Petra, Jordan and Mobility Challenges

[plymouthcruiser]

My husband and I visited Petra on May 11th. Petra is doable with limited mobility if you can at least walk short distances on your own and get in and out of a carriage on your own ( or with just a helping hand to help get in/out). If you can do that much you can take a carriage ride ($20 for two round trip plus tip) down to the main area. It is on a rough cobblestone path and very bumpy. Once at the main site you can even take a donkey or camel ride to get around and see more areas. Petra would be impossible to do in a wheelchair or if you cannot walk at least a little bit to get to the carriage pickup area.

[Going Coastal]

Thank you for the up to date information. We are not going until late in 2017 so I will post after that.

[uktog]

I use a cane on rough or uneven ground and to help me up and down high steps. I was hoping I woukd manage Petra. I've managed places like Ephesus and Athens

[bazbov]

Hello. I too have mobility issues, i can walk unaided but i'm quite slow and can't manage really steep inclines. I visited petra last year through a cruise excursion. the walk through the narrow ravine was fairly long but interesting and very do-able you just have to watch for the carriages going up and down. The treasury is breathtaking and you can walk on fairly flat ground to see some of the other tombs. there are a number of steep steps to climb to get to see some of them but i had plenty to see without going up them.

If you can't walk far, as other have said there are carriages but they did look uncomfortable and donkeys (i never saw any being mistreated)

I was really pleased that i went, it was stunning. hope this helps and happy cruising.

[Going Coastal]

Bazbov, thank you for posting. Every bit of i formation helps with the puzzle. May I ask if anyone on your excursion used the carriages and if the ship personnel expedited that?

Thank you in advance for replying.

[plymouthcruiser]

To going coastal:

We used the carriages--very very bumpy, but served their purpose. Didn't have to walk ( would never have made it if we tried).

There was nothing that ship personnel needed to do in advance. Everyone has to pass the carriage stand on the walk to get there. You might have to wait a bit, depending on demand when you get there.

I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get to see Petra--but carriage ride allowed us to see it.

 

 

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[bazbov]

Bazbov, thank you for posting. Every bit of i formation helps with the puzzle. May I ask if anyone on your excursion used the carriages and if the ship personnel expedited that?

Thank you in advance for replying.

 

Hi GC.

As plymouth cruiser said,you will pass all the carriages when you enter.

We did speak with a couple of people who used them and they too said they were very bumpy and uncomfortable but fun. they looked to be going quite a speed as the drivers like to get as many fares as possible. Hope this helps and hope you do get to see Petra. Happy cruising. :)

[bubbachief]

My husband and I visited Petra on May 11th. Petra is doable with limited mobility if you can at least walk short distances on your own and get in and out of a carriage on your own ( or with just a helping hand to help get in/out). If you can do that much you can take a carriage ride ($20 for two round trip plus tip) down to the main area. It is on a rough cobblestone path and very bumpy. Once at the main site you can even take a donkey or camel ride to get around and see more areas. Petra would be impossible to do in a wheelchair or if you cannot walk at least a little bit to get to the carriage pickup area.

 

Where is the main area/site? Is it the Treasury or the start of the Siq?

Is the cost $20 for two people round trip from where to where? How much was the tip?

[plymouthcruiser]

Re: Petra carriages

The carriage stop is before going into the long passage way-- maybe a half city clock to get to the carriage stop from entry point. The treasury is where the carriages drop off. From the treasury there are many many things to see and can walk a lot to see them or get donkeys or camels to take you.

The carriage ride round trip for two was $20, then we added $5. For tip. Hope this info helps.

 

 

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[bubbachief]

Re: Petra carriages

The carriage stop is before going into the long passage way-- maybe a half city clock to get to the carriage stop from entry point. The treasury is where the carriages drop off. From the treasury there are many many things to see and can walk a lot to see them or get donkeys or camels to take you.

The carriage ride round trip for two was $20, then we added $5. For tip. Hope this info helps.

 

 

Thank you for the information. The round trip was $20. Did you use the same driver for both going and coming back or was it $10 going in and $10 going back with different drivers?

Did you use the camels or donkeys beyond the Treasury? If so, what was the cost?

[DIALTWO]

we are heading off in a couple of weeks - Constellation starting in Rome and ending in Abu Dhabi. Petra always on my husband's bucket list.

 

He has vertigo and a heart condition managed with his pacemaker. Saying all of that, I appreciate everything and everybody who responded to the thread.

 

I suppose we will wait till we get on the first cruise and make our decision on whether Petra tour will work for us.

 

In our younger days we scrambled all over Macchu Piccu and Igassu Falls and so on. I suppose getting older is not for sissies.

 

Have a good one on this Sunday.

 

Dianne and Al

Victoria, BC

[Going Coastal]

Please try to check in when you come back and let us know how it worked out for you. Thanks

[bubbachief]

Hi GC.

As plymouth cruiser said,you will pass all the carriages when you enter.

We did speak with a couple of people who used them and they too said they were very bumpy and uncomfortable but fun. they looked to be going quite a speed as the drivers like to get as many fares as possible. Hope this helps and hope you do get to see Petra. Happy cruising. :)

 

We walked from the visitors center down the Siq past the Treasury, then rode a carriage back up. The price that day was $35 per carriage, higher than others have reported , but we felt it was worth it as the 1 1/2 mile walk back is all up hill on rough ground and sand.

Ride is a bit bumpy and could be uncomfortable. Tell them to go slow if you have physical issues.

[dabear]

Our cruise line warned us that the carriages occasionally overturn& recommend against them. If you choose to take them ask them to go slow (if they will). We choose to walk and it was easy going down the path in the morning but the return was difficult and very hot at midday . We made it with a number of breaks in the shade.

Edited December 16, 2016 by dabear

[Going Coastal]

Thank you so much for the update! It was very kind of you to take the time. We do not go till next fall so the price may go up again. How was the weather for you?

Again, many thanks.

[bubbachief]

Thank you so much for the update! It was very kind of you to take the time. We do not go till next fall so the price may go up again. How was the weather for you?

Again, many thanks.

 

We were there in mid November and the weather was very nice, high 70's or low 80's.

[Going Coastal]

Thank you! We will be there in November so that information is very helpful.

[Host Sharon]

Heading off on Aurora on Monday. Our third call is Aquaba and I have booked a ship's tour to Petra but still debating whether I will make it. With enough painkillers I can do the distance but only slowly - how steep is the trail please and what sort of speed to ship tours take?

 

Thanks

[bubbachief]

Heading off on Aurora on Monday. Our third call is Aquaba and I have booked a ship's tour to Petra but still debating whether I will make it. With enough painkillers I can do the distance but only slowly - how steep is the trail please and what sort of speed to ship tours take?

 

Thanks

 

The trail in the Siq is not all that steep, but its a steady incline all the way back up to the visitors center. You could ride the carriages down and back, but that would not be good if you have back or other issues.

We had a private tour so don't know about the ships tour. We kept up a steady pace and had about 2 1/2 hours at the site. There is about a 2 hour bus ride each way to get to Petra so that is also a consideration

[aussie cruzer]

Heading off on Aurora on Monday. Our third call is Aquaba and I have booked a ship's tour to Petra but still debating whether I will make it. With enough painkillers I can do the distance but only slowly - how steep is the trail please and what sort of speed to ship tours take?

 

Thanks

Sharon is there a travel warning for Aqaba port....The cruise ship schedules show no stops in Aqaba until April.

 

I'm visiting Aqaba in April on the I'll fated Ncl Star......schudule shows no stops in Safaga and Aqaba until April...not sure if it's true....there is a US travel warning in place for northern Jordan and Sinai.

 

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[Host Sharon]

Sharon is there a travel warning for Aqaba port....The cruise ship schedules show no stops in Aqaba until April.

 

I'm visiting Aqaba in April on the I'll fated Ncl Star......schudule shows no stops in Safaga and Aqaba until April...not sure if it's true....there is a US travel warning in place for northern Jordan and Sinai.

 

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Not that I have heard. We had our two Egyptian ports cancelled - Safaga and Sharm el Sheik.

[Host Sharon]

The trail in the Siq is not all that steep, but its a steady incline all the way back up to the visitors center. You could ride the carriages down and back, but that would not be good if you have back or other issues.

We had a private tour so don't know about the ships tour. We kept up a steady pace and had about 2 1/2 hours at the site. There is about a 2 hour bus ride each way to get to Petra so that is also a consideration

 

Thanks - that sounds fine. Steady I can do, steep down inclines are an issue!

[aussie cruzer]

Not that I have heard. We had our two Egyptian ports cancelled - Safaga and Sharm el Sheik.

 

Thanks Sharon,

 

Looks like a awesome cruise your on......can you let me know here if you hear anything about Aqaba.

 

Was Egypt canceled after the recent travel warning or was it a while ago.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 5, 2017 by aussie cruzer

[Host Sharon]

Thanks Sharon,

 

Looks like a awesome cruise your on......can you let me know here if you hear anything about Aqaba.

 

Was Egypt canceled after the recent travel warning or was it a while ago.

 

Thanks.

 

Egypt was cancelled about 6 weeks ago. As I understood our Foreign Office warnings about Jordan they only apply close to the border with Syria - at the moment.

[mararcin]

Not sure when your trip is, OP, but hope you will report back.

We will be at Petra in November, 2017, on Azamara Journey. I am currently screening guides to use for a carriage tour with time to see and photograph the sites I am interested in. I will report back.

 

We'll be on your trip, too. That sounds like the sort of thing we were looking for, and looking for someone to share the transportation from the ship. I'm glad this has started a discussion, but I want to make it clear, if I were paralyzed in a wheelchair I would still go! This is one of the main reasons we are taking this cruise and has been a dream of my husband's and mine for a long time. Fortunately, I am mobile, but have knee and back issues that would slow me down in a group. I'll be taking trekking sticks that should help, and if there are places to sit occasionally that's all I need. Looking forward to talking you on the ship.