polonius

Sorry, I disagree with GK, no need to fly -- taxi from Jerusalem to KH bridge is less than an hour, and most of the hassle is getting INTO Israel, not of it -- shouldn't take more than 60 - 90 minutes to get across, and then 3 hours max to Petra. Flying you're going to have to deal with arriving 3 hours before departure, etc., etc. By that time you could have gotten to the KH bridge and crossed over.

You could also head south to Eilat, cross to Aqaba and then 1 hour north to Petra, but I think that would take longer.

polonius

Forget about the Aqaba-Nuweiba ferry. It's filthy, disorganised and it runs hours late. Unless you are taking a car, it's much better to take the hydrofoil from Taba to Aqaba, which takes you right to the Royal Yacht Club in the centre of town. The only drawback is that the uptight, bureaucracy mad Egyptians are now requiring a passenger manifest 24 hours in advance, which means you have to book at least one day in advance. Contact Sindbad Yacht Cruises -- +962 3 2050077, www.sindbadjo.com

ojala

I would recommend that people booking with Zaman Tours be pretty specific what you want. The practical part (schedules etc) worked like a charm but I don't know if we were just given a driver or if it was supposed to be a guide. We booked the accomodation ourselves.

From Amman airport to Dead Sea the transfer was quite fine. The next morning we left Dead Sea quite early to Wadi Rum, where we had a local guide -- fine, but the official government rated 3-hour tour is something one could do in 15 minutes so we ended up paying the guide extra. (And seriously, Wadi Rum is not the most exciting desert in the world..)

The guide at Petra was quite ok, basic but acceptable. We did the visit to Monestarium by ourselves. We also met Ali at the Petra and he was quite a nice guy.

The drive from Petra back to Amman airport through the King's highway was a bit disappointment. The driver did speak some english but obviously he wasn't even sure about the sights, asked for directions a few times and we learnt very little, if anything, about the sites we visit. My girlfriend had to google at the airport for the information where we had just been.

I guess it could go much worse in Jordan. I don't know if the problem was that we had booked basicly a driver instead of a driver/guide for the transfers, or just bad luck. All the drivers and guides were nice persons, though.

We should have spent an extra day at the Dead Sea, the Marriott was quite ok and Dead Sea was the best part of Jordan. Petra is amazing but the experience is spoiled by the amount of tourism at the site, a lot of souvenirs, camel/donkey rides and other everywhere. No one seem to have much respect for the place itself. I don't remember the last time I've seen a country with so much trash everywhere.

macabus

Yup.

ojala

On our trip my gf was complaining that we could have just rent a car instead of the driver (she wasn't too happy to not hear much about the sites we visit). As I'm better with the map, she's always the driver when we are abroad. I couldn't see anything special about driving in Jordan, just like any other place.

Cairo is different, though.. it's not driving there, it's going with the flow.

macabus

Ho Chi Minh City is probably the worst place to drive a car IMHO. I would never even attempt it.

WilcoRoger

Probably repeating previous posts - fly to AMM, take a cab to Petra. 2 yrs ago it was 80JOD r/t, but it leaves you just one day for exploring. If you want more time, take o/w. On your way back spare a day for Jerash, excellent Roman site, can be covered in 2-3-4 hours (+1+1 hrs for the cab)

In Jordan cabs are cheap, I don't see any reason NOT to use them.

ralfp

I was there almost a decade ago with the parents and sibling. We got two cars (cheaper than one big one); the driving was great. Good roads (or not so bad as to be memorable) and little traffic outside of Amman. Certainly less scary than the roads in Israel, if only because of the lack of traffic (outside of Amman).

The road along the Israeli border in the north near Umm Qais was interesting. Checkpoints were extremely frequent. The Jordanian soldiers (usually two of them at each gate) would give us a funny look and wave us past.

RCyyz

Bump.

Heading to Jordan in February 2009. Any recent recommendations for hotels in / near Petra? (I've got a few days in Amman booked already.)

Thanks!

triphop02120

We stayed at the Petra Marriott. It was a fabulous room and we were not disappointed at all with the property overall. Some rooms have a view of the Petra Valley. We were pleasantly surprised on the cleanliness and quality of the room. The restaurant and amenities were also good. The staff was awesome. My father was ill and they sent a driver out to pick up medication... and that was a little extra touch that they did not need to do for us. The only down side to it was that you need to take a cab back & forth into town (assuming you won't have a rental car). It's on the outskirts of the town and nothing is really within walking distance.

It would seem that the Moevenpick would have been a better choice because it is in the heart of the town and you can walk to Petra (the site) from there and would eliminate the need for a cab. I compared the rooms to the Marriott and I think they are very similar hotels.

As a side note, the cab drivers overcharged my parents when they took the cab from Petra back to the Marriott. They charged them double because there were two people but our Jordanian tour guide told us that they ripped us off... so find out your rate or negotiate your rate for your entire party before taking taxis.

Petra was awesome. One of the most amazing places I've ever been. If you're in Amman, make a stop at Jerash. If you have time after Petra, take a day trip to Aqaba. Have fun.

J-FLyer

Likely heading there in Dec. Any tips on dining in Petra? Seems like the Movenpick is the most convenient/comfortable hotel for sightseeing.

YVR Cockroach

Moevenpick isn't in the heart of town but conveniently close to the site entrance (a good thing as it's a long walk in and out) ~ less than a slow 3 minute walk. The centre of the town of Wadi Musa is a ways up the hill.

By dining in Petra, I take it you mean in Wadi Musa? As for dining in Wadi Musa, there are a couple of restaurants in the same block as the Moevenpick (which has its own buffet). I prefer the small little cave-like one a few doors down.
The site has a few dining options. A buffet and a sit-down past the Roman city, a very informal cafe by the treasury and another bit-more formal place about 1/2 km down from the Treasury.

And if anyone is contemplating it, don't think of taking the alternative route (instead of the Siq) into Petra unless you are very agile and prepared to get very wet.

triphop02120

Although there were quite a few eateries in the town, we only ate at the Marriott dining room... which wasn't bad. I think if you stay at the Moevenpick and venture around the neighborhood, you'll find something interesting and probably cheaper than the hotel. There were a couple eateries within the Petra site so you won't have to trek in food unless you want to pack your own.

RustingInSeattle

I recently got back to a Jordan trip which included Petra and wanted to share my car rental experience.

I had booked an Avis one-way rental from Amman to the Wadi Araba border (the crossing between Aqaba Jordan & Eilat Israel). There was a $27 airport rental fee but after a few days, the cost for a one-way rental including insurance and theft coverage was below USD50 / day, which seemed a reasonable deal. I spent 25 JD on fuel, travelled over 700 km, and still had more fuel in the car than when I picked it up.

As a plus, my days driving and being an independent traveller was fine. Except for a confusing detour south of Al Tafila on the King's highway, all the attractions such as Mt. Nebo, Dead Sea, Desert castles, Karak Castle, Petra, the border, etc. were well-marked in English. The roads were quite good and despite what people say, I didn't think the driver's were bad or crazy. The desert highway is definitely the quickest way to Petra or Aqaba.

The downside to my rental car experience is that although I had booked it as a one-way rental from Amman Airport to Wadi Araba (border between Aqaba & Eilat Israel), there is no Wadi Araba Avis station! In fact, there is no Avis lot even at the Aqaba airport. I had to return it downtown after trying the other two places first.

If you are considering using Israel solely to be a staging point to get to Petra, I would advise against it. I did NOT have fun at Eilat airport even with a US passport. It made my 1+ hour interrogation at TLV look tame.

My suggestion for more independant types would be a roundtrip to Amman and renting a car for visiting Petra or getting one-way taxis.

Have fun!!!