Jordan Travel Costs: Daily Budget, Petra Tickets and the Jordan Pass

These per-person figures assume you share a double room if you travel as a pair. Solo travellers in private rooms should add 20 to 30 percent.

These daily figures exclude the Jordan Pass or Petra ticket, which is a one-off JD 70 to 90 you should add to any trip total. Jordan’s spread is wide because accommodation and transport are the variables: a backpacker riding minibuses from Amman to Wadi Musa spends JD 7 on the trip, while a private driver costs JD 80 or more.

Petra prices are set by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority and are among the highest site fees in the world. According to the official Visit Petra fees page, visitors staying overnight in Jordan pay JD 50 ($71) for one day, JD 55 for two and JD 60 for three. Day visitors who are not spending a night in Jordan, usually cruise passengers and day-trippers from Eilat or Sharm el-Sheikh, pay JD 90 ($127). Children under 12 enter free, and Jordanians pay JD 1. Petra by Night (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings) is a separate ticket of around JD 17 and needs a valid daytime ticket too. Little Petra, 15 minutes north, is free.

The Jordan Pass bundles Petra with entry to over 40 sites and, if bought online before you arrive, waives the JD 40 visa fee. The official prices are JD 70 (Wanderer, one Petra day), JD 75 (Explorer, two consecutive days) and JD 80 (Expert, three consecutive days). Here is the arithmetic:

The pass is valid for three months from purchase and expires one month after its first scan. Petra days must be consecutive. The visa waiver applies only if you stay at least two nights (three days), according to the official Jordan Pass site; immigration checks this when you leave, and if you fall short you pay the visa fee at departure. The rule was three nights until recently, so check the current rule on jordanpass.jo before you book. If you enter through Aqaba on the free Aqaba Special Economic Zone visa (see our Jordan visa guide), the pass only pays off if you also visit Jerash and several other paid sites.

Outside Petra, site fees are modest and nearly all are covered by the Jordan Pass. Approximate walk-up prices:

• Jerash: JD 10, the biggest saving after Petra.
• Wadi Rum Protected Area: JD 5, paid at the visitor centre, covered by the pass.
• Amman Citadel: JD 3, plus the Roman Theatre downtown for JD 2.
• Kerak Castle, Ajloun Castle, Shoubak and the desert castles such as Qusayr Amra: JD 1 to 3 each.
• Madaba Archaeological Park and the Church of St George map: JD 1 to 3.
• Mount Nebo: around JD 3, run by the Franciscans and not on the pass.
• Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Baptism Site): JD 12, or JD 8 as a Jordan Pass add-on.
• Dana Biosphere Reserve: around JD 10 entry, plus JD 20 to 40 for a required guide on the longer trails.

Wadi Rum is where Jordan budgets swing the most, because almost everyone books a jeep tour and a night in a camp, and the range runs from a JD 25 mattress tent to a JD 250 glass dome. Camp prices usually include dinner (often zarb, lamb and chicken cooked in a pit in the sand) and breakfast:

Jeeps take up to six passengers, so groups that share pay JD 6 to 15 each for a half day. Many camps sell packages: a half-day jeep tour plus one night half board for JD 50 to 70 per person is a common backpacker price. Book directly with a camp that collects you from Rum village, not through touts at the visitor centre or in Wadi Musa, who add commission and sometimes deliver you to a different camp.

You cannot just walk onto the Dead Sea shore at the resort strip: access is through hotels and a few paid beaches, all with showers, which you need after a float. The cheapest is Amman Beach (the public Amman Tourist Beach), at around JD 20 for the day with pools and showers. Resort day passes at the Mövenpick, Hilton, Kempinski and similar hotels run JD 45 to 80, often including lunch or a food credit, and are cheaper on weekdays than on Fridays and Saturdays. Ask at reception or book online the day before. A night in a Dead Sea resort costs JD 110 to 250 a room, which often works out better value than two day passes.

Getting there is the other cost. A taxi from Amman with two to three hours of waiting time runs JD 40 to 60 for the car; JETT runs a seasonal tourist bus on some days. Hire cars make the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo and Madaba an easy single day.

In Aqaba, public beaches are free but crowded and conservative, so most travellers pay JD 10 to 25 for a private beach club south of town that includes sunbeds and showers. Snorkelling trips cost JD 15 to 35, shore dives with full kit JD 30 to 45, and a glass-bottom boat hour JD 10 to 20.

Jordan has no passenger railway to speak of, so you move by coach, minibus, taxi or car.

JETT tickets can be booked on the JETT website or at the Abdali terminal, and the Petra bus fills in spring, so book a day ahead. Minibuses leave when full and have no fixed timetable. Insist on the meter in Amman’s yellow taxis or use an app. A hire car is the best value for two to four people who want the King’s Highway, the desert castles or Dana, because the alternative is a private driver; petrol is around JD 0.90 to 1 a litre.

Eating is where Jordan is cheap. Downtown Amman’s falafel and hummus counters serve a full breakfast of hummus, ful, falafel and bread for JD 2 to 4, a shawarma wrap costs JD 1 to 2, and a plate of knafeh JD 1 to 2. A sit-down Jordanian meal of mezze, grilled meat or mansaf is JD 7 to 15 per person, and a mid-range dinner with drinks in Amman’s Jabal Weibdeh or Abdoun JD 15 to 25. Restaurants in Wadi Musa and hotel buffets in Wadi Rum or at Petra charge JD 12 to 20 for buffet lunches, so a packed lunch for the Petra trail saves real money.

Alcohol is legal but taxed: a can or bottle of local beer is JD 3 to 5 from a liquor shop and JD 5 to 8 in a bar; cocktails cost JD 8 to 12. Aqaba is a lower-tax zone, so drinks and duty-free shopping are a little cheaper there. Mint tea or Arabic coffee costs JD 0.50 to 1 in a local café, JD 3 in a smart one. A 1.5-litre bottle of water is JD 0.35 to 0.75, more at Petra.

A Zain, Orange or Umniah tourist SIM at Queen Alia airport costs JD 10 to 20 with 20 to 50 GB of data. Shops in town sell the same packages for less.

Visa and Mastercard work in hotels, mid-range restaurants, supermarkets and at Petra’s ticket office, but you need cash for taxis, minibuses, falafel stands, Wadi Rum camps (many take cash only) and the JD 10 departure tax at land borders. ATMs are everywhere in Amman, Aqaba and Wadi Musa (Arab Bank, Housing Bank, Bank of Jordan); some add a fee of a few dinars on top of your home bank’s charge. Wadi Rum village has no reliable ATM, so arrive with the cash for your camp and jeep.

Check restaurant bills before tipping: mid-range and upmarket places add a 10 percent service charge and 16 percent sales tax, which can make the total 26 percent above menu prices. Where service is not included, leave 10 percent. Other norms:

• Petra and Wadi Rum guides and jeep drivers: JD 5 to 10 per day for a driver, 10 percent for a guide.
• Petra horse ride from the visitor centre: included in your ticket, but the handler expects JD 3 to 5.
• Hotel porters: JD 1 per bag. Taxis: round up.

Totals per person, sharing a double room, excluding international flights:

Both include a Jordan Pass, one Wadi Rum night with a half-day jeep tour, and one Dead Sea visit. The mid-range totals assume three or four days with a hire car; using JETT and minibuses instead knocks off around JD 80 a week.

• Buy the Jordan Pass before you fly and stay at least the required nights.
• Sleep in Wadi Musa, not at the Petra gate. Hotels a 10 to 15-minute walk up the hill cost half as much.
• Eat local: hummus and falafel counters, shawarma and bakeries rather than tourist buffets.
• Share jeeps in Wadi Rum; camps will pair solo travellers into groups if you ask.
• Pick weekdays for Dead Sea day passes and avoid Jordanian public holidays at the resorts.
• Travel in summer or winter for 20 to 40 percent off hotels, if you can manage the heat or the cold nights.

Jordan travel guide · Best time · Itineraries · Safety · Visas