eSIM and SIM cards in Jordan

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.