🇯🇴Jordan

The Jordan Pass, and why it is not a souvenir

Buy it online before you fly. It is the single decision that saves the most money on a trip to Jordan.

• All three waive the JOD 40 tourist visa fee and include entry to more than 40 sites - Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash, the Roman theatre, the desert castles.
• A Petra ticket alone is JOD 50 for one day. Visa plus Petra without the pass is JOD 90, so the JOD 70 pass is cheaper than the two things it replaces.
• The waiver only works if you bought the pass before you arrived. At the border they check the purchase date, and a pass bought in the taxi from the airport waives nothing.
• You must stay at least three nights. The pass site words it as three days and the FCDO as three nights; book three nights and the ambiguity never touches you.
• It is one QR code per person, children included, and it is scanned at immigration and again at every site.

If you are not buying the pass

• A visa on arrival is JOD 40, single entry, and it is valid for 3 months.
• It is issued at Queen Alia (Amman), at Aqaba, at the Sheikh Hussein/North crossing and at Wadi Araba.
• It is not issued at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge from the West Bank. Arrive there without a pre-approved visa and you are turned back.
• Passport valid 6 months beyond arrival.
• Entering through Aqaba's special economic zone, the visa is free if you stay at least two nights in the zone - a genuine saving for a Red Sea trip, though see the safety section on Aqaba's airport and seaport.

Two rules that catch people on the way out

• Staying more than 14 days means registering at a police station with a residency extension office. It is free, it takes half an hour, and skipping it costs JOD 200 on departure.
• There is a JOD 10 departure tax in cash at every land border. Airports do not charge it; the crossing to Israel or Saudi Arabia does.

Where your nationality lands

• Get the approval if you are on the last row. Sources disagree about who may still walk up to the counter, and the airport is a bad place to test a disagreement.
• Tour groups of five or more booked through a Jordanian operator have their visa fee waived as a matter of course, which is why organised trips never mention any of this.

• Drones are prohibited without prior clearance. They are taken at Queen Alia airport and recovering one is difficult, so leave it at home rather than argue at the desk.
• Antiquities may not be exported. That includes a stone or a shard from Petra or Jerash, and the airport scanner is looking for exactly that.
• The allowance is 200 cigarettes and around a litre of spirits per adult, with a value cap on other goods.
• Cash above the declarable threshold must be reported on entry and on exit.
• Dead Sea cosmetics travel fine, but the liquid limits of the airline apply and the larger jars need to go in the hold.
• The land crossings from Israel and the West Bank have their own customs procedure and their own hours, which are shorter than you expect.

Medical care

• Amman's private hospitals are among the best in the region and treat patients from across the Middle East. Care is prompt and good.
• You pay up front and claim back, so insurance matters. Bring the policy number.
• Public hospitals are adequate and busy; outside Amman, facilities in the governorates are basic.
• Pharmacies are everywhere and pharmacists speak English, and much of what needs a prescription at home does not here.

Water and food

• Tap water is chlorinated and generally safe in Amman, but almost nobody drinks it and neither should you on a short trip. Bottled water is cheap.
• Refill from big bottles rather than buying small ones, which is what the camps do.
• Food hygiene is good. Street shawarma and falafel from a busy place is fine and is the best food in the country.
• Stomach upsets are usually the change of diet, not contamination. Bring rehydration salts.

Heat and the Dead Sea

• Summer heat is serious. Petra in July is 38 to 42 °C with no shade in the middle of the day; walk early, rest at noon.
• Drink more than you want to and take salt. Heat exhaustion at Petra is a routine call-out.
• The Dead Sea is 430 m below sea level and the hottest place in the country.
• Do not shave the day you go in. The salt in a fresh cut is memorable for the wrong reason.
• Do not put your face in the water or dive. Salt in the eyes is a medical event, and swallowing it is dangerous.
• 20 minutes is enough, then shower properly.

Before you go

• Nothing exotic is required. Hepatitis A and typhoid are the usual recommendations; check tetanus is current.
• Travel insurance that covers desert activities and diving is worth reading closely if you are going to Wadi Rum or Aqaba.
• Aqaba has a decompression chamber, which is one reason its dive industry has a good record.
• Bring your own supply of any prescription medicine, with the prescription, because brand names differ.

Where you actually sleep

• Amman: Jabal Amman and Jabal Weibdeh for character and walkable evenings, Abdali and Shmeisani for business hotels. Downtown is cheap and loud.
• Wadi Musa is the town outside Petra and exists entirely for it. Ask how far the hotel is from the gate - some are a stiff uphill kilometre.
• Wadi Rum camps run from bedouin tents with shared bathrooms to bubble domes with air conditioning, JOD 25 to JOD 150 per person with dinner and breakfast.
• Dead Sea resorts are the expensive strip, and the alternative is Madaba, half an hour up the hill and half the price.
• Aqaba is hotels along the shore and a town behind them.

Booking

• March to May and September to November are peak. Petra hotels fill and prices double.
• Book the Wadi Rum camp ahead and confirm whether the price includes the jeep tour, because it usually does not.
• July and August are brutally hot in Petra, Wadi Rum and at the Dead Sea, which is 430 m below sea level. Prices drop for a reason.
• Ramadan changes everything: restaurants closed by day, hotels quieter, and a very different evening.

Practical

• Breakfast is nearly always included and is generous.
• Heating in winter is not a given in Wadi Musa, which sits at 1,000 m and gets genuinely cold at night.
• Desert camps run on generators that go off at some point in the evening. Charge everything at dinner.
• A night in the desert is cold from October to April. The camp gives you blankets; bring layers anyway.
• Flash floods close the Petra siq and the wadis after rain, November to March. If a camp cancels on you in winter, this is why.

Buying a SIM

• Three networks: Zain, Orange and Umniah. Zain has the widest coverage, Umniah is the cheapest, Orange sits between them.
• Zain and Umniah have counters in the Queen Alia arrivals hall, open from early morning. Orange does not, so buy Orange in town.
• Registration is legally required and needs your passport. The assistant does it there and then.
• Tourist bundles run about JOD 6 to JOD 16, and even the cheap ones carry more data than a two-week trip uses. JOD 15 is the usual "everything included" price.
• Prices carry 16% sales tax on the mainland and none in the Aqaba free zone, which is a curiosity rather than a plan.

Coverage

• Amman, Petra, Jerash, Madaba, the Dead Sea and Aqaba are all solid 4G.
• Wadi Rum has signal at the village and the visitor centre and much less of it in the desert. Camps are usually reachable; a jeep in a canyon is not.
• The Desert Highway and the King's Highway are covered end to end.
• Roaming from the Gulf is often bundled; from Europe it rarely is.

eSIM

• Saily's Jordan plans start at USD 4.79 for 1 GB over 7 days, with USD 17.99 for 5 GB over 30 days and USD 29.99 for 10 GB.
• A local bundle is better value if you are here more than a few days, and the counter is 50 m past baggage reclaim.
• The eSIM wins if you land at 02:00 and want data before you have found a shop, or if you are crossing straight to another country.
• All three networks support eSIM in their own stores if you would rather stay on a local network without swapping cards.

Sockets in Jordan are Type B, C, D, F, G and J at 230 V, 50 Hz - more socket types in daily use than almost anywhere else.

• A universal adapter is genuinely necessary. Which socket a room has depends on when the building was wired, not on where you are.
• British Type G is the most common in newer buildings, with round-pin Type D and Schuko Type F both widespread.
• A Europlug fits several of them, including the Type C, F and J outlets, which covers most chargers.
• 230 V, so American 120 V-only appliances need a converter.
• Desert camps in Wadi Rum run on generators or solar with limited hours, and sockets there are whatever the camp installed.

The week

• The weekend is Friday and Saturday. Government offices and many businesses close; Sunday is a normal working day.
• Friday morning is quiet everywhere and picks up after midday prayers.
• Sites and museums keep shorter hours on Fridays and in winter, so check before a long drive.

Ramadan, if your trip lands in it

• Ramadan moves about 11 days earlier each year and currently falls in late winter.
• Eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight is illegal for everyone, visitors included. Hotels serve guests in a screened area.
• Restaurants outside hotels are largely closed until sunset, then the whole country eats at once and stays up late.
• Alcohol is much harder to find and many licensed places close for the month.
• It is a wonderful time to be here if you plan for it and a frustrating one if you do not.

Manners

• Hospitality is real and constant. Tea will be offered and refusing outright is rude - accept, drink some, thank them.
• Greet with as-salamu alaykum, and shake hands with the same sex. Wait for a woman to offer her hand first.
• Use the right hand for eating, giving and receiving.
• Ask before photographing people, especially women, and never photograph police, soldiers or border posts.
• Public affection is not done, including between couples.

Dress and alcohol

• Cover shoulders and knees, men included, away from resorts. Amman's Rainbow Street is relaxed; a village is not.
• Swimwear belongs at hotel pools, the Dead Sea resorts and Aqaba beaches, and nowhere else.
• Alcohol is legal and sold in licensed restaurants, hotels and liquor shops, but it is expensive and not drunk in public.
• Being drunk in public is a serious loss of face and can be an offence.

Small useful things

• 230 V, and the sockets are mostly type G, the British three-pin, with types C and D also about. Bring an adaptor for both.
• Tap water is drinkable in Amman and nobody drinks it. Bottled everywhere.
• Friday and Saturday are the busy days at Petra and the Dead Sea, since that is when Jordanians go.
• Arabic is the language and English is widely spoken in tourism and by most younger people in Amman.
• Drones require a permit arranged in advance and are otherwise confiscated on arrival.
• The country code is +962, and mobile numbers start 07.

The dinar

• The Jordanian dinar (JOD) has been pegged to the US dollar since 1995, so the rate you see today is the rate you will get next year.
• It divides into 1,000 fils, and prices are often written with three decimals: 1.500 is a dinar and a half.
• Notes are JOD 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50. The 50 is hard to break outside a hotel.
• Jordan is more expensive than its neighbours and visitors consistently underestimate it.

Cash and cards

• Hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and site entrances take cards. Taxis, small shops, market stalls, camps in Wadi Rum and most rural business do not.
• ATM fees are JOD 3 to JOD 5 per withdrawal on top of your own bank's charge, so take out a decent amount at a time.
• Always decline the ATM's offer to convert to your own currency. Choosing dinars is the cheaper answer, every time.
• Exchange offices in downtown Amman beat the airport and the hotels and are quick.
• Carry small notes for tips, taxis and the Wadi Rum entrance. Nobody at a desert camp has change for a JOD 50.

Tipping

• 10% is normal in restaurants, and a service charge is often already on the bill - check before adding to it.
• Round up for taxis.
• A jeep driver or a guide in Wadi Rum: JOD 5 to JOD 10 for a half day is generous and normal.
• Hotel staff: JOD 1 or JOD 2 for bags.

Costs to expect

• Alcohol is heavily taxed and a night out drinking costs European money.
• Site entry is the big line in a Jordan budget, which is the entire argument for the Jordan Pass.

Between the cities

• JETT is the reliable operator and its coaches are modern and air-conditioned. Book a day ahead in season, online or at the office.
• The 06:30 Petra bus is one bus a day. Miss it and you are on a minibus or paying for a car.
• Minibuses go everywhere for a couple of dinars and leave when full, which can mean an hour of waiting.
• A driver for the day is how most people see the King's Highway, and split between three or four it is not extravagant.

In town

• Yellow taxis have meters and drivers do not always start them. Say "addad" - meter - as you get in, or agree the price first.
• Careem and Uber both work in Amman and remove the argument entirely. Careem has the deeper local coverage.
• Amman is built on hills and is not a walking city in the way its map suggests. The stairs between Rainbow Street and downtown are 100 vertical metres.
• The Amman Bus network is cheap and hard to use without Arabic.

Driving

• Driving is on the right; an International Driving Permit is expected alongside your own licence.
• The Desert Highway is fast, dull and where the fatal accidents happen. The King's Highway is slow, spectacular and the reason to have a car.
• Speed cameras are everywhere and fines run JOD 15 to JOD 150. Rental companies pass them on with a handling fee.
• Fuel is cheap by European standards and stations are frequent except in the deep south.
• Sand and flash floods close roads in winter, and mountain roads near Petra get snow in January.

Sites and tickets

• Petra without the Jordan Pass is JOD 50 for one day, JOD 55 for two, JOD 60 for three, and JOD 90 if you have not spent a night in Jordan - the day-tripper rate for people coming from Eilat.
• Wadi Rum charges JOD 5 to enter the protected area, included in the Jordan Pass, and everything inside it - jeep, camel, camp - is extra and booked with a local operator.
• The Dead Sea has no free public shore worth using. Resort day passes run JOD 25 to JOD 40 and include a pool and a shower, which you will want.
• Jerash, the desert castles and the Roman theatre are all on the Jordan Pass, which is what makes the JOD 70 worthwhile.

Apps worth having

• Careem and Uber for rides.
• JETT's own site for coaches.
• Maps.me offline, because Wadi Rum has no signal to speak of.
• The Jordan Pass QR code saved offline, not only in an email you need data to open.

Free roads, one fast route south and one slow one worth the extra hours.

• The Desert Highway takes three hours to Aqaba; the King's Highway takes most of a day and passes Madaba, Kerak, Dana and the Wadi Mujib canyon.
• Roads are free with no tolls or vignettes.
• Drink-driving is treated severely and alcohol is restricted outside hotels and licensed restaurants.
• Speed bumps are unmarked and frequent in villages on both routes, and they are the most common cause of damage to hire cars.
• Wadi Rum is entered with local drivers. Private vehicles do not go beyond the visitor centre, and 4x4 tours are arranged there.

What the official advice actually says

• The FCDO advises against all travel to within 3 km of the border with Syria. Nothing a visitor wants to see is in that strip.
• It advises against all but essential travel to Aqaba international airport and seaport, updated 22 July 2026 after the regional strikes that began on 8 July.
• Aqaba the city, the dive sites, Wadi Rum, Petra, the Dead Sea, Madaba, Jerash and Amman are not covered by any restriction.
• Check the advice again before you book a flight into Aqaba, because that specific line has moved more than once and your insurer follows it.

Crime and hassle

• Serious crime against visitors is rare and Jordan feels safe by any regional standard.
• Pickpocketing happens in the Amman souks and at busy sites, and car break-ins happen at trailheads.
• Persistent selling at Petra and Wadi Rum is the main irritation - guides, donkeys, jewellery, and it is unrelenting. A calm "la shukran" repeated is the tool.
• Women travelling alone report staring and comments, especially away from tourist areas. Sitting in the back of a taxi and using Careem rather than a hailed cab is the standard advice.
• Methanol in cheap spirits is a documented risk. Drink at licensed places.

Roads and desert

• Road accidents are the biggest physical risk here, particularly on the Desert Highway where the trucks run fast.
• Do not drive at night outside the cities. Unlit vehicles, livestock and sudden speed bumps are all normal.
• Flash floods kill people in wadis between November and March, including in the Petra siq, which is a narrow slot canyon. If it has rained anywhere upstream, do not enter, and give it 24 hours.
• Wadi Rum is a desert, not a park. Never walk off alone without water and a phone that has signal where you started.
• The heat is the summer danger: 40 °C at Petra in July, and the Dead Sea shore is hotter still.

Politics and demonstrations

• Protests happen in Amman, usually after Friday prayers and usually peaceful. Avoid them anyway - a foreign face in a political crowd is a complication.
• Regional events change the temperature quickly. Keep an eye on the news and on your embassy's alerts.
• Photographing military sites, police and border installations is a genuine offence, not an eccentricity.

Practical safety

• Save your embassy's number and your insurer's before you go.
• Petra is 8 km of walking and a lot of stairs at altitude in heat, and the ambulance is a donkey. Carry more water than you think.
• Tell your camp when you set off on any desert walk, and take the guide when one is offered for a canyon.

The numbers

• 911 is the single number for everything and operators speak English.
• Tourist Police have posts at Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and in central Amman, in distinct uniforms, and they exist precisely for visitors' problems.
• Save your hotel's name in Arabic or take a photo of the sign; it makes any taxi conversation easier.

If something goes wrong

• Theft: report it and get a written report. Insurers require it, and the tourist police will produce one in English at the major sites.
• A lost passport means the police report first, then your embassy in Amman.
• A road accident must be reported to the police before the vehicles are moved, which is why cars sit in traffic lanes after a scrape.
• Hospital treatment is paid up front. Call your insurer's assistance line before a planned admission if you can.

Worth saving now

• Your insurer's 24-hour number and policy number.
• Your embassy in Amman. Most are in the Abdoun district.
• Jordan's country code is +962.
• A photo of your passport and your Jordan Pass QR code, stored offline where you can reach them without data.
• The name of the police station you registered at, if you are staying more than 14 days.