It took a bit longer than expected, but here is my guide on traveling to Jordan from Israel. The information is based on my experiences in Jordan on a 5-day trip over Christmas to Wadi Rum, Petra, and Amman, in which me and my friend, Anna, booked everything ourselves. In addition, a friend visited me from the states last week and decided to go on a 1-day trip to Petra with a tour group. I will pull from her encounter as well. The hope is that, when you book your trip to Jordan, you feel better prepared. Booking a Tour Guide What we did: Anna and I decided to go sans guide because we could go at our own pace. It also enabled us to immerse ourselves into the culture. For instance, we stayed with locals instead of hotels and took municipal buses. Speaking with Jordanians, I realized how cheap transportation is for locals, whereas they hike up the prices for tourists. For example, when riding from Wadi Rum to Petra, we paid 10 JD ($15), while our host in Petra said for locals it costs 2 JD ($3). Taking a local bus in Amman was one of my favorite experiences because I didn’t feel like a tourist and it only cost about 50 cents. Traveling by ourselves also made the trip cheaper. A comparable trip with Abraham Tours for 3 days in Jordan would cost about $600 (including the visa and border crossings). Our trip for 5 days cost $414 per person. What you should do: Despite the life-changing cultural experience, the next time I travel to an Arab country, I will go with a guide, or at least a male friend. As two women traveling alone, I felt very out of place. Everywhere we went, we were stared at by men. One morning in Amman, I went for a walk alone and put on a head scarf to see if I would get less attention. I got the same amount of stares. In Wadi Rum and Petra, cars would regularly honk at us; while we came to understand that in Jordan this is often a way of asking if you need a ride or saying hello, it made me feel uncomfortable because in my culture, men honking at you is an aggressive act. My experience would have been much different if I were traveling with a man. In Petra, Anna and I ran into a man from our program and we spent half a day with him. That was one of the only times I didn’t get stared at. We had been walking around the town outside of Petra, Wadi Musa. We sat down at a restaurant for dinner and had a great time eating and laughing for hours. After our friend left, Anna and I stuck around to use the restrooms and the wifi. I remember I could feel the shift when I finally stood up to leave. The other guests were all men and turned around to focus on us. I don’t even think the intent was malicious. The men stare because it is strange to see women not accompanied by men in Jordan. Another reason why I would consider going with a tour guide next time is because the prices would be set ahead of time. On our trip, we got ripped off so many times because we were in a vulnerable situation by not speaking Arabic or understanding the culture. Our first night was spent in Wadi Rum, the southern desert. We had booked a Bedouin campsite ahead of time and I made a deal with our host that he would have someone pick us up from the border and drive us to the campsite for only 20 JD ($28). However, upon arrival in Jordan, we were told that only licensed tour guides could pick people up at the border. Because of this, we had to pay a taxi driver 10 JD ($15) just to drive us 5 minutes into Jordan. Then, our driver who was supposed to take us all the way to the campsite only took us to the edge of the desert. We were met by another driver who would take us 15 km into the desert to the campsite. Once there, he bullied us into paying him an additional 35 JD ($50) for his services. Conversely, my friend who recently went on a tour to Petra with Tourist Israel still managed to get ripped off. Before going into Petra, her tour guide told them that they would get donkey rides to the entrance for free and not to tip the donkey handler. However, after riding a donkey, the handler insisted on a tip and the guide made her pay. Furthermore, the rest stop that the guide took them to overcharged every credit card purchase by about $100. The only person I've met who had a positive experience in Wadi Rum stayed at Beyond Wadi Rum (https://www.beyondwadirum.com/). She was a young woman traveling alone and was the only visitor at the campsite, yet he did everything possible to make her feel safe. Additionally, he refused to take her money in the end because she was his guest. This is the kind of Bedouin hospitality I had always heard of, but didn't get to see in practice in Jordan. Therefore, I would recommend staying at Beyond Wadi Rum. You shouldn't expect to stay there for free, but at the very least, the host seems honest and respectful. Bottom line: Whether you choose a tour guide or a self-guided trip to Jordan, expect to pay more. Most Jordanians, especially the Bedouins in Wadi Rum and Petra make their income through tourism. They will do whatever it takes to make more money in order to provide for their families. If you don’t want to pay more, then do not get on any animals in Petra and do not purchase goods with credit or debit cards. Visa What we did: There is a lot of conflicting literature online about whether or not you can cross at the southern Israeli-Jordanian border, Wadi Araba. According to many travel blogs, a couple years ago, Jordan banned visa dispensing from the border and required that travelers obtain a visa from the Embassy beforehand. However, other people had different stories. My classmate whom me and Anna met up with in Petra, read online that you could get a visa at the border only if you were entering and exiting from the same border. Another classmate said that only tour guides could get visas at the border for their guests because they had a pre-arranged agreement. Further research additionally suggested that a visa was only obtainable at the border if you were staying longer than 3 nights. There were no conclusive findings on whether we could or could not get a visa at the border. So I called the US Embassy in Jordan. A woman answered who seemed to only speak Arabic. After trying to communicate for 15 minutes, I hung up. Troubling. Then I called the Jordanian Embassy in Israel. I got a very helpful man who spoke English. He assured me that we could get a visa at the border and that it would cost 60 JD. Anna and I flew from Tel Aviv to Eilat and then walked across the border, unsure of which story would be correct. As it turned out, none were. The visa agent had us fill out a form and then we were on our way. She said the visa was free since we stayed over 3 nights. However, we came back into Israel through the northern border, Sheikh Hussein crossing, and the Jordanian officials made us retroactively pay 40 JD for a visa. To us, this seemed like a made up fee. The rules were not posted on their website or on any signs at the border. However, again, Anna and I were in a vulnerable position. When I said I couldn't pay the fee, the visa agent said we would have to stay in Jordan then and I certainly did not want that. When the visa agent why we had been told different information at the southern border, he said they are different operations and don't work together. This is a strange but - knowing Jordan - plausible explanation. What you should do: It seems you can avoid paying a visa fee if you enter and exit from the Wadi Araba border crossing. If you only intend on going to Wadi Rum and Petra, this is the best plan. However, if you plan on going to Amman, it is a 5-6 hour drive back to the southern border. It is also possible that border agents at Wadi Araba would also make you retroactively pay a visa fee. It wouldn't surprise me. The golden rule of Jordan is always expect to pay more. My classmate who went on a separate trip at the same time got a Jordan pass, which seemed like a good deal. For 70 JD ($100), your visa fee is waived (if you stay in Jordan for at least 3 nights) and entry into sites, such as Petra, Wadi Rum, and Jerash are included (Go here for more information: https://www.jordanpass.jo/). Anna and I ended up spending 90 JD for what we could have gotten with the Jordan pass (40 JD visa + 50 JD entrance into Petra). Other considerations: Anna and I took a bus from Amman to Nazareth in Israel (https://abrahamtours.com/tours/transfer-nazareth-amman-jordan/). We met an Australian woman living in Jordan who wanted to go to Lebanon after visiting Israel. However, Lebanon will not let you into their country if they have any inkling that you were in Israel. For this reason, Israel does not stamp passports. However, Jordan does. It is pretty obvious that you went to Israel if you have a stamp from an Israel-Jordan border. Therefore, this woman asked the border agent if she could get her stamp on a piece of paper. He gave her a hard time, but, after she filled out a form, he did as she asked. Here are other fees you should expect to pay: Israel border exit fee - 100-105 shekels ($30) Jordan border exit fee - 10 JD ($15) Bottom line: Get the Jordan Pass, but as it seems there are no clear rules about visas, expect to pay more. Food What we did: One of my favorite things about Jordan was the food. We got most of our food from grocery stores, which are located in shopping malls in Jordan. Here is one in Aqaba: I bought four packs of these delicious dates that are not sold in Israel. They taste like caramel. Anna and I also went out to eat. Chicken shwarma cost only 2 JD (but be aware of the abundant mayonnaise). On Christmas day, we decided to splurge and go to a restaurant in the Fairmont hotel in Amman. One of the eateries, Nasim, had been recommended by a fellow tourist we met in Petra. She warned us that it was pricier. When I think of nice restaurant in an upscale hotel, I think $30 a plate. However, I was surprised to find that the most expensive meal, a lamb dish, was only 8 JD. Here, we had the best food and wine. My friend even smoked shisha. And the service was amazing. They served a bowl of assorted nuts with a delicious spicy seasoning. We told our server how much we loved them and he brought us back a to go container full of them, free of charge.
The most disappointing meals were the ones cooked by our hosts. We had been eating mostly carrots, fruit, and pita bread that me and Anna bought at the grocery store, so on our last morning in Petra, Anna asked our host for breakfast. He charged us 7 JD each for 1 egg and pita bread with sugary jam. It wasn't worth it to me. What you should do: Go out to eat and do grocery shopping. Going into Jordanian malls is a fun way to see how the locals live. And treat yourself to some fine dining since food is so inexpensive! The bottom line: You can't go wrong with food in Jordan. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Here are some additional links that helped me: Southern border: http://www.your-guide-to-aqaba-jordan.com/get_to_wadi_rum.html https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/article/israel-jordan-border-crossing/ https://wadirumjeeptours.com/transport-in-jordan/ Entrance fees: http://international.visitjordan.com/generalinformation/justthefacts/entrancefees.aspx https://www.hostelbookers.com/blog/destinations/petra Public transportation: http://www.jett.com.jo/SubPage.aspx?PageId=230 |
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