This list of tips for traveling to Jordan It will help you prepare the trip to one of the most fascinating countries in the world where you can enjoy a unique history, infarct landscapes, an amazing culture as well as a delicious cuisine that we are sure, will be the perfect complement to a few days that They will become unforgettable.
Based on our trip to Jordan for free, during which we met most of the tourist places in the country, we leave you what are for us, the 10 essential tips for traveling to Jordan. We start!
1. What is the best time?
Although any time is good for a trip to Jordan, it is important to know the details of each of them, because due to temperatures and weather, there are some months of the year more recommended than others, depending on the places you want to visit.
- High season (from March to May): During this time temperatures throughout the country are usually pleasant, allowing you to enjoy the most important places, without excessive heat.
- Mid season (from September to February): Although the weather is usually mild throughout the country, especially in Awaba, in other areas such as the desert, the cold begins to appear, so if you want to spend the night, it is worth going prepared .
- Low season (June to August): Temperatures during these months are usually extreme, so although prices are lower, the experience can be overwhelming in some cases.
Remember that in high season, as it is the busiest time, it is important to reserve both flights, accommodation and rental car in time, if you want to save time and have different options to choose from.
2. Security
Despite the terrorist attack of 2005 and the Arab Spring, which in Jordan was lived in a very temporary way, we can say that currently traveling to Jordan is totally safe, despite the uncertainty that can cause the news you can read about Syrian refugees or immigration, which usually have an important weight on the population, but that the tourist will not perceive and also do not compromise your security at all.
In addition to this, in recent years, the government has dedicated many efforts to maintain the security of the country, since it lives in large part of tourism, facilitating police presence in hotels and tourist places, so as we say, you should not fear for your safety.
Regardless of what has been said above, it is advisable to take the basic precautions and would take anywhere else and use common sense not to bring many valuables in sight, asking at the hotel if there is any unsafe area in the city ... etc
Jerash, a must when traveling to Jordan
3. Requirements for entering the country
If you are a Spanish citizen, you must bring your passport to travel to Jordan, at least 6 months in advance and obtain a prior visa, which you can get at Amman Airport or at most border crossings.
This visa is valid for 30 days, is a single entry and has a price of 40 Jordanian dinars to which you must add 10 Jordanian dinars in case your departure from the country is not by air since in this case it is included in the price of the plane ticket.
In addition to this option, you currently also have the possibility of obtaining a free visa through the Jordan Pass, an option that you can acquire online, with which in addition to the free visa, you will have access to 43 tourist places in the country, including Petra and Wadi Rum, with the only condition of staying at least 3 nights in Jordan.
The price of this pass It depends on the days you want to enter Petra: 70 Jordanian dinars for 1 day of entry to Petra, 75 Jordanian dinars for 2 days of entry to Petra and 80 Jordanian dinars for 3 days of entry to Petra.
If you want travel to Israel from Jordan or vice versa, we advise you to look at the information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have all the updated information.
Petra in Jordan
4. Vaccines and travel insurance
One of the best tips for traveling to Jordan or to any destination in the world it is without a doubt that you go to your vaccination center so that it is a professional who determines, according to your medical history and travel, what are the necessary vaccines.
Despite having this that we comment very carefully, we can tell you that there is no mandatory vaccine to travel to this destination, except for Yellow Fever for passengers from endemic countries although tetanus-diphtheria, triple viral, hepatitis A are recommended and B in addition to Typhoid Fever and Rabies, in risk groups.
In addition to vaccines, it is essential to hire the best travel insurance, so that if necessary, you have the best assistance.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have during the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.
5. How to start the trip
The first and most important to travel to Jordan is to determine how many days are needed to know the places to see in Jordan essential.
In our experience, the ideal would be to have an average of 10 days to get to know the most tourist sites and 15 days if you want to enjoy a few days at the end of the trip in Aqaba.
The most common way to enter Jordan is by air, flying to Amman, the capital. We forever use this flight search engine to locate the best flights at the best prices.
Once you have this aspect solved, the next point will be to book accommodation in Jordan, especially if you are traveling in high season, at which time hotels usually raise prices and reduce their places to minimum.
In case you want to know the country for free, we recommend you choose the option of moving by public transport, as we did or rent a car, something that currently and if we return to Jordan, we would value for the freedom of schedules and movements offered.
In case you want to do a tour or excursion in Jordan, it is also highly recommended to book it in time, to be able to organize the itinerary according to the availability and options that exist.
Dead Sea
6. Money exchange
The official currency of Jordan is the Jordanian dinar and currently the equivalence is 1 Jordanian dinar = 1.26 euros.
Although on many occasions you may think that it is better to change in your Spanish bank or choose to change at the airport or an exchange agency in the city, we after the experience traveling around the world, we recommend you choose to use the card to make payments and get money at ATMs when traveling to Jordan.
For this reason we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
Remember that in case of renting a car, it is necessary to have a credit card and in addition to these, of course it is necessary to carry cash to be able to make payments in shops that do not accept cards or for tips.
Petra in Jordan
7. Travel to Jordan for free or with agency
After our trip, we can only recommend traveling to Jordan for free, moving by public transport, we use bus and taxi, to have freedom of movement and schedules in addition to being able to make all the stops you want on the way, if you opt for the taxi.
And if you do not mind driving, another of the most recommended options is to rent a car to be able to travel the most tourist points since as we mentioned earlier, the country is totally safe, so you will not have anything to worry about except being careful in cities like Amman where traffic is more chaotic.
This, like the taxi will allow you to move freely, without having to worry about fixed schedules or established routes, being able to change plans or stops whenever you feel like it.
In case you prefer to travel to organized Jordan, another way to get to know the country with a guide to not miss anything and understand its culture to the fullest, you can book this circuit for Jordan in full in 8 days, this 4-day Circuit for Jordan or this 3-day excursion to Petra and Wadi Rum.
Wadi rum
8. Jordan route and essential
As we mentioned earlier in the details on how to start the trip and thinking that you have about 10-15 days to do this tour, we recommend you start in Amman, capital of the country that although initially may not seem interesting, it will be the perfect way to Enter the city, where you can also visit the Amman Citadel, the Temple of Hercules, the Omeya Palace, the impressive Roman Theater, the Odeon, stroll through the historic center losing yourself through its streets without a fixed direction and then visit the King's Mosque Abdullah I, the Coptic Orthodox Church and end up doing some shopping in one of its souks.
In case you want to know the city first hand, we recommend you book this private day or night tour of Amman.
From Amman, the next stage of the trip will take you to know the famous castle of Ajlun and Jerash in one day, two of the essentials of the country, which we are sure, will surprise you. As in Amman, if you want to do this tour with a guide in Spanish, to not miss anything, we recommend you book this Excursion to Amman, Gerasa and Ajlun Castle.
On the third day of the trip, the route itself will begin, by rental car or taxi to visit the Desert Castles of Jordan and Madaba, where you can visit the Church of St. George of Madaba, where the mosaic is located with the sample The oldest cartographic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land today.
From Madaba and if you have an extra day, it is highly recommended to dedicate a day to get to know some of the biblical places in Jordan: Mount Nebo and Bethany, which we are sure, at least will not leave you indifferent and then stop at the Dead Sea, where if you have time, we recommend spending a relaxing day.
Another option, if you do not want to drive, is to book this Excursion to the Desert Castles and Dead Sea or this Excursion to Madaba and Monte Nebo.
From here our recommendation is to follow the route through the Wadi Mujib Gorge, Kerak Castle and Petra at night, a show that we are sure, will be one of the sour cherries on this trip to Jordan.
Petra
The next stage is the visit to Petra in two days, which includes the visit to the Altar of the Sacrifices of Petra, and which will become one of the most impressive places of the trip and the world.
In case you want to know Petra completely without driving and don't miss anything, we recommend you book this excursion to Petra with a guide in Spanish.
After this incredible visit, another of the tips for traveling to Jordan that we cannot stop giving you is sleeping in the Wadi Rum desert, one of the most incredible experiences that this trip can give you, where you can sleep under millions of stars and enjoy of landscapes that seem from another world.
And finally, nothing better than spending a few days in Aqaba from Wadi Rum where you can put the final icing on the cake, enjoying a few days of beach and diving.
9. Gastronomy in Jordan
Another of the great reasons to travel to Jordan is to try and enjoy its excellent cuisine. Although this has hundreds of options, we want to leave you with some of the most famous and symbolic dishes so that during your trip, do not forget to try them:
- Baba Ganoush: this pate or hummus of eggplant, oil, garlic, sesame seeds, lemon juice and parsley is one of the most excellent dishes of Jordanian cuisine. You can not stop trying it!
- Kibbeh: fritter stuffed with meat and spices, which is wrapped in a meat dough and baked or fried.
- Tabbouleh: although this dish is also Syrian and Lebanese, you can find it in Jordan and enjoy it. It is a salad of wheat semolina, tomato or pomegranate, onion, lemon juice, with seasoning and spices that is exquisite.
- Mansaf: one of Jordan's most traditional dishes consisting of lamb cooked with different spices, which is served on a tray accompanied by rice and yogurt sauce.
- Kefta: another of the typical Jordanian dishes. In this case it is minced meat with spices that is served as a skewer.
- Baklavas: and for dessert, baklavas! We will not tell you more.
baklava
10. More tips for traveling to Jordan
Other of the best tips for traveling to Jordan are:
- If you are going to hire a taxi to do any of the tours, remember to agree on the itinerary and the price before confirming it. It may also be interesting to compare the prices offered by the hotel and those given to you by a taxi driver on the street to see which one suits you best, although it is usually the last ones that adjust prices the most.
- Remember that being a Muslim country, alcohol is not served in all restaurants, although tourists can find it in hotels and bars in the most tourist areas.
- If you are a woman and you are traveling alone, you can do it with total peace of mind. From what several women told us that we were on the trip and from what we have read, there is no problem in doing so although as usual, it is convenient to do it with common sense.
- Although you will see some places completely covered, it is not a requirement for tourists, except for places where it is required to cover up, such as mosques.
- Although the language is Arabic, in tourist areas you will not have any problem, since they speak English perfectly.
- In Jordan the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are type C / D / F / G / J so you must have an adapter.
Do you want to organize this trip to Jordan for free?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Jordan here
The best hotels at the best prices in Jordan here
10 essential places to see in Jordan
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Rent your car in Jordan at the best price here
Book the best tours and excursions in Jordan in Spanish here
The best offers of Flights to Jordan here
The best hotels at the best prices in Jordan here
10 essential places to see in Jordan
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Rent your car in Jordan at the best price here
Book the best tours and excursions in Jordan in Spanish here
