Madaba Transportation

It's good idea to hire a car with driver if you are visiting several places or somewhere cannot be reached by public transport. Black Iris Hotel in Madaba can organize a car upon request. We had

- Airport pick up from Amman Queen Alia Intl. Airport to Hotel in Madaba 15JD per car
- Mount Nebo, Dead Sea, Bethany, Panorama and Hammamet Ma’in Spring 48JD per car
- Wadi Mujib reserved 45JD per car
- Petra via King’s Highway, stop at Wadi Mujeb( view only) and Karak 18JD per person

Our driver was really flexible and helpful. He was happy to stop wherever we want and advised us of the price to pay so that we won't be ripped off. He knows the best place to eat in the area.

Hotel will find the passangers to share if there's request for same desitination, itineraries.
More people you will pay less, hum good deal eh?

You will find price list in Black Iris Hotel website.

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To tour the country we rented a reliable car with "Rent a Reliable Car". For 30 dinar a day (and 8 for insurance) we got a nice Nissan, automatic with air co. Petrol is cheap: 18 dinars bought us a full tank (the car was rented empty). On a full tank we drove to Petra and back. The car was delivered at and picked up from the hotel without extra charge.

They showed their reliability: one day the keys were in the trunk and when we closed it, the shock made the closed doors lock too. We called our agent and Shuhruf ('Sheriff') was dispatched from Amman to open the car with a spare set, a 1.5 h drive. Shuhruf told us that one time he has made the trip to Aqaba for this reason. No problem. He didn't even want a tip, so we bought him a coke.

Arrange a car with them before you arrive and they'll deliver it to the airport.

Buses leave Madaba to Amman from early in the morning up to 20:30. You can get to wahdat and Abdeli bus station among other places from the main road next to the Hospital round about. To get to the Hospital from the Mariam, turn right as you get out of the hotel and then turn right again when you get to the first intersecsion. Keep walking for 10 minutes until you see the hospital. On the Map, Next to the hospital you see a cross and a crescent

You can also go to the Amman University from Madaba, take the Bus from another Round about opposite Madaba town Authority. As you leave the hotel turn to the left and keep walking for few minutes and when the road ends take right and you see the round about. It will cost you 400 Qirsh for the bus trip

make sure to ask when the last bus leaves Amman to Madaba!!

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As soon as I arrived to madaba I told the Hotel Maneger that I want to visit Petra so he arranged a bus trip through king highway. It was a very scenic route that toke us through Wadi Mojib, Karak, Tafilah, Dana national Park and other smaller cities.

We left @ 10 a.m. and reached Petra @ 5 with multiple stops in between visiting the significant spots along the way. It will cost you 15 JD per person with a minimum of 3 people. If you are the only one than you'll have to pay 45 JD

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Taxis in Jordan are a relatively economic, and very convenient, way of getting around. In Jihad, pictured, I had my own personal chauffeur for an entire week, for less than 250 euros, including trips to Jerash and Petra, and being picked up from the airport and delivered to King Hussein's bridge at the end of my visit. Jihad was a fantastic driver, very friendly, safe, and knowledgable. He even knew where every bump, speed hump, and pot hole was, along with friends in almost every part of the country. He even invited me for dinner with his wonderful family.

Be aware that things don't always go as smoothly in Jordan as back home. We did have a couple of problems during the week. The worst was when the car broke down on the way to Petra, leaving us in the middle of the freezing desert at 7am. Despite the difficulties, Jihad fixed things up so that we got to Petra in the end, and with plenty of time for me to see everything before my legs gave up from the exertion.

Ask for Jihad if you stay at the Mariam Hotel, but don't worry if he is too busy, as they take good care to select the taxi drivers for you at the hotel.

Mount Nebo

From Amman, Abadali Bus Station, take the bus to Madaba for 0.400JD, get off in town. Look for the road sign Visitor's Centre - you can get a map of Madaba and info.

Mount Nebo is 8 kms away. From St. George's Church take a service taxi (white car) at the traffic round about nearby for 1JD to Mount Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land and also the Mount where Moses died. The Entrance Ticket is 1JD.

Getting back to Madaba from Mount Nebo can be tricky. If there are no cabs nor taxis, walk a bit and basically hitch, be careful, and offer the driver 1JD to take you back to Madaba.

Madaba / Nebo / Machaerus

From Amman, Abadali Bus Station, take the bus to Madaba for 0.400JD, get off in town. Buses leave approximately every hour, when they are full. Madaba is about 30KM away, when you get there look for the road sign Visitor's Centre, get off in town closest to it - you can get a map of Madaba and info.

See The Church of St. George with the 6th Centry Mosaic Map on the floor, the Apostle's Church, two Museums and the School of Mosaics.

Mount Nebo is approximately 8 kms away. To get there, take a service taxi for 1JD.

Madaba can be visited easily as a day trip from Amman, using the small buses from Abdali Bus station, near the King Abdullah Mosque (buses also go to Madaba from Wahdat bus station, but this is further out of the city). I had looked round at all the large buses first, until I found someone to point me in the right direction. The small buses for various towns look identical apart from the labels stating their start point and destination in Arabic, so it is important to check that it is the right one before boarding. There are lots of taxi drivers at the bus station, who are keen to persuade people to use their services rather than the bus and in particular they will often approach anyone they think is a tourist.

The bus travels first through a lot of Amman, including some very smart modern looking areas, making many stops, to pick up or set down passengers, on the way. It was quite early in the morning, so I think these may have been people on their way to work. Then it continued along a motorway until it reached Madaba and made several more stops around the edge of the town, before arriving at a bus station. From here I could see a tall church at the top of a hill and headed for this, thinking I could ask for directions to see the mosaics from there. The total journey time was just over an hour and it was very cheap; I got change back after giving the driver's assistant one Jordanian Dinar!