Does anyone here have experience with Jordan? Thinking of going with my gf in November/December. We'd stay in Amman, how feasible is that for the whole time if we want to visit Petra/Jerash/Dead Sea?
Any security concerns? A normie told me she needed an armed escort at Petra which I don't believe.
i wonder how much they had pay the touts to frick off in order to take this photo
they shapeshifted
is it really that difficult to get the pic without people? Also when you have a lot of patience? I'm going there this September and I plan to spend like 3 days in Petra
>A normie told me she needed an armed escort at Petra which I don't believe.
She definitely didn't need it unless she was a fricking Kim Kardashian
Just go there at 6 am, touts only arrive when the tourist hordes arrive.
Not feasible for Petra unless your interest is just to see the entrance and say "ok I've been here". You honestly need 3 full days, but can make do with 2. Expect to hike all day every day.
Dead Sea, Jerash, Madaba etc are all fine from Amman by bus. There's a JETT bus going to dead sea, for the others local minibus is easy and cheap. Amman itself is nice, recommend you to eat worker-food at local places, food there is better than upscale restaurants. Take uber if you need a cab.
Thanks. Any thoughts on the best way to get to Petra or Wadi Rum from Amman? I know it's like 3 hours so I'm wondering if a private taxi is worth it.
Any thoughts on Amman itself from anons here?
There's a JETT bus going amman Petra in the morning from Abdali, and it makes one stop on 7th circle too. Costs 15 JOD if I'm not mistaken. JETT website is split in two, on regular and one "touristic", same exact bus routes but the tourist version charges twice the price.
Taxis is expensive, but if you are shitting money you could consider getting a one day tour to visit Madaba, or Dead Sea or Umm-Rasas or wadi Mujib and Al-Karak and Shobak on the way from Amman. Personally I'd just take the bus.
Hashem has good falafel and hummus, shaharezad is a grill place in downtown, you get three large and tasty meat skewers for about 4 JOD, but the workers don't speak English at all. You can eat a full dinner there for cost of appetizer elsewhere.
when walking in downtown you'll see lots of people standing in the street outside habibah sweets eating from white paper plates, go buy some knafeh and join them (best to go outside of the worst evening rush).
there's several cheap places to eat, I regret not trying more since I felt every more expensive place was disappointing when comparing price and quality. You'll get more out of a 0.5 JOD falafel sandwich than a 10 JOD lunch imo, but it depends on your budget too. Lots of nice shawarma places all over also.
No need for a private taxi, the JETT bus is comfy and won't be much slower. They make one quick toilet/snack stop for like 10 minutes. I went before the website was up and running and was able to buy tickets at the Abdali office, although forgot to buy a return ticket. I was able to pay the driver for the last remaining seat but that was lucky.
Amman is boring for a city of its size. The citadel and roman theatre is pretty cool but there really isn't much going on. The people are friendly enough, it's safe and the level of English spoken is quite good but it's just a bit dull. Spend your time elsewhere in the country.
Do you have any suggestions when it comes to these worker food places?
Ove been to jordan and syria 7 months before syrian civil war erupted, dont know about security in jordan atm but Ive done all petra tracks and monuments in one day, from 6am till 17, was kinda tiresome but worth it, it can be done but its exhausting af because you need to climb and make like >20km total if you want to see everything and dont take a horse for the entrance path, especialy during summer. Bring like 2l of water minimum for each person.
I paid for a tour which has taken me there around 5:30 am, it was majestic to see it alone.
Funny, the open at 6
Oh and have a full day in Wadi Rum after Petra, you can see camels in their natural environment
Is knowledge of basic Arabic a necessity to get by in Jordan or can you get by with French?
I went to Jordan last November.
Jerash and the Dead Sea are not a problem, both are easily reachable from Amman but I don't think you should stay in the capital if you want to visit Petra. The trip takes a few hours and you should spend 2 days visiting the place, it's not feasible to go to Petra two days in a row by bus (even just one day, unless your idea of fun is spending 3 hours on a bus, climbing steps for the rest of the day and then spending another 3 hours on a bus).
But the most important point is, are you planning on going to Wadi Rum? That place is one of the most beautiful on earth and not expensive.
If I were you I would consider renting a car, the roads are alright you will be able to visit a lot more.
>Any security concerns? A normie told me she needed an armed escort at Petra which I don't believe.
That person is a moron but from my experience the jordanians are always trying to scam you or make you pay 5x as much which is pretty annoying but not dangerous
Lived in Jordan for four months in 2014, AMA. You can use Amman as your base for everything except Petra and the desinations in the south. In Petra you really should do 2 or 3 days, you don't need a tour, much less an armed one. The bedouins there are annoying, but harmless. They will try to pester your girl to spend the night there though, just politely decline. The nearby town of Wadi Musa has countless cheap hotels. 99% of the city are never seen by normies, they only see the Monastery and the Treasury. Make sure to walk the long way around (I think it was marked as the white trail on maps, but it's been a few years since I was there). The views are spectacular. From there you should find a bedouin tour company (NOT in Petra) and do a tour of Wadi Rum and spend the night in a bedouin camp. Peak soul. Aqaba is a shithole, but the snorkeling is nice, and you can see four countries when you're out in the bay.
From Amman all the other destinations can be done as day trips. Jerash is wondeful, it's huge so plan to spend a day there. In Ajloun there's a nice crusader castle. Irbid is a hellhole with nothing interesting to see. Umm Qays in the very north has some curious Roman ruins made from black stone, and you can look out over the Golan Heights and the Galilee from there, getting there by public transport is a hassle though. Madaba has a church with an old floor mosaic if that's your thing, from nearby Mt. Nebo you can see much of the West Bank and Jerusalem on a clear day. Salt was once the capital while Amman was just a village, not much to see but it's a nice town. Karak and Shobak has crusader castles and Pella has some Roman ruins, I never went there, but I heard from other people it was decent. The desert castles in the east are nothing much, but the trip itself far into the desert, close to the Iraqi border, is definitely something to write home about.
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I had already been to the Dead Sea, so I didn't go, but everyone I knew who went recommended also going hiking in the Dana nature reserve. Amman itself has nothing much to see except the citadel and the Roman theatre. Walk around in the souq for an authenthic Middle Eastern experience. Nightlife is decent for the Middle East, but nothing like in the West. Public transport is mostly done with minibuses that leave when full, they can drop you off anywhere you want along the route. They depart from either the Northern or Southern bus terminal. Taxis are hailed like taxies anywhere, most use a meter, agree beforehand if they will turn on the meter or negotiate the fare. If you don't, they'll rip you off. If you want to cross into Israel, it can be done at three border crossings, one from Aqaba into Eilat, one into the West Bank and one into the Galilee at Beit She'an. At the one into the West Bank they don't stamp your passport (or didn't, this was in 2014), at the other two they do, which will bar you from entering many other Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon. The West Bank crossing is also the busiest and most chaotic. Also Jordan is surprisingly cold in November/December, so pack warm clothes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I was there this Spring, mostly for climbing in Wadi Rum for nearly two weeks, but we also did Petra, took us three days to visit it and explore the vales behind it, but we are quite the completionists. We also did a quick trip to Aqaba halfway through to get some rest from struggling atop those goddamn summits.
>how feasible is that for the whole time if we want to visit Petra/Jerash/Dead Se
The trip from Amman airport to Petra was more than four hours if I remember properly, and the driver sure wasn't slow. Can't tell for the rest.
>Any security concerns? A normie told me she needed an armed escort at Petra which I don't believe.
Petra is a tousistic hub and the Jordan authorities are here in force. Amazing place, but the way, at least on par with everything I visited in Egypt. But I'm not sure a female might feel safe alone. The local men might attempt to take advantage of a lone woman. Remember also Jordan practices a very rigorous form of Islam as a state religion. I haven't seen an uncovered woman the whole trip.