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Aqaba Southern Beach, Aqaba, 77110, Jordan
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adamghuloum
Dear friend: I highly recommend NOT staying at Garden Village. Unless you enjoy being attacked by bedbugs and mosquitoes while you sleep this hostal is not for you. I stayed in the dormitory on top of the roof (there is no mosquito cover or protection of any kind). The dormitory was filthy (sheets had not been changed in weeks, smelled awful, and there was no security of any kind). Upon leaving, I was covered from head to toe in bug bites and rashes (presumably from the dirty sheets). Pay a few extra bucks to stay somewhere more sanitary!
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Desert road to Amman
Wadi Araba Border Crossing
views from Aqaba, Jordan to Eilat, Israel
Camels in the city
Hi there,
How difficult is it to visit Eilat from Aqaba? We've been in Eilat some fifteen years ago and would love to visit again for a day during our stay in Jordan.
I know there are ferry crossing from Aqaba to Taba in Egypt but I don't find reliable information for a border crossing Jordan/Israel.
Way back in the mid 90's it was a real pain the a** to visit Aqaba from Eilat, with long lines at the border and waiting times that could be as long as half a day. I'm wondering if the situation has changed in the meantime.
Anyone?
Couldn't be easier today. If all goes well (i.e., you don't happen to hit on a large tour group of people crossing at the same time), it shouldn't take you more than half an hour to go through. The crossing is about 2-3 km north of Aqaba/Eilat.
A little background: The border crossing had just opened in the mid-90s and it was a novelty in the area. Today it's routine.
Thanks a lot! We'll definitely try it out.
I have used the crossing in early Octomber last year.
To cross over is relativly easy.
Get taxi to drop you off at the crossing, need to pay 5 Jordanian dinars exit tax.
Walk over noman land & cross into Israiel.
You will need to show your passports and all usual birocratic dodadas...(will take time as they X-Ray everything)
there are few furgons waiting for people to take you to Eilat, or you can ask the people on the crossing(Israely side to call taxi for you)or you can get bus from the main road.But it is at least 2 km walk from the crossing.
Make sure if you are going out only on a day trip that the
CROSSING CLOSES AT 8.00pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you have to clear costumes before 8pm.
Exiting Israel you will need to pay exit tax of 84 Shekels, work something around €17
5 shekels=€1
1 Jordanian dinar = €1
Comming back to Jordan you will need to pay entrance tax , wich depends what passport you have.
I had to pay 14 dinars for entrance visa and tax with Macedonian passport.
Hope this helps.
Happy travels.
Valentina
The visa is free for *most* European countries (at the Aqaba crossing). Macedonia is *not* one of them. According to a Jordanian visa website, your visa should have been arranged in advance. Therefore you did not pay an 'entrance tax', but for the visa which you should have gotten in advance (as a Macedonian passport holder).
Yes, that's correct. My free visa will be arranged for by my travel agency.
Aqaba is rather small town, I can't say that I was amazed of it, it does not have much to offer as a city, but the area is rather interesting.
This flag here is much larger then it looks in this photo, it is by the sea shore and you can see it from almost 10 km away.
Diving goes on all the year round, with different species to be seen in the different seasons. In June /July there are whale sharks, in February one can often see Mantas. A northerly wind blows down Wadi Araba all the year, which in the summer is a cooling breeze, but in winter it can be a bit chilly, especially when you have just come out of the water.
Even if you are alone, you are likely to make contacts and friends easily in the diving community in Aqaba. Dives are accompanied, so straight away you have the divemaster who will show you the ropes so to speak. There is absolutely no problem for women diving, in fact many Jordanian women regularly do so. Most centres offer courses in several languages, some have more choice of language than others!
Night diving or snorkelling excursions can be arranged on request, for the same day if required, but for administrative reasons, it is preferable to have at least four people in the party. There is a surcharge of 10JD per person over the daytime diving. It is also possible to have a barbecue organised after the dive - a lovely evening!
If you are travelling with non-divers, all the dive centres are happy to welcome them. They may be asked to pay a transport charge if they want to accompany you out to the dive sites. If they are snorkellers, then of course there is no problem at all, nearly all of the sites are entirely suitable for snorkellers.
Posted by Lulu
Approx 5 mins drive from the Club in an area known as the Tourist Camp. Enter the site through a maze of fringing reef with fantastic displays of Fire coral. Drop down to 5m and follow slope down to 12m to a large pinnacle full of a variety of marine life. Head across the sand to a large circular reef with a Gorgonia Fan coral in centre. Continue down to 24m where shoaling Pennant Fish have a "permanent" home.
Ascend slowly in a circle and watch territorial displays Parrot Fish till you reach 10m. Following the reef south you encounter many Clown fish and anemones, plus occasional Ghost Pipe fish in the anemones, Scorpion Fish in the purple acropora coral. Approaching the safety stop area at the base of the fringing reef, many Burr Fish and the occasional Toad Fish.
Mount Yitm (El Ithm, Etham) is at the north end of Gulf of Aqaba, with Wadi Ithm nearby, so Etham might be the name for a region near Aqaba lead to Wadi Rum and Petra.
You can watch my 4 min 02 sec HD Video Jordan Aqaba-Petra part 2 out of my Youtube channel.
You can watch my high resolution photo of Petra on the Google Earth according to the following coordinates 29° 34' 59.38" N 35° 9' 49.69" E or on my Google Earth Panoramio Wadi Yitm bey Aqaba.
The Mosque of Sherif a-Hussein bin Ali is the main mosque of Aqaba. It is locate in front of the Gulf of Aqaba. The mosque that the name by Sharif Hussein Bin Ali, the great grandfather of King Abdullah II.
Dear friend: I highly recommend NOT staying at Garden Village. Unless you enjoy being attacked by bedbugs and mosquitoes while you sleep this hostal is not for you. I stayed in the dormitory on top of the roof (there is no mosquito cover or protection of any kind). The dormitory was filthy (sheets had not been changed in weeks, smelled awful, and there was no security of any kind). Upon leaving, I was covered from head to toe in bug bites and rashes (presumably from the dirty sheets). Pay a few extra bucks to stay somewhere more sanitary!
10 members live in Aqaba
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