Middle East - help w/ travel Jordan-Israel

A friend and I are planning first time trip to middle east..We will be on a tour in Egypt, then flying into Amman 11/25, probably spend night there. I've read some conflicting info so hopefully can get squared away. I would like to go to Petra;previous advice many times was get there early. There is bus service, but is hard to locate?? How practical would it be for 2 ladies w/ luggage (more than we usually travel with!)..anyone have info on this bus etc?

Also we planned on staying at Marriott in Petra 2 nights, but read of problems getting taxi early in am. The CP would have been first choice, but its closed. Are there any more "budget" hotels close to the antiquities that anyone can recommend. Clean/safe a priority, other stuff not so important.

Next item: getting into Israel. Possible by public transportation? Several references to catching a tour bus..any thoughts on this?

We are vascillating as far as itinerary also: Jersalem/Bethlehem.. Dead Sea?? How easy will it be to get around. We are flying out of Tel Aviv on Monday, Dec 3: so need to arrive there either Fri during the day, or Sunday (I presume buses will not run Fri night/Saturday.).

Any/all help, suggestions, corrections of misconceptions are appreciated.

Would we be able to rent a car in Amman, and then take it into Israel without a problem? Perhaps drop it off in Tel Aviv. We are trying to keep costs down.
Thanks!! RD

I can't give information on Petra but I can on this.

You can NOT rent a car in Jordan and drive it into Israel. ( nor could you do the reverse) You need to get to the border, cross and then you can get a taxi on the Israeli side. If you arrive early enough in Eilat you should be able to rent a car to drive NOrth. In winter months car rental agencies close at around 1PM on a Friday and don't re-open until Sunday. ( except at the airport) With only 3 days, I think you should skip the Dead Sea--or go in Jordan and proceed to Jerusalem. The Old City is open on Saturday as is Bethlehem ( where you can NOT take your Israeli rental) Bethlehem is easily reached from Jerusalem by Arab bus which runs on Saturday.

Thank you for that info regarding car rental!!

Now, if anyone could advise how to get from Petra into Israel. Some of the posts here have mentioned hooking up with a tour..I presume a local tour company.

Now, if anyone could advise how to get from Petra into Israel.

Take a taxi or a bus from Petra to Aqaba, cross into Israel and then take a bus (http://www.egged.co.il/eng/) or plane (Arkia (http://www.arkia.com/), Israir (http://www.israirairlines.com/)) from Eilat to the center of the country.

I can't give information on Petra but I can on this.

You can NOT rent a car in Jordan and drive it into Israel. ( nor could you do the reverse) You need to get to the border, cross and then you can get a taxi on the Israeli side. If you arrive early enough in Eilat you should be able to rent a car to drive NOrth. In winter months car rental agencies close at around 1PM on a Friday and don't re-open until Sunday. ( except at the airport) With only 3 days, I think you should skip the Dead Sea--or go in Jordan and proceed to Jerusalem. The Old City is open on Saturday as is Bethlehem ( where you can NOT take your Israeli rental) Bethlehem is easily reached from Jerusalem by Arab bus which runs on Saturday.

Are you sure about this? I just a rental car with Jordanian plates, and we're quite far from the border.

I stayed at the Petra Moon hotel a few weeks ago. It's a 4 Star hotel, behind the Movenpick and within walking distance of the entrance. I would stay there again.
It has a nice roof top terrace and pool, which is nice to watch the sun go down and have dinner.
I would n't bother with the Petra by Candlelight, was very underwhelmed by it. Not good value for money.
Everything else was good, beware the greedy horse guides, they try it on with ridiculous requests for tips.

I agree with the above poster re: Petra by Candlelight with most of the time spent just waiting for the crowd to walk in and sit down. The entertainment was just a storyteller and musician, neither being too impressive. Save your energy for exploring early in the day and arriving at opening time.

Watch out for all the touts and bargain for everything. If you can stay near the entrance, it's worthwhile too.

thanks all...this is a work in progress...so any thoughts are much appreciated.

Haha... well Petra by candlelight - it was beautiful at night with lots of candles around Petra... However, we had somewhat bad luck and nightmare cos of heavy rain... At the time, there werent much raining (but few raining for a while), we were allowed to walk to the Petra. It was so dark, really a long walk and diffult to walk on the big fat peddles. I always fell over a lot and yelled OUCH! When we get there, it was so beautiful, but it was still raining again and again. Then it becomes worst!! Suddenly we heard the local people yelled "it's coming". We had no idea what "it" is. It turned out the huge flood coming down to our site. We were really scared and thought we were going to drown. Later we found out that it was a small flood. yeah water coming down from the top of the cliff - to become a waterfall and the footpath turned into a small river. Everyone were rushed back to the gate and we were all wet. Luckily, a driver picked us up back to the entrance.

Still working on this...I found out about "Jett" bus service from Amman to Petra..and had another recommendation for "Petra Moon" hotel.. still debating if we want to walk into the ruins on our own, or get a guide, since our time is limited.
We basically have one week from our arrival in Amman to when we need to fly out of Tel Aviv--and we are eliminating some sights, we need to fly out of Tel Aviv on Monday, Dec 3rd, which means we should be in Tel Aviv or close by on Sunday. I don't believe public buses will be running on Saturday to get us there??
We will be looking for a Marriott or Intercontinental property well situated so we can do some exploring, hopefully reasonably convenient to the airport.

Are you sure about this? I just a rental car with Jordanian plates, and we're quite far from the border.


Yes! There is a way to take a private car into Jordan. I do not know all the details but it involves changing to Jordanian plates and getting JOrdanian insurance. I believe the same is true in the reverse. Israeli rentals are not allowed to leave Israel. Jordanian rentals the same. If you don't want to believe me, go to Trip Advisor and ask on the Jordanian forum. :)

Another option for going to Israel from Jordan would be to add a night at the Dead Sea Jordan. From there, you can take a short taxi ride to the King Hussein bridge and cross over into Israel, and then catch a taxi on the other side to Jerusalem/Bethlehem. That is actually what we are doing, but two weeks ahead of you. We are flying into Amman, staying at Amman Marriott the first night. Renting car and driving to the Petra Marriott, and then the third night we stay at the Dead Sea Marriott. From there we will take a taxi to the border, and then hop on over to Bethlehem where we will spend two nights at the Intercontinental Bethlehem, before heading back to Jordan to catch a late night flight to Dubai.

Every so often I jump into a conversation to clarify and/or emphasize a point.
There are no circumstances at all whereby you can enter or leave Israel in a rental car.

I'm speaking as someone who has recent experience working the Allenby Bridge (on the Israeli side)

Petra Moon is booked for 2 nights, arranging for guide to Petra antiquities..also have information about a local that gives Jordanian cooking class in house, then you get to consume your creations. Another suggestion was to have some sort of libation at the "cave bar". We do not have a car rented...and still planning on taking "jett" bus to Petra from Amman..my understanding is taxis are pretty pricey.. any other way to get to dead sea or King Hussein bridge other than taxi?? Does anyone have experience with Jett bus service in Jordan??