When everyone is celebrating Christmas and it’s freezing and snowy outside, I’ll continue my story about my November trip—from Israel to Jordan.
I had heard about Petra a long time ago and always wanted to go. A one-day trip from Sharm seemed like a sacrilege, so in 2010 I booked a full trip around Jordan, but found out I was expecting Max and didn’t want to risk an exotic destination. So, when I planned to visit Israel, I decided—this is the time! I was planning to go to Jordan alone, confident that my many relatives in Israel would once again think I was crazy (just like in 2000 when I did a $200 backpacking trip around Egypt for 10 days).
But suddenly, my sister said she wanted to come with me, and I was thrilled! Though it did complicate the planning. Since one of us was Israeli (in appearance, language, and passport), crossing the border from Israel had some nuances. We needed a guide, preferably a trustworthy one. And as I found out while talking to various guides, they also needed to be responsive to specific questions. Reasonable pricing was another concern; tours from Israel were about twice as expensive. But once we found a guide, things got easier! Since we were now two, we decided to extend the trip to four days instead of the two I initially planned: one day in Petra, one day in the Wadi Rum desert, one day diving in Aqaba, and a bit of relaxing on the last day.
Here are the challenges we faced:
🐪 All the guides are Arabs, so it’s hard to negotiate and understand everything at a distance; everything seemed convoluted and unclear. I’ve talked to many Arabs before, but wasn’t fully prepared for this from the guides.
🐪 Googling visa information and various restrictions was futile, as the information was inconsistent. Some official sites wouldn’t even load for European travelers, and guides were vague and seemed unsure. Do we need a visa? What kind of visa for whom? With an Estonian passport and an Israeli one? The border crossing isn’t open 24/7! Some sources said it was open until 20:00, others until 15:00. Also, my sister couldn’t just cross the border; we needed an escort, which had to be arranged and paid for. Maybe I needed one too, but no one knew for sure, and it wasn’t written anywhere. I found a traveler’s advice that Jordanian official sites aren’t trustworthy. So, whom to trust?
🐪 I mistakenly thought Jordan was inexpensive. It can be budget-friendly, but it’s challenging. Given that both my sister and I were busy and lived on different continents, it was hard to find time to coordinate. Finding a reliable guide was tough, and safety was my sister’s priority (being Israeli in an Arab country). So, we decided to splurge a bit.
🐪 In Aqaba, the main beaches in the city have no corals, even though it’s on the Red Sea, near Eilat and Egyptian resorts full of corals. I found this out from a friend and had to change our initially chosen hotel.
🐪 The weather—I didn’t expect it to be so cold in the desert in November! As soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops sharply. The cold was biting.
We found a wonderful guide, Mohammed! He stayed with us for two days—in the desert and in Petra, organized our border crossing, and arranged transport back. Mohammed spoke perfect Russian, having studied in Ukraine for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and he was fascinating to listen to! He quickly understood what interested us and provided just the right amount of information, knowing when to stop and when to answer our myriad questions. We wanted to camp in the desert, and he helped us find a great glamping spot and recommended a good area for a hotel in Aqaba. If you need a great guide in Jordan, I highly recommend him and can share his contacts.
Our first day was spent in the desert. It’s more than an hour’s drive from Aqaba, and finding a place to stay using GPS is impossible. Regular cars can’t access certain areas. So, Mohammed arranged a jeep for us, and a Bedouin driver took us through the desert where there are no roads or landmarks. The landscapes are otherworldly, and I believe having a guide is essential. Even with a bad guide, you’d be lost. Describing what we saw is hard, and photos don’t capture the magic. I’ve been to deserts before, but Wadi Rum is unique. The sunset on a hill in the desert left us speechless!
We spent the night in a glamping site, which was an amazing experience! The night sky was filled with huge stars like I’d never seen before.
The next day, we went to Petra, a two-hour drive during which Mohammed told us about this mysterious rock city. Only about 20% of Petra has been excavated. Archaeologists have many theories about Petra, but what struck me were the magical canyon views and the most famous façade, Al-Khazneh—it was stunning.
In the evening, we returned to Aqaba and stayed where most beach tourists do — the very decent Grand Tala Bay Resort Aqaba. We needed a hotel with nearby corals, our main criterion. Though there weren’t many corals, the planned diving trip had plenty.
In November, Aqaba isn’t crowded, and if you find a good way to get there from our region, it can be a great vacation—both beach and sightseeing. We both felt very safe!
I shared some of this on Instagram stories and saved them. I definitely want to return to Jordan and see everything we missed this time!