Petra/Jordan: One day fly-in or 5 day tour?

[HDS]

We have two options for visiting Petra as an add-on to our Egypt trip.

One is a one-day return flight tour from Sharm-El-Sheikh to Petra only, about $US400.

 

The other is a six day tour of Jordan with one day and three nights in Amman, two in Petra, a day excursion to Wadi Rum, about $US1900.00.

 

I'd like to hear from other travellers who have visited Petra and Jordan, especially those who have done a one day flight tour from Sharm-El-Sheikh. Is there enough time to see Petra, or is it a drive by with a long, long lunch in a restaurant near a souvenir shop?

 

Also from people who have spent time in Jordan. Did you enjoy Amman, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you all,

 

Deb.

[2travelers]

We have two options for visiting Petra as an add-on to our Egypt trip.

One is a one-day return flight tour from Sharm-El-Sheikh to Petra only, about $US400.

 

The other is a six day tour of Jordan with one day and three nights in Amman, two in Petra, a day excursion to Wadi Rum, about $US1900.00.

 

I'd like to hear from other travellers who have visited Petra and Jordan, especially those who have done a one day flight tour from Sharm-El-Sheikh. Is there enough time to see Petra, or is it a drive by with a long, long lunch in a restaurant near a souvenir shop?

 

Also from people who have spent time in Jordan. Did you enjoy Amman, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you all,

 

Deb.

 

Hi - We took the 4-day extension to Jordan after our 14 day trip to Egypt. If I had to do it again I would have flown in and out in one day. In my opinion, and my husband's, Amman held absolutely nothing. The hotel was a 1-star dump (the opinion of the 42 folks who were with us) and there was nothing around the area (in the heart of Amman) to see if we chose not to do an optional tour. We did go to the Dead Sea, but having been there before (on the Israeli side) it did not have much impact. Most of the people with us just ate lunch and sat at tables waiting for the few folks who decided to swim. We did not take the tour to Wadi Rum. Although the folks who did go enjoyed it, it was a 2-hour ride from the hotel and 2 hours at Wadi Rum. Spending 4 hours traveling to spend two hours at a site did not appeal to me. The highlight of the trip was Petra, Jordan and that was the reason we took the extension. Had we had a choice, we certainly would have flown in and out and just spent the day in Petra. Our cost was $2000 for the extension - we did hire a private guide to take us around on the second day in Amman rather than go to ruins with the group. Nearly all of the days we spent in Amman were filled with optional tours, in addition to the $2000 for the extension. So, we chose to try and do our own thing until we reached Petra. Hope this helps. I am sure you will get a lot of mixed reviews on Amman, but to us - it was a complete waste of time. :(

[happy trailer]

My husband spends at least one night a week in Amman, so I showed him your posting.

 

He suggested that you use your 3 days in Amman as a base for taking day trips to other places in Jordan.

 

Before I plan a trip, I usually take a look at the Viator website to see what day trips they offer. Here's the link to their listings for Amman:

 

http://www.viator.com/Amman/d912-ttd?activities=all

 

My husband has been to Mount Nebo, and says it is definitely worth visiting. I've heard that Jerash is also special.

 

Another alternative, if you can arrange it, would be to go to Israel for a few days after Petra, instead of staying in Amman. There are daily flights between Amman and Tel Aviv, and the flight time is less than 30 minutes. There is plenty to do in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem!

 

HTH!

[happy trailer]

(double posting)

[HDS]

Thank you Ruth and "2travelers" for your input.

How long did you get to spend at Petra and was it long enough? Did you overnight at Petra?

I'm still undecided as I don't think the one-day fly tour will give us enough time in Petra. The 4-day 5-night $US2000 tour includes all excursions and the highlights you both mentioned.

Day1 - fly in. Day2 - Amman museums, citadel ampitheatre and Dead Sea. Day3 - Madaba, Mt Nebo, Wadi Muijb, Kerak, Petra (o/n).

Day4 - Petra all day and o/n. Day 5 - Wadi Rum and back to Amman. Day 6 fly out.

If we overnight at a hotel at Petra, albeit outside the World Heritage site, we should have more time there than if we fly in from Eqypt????

Ruth, I'll check the viator site today. and try to ring the TA's this week.

Thank you both.

Deb.

[happy trailer]

Well, that extended Jordan tour certainly sounds like it covers all the highlights!

 

Good luck, and enjoy!

[2travelers]

Thank you Ruth and "2travelers" for your input.

How long did you get to spend at Petra and was it long enough? Did you overnight at Petra?

I'm still undecided as I don't think the one-day fly tour will give us enough time in Petra. The 4-day 5-night $US2000 tour includes all excursions and the highlights you both mentioned.

Day1 - fly in. Day2 - Amman museums, citadel ampitheatre and Dead Sea. Day3 - Madaba, Mt Nebo, Wadi Muijb, Kerak, Petra (o/n).

Day4 - Petra all day and o/n. Day 5 - Wadi Rum and back to Amman. Day 6 fly out.

If we overnight at a hotel at Petra, albeit outside the World Heritage site, we should have more time there than if we fly in from Eqypt????

Ruth, I'll check the viator site today. and try to ring the TA's this week.

Thank you both.

Deb.

 

Hi HS - We arrived in Amman late Sunday night, so there was nothing to do but crash in our hotel.

On Monday we did do some sight seeing with the group. We went to the Citadel and the Roman Theatre in the morning, and spent the afternoon having lunch and swimming in the Dead Sea (which I mentioned on my previous post).

On Tuesday the group went to Jerash and the Ajloun Castle. My husband and I decided to go out with a private guide - who also took us to Ajloun Castle and then to the most northern part of Jordan (Um Quai- sp?) to see the entire country from above. Since that day there were terrible sand storms visability was poor, but it was still a wonderful experience for us. The trip to Jerash, as I recall, was an optional and the folks who decided to stay back in Amman were very disappointed, having nothing to do - the pool at the hotel was closed and the hotel was not too happy having to prepare lunch for them - there was no place outside the hotel for them to get a bite to eat.

Wednesday was a travel day - we did a bit of sightseeing as we were leaving Amman and then the rest of the day was spent in the bus traveling to Petra. We arrived in Petra late that night, ate dinner and crashed.

Early Thursday morning we traveled to Petra. Once in Petra there is a 11/2 mile walk through the canyon to get to the opening that faces the Treasury Building. This is why you came! :D A horse back ride is included in the price of your ticket, the horses go from the visitor center to just before the end of the canyon, $3 each way as a tip. Most of the folks we traveled with walked the distance with our guide (one of the best we have ever had). My husband has difficulty walking (due to a failed spine surgery) and we knew that he would never be able to walk that distance. We were able to get a buggy ride from the visitor center to the treasury building which was $30 for the round trip (the driver meets you at the treasury building at a specified time to take you back - pay him at the end) - $5 per person as a tip. So, we were at the treasury building at 8am- we wandered around and I climbed into the treasury building while we waited for the rest of the group. The group met us at about 9am - then after listening to the tour guide explain everything about the treasury building - the rest of the group started down towards the monestary. The walk from the treasury building to the monastery is 21/2 miles. It is downhill, so it is an easy walk - but again, my husband could never do it. So, we chose to take a donkey that distance (since it was longer than they usually go we negotiated for $40 round trip - no tip). You can either walk, take a donkey or opt for a camel ($15 per person each way- no tip). For the most part, most of our group walked with the guide since it was ealy morning, still cool and downhill. We got to the monastery at around noon - we ate at the out door restaurant in Petra and then, anyone who wanted to walk up to the monastery could do so. The rest started back slowly to the treasury builing. There were two buses going back to the hotel - 3pm or 5pm. Since we had decided to take the early bus back - we got on our donkeys and headed back to the treasury building. By that time a majority of the group had decided to do the same. There were only a few folks who stayed behind. The monastery was an uneven climb of over 100 steps (if I remember correctly) and one of the group fell and twisted his ankle badly - remember, that by this time the sun was very hot and many of the folks had a hard time just walking uphill back to the treasury building. Many, who had walked the entire way down to the restaurant needed a donkey or camel to get back up and then opted for a horse to get back to the visitor center. So - one day in Petra is really sufficient. We took the early bus and were back in our hotel by about 4:30pm - the rest came in about an hour later. There was nothing that we missed (although I would have liked to have spent more time listening to the guide, but my husband's inability to walk any distance did not allow that). Petra is the one thing I will never forget - Amman was just the means to get there for us.

Friday morning there was the optional trip to Wadi Rum. Although we had intended on going, one look at the itinerary showed us that it was 4 hours (back and forth) on the bus and 2 hours at Wadi Rum. then lunch at the hotel -back on the bus for another six hours to the airport. We opted (as did almost the entire group) to stay at the hotel, have a leisurely breakfast, finish packing and then board the bus for the airport.

Ronnie

[camNaud]

We are staying in Sharm next month and plan on visiting Petra on a one day visit using the following company - who were recommended by friends who stayed their last year.

 

http://www.sharmexcursions.com/petra-by-plane-excursion

[Grothj]

My granddaughter and I were in Jordan this June/July. We spent three days in Amman. The first day we saw the large mosque, the citadel, and the ampitheatre. We also had a great lunch at a popular restaurant and walked through the small old downtown area. The second day I went on a day excursion to Jerash and to Um Qais, which overlooks the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. You can see Israel from there. The Third day we went to Madaba and Mount Nebo on our way to Petra. So I think there is a lot to do in and from Amman. We like staying overnight in Petra so that we could get up and enter the site early in the morning when it is not quite so hot. We spent about 3 hours there and our guide arranged for mules to meet us at the end of the site (near the restaurant) and took us up and out where our car met us. We were scheduled to go to Wadi Rum the next morning but our guide found out it was 120F with a sand storm so we cancelled. I had been to Wadi Rum before and it is interesting but not an easy trip. It is a drive and usually the tour is in the back of a 4 wheel-drive pickup truck...not too easy on the back. We then spent two nights at the Dead Sea---well worth it even if you just get an afternoon. Swimming in the Dead Sea is a treat!

 

So I'd really recommend the extended trip...Jordan is an interesting country with friendly people and good food!