Visiting Petra
 

I am thinking of visiting Petra on an upcoming trip. We were thinking of staying in Aqaba for 2 nights, and visiting Petra during the full day there. What is the best way to visit Petra from Aqaba? Would it be best to take a taxi and tour on our own, or does it make more sense to use a touring company?

Taxis are very reliable in Jordan, so that is certainly a good option. However, I would urge you to consider staying the night in Petra -- the ruins are amazing to see during the day as well as later in the evening after the sun has gone down and most tourists have retired for the evening.
Either way you will have a great trip -- Petra is a special place!

I would switch it. Stay in Petra for at least two nights, better three, and day trip to Aqaba... Unless you're there to dive.

No reason for a tour guide in Petra, very easy to do on your own, and lots to see besides the Treasury. For an incentive, see: http://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/C...ast-2009/Petra

Thanks for both replies. I think staying in Petra for the night is a great idea. If we took the first bus from Jerusalem, do either of you think it is realistic to make it to Petra in time for the evening tour on the same day?

thursdaysd -- amazing photos. It looks amazing. Did you tour Wadi Rum at all while in the Petra area?

Glad you like the photos. Please, try for more than one night. Don't know how long it will take from Jerusalem, but I imagine the border crossing will have an impact on that.

I did visit Wadi Rum. Not overly impressed, but I'm not particularly fond of camels (it was my third time on one), or high heat, and I didn't think the guide did a very good job. There are a few photos in the Jordan Miscellany gallery.

I am late to the party as we were travelling when this was posted. We did Petra and Wadi Rum. We loved Wadi Rum despite some minor guide problems.

I'm doing the same thing myself, and from looking at the Egged web site during my own research, the earliest bus of the day leaves Jerusalem at 7am and arrives in Eilat at noon. I don't know how much time it will take to get to the border, finish the crossing, and get to Petra. I have no personal experience, but I'm hoping it is realistic to be in Petra by mid-afternoon if all goes well.

Stay the night before and after in Petra and then you can start early for the whole day in Petra.We then did Wadi Rum on the way back up for a stay at the Dead Sea.

I also did not enjoy Wadi Rum. The guides were extremely pushy and riding a camel is fun for about the first five minutes. However, every Jordanian with whom I spoke replied Wadi Rum when I asked them about their favorite place in their country. I believe they were talking about the camping experience.

Driving a car between Petra and Wadi Rum was no problem - got lost for a few minutes -- nothing bad. From Dana to Petra, on the other hand: get a 4 x 4.

Heard great things about Petra at night. It was pretty amazing in the day...

thursdaysd, as usual, love your photos! I also agree that to not spend the night in Petra borders on criminal : ) And, I'm also so over camel rides. Petra is an astounding place. I wish I were there now.

I was obsessed with the fresh water system that the Nabataeans had built and my photos reflect that obsession. thursdasd's photos covered almost everything you would want to see, but if you are fascinated by engineering, I've got some interesting shots of the water system.

Album: http://photo-url.com/petra

(click "slideshow" option if you want to hear the music "The Bedouin Walks Alone" by Badawi.)

Hi BostonHarbor - nice to "see" you! Haven't seen you lately - where are you traveling now?

Great photos, and especially the captions. And great point about the water. The current population needs some of that ingenuity!

Hey thursdaysd, good "seeing" you too! I've recently been to Turkey which was incredible--Istanbul is just about my favorite place ever. I head to Havana every year for street photography, and going back this February again. I'm also planning on going on a photography Safari to Botstwana in June. Too many places, too little time.

Have you been to Botswana?

How about you? Great fun travels?

I love Istanbul too! Haven't been south of the Sahara yet. I finally made it south of Mexico last year, but need to go back and cover the northwest quadrant. Are your Havana photos up anywhere?

No travel this year, alas, I've just finished renovating my house. Tentative plan is to sell it next spring, go nomad for a year and fetch up in the UK, maybe for good. (I'm a dual national.) I just spent a week in the Virginia mountains, and I may go to the beach for few days, but I destroyed my emergency fund bringing the house up to date. (See http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...-fires-re-lit/ )

Nice photos BostonHarbor...a special place visited years ago.
Like a hidden city. We went down from Amman. DW was a bit anxious about the donkey ride as the pace was too fast.