabouts) we can confidently say that especially in tourist places there is no sense or even suspicion of fear. The residents are completely familiar with the tourists!

Jordan roadtrip petra

Transports in Jordan

For the transportation we rented a car but there are certainly other options such as public transportation or taxis or organized tours. You can find more information here, but for example taking a taxi from the airport to Petra costs over 80 dollars per vehicle.

Do you need a visa for Jordan?

Yes! The first option is to get a visa at the airport (40 jod) while the other option is to pre buy a Jordan pass with which you have free entry to various attractions including Petra, comes out in 3 editions and is issued online (does not replace the visa just comes out cheaper and waves your visa fees). For the Jordan Pass click here, and for the sights included click here!

If you enjoyed reading our blog posts and found our tips useful feel free to sunscribe to our monthly newsletter:

The post ROADTRIP IN JORDAN – A TRIP TO THE MIDDLE EAST appeared first on Nonstoptravellers.

A few words about Petra of Jordan

It is a whole city that spreads in a huge area near the village of Wadi Musa. Its name means “The one that has been carved” and dates back to about one century B.C.

It was the capital of the Empire of Nabataeans, then merged with the Roman Empire and later suffered damages due to an earthquake that led to its decline. It was a main commercial centre between Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Petra turned out to be a deserted area which was inhabited until today by Bedouins. In 1812 was re discovered by explorer of the West and since then it is the basic attraction of Jordan.

Petras most famous monument The Treasury appears dramatically at the end of the Siq. Used in the final sequence of the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, thsi is only the first one of the several secrets of Petra! (Map below)

It’s also known the lost city rediscoverd in 1812 by the westerns and the rose – red city.

petra jordan the siq

Basic Trails in Petra Guide

Here you will find almost all if not all hiking trails in Petra. The times are approximate and the degrees of difficulty as well! Generally speaking all trails  are easy for the average visotor as we witnessed it. The most difficult are those that lead to the monastery and the ascent to see the Treasury from above! If you dare it, however, the difficulty lies in the fact of duration in combination with the rocky environment.

Starting Point Visitors Center

• Main Trail Total 8 km (4 hours) degree of difficulty: moderate
• Main Trail 30 minutes (one way) degree of difficulty: easy
• The Treasury Viewpoint Trail 1.50 Hour (two ways)
• The High place of sacrifice trail 30 minutes (one way) degree of difficulty: difficult
• Wadi Farasa Trail 1 hour (one way)
• The Monastery Trail 1.5 hours (two ways) difficulty degree: Hard
• Al Khubtha Trail 3.5 km (2-2.30 Hours) degree of difficulty: difficult

Petra, the capital of the Nabateans

For more hiking

Those of you who enjoy hiking will definitely enjoy the adventure in Petra as it has many paths. You need to be prepared properly having chosen your routes prior arrival because there is no good signage, many times you just look for black arrows painted on stones!

The view of the Treasury from above is only possible by hiking. There are three options, one lasts for 10 minutes, the other one for 1 hour and the third one for 1.30 hour g and it is the one with the higher difficulty level. Guess which one we tried!

Petra map

See here the map and all points of interest!

Trekking in Petra at points of interest

Get ready for a full day hiking, equip yourself with comfortable shoes, a hat and a good mood! We suggest you to get the Jordan pass option for two days if you have time or you will spend all day hiking in the area of Petra, like we did!

• Bab Al Siq
• The Dam
• The Siq
• The Treasury (Al Khazna)
• The Street of Facades
• High Place of Sacrifice
• The Theatre
• The Royal Tombs
• The Nymphaneum
• The Church
• The Colonnaded Street
• Great Temple
• Qasr Al Bint
• The Lion Triclinium
• Ad Deir (Monastery)

Services you will find in Petra

• Visitors Center Here you can buy tickets (those of you who  do not have Jordan pass)
• Museum
• Tour
• Cafes
• Restaurants
• Toilets
• Carriages
• Camels
• Horses

Petra by night and the candle show

On every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday you can enjoy Petra at night and a show with homemade candles! Personally we didn’t like it at all, it’s very expensive (17 JOD), it has no limited tickets, it’s not even a show, the audience keeps coming, making noise and photographing with flash for all the two hours that theoretically lasts the show And generally you don’t enjoy the monument at all, you just wait for the time to pass so that you leave. What we liked is the atmosphere during our entrance to the Treasury and hiking through Siq under the stars and not so much the candle show itself. For more information,  read here.

Entrance fees

The first option is for those of you you who have a Jordan pass, for you the entrance to Petra is included. You simply choose between a day’s entry or two consecutive days. For the rest, the entrance fees start at 50 jod but they depend of some factors like if you are an accomodated traveller in Jordan for many days or not, so check out all options here.

To conclude, the exploration of Petra was a unique experience, certainly different from many other monuments that we have visited before. If you find yourself in Jordan do not miss to visit the red city!  Read the itinerary we created and followed, get ideas for light traveling because you do not need to carry much with you and prepare for one of the most amazing travels!

The post PETRA THE LOST CITY OF JORDAN appeared first on Nonstoptravellers.