How much is a trip to Jordan?
Jordan is a wonderful country to travel. It offers rich Middle Eastern Culture, a friendly welcoming environment and last not least one of the “New Seven wonders of the World”, the ancient city of Petra. But how much is a trip to Jordan really?
To help you consider whether Jordan is the right destination for you in a financial sense and to help you plan, I have added all my costs of my Jordan trip. I travelled in January 2020 which is considered low season for tourism in general. Quite few travellers on my plane were Jordanian expats on family visits or divers as well as a few people catching some Red Sea winter sun.
Table of Contents
How much is a trip to Jordan? Overall cost for 7 days in Jordan
Here are a few basic parameters: I travelled solo in low season (January), stayed in lovely family-run small hotels and guesthouses and used public transport where available. I ate great food in local restaurants and did not consume alcohol. Not including flights to Jordan and shopping, I spent 679 Euro in 7 days in Jordan.
My itinerary
Saturday: Fly to Aqaba, bus to Amman, 1 night in hostel dorm in Amman. Turned out differently. Medical emergency, landed in Antalya, arrived in Aqaba at midnight. Night bus to Amman, arrived in hostel in the morning
Sunday: Amman. Family guesthouse/ small hotel in Madaba
Monday: Day trip to Desert Castles by private car, dropped off in Madaba. Family guesthouse/ small hotel in Madaba
Tuesday: all-day sightseeing in Madaba. It rained, therefore I skipped the easy bus trip to Mt Nebo. Family guesthouse/small hotel in Madaba
Wednesday: Private car to Petra and Sightseeing in Petra. Private room in hostel in Petra
Thursday: Local bus to Aqaba. Small hotel in Aqaba
Friday: Day trip to Wadi Rum by JETT bus, private half day jeep tour shared with 2 others, night shopping in Aqaba
Saturday: Bazaar shopping in Aqaba, return flight to Europe
How much is a trip to Jordan – Flight costs
I found a real bargain here, which prompted me to travel to Jordan. I paid 44 Euro for a return flight from Berlin to Aqaba. This was booked approximately two months before travel. I prefer Aqaba to Amman as a destination airport, as I can find low-cost direct flights from near where I live, there are currently no visa fees for some travellers, it has almost year-round sun and is within easy reach of Petra and Wadi Rum.
How much is a trip to Jordan – Transport Costs (other than flights)
While public transport in Jordan is generally good, reliable and affordable, there were some places I wanted to visit that were inaccessible by public transport. This explains my relatively high transport costs of 273 Euro, but given the distance travelled, about 1000km, it isn’t really that much.
I took a private car and driver one day to visit the Desert Castles to the east of Amman, which cost 60JOD. A few days later, due to snow on the Kings Highway, there were no shared minibuses from Madaba to Petra. I could have chanced a cheaper trip by travelling back to Amman first, then getting on a public bus to Petra. It would have cost time and nerves, as it wasn’t certain whether buses would run beyond the desert highway turn-off to Petra. So I hired another private car for 70JOD to take me to Petra via the Jordan Valley highway by the Dead Sea. Normally I would look to car pool, but every one I met in Madaba was either in a tour group or heading elsewhere.
Accommodation costs for 7 nights
I stayed mostly in small family-run hotels except for one night where I had booked a hostel dorm. I really liked all of my accommodations and I am finding it hard to pick a favourite.
In Amman, I stayed at the Mulberry Hostel and the Gallery Guesthouse. I only went to the Mulberry Hostel to crash for a few hours after my night bus trip, so I cannot say much about the hostel. My room was clean, the bed a bit soft, bathrooms clean – and its close to 7th Circle which is extremely handy for the JETT bus and a nice mall across the road, but a very long taxi ride if you want to do some sightseeing downtown.
The Gallery Guesthouse is downtown or rather a very short and steep walk up. It is small, has just a handful of rooms, which, even in winter are well-heated and have warm water – something that cannot be said for every budget hotel in Jordan.
In Madaba, I stayed at the Tell Madaba Hotel. This place is wonderful! It is basically a generously sized family home which has been extended to accommodate guests. I felt more like in a lovely home stay than an actual hotel. Guests even have theirown kitchen, which is great if you have dietary restrictions. My only gripe is that the beds were a little soft, but that’s high-level yammering.
In Petra, I stayed in a double room at the Nomads Hotel and Hostel. For a place as touristy as Petra, this was a good choice in terms of quality of accommodation. For just under 30 Euro, I got a great well-lit private double room with a few, comfortable everything, and friendly service and advice. They even reserved my onward bus journey and the bus picked me up at the hotel. The only let-down is the poor breakfast. Oh, and like most accommodation in Wadi Musa/Petra, it is on a very steep hill.
In Aqaba, I stayed at the Amir Palace Hotel. This is a small hotel close to the bazaar, the bus station and the lovely restaurants off An-Nadah Street. Super friendly, good-size comfortable rooms, super comfortable bed and excellent all-over cleanliness. Most rooms also have balconies lare enough to sit on. They don’t offer breakfast, but there are small cafes and patisseries as well as more tourist-oriented restaurants close by. It’s a 10-minute walk to the public beach.
I spent 218 Euro on accommodation in total, or 31 Euro per night.
How much is a trip to Jordan – Food and Drink
I was teetotal for the duration of my stay, hence really cheap overheads for drinks!
Also… I received some invitations for lunch and dinner, ate a lot of street food and only went to proper restaurants twice. Food in Jordan is very cheap if you steer away from any tourist cafes and restaurants. This is certainly possible in Aqaba, Amman and Madaba, but not so much in Petra. I had excellent falafel sandwiches for 0,60 Euro and great fresh juice cocktails for about 3 Euro. My most expensive meal, which was an all-night feast at a Petra restaurant, was 17 Euro,and I had to work really hard on that, starters, juices, salad plate and dessert. I had very tasty and very filling full meal in a cafeteria near my hotel for less than 3 Euro, with generous helpings of middle eastern staples. I generously used the coffee stalls and juice stalls, too.
Altogether, I spent a grand total of 91 Euro on food and drink, which is roughly 13 Euro per day.
How much is a trip to Jordan – entry fees
The 85 Euro two-day pass to Petra is the major spend in my total entry fees of 98 Euro. I actually visited a lot of other places but entry fees were very low. You can do the maths on whether a Jordan Pass will make financial sense to you.
Shopping
A nice bar of soap here, a few kilograms of nuts there… it didn’t feel like a lot, but I managed to spend 150 Euro on shopping! The largest amount went on soaps and essential oils at Trinitae Soap house in Amman. I’m not concerned! I love everything I bought, and I’d say 99% of my purchases are really useful! Of course you can buy amazing stuff for much less! Supermarkets all over the country sell wonderful spices and all-natural soaps for next to nothing. Specialised spice, herb and perfume shops sell incense and heady scents. I brought home two kilograms of the best roasted nuts I’ve ever eaten. Read about this and other great souvenirs from Jordan in my Shopping in Jordan post!
How much is a trip to Jordan – more money-saving tips
I presume that wishing to see Petra is a reason that brings many visitors to Jordan. Petra and accommodation and food in Petra are more expensive than elsewhere int he country. By all means, take the time to see Petra! I spent one day there but I recommend two days, or three days if you want to walk all of the major trails. Other than Petra, Wadi Musa has little to offer the casual traveller, and it’s better to move on.
If you wish to see Wadi Rum, I recommend to arrange some accommodation and a tour in advance. By finding other travellers, it will become cheaper, as many day desert tours are per car not per person.
If you wish to visit the Dead Sea, I recommend you do the daily JETT tour from Amman. Accommodation by the Dead Sea is usually more expensive than elsewhere in the country. All beaches by the Dead Sea Resorts will charge high entry fees including public beaches but will have showers. If you have a car, you can drive south of the resorts and swim in some places, but beware of beach access restrictions and sink holes. For photos only, the coast about 20km south of the resort zone is the most beautiful.
Aqaba makes a great base for day trips to Petra and Wadi Rum. Most major chains will have a hotel or resort there, some of which may be well outside the centre and public transport. By staying in a more “local” hotel near the Princess Salma Park or in the “second row” behind the JETT Office you will find a warm welcome, generally clean rooms and good dining options.
Recommended Reading
I used the current edition of the Rough Guide to Jordan for my trip. It may be a little out of date on hotels and transport, but the restaurant information and detailed information on sights is what I mostly use the Rough Guide for – and it’s excellent for that!
I always like to take a bit of the local cuisine home with me. On this trip, I bought a years supply of sumac and different types of za’atar. Pomegranate molasses would have made it too, had it not been for the hand luggage liquid restriction. I like the Middle Eastern Cookbooks by Yotam Ottolenghi – my current favourite is “Plenty” a vegetable-heavy book of delicious Middle East-inspired recipes. I now have also “Jerusalem” which concentrates on the interwoven culinary traditions of the people of Jerusalem. It is better on Middle Eastern staples, but much more meat-heavy.
The small print
I organised and paid this trip out of my personal funds. I have received no monetary or non-monetary rewards for reviewing any places or services mentioned in this post. This post contains some affiliate links to Booking.com, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. More details can be found in my Terms and Conditions. Thank you for reading!
More Middle East?
The Middle East is a rather exciting and culturally diverse region for us living in Europe. There are now a number of frequent well-priced flights, including my favourite budget airline, Easyjet. It comes as no surprise that I have travelled the Middle East a few times. I feel the Middle East is really underrated as a holiday destination. This may be partially owed to the volatile security situation and perhaps the fact that many Middle Eastern countries are more conservative than Europe.
I personally have never been in any unsafe situation on my trips, most of which were solo and independently arranged. However, please do consult foreign office advice and use your own healthy judgement what you will feel comfortable with before you travel. If you want more information on travelling the Middle East safely, feel free to drop me a line or visit on of my other Middle East posts.
Jordan
I visited Jordan for a week in January 2020 on a trip organised and funded by myself. Winter is perhaps the least popular season to visit Jordan.
Read about arriving in Amman and exploring Jordan’s capital!
And find out if you can enjoy Wadi Rum on a day trip!
Read some of my Middle East posts
Here’s my post on visiting Jerusalem for the first time.
I am fascinated by Holy Land sites, and have spent plenty of time walking the Via Dolorosa, Temple Mount and up the Mount of Olives. Very briefly, I gingerly stepped into Palestine to view the birthplace of Jesus Christ, next door to a huge separation wall and some rather good street art. I have also been to Rachels Tomb, not a tourist but revered by many believers of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith, and a painful reminder of the separation between the states of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
