Notes on visiting Petra, Jordan:
A good, basic information source: www.wikitravel.org/en/petra
Fly into Amman, Jordan. My direct flight was from JFK on
Royal Jordanian. That airline codeshares with AA and uses their gates - so mine
was an easy transfer within the same terminal. Paid ticket was 800 USD one way
from Phoenix.
Currency is Jordanian dollar. Locals will say 'geedee' (JD)
when bargaining.
ATM at the airport will dispense JDs. I used my Navy Federal
ATM card (Plus Network) no problem.
Cab ride about 20 JD to central Amman. Speaking of cabs,
agree on a price before riding anywhere. Type it on your phone to be sure of the number. 2-5 JD for many rides in town.
I used Airbnb for a week stay in Amman. $55 USD per night
for a decent house. Plenty of brand name upscale hotels around Jordan. Didn't
price them.
Did the usual tourist stuff in Amman on either side of the
Petra visit. All very worthwhile. Use www.wikitravel.org/en/Amman for more
info.
Petra Info:
I rode the Jett Bus to Petra and back. www.jett.com.jo 20 JDs round trip. Very reasonable. Average
comfortable big box tour bus. Left their company terminal in Amman at 0630. 3
hours to Petra with a 30 minute stop at a fine little restaurant/souvenir place
on the way.
After arrival, had a quick lunch, hotel check-in and entered
the Petra Site around 11 am. Walked the Siq, saw the Treasury, a few other
fascinating structures then a strenuous walk to the Monastery. Enjoyed the
views and walked back to the entrance. This took about 5 hours total.
I walked at a moderate pace with no real resting except to
enjoy the sites and views from above the Monastery. If I had gone a little
faster, I could have skipped a hotel that night and caught the 4 pm Jett Bus
back to Amman. That would have been a long, exhausting day!
But I planned to stay the night in Petra and did that. 2
star hotel was adequate. Had to ask for a space heater, but they politely
obliged. If I had wanted a shower in my private bath (which I didn't because
the room was so cold!) I would have had to ask for soap and towels. No problem
and never surprising in places like this.
With the bus travel and mostly 2-3 star accommodations Petra
on your own is classic 'rough travel.' Not unclean or uncomfortable or unsafe -
though your wife's standards may vary from my own. Most everything is not like
a Crowne Plaza. Which there happens to be at the entrance gate to Petra. I
never saw the rates.
Dinner was at a local friendly kebab joint and I was in bed
with exhausted legs and plenty of blankets by 7 pm.
Next day up a 6. Breakfast at the hotel, then back at the
site by 7. I spent 6 hours visiting more ruins and the museum. Lunch, relax
time at a local coffee shop with free wifi, then I caught the Jett bus back to
Amman.
I had never heard of the Nabataeans in school. Fascinating
people. We are lucky some of what they built has survived along with the Roman,
Byzantine and Islamic ruins. The bonus is that it exists in amazing sandstone
rock formations similar to our own Zion National Park.
This is a must see site if you love places like Machu
Picchu, the Coliseum and the Parthenon. Spouses (or kids) who can only handle a
limited amount of walking and who quickly lose patience with 'the old' and big
crowds should consider this trip carefully.
Buy a Jordan Pass before leaving the US. It is a bargain if
you see Petra for 2 days.
Dealing with the locals selling items, horse rides and camel
rides is an issue. Plenty of info on websites like tripadvisor so you don't
need my opinion.
Guide or no guide? You will be offered guide services at
every tourist sight. Be ready to answer. I find guides to be hit or miss.
Mostly miss. But keep in mind, on a do-it-yourself scale, I'm a 9.5
For every place in Jordan, I found a good free map of the
area. I had downloaded The Rough Guide Jordan to my IPad before the trip and
read through the basic info as well as info on the specific sites I chose to
visit. I also use the wikitravel/en website.
Once at the entrance to Petra, I bought a small guidebook.
My rule of thumb is - it has to fit comfortably in my back pocket. That's
usually enough to read for the day.
You can walk around Petra and each major site has a standing
metal tourist info board in languages including English. Good basic info. I
thumbed through my guidebook. I sometimes drifted into tour groups to listen
in. Nobody seemed to notice or mind. I really enjoy the freedom of breaking
away from the herd at any point I wanted.
Believe me - in a place like Petra, you can't seem to enjoy
enough the quieter times when no one else is around. Getting there early
morning on the second day was something special.
That said, a good, clear English speaking and entertaining
guide can be golden.
Closing thoughts on Jordan:
Use Google Translate for three basic phrases. It is a very
cool tool with pronunciation through headphones/speaker. Look up 'Hello' 'Thank
you' and 'Goodbye' and write them down phonetically. Example: SHOO-krahn is
thank you. Tape these to the back of your phone. Now you speak some Arabic.
Safe? Yes. The big hotels in Amman have security like an
embassy. The embassies have security like a supermax. Police are everywhere in
the tourist areas. Extremists are a relatively small issue - nothing like Iraq,
Syria, etc. They are dealt with harshly in this kingdom - our Gitmo would
probably be a Crowne Plaza in comparison to what Jordan's police have to offer.
The people and leadership are very friendly toward the west
- check out any interview with His Majesty King Abdulah II.
Early December weather was perfect- clear, cool, 65 degrees
(YMMV).
This is the off
tourist season. Plus world events are dampening travel. I hardly ever
waited in a line.
