Getting Around Petra

Of course we chose the easiest way for us which was by walking down the canyon and back. It is not any physical hard demanding, any normal person can do the trip on his own pace, just better to have comfortable shoes and remember to have enough water with you.

You can get to Petra by driving there, by bus or taxi. We used the tour bus that was waiting for us in the Jordanian side of the border and drove us on a smooth and comfy all the way to Petra and back.

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The most of tourists usually get to Petra from Amman. We got to Petra from Eilat via Aqaba. That was a one-day excursion. Petra is located 135 km from Eilat and it took us about 3 hours to reach it. You can cross the border between Israel and Jordan quite free if your trip is short like our trip. The road between Aqaba and Petra is rather picturesque and I enjoyed the ride very much.

You can watch my 5 min 02 sec HD Video Jordan Aqaba-Petra part 3 out of my Youtube channel.

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The Treasury is not the ancient city. At the end of the (inner) Siq there are tombs, of which the Treasury is one. You're then are about halfway the ancient city. You reach it through the outer Siq. The inner siq is a gap in a very big sandstone plateau. The plateau has broken and the gap has been polished by water. The outer siq is much wider, littered with tombs and a theatre. At the end it is joined by another valley - mark the very old tree that stands there - and there the ancient town begins.

There is more than one way to walk to the ancient city: just before entering the Siq you can go through an old tunnel - to divert the water in case of flash floods and store it in cisterns - and walk "around" the plateau. It ends in a stretch like the siq, shorter but very narrow. At the narrowest point there is the smallest tea house in the world: a guy serving tea with two seats only. You then walk into the afore mentioned other valley and can walk to the city. This hike is about 2 hours.

There are some interesting climbs too. For instance, you can climb to the high altar - roughly above the Treasury. It is a steep climb - at some places - but manageable. And you can climb - using an old ceremonial stair way to heaven - to a place on the plateau where you can look down on the Treasury. The climb is not difficult, but long. I've been told you can descend from there to the Siq, but I couldn't find the path and it was getting late, so we walked and climbed back.

Another interesting walk is a place called "small Petra", which is near the old Kings Highway. You can walk from the ancient city to small Petra, but will need a guide. There are more interesting walks and climbs.

One time we went with my mother, who is in a wheel chair. Visits to Petra are free for people in a wheel chair (!), so do not pay for the ticket. I had a guide (from Petra Pioneers) who negotiated a deal with the horse drivers to bring my mother all the way to the restaurant at the ancient city (this is beyond their concession, which is only to the treasury) AND come and take her back in the afternoon. (We paid only on being returned: my mother said that I had kept her money). The horse driver spoke English an also did some explanation.

Best,

Jan Lelie

I had problems getting a bus to go to Petra from Amman. According to the information fro the hotel where I stayed, there is only one Jett Bus, which leaves 06h00 from Amman. I did not reserve a seat, so I hired a car and driver.
On the way back, it was wasy to get a public bus from Petra to Amman. It costs 5 JD, compared to the 60JD for a car with driver. The bus station is easy to find, close to the mosque in Wadi Musa. They leave every hour (06h00 - 10h00) and leave when full.
I am sure you will be able to get a public bus to Petra from Amman.
Do note that these busses are 24-seaters, plays Arabic music all the way and there is not much space for luggage.
But, I enjoyed the trip with the public bus very much.
They do stop halfway, for tea etc (at a non-tourist shop! - much lower prices).

This is probably the most convenient way to move around the Petra site. Riding a donkey is easy and generally more safe then riding a camel (horses are not available inside Siq). A short ride for 1-2 km (like from Khazne - the Treasury - to the end of the crypts city) is a bargain of as few as five USD, If you are moving around with a local friend or a guide ask him/her to assist you.

You can take the JETT bus service from the car parking next to the Petra entrance. It leaves every day @ 5 p.m. and cost 5 JD.

You can also go to Petra bus station early in the morning and take bus to Amman whcih could be cheaper. It really depend on where you stay. If you are staying @ petra the an Jett will be easier but if you are staying @ wadi Mosa than the bus station is the easier option

Buses for Amman leave from the bus station described above.

The first bus leaves at about 6am, the second at about 7am and the third one at about 8am. After that they leave every two hours until 2pm which is the last one.

However what really happens is that there are four or five buses there at each time. When one of them is full it leaves, and the next in the waiting list takes its place. So you can have three or four buses leaving Petra at (officially) 7am for instance. This is why there are so many buses waiting in Amman to come back again.

The trip takes 3 hours and costs three and a half dinars. It will usually stop (but not always) at the half way point to allow anybody who wants to smoke to get out, and also of course to allow access to toilets. There's usually a small shop or cafe where you can get a drink, hot or cold.

If you want to leave for Amman after 2pm, you can try to get to Ma'an - there are more buses to there from Petra or you can take a taxi for 8JD. From Ma'an buses leave for Amman quite late, up to about 6pm