azerty

I am planning a trip to Turkey in September and was thinking about going to Petra (Jordan). I'll fly to Istanbul, spent time in Turkey, move to Amman and then fly back to States. What is the "best" way of reaching Amman from Izmir or Antalya?
Thanks,

jules4je7

I don't know the answer to your question, but you are absolutely REQUIRED to post a trip report of Jordan when you get back!

I've been to Izmir, and it's a GREAT place...on the water, with incredible people and what I would consider an ideal example of the Turkish experience, since few Americans stop there, so there isn't a big tourist mechanism in place...the few other tourists we ran into were either French or German.

We stayed at the Hotel Aksan for $40/night (a 4-star hotel, with top-notch service, including the willingness to pay cab drivers and curse them out for you if they ripped you off on the way back to the hotel, LOL).

Happy travels,

Jules

sssteve

I don't think you want to drive through Iraq or Syria, so i guess you don't have much choice except to fly. I have no idea if there are direct flights from Izmer or Antalyia to Amman, but you might want to consider flying to Aquaba (on the southern tip of Jordan on the Red Sea) and from there going to Petra and then on to Amman. The Red Sea is gorgous!

flanneruk

Do you want fun or speed?

There are very few international flights from either Antalya or Izmir, except to exciting places like Moscow and East Midlands. The quickest way is to fly back to Istanbul, where there are frequent connections on both THY and Royal Jordanian. www.nonrev.net is the handiest source for all this, and the roundabout journey takes about 7 hours.

One alternative though I've never done it at one go, is to ships.

Ferry from Bodrum to the right place in Greece. www.ferries.gr implies you can do the following connections via Rhodes, but when I tried it years ago you had to do it all via the Piraeus.

Ship from Greece to Haifa. Bus and taxi to the Allenby Bridge, walk across then pick up a Jordanian taxi or bus on to Amman.

Alternatively, ship to Port Said, bus to Nuweiba, ship again to Aqaba (watch the reaction of the Egyptian workers on their way to Saudi as the ship sails within a mile of Israel's Eilat) then hire a car to drive along the King's Highway, stopping off at Kerak, Petra and Wadi Rum. When we last drove this, about 10 years ago, the road was beautifully signed in English until the last 5 miles, when all signs were in Arabic only.

If you can't read Arabic, it might be wise to ensure you arrive in Amman while it's still light so you can navigate this last bit by the sun.

Or just get a train. The Istanbul-Damascus train stops at Adana and Konya. Change at Damascus for the train on to Amman, though you also have to change trains on the Syria/Jordan border. www.seat61.com gives reasonable details.

elaine

Hi
I just got back from a trip to Israel, we did a daytrip to Petra.
We went from Eilat, but I understand that it is common to visit Petra from Amman.
Petra is a life-enhancing experience, unforgettable. If at all possible, arrange in advance to hire a guide, this is a place where a knowledgeable guide will GREATLY enhance the experience, much more than any guidebook.

azerty

Thanks everybody for the replies.
I guess I'll try to do a ferry through Cyprus if I can figure out the logistics of reaching Haifa from Amman (is West Bank curently closed?). Otherwise Port Said/Aqaba variation or just a train through Syria sounds like fun too, though for different reasons.
I'll post a report when I am back.

azerty

Well, we ended up going from Syria to Turkey. We crossed the border going by bus from Aleppo to Antakya. There were (Septembet 2005) two buses, one was around 5 a.m. and another around 2 or 3 p.m. The bus ticket is 250-350 Syrian Pounds ($5-7). The distance is (about) 120 km. It took the bus more than 4 hours to reach Antakya. Next time I'll take taxi, I think it's price was about $10 per person.

GeoffHamer

Unfortunately, there are no longer any ferry services from Greece to Haifa.

Garfield

From Antalya you can get a bus via Adana to Antakya. From Antakya buses cross into Syria. The closest city in Syria is Aleppo (Halab). Buses also run to Damascus and directly to Amman.

It might be worth spending a few days in Syria as it has a number of interesting sights, among them are Palmyra, which is one of the world's great historic sights; Hama, an interesting town; Crac de Chevaliers, a crusader built castle, dating from 1150; and Damascus, a fascinating city of contrasts.

If you pass through Syria you will need a visa which in not available at the border.

You can get a bus from Damascus to Amman or take local bus to border and cross by taxi, then make further stops in Jordan.