Allenby Bridge
 

I would like to hear people's experiences with crossing from Israel to Jordan via Allenby Bridge. I read in an travel book on Israel that it can take up to 2 hours to get through.

On the other hand, we are being met at the Jordan side of the border by a driver from Petra Moon Travel. They have estimated that we should be across by 8.30 am - the border opens at 8 am.

Is this overly optimistic? Would it be more realistic if we were at the head of the queue? And if so, how early should we arrive at the border?

We did not cross at Allenby but went via the one north of it (can't remember the name of it right now) which was supposed to be quicker. Anyway, allow flexibility in your time. We were the first ones in line to go through and several bus drivers walked right in front of us and plunked down the passports of all of their passengers. Clearly this was typical procedure. The other issue at that crossing was waiting for the bus to take us over. It was about a half hour wait. On our return going back in to Israel we were once again first in line but the last to leave the building almost an hour later as an Israeli agent decided it was suspicious that we went over to Jordan for an overnight visit (Petra). Have a great trip!

Are you sure you are crossing at the Allenby Bridge/King Hussein crossing.

I'm asking because you need to get a visa before hand if you are crossing into Jordan there as they aren't issued at that border crossing.

At all the other border crossings including the Sheikh Hussein crossing (the one Weezie mentions) you can get a visa at the border

Thanks for the replies. Yes, we are going via Allenby/King Hussein as I believe its the closest to Jerusalem? We will get our visas at the Jordanian Embassy in South Africa before we go.


What's your opinion? We want to have as much time in Petra as possible but also want to stop at Mt Nebo & Madaba on our return to Amman (we're flying from there back to Tel Aviv).

We will be finishing our tour in Jerusalem on the Friday morning; our tour group will be leaving for Tel Aviv at about 5 am. So we have a number of choices: directly from Jerusalem into Jordan or go back to Tel Aviv in the bus and fly from there to Eilat and cross the border at Araba.

How far is the other border from Jerusalem (Sheikh Hussein)? Would it be worth going that way? Or would going through Araba be quicker?

We want to get to Petra as early as possible on the Friday since we fly back from Amman to Tel Aviv on the Sunday evening, which means only one full day in Petra and whatever time we have on the Friday.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply!

Jen

All the other border crossings are quicker to cross.

In your case I'd personally use the crossing near Eilat where the visa is issued at the border and is FREE. (I'm assuming that SA folk can get a visa at the border). It means having to get to Eilat, but once over it's quicker to get to Petra

Because you are entering Jordan by land from Israel there's no way you can avoid ending up with evidence in your passport that you've been in Israel whichever route you take.

Have a look at www.jordanjubilee.com which is probably the best website for tourists about Jordan

This maybe old information - as Friday is the Muslim holy day, the Allenby crossing may actually have restricted hours. From what I recall, Eilat/Aqaba doesn't have these restrictions. And if traveling on a Friday, be sure to ascertain that Petra is open to tourists.

We were already in Amman when we visited Petra. We left early, by private Mercedes with driver; spent a good portion of the day at Petra. It was great, but certainly didn't cover everything. We had a late lunch and returned to Amman. There wasn't sufficient time to visit Mt. Nebo or other stops along the way in either direction. If you can somehow spend overnight at Petra, you wouldn't be so rushed.

Again, the info in the first para maybe old information, but do verify so you're not left at the border with nowhere to go.

Thanks for the advise. Unfortunately the flights from Tel Aviv to Eilat are quite late in the day so are possibly not an option. It looks like we will have to use the Allenby crossing; our Jordanian travel company has told us that the crossing closes early but we will be through by then.

Sandi - our trip is like yours; private driver, private tour, etc. They have confirmed our walking tour of Petra on the Friday so it must be open. We will have the entire Saturday there before leaving for Amman.

Jen

I think this information might be of interest to tourists (like myself) who wander how they can cross Allenby Bridge in the most uncomplicated way. Apparently there are shuttle busses from one side to the other! I hope this information is correct.

I just recently crossed this bridge and hate to say this but the time it takes to cross the bridge depends on your name (sad isn't it in our new millenium). I am actually from Venezuela but have a middle eastern name and was left there for 8 hours. So all depends, if you have a non middle eastern name you should plan for about 1 to 2 hours if you do expect atleast 5. Hope this helps.

Also--here is a recent post about the crossing:

http://tinyurl.com/Allenby-Bridge