Aqaba Transportation

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The Wadi Araba Border Crossing is an international border crossing between Aqaba, Jordan and Eilat, Israel.
In 2006, the Israelis renamed their border terminal to Yitzhak Rabin Terminal, after the late Prime Minister.
The terminal is open from 6:30 to 20:00, Sunday through Thursday, and from 8:00 to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, every day of the year.
Route 109 runs east from Eilat interchange at Highway 90 to the border crossing. It is 1.5 km long.
If you arrive in Jordan from Israel, you can get the visa at the border.
The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA for short) has introduced a special Economic Zone visa for Jordan, to be known as an "ASEZ visa".

You can watch my 2 min 44 sec HD Video Israel-Jordan Border Terminal in Eilat out of my Youtube channel.

Hi

If you are going too see the different places in Jordan and are leaving from Aqaba i can strongly recommend taking a Taxi. The price is much better than going with the Travel agencies; we went with a very good and friendly driver, Ahmad Ameen, 00962795614458

Regards

Per

Here's some important info for anyone planning to travel between Aqaba (Jordan) and the Sinai (Egypt). Having recently made this trip (July 2008), I can confirm that all the horror stories about the AB Maritime (http://www.abmaritime.com.jo/main.html) voyage are not in the least bit exaggerated. I had heard that there was an alternative, passenger-only service operating out of the Royal Yacht Club, but Google searches of "ferry Aqaba" and "hydrofoil Aqaba" and similar combinations turned up nothing. I had a friend in Jordan try to find info, but he too was only able to find info on the AB Maritime ships.

Arriving in Aqaba by car, I decided to head directly to the Royal Yacht Club to see what I could find. Finding the club is easy -- just keep driving straight as you come into town -- you will go through several roundabouts but always carry on straight ahead until you reach the final one at the water. To your right will be the Mövenpick and the Intercontinental, to your left the road that leads to the AB Maritime Ferry and the Saudi border, and straight ahead is the gate into the Yacht Club.

The guard at the gate confirmed there was a ferry and directed us around to the right. There in a small office we found Sindbad Yachts, who were able to confirm that they had a vessel that would take passengers to a private marina in Taba at 12:30. The only problem was that new Egyptian security regulations required them to submit a passenger manifest for approval to the Egyptian authorities at least 24 hours in advance. (They also noted that they sometimes had trips directly to Sharm El-Sheikh from Aqaba, but it wasn't clear how often these ran and on what schedule). Although the manager, Mr. Thaer Darwish (mobile +962 79 5556076) made an effort to get us cleared for travel, it was impossible, so we ended up taking the AB Maritime hydrofoil instead. Before we did, we had to endure the frustration of seeing the Sindbad hydrofoil -- a clean, fast, well maintained vessel - board its Taba-bound passengers and make ready for departure.

We instead headed for the AB Maritime terminal, 7 km down the coast towards the Saudi border. The terminal was a filthy, disorganised mess, the vessel wasn't much better. At the ticket office, they directed us to the travel agent opposite. The travel agent sent us back to the ticket office. Then they said that tickets would not go on sale for another hour (it was by then four hours past the scheduled departure time of 12:00). We waited for a bit, took care of exit formalities, and then a well-dressed Jordanian passenger approached us and advised we could get tickets now and head for the boat. I went back to the ticket office. He again directed us to the travel agent. I told him the travel agent had already referred us back to the ticket office. He waved the travel agent over, said something to him in Arabic, and then the agent said, "OK, I can sell you a ticket". On the walk back across the hall, I told him "make sure the tickets are for the 'speed boat'" (AB Maritime operates both a hydrofoil and a conventional ferry between Aqaba and Nuweiba). He said, "no, speed boat is sold out". I said, "no, it must be the speed boat". He repeated that it was sold out. I repeated that I had to have tickets for the 'speed boat'. He said, "OK, let me check," and turned around and headed back to the AB Maritime ticket window. They spoke briefly in Arabic, then he turned back to me and said "OK, speed boat." Finally he took my 140 USD in cash for two tickets.

The ferry, which until May of 2007 was used by Tallink on the Helsinki-Tallin run, still had signage in Finnish and Estonian, as well as posters promoting travel to Tallin. I had probably been on the same vessel a few years back, but it was hardly recognisable thanks to the trash that was strewn everywhere. Despite the heat, they didn't turn on the numerous a/c units until just prior to departure, over an hour after we boarded. In the end, it only took an hour to cross, and the process on the other side (immigration, etc.) was relatively quick. The handful of westerners (a Norweigan woman travelling alone with her three daughters and a Mexican) we met on board had never even heard that there was an alternative service.

I advise anyone to avoid the AB Maritime service if at all possible and try to book with Sindbad instead -- if you have pre-registered, you can arrive as late as 12:15 for the 12:30 departure, the crossing takes only 45 minutes, the boats are excellent and the staff and crew very professional.

If you can't fly or don't feel like dealing with the Israeli passport issue by taking a cab to Egypt this is an what you are stuck with. There are two boats that go to Nuwieba. One is a fast ferry (1 hour) which was not running the day I was there and there is the slower (4 hours) car ferry that goes over there. For me this was a good experience since this is how most of the locals go home to Egypt. The ferry itself is a old Greek boat with Muslim bathrooms. It's a long ride but a great chance to catch up on some reading or sleep. It departs from the same terminal as the fast boat. When you get your ticket and want to board you have to jump on a bus which takes you on a short ride to the ferry from the terminal which is a busy port handling trade for Jordan

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Difficult to describe....From the main Inter-City Bus Station, next to the Police Station is a Flea Market, at the end, turn walking down hill toward the Crystal Hotel and Waterfront. On your left side is a large Mosque and the street opens up. On the north side, next to the Mosque are buses - catch the one to Karak Castle at approximately 7:30-8:00am. The trip is 3hrs, the fare is less than 1.5JD. The route travels along the Dead Sea Highway with the mountains on your right and Israel across the Sea. The landscape is quite beautiful.

You'll have time to see Karak Castle, have lunch, and catch the bus back to Aqaba in the afternoon.

See Aqaba's website for a map.

The TRUST Bus Station in Aqaba is located across from the Aqua Marina Hotel, 1 block from the Golden Tulip Hotel. Last bus to Amman leaves at 6:00pm, the drive is approximately 4hrs. Manadatary lunch must be purchased (sandwich and soda) as part of your ticket price.

See Aqaba's website for a map.

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There are several bus stations in Aqaba.

One is an inner city bus station - as a tourist you'll never use this one.

Another is located next to a mosque in town that has buses running to Karak Castle along the Dead Sea Highway.

JETT express bus to Amman is located behind the Movenpick Hotel.

TRUST express bus to Amman is located across Aqua Marina Hotel, 1 block from the Golden Tulip Hotel.

AFANA express bus to Amman is located in front of Dream Hotel.

The bus station next to the police station in front of the Dream Hotel has inter-city buses to Petra leaving at 6:00am (3JD); to Wadi Rum leaving at 8-8:30am (1JD); to Ma'an leaving every hour (1JD) until evening and to Amman.

See Aqaba's website for a map.

In front of Dream Hotel are express buses to Amman for 4.35JD, buses leave 7:30am, 11:30am, 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00pm. The schedule from Amman to Aqaba is the same. Travel time is 4 hrs, no stops or drop offs. Coffee, tea, mineral water and sodas available on board, buses are modern with A/C. Once past the customs terminal, a movie (Arabic) is played.

The landscape through the Kings Highway is beautiful!

The drop off in Amman is Abdali Bus Station (The Airport Express and buses to Madaba and Jerash are located here).

The Bus Station across the street has buses running to Wadi Rum, Petra and Ma'an.

See Aqaba's website for a map.