Efrem

My wife and I will take a college alumni tour of Jordan next March. We plan to leave Amman after breakfast on the 16th, go to Aqaba, cross to Eilat, rent a car and spend about a week in Israel.

Question: How do Jordan experts recommend getting from Amman to Aqaba? We're U.S. citizens, speak no Arabic, older but with no physical limitations, and not afraid to try new things or get off the beaten tourist path. Costs is a consideration but not necessarily an overriding one if a much-better option costs a bit more than another one. We wouldn't want to stop to see anything en route, since we will have seen those places during the previous ten days.

Some of our questions:

- It takes about four hours to drive from Amman to Aqaba. Does that also apply to public transportation, or do busses make a lot of stops en route?

- Will there be enough time to complete the border crossing if we get to Aqaba in mid-afternoon?

- RJ has two flights a day, which are inexpensive to start with and for which we could use AA miles, but one is at 7 am and the other doesn't arrive until 6:30 in the evening. Does that pretty much rule out flying?

- Other thoughts? Any and all are welcome!

Rami Tamimi

Hi Efrem and welcome to Jordan!

Lack of Arabic should not pose any problems....I mean not all of us can write essays in english,but there should be no problems with understanding.

Driving takes around 3:30 if you are not speeding too much,buses -4:00-4:15. The disadvantage of the bus is that you may get unlucky and spend a long time at Customs check point (Aqaba is a Special Economic Zone,hence the customs check point).

This is the website for the bus operator:http://jett.com.jo . If you do end up taking the bus,then I would highly recomend the VIP bus option from 7th circle. The added comfort is well worth the premium. The website has all the prices and the timetable.

Not sure why you want to rule out flying? You can take the morning (RJ 300) flight and still be well in time for breakfast in Aqaba and then cross to Eilat? I wrote extensively about AMM>AQJ flights here,so you may want to check it out

RJ domestic flights guide (including connections/AQJ airport transportation)

mbgg

Another important question: what is your itinerary in Israel? If may be more convenient to cross at Sheikh Hussein (Bet Shean) or the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge.

Efrem

Not an unreasonable question, since I didn't say anything about that, but our itinerary in Israel is all in the south: a day to relax in Eilat, rent a car, north to the Dead Sea area, stop at Masada and perhaps Ein Gedi, then Beer Sheva and Jerusalem (drop off the car) for family and friends before heading to TLV to return to the States. The northern crossing is quite out of the way. The Allenby Bridge doesn't work well either: rearranging the itinerary to start in Jerusalem after crossing there isn't practical because of our Jerusalem-based friend's schedule.

Thanks for reading the thread, though!

Efrem

Thanks for all this useful information!

I checked the tour itinerary in more detail than I had read it before the first post. Our last night will be at the Jordan Valley Marriott near the Dead Sea, about 30km southwest of Amman. The tour operator offers transportation to the airport after breakfast, too late for the early morning flight to AQJ. How does this change things? I checked the bus site you recommended; they seem to have service to Amman from there and then onward to Aqaba, presumably on a different bus. I should probably also check with the tour operator to see what they recommend.

Rami Tamimi

Well yeah,it does change things quite signifficantly.

1)You can get a taxi from Marriot Dead Sea to the airport. Should be in the region of 30-40JD considering the hotel "mark up".

2)This one depends on which day of the week is your travel.There are convinient flights on some days:

Monday RJ304 15:45
Tuesday RJ304 13:15
Thursday RJ302 17:30
FRI/SAT RJ304 16:30

These should get you in after breakfast,but still in time for being able to cross the border. The turn to the border is on the way from the airport to Aqaba,so you can avoid Aqaba proper alltogether. It's a 10 minutes drvie from the airport to Aqaba city center,the border is more or less in the middle,so should be around 5 minutes drive and not more then 10JD taxi fare.

Otherwise you can get a free shuttle to one of the hotels in Aqaba,chill in Aqaba for a few hours and then get a taxi to the border.

3) You did mention driving in the OP,so possibly you may consider driving to Aqaba. Dead Sea hotels are right on the Aqaba highway and it should take 2-2:30 to Aqaba.

Efrem

Thanks again!

This would be on Thursday, March 16, so RJ302 leaves at 1730. That puts its arrival at about 1825. Is that enough time to start the border crossing process on the same day? Nothing wrong with another day in Amman, but we'd rather move on.

If we can rent a car at the hotel and return it in Aqaba, that might be the way to go. We could leave after breakfast, get there around noon, and complete the crossing by mid-afternoon.

My next steps:

1. Talk to the tour organizers. They're closed today, since it's Sunday in the U.S.

2. Check car rentals from the Jordan Valley Marriott to Aqaba. Do you have any suggestions for agencies we should look at? Would taking the tour's bus to AMM and renting a car there make sense, even though we'd be going out of our way?

Rami Tamimi

The working hours are 06:30>20:00,so you have 95 minutes (slightly more in reality,since the actual flight time is 35-40 minutes),which means you have plenty of time,as long as you go directly to the border from the airport.

Going back to Amman purely to rent a car there is a waste in my opinion. Let me check what's the precise situation with car rentals in Dead Sea and come back to you!

mbgg

If you prefer to tour the Galilee (which will be very green in March) before going to Jerusalem then you should cross at Sheikh Hussein (it is much closer to Amman than Aqaba - only about 100 km). You can take a bus from Bet Shean to Tiberias where you can rent a car (and if you arrive early enough you will have enough time to visit the Bet Shean National Park). The bus to Tiberias takes less than an hour.

Efrem

Thanks for the thought. I don't want to derail this thread into a discussion of our Israel plans and the reasons for them, but that isn't a viable option. Sorry.

mbgg

ok, I just wanted to make sure that you are aware of all of the options. You will enjoy your trip either way.

Efrem

Update: The tour arranger, after contacting the hotel, says a private car is the way to go, given the awkwardness of all the other options. It's costlier, but in the context of the overall trip, if we can afford three weeks in the Middle East adding this won't break the budget. Unless someone has a reason not to do that, it looks like we'll go that way.

Rami Tamimi

When you say "private car",do you mean car rental (self drive),or with a drvier?

Efrem

With a driver.

mbgg

I suggest that you go on the Tripadvisor Jordan forum and ask the experts there what the cost should be and if anyone can recommend a licensed driver.