Jordan

[kumnio]

Bored at work, so thought Id type this...

@Squirrelhumper @slasher

Amman, decent enough city, TBH outside of the theatre and citadel, theres not much to see. The old souk near the theatre is pretty interesting for a wander, you could probably buy anything there. I stayed the first night near the seventh circle, which is where you get the bus to Petra from, which was a slight mistake, much better staying in town and just getting a taxi to the bus in the morning. The bus leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 10:30, including a daft stop midway.

Wadi Musa, a town that only really exists for tourists to Petra really, which is amazing. I had 1.5 days there, which for me was pretty much perfect. Arrived at 10:30, checked into the hotel, quick shower and was at Petra just after 11:00. Climbed up to a couple of viewpoints, went inside some caves, took a few of the paths, before deciding to call it a day and head back to the hotel at 17:00, you must stay within 5 minutes walk of the Petra entrance, some of the hotels were up the side of a cliff. Checked out of the hotel at 8:00 the next day, but left my bag, and had the full day in Petra before a bus to Aqaba later that evening. Walked to the end of the world, or thats what the sign said anyway. You can take a golf buggy, horse, donkey or camel for bits of the way, personally I preferred to walk it myself, a few bits of the path were a bit iffy, but nothing was extreme. Plenty of stalls selling usual tourist tat, soft drinks, food etc, there are a couple of restaurants midway to get a bite to eat and some shade. There are signs saying that Petra closes at 17:00, but that must be last entry, as there were people coming in at 16:45 both days. The locals in Petra looked like extras from Pirates of the Caribbean to me, it was a bit weird in a funny way.

Aqaba, headed here after Petra, the bus left at 17:00 and arrived about 19:30. Its a resort town on the Red Sea, not really my cup of tea, but was only there for two nights, either side of Wadi Rum. Plenty of restaurants in the city centre, shops offering scuba diving etc, its a typical tourist town.

Wadi Rum, headed here from Aqaba, it was like landing on the moon. The scenery is weird as hell, some bits are vast expanses of flat sand, and other bits are red mountains, a very beautiful place. Plenty of activities to do, I probably liked here more than Petra TBH.

A few random thought...

Jordanians, some of the nicest people in the world, all unbelievably nice and really seemed happy to show off their country.

Traffic in Amman, apparently theres 2.2 million people in Amman, which cant be true, theres at least 5 million cars. Traffic is horrendous, but the driving standards are worse, they really cant drive to save themselves. I saw 3 crashes in Amman, then saw the aftermath of a bad accident about 30 minutes outside of Petra. I considered hiring a car before I went, but glad that I didnt. The JETT buses cost £10 for Amman to Petra and Petra to Aqaba. I flew from Aqaba to Amman for £35 to save getting another bus.

Food, I usually just asked the waiters to recommend something, everything I had was very nice, starters cost £3-4 and mains were £8-10. No matter where I ate in Jordan, these prices were pretty consistent. The one thing Id recommend is Spicy Potatoes in Zajal Restaurant in Amman, which were unbelievably good, the staff in that restaurant were unreal. A couple of places sold beer, but I never bothered with it.

Prices, I read before that Jordan was expensive for the area, cant say that I agree at all. There were small cafes offering meals for £3, street food was available in some areas, but as mentioned above, I always used proper restaurants, water/soft drinks were less than £1, even tourist tat was cheap, taxis literally cost a couple of pound to go anywhere in the city. Not once did I feel that I was being overcharged.

I wish that I had spent less time in Amman, its not a bad place, but its just a city, maybe should have gone to the Dead Sea instead.

Location is everything in Amman and Wadi Musa, there just isnt any flat land, you can look on a map and think its a 15 minute stroll, when you get there you realise that you're climbing up the side of a cliff, then down, then up again, then you realise why every single person drives everywhere.

[wanderer]

Did a couple of nights in Jordan before the Isreal game many moons ago.

I did Beirut-Amman-Tel Aviv, and while I preferred Beirut more to Amman, I preferred Jordan as a whole. 

Apart from the Rome ruins across from my hotel (I stayed in the hostel that has the roof top bar that just about everyone stays in) there did not seem all that much to Amman I felt (there was some good bars I found, and had a great meal in this terrace restaurant that had photos of Ben Stiller and Mesut Özil up on the wall.... but the food initially is not very appealing on the eye when put in front of you).

[Squirrelhumper]

20 hours ago, kumnio said:

Bored at work, so thought Id type this...

@Squirrelhumper @slasher

Amman, decent enough city, TBH outside of the theatre and citadel, theres not much to see. The old souk near the theatre is pretty interesting for a wander, you could probably buy anything there. I stayed the first night near the seventh circle, which is where you get the bus to Petra from, which was a slight mistake, much better staying in town and just getting a taxi to the bus in the morning. The bus leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 10:30, including a daft stop midway.

Wadi Musa, a town that only really exists for tourists to Petra really, which is amazing. I had 1.5 days there, which for me was pretty much perfect. Arrived at 10:30, checked into the hotel, quick shower and was at Petra just after 11:00. Climbed up to a couple of viewpoints, went inside some caves, took a few of the paths, before deciding to call it a day and head back to the hotel at 17:00, you must stay within 5 minutes walk of the Petra entrance, some of the hotels were up the side of a cliff. Checked out of the hotel at 8:00 the next day, but left my bag, and had the full day in Petra before a bus to Aqaba later that evening. Walked to the end of the world, or thats what the sign said anyway. You can take a golf buggy, horse, donkey or camel for bits of the way, personally I preferred to walk it myself, a few bits of the path were a bit iffy, but nothing was extreme. Plenty of stalls selling usual tourist tat, soft drinks, food etc, there are a couple of restaurants midway to get a bite to eat and some shade. There are signs saying that Petra closes at 17:00, but that must be last entry, as there were people coming in at 16:45 both days. The locals in Petra looked like extras from Pirates of the Caribbean to me, it was a bit weird in a funny way.

Aqaba, headed here after Petra, the bus left at 17:00 and arrived about 19:30. Its a resort town on the Red Sea, not really my cup of tea, but was only there for two nights, either side of Wadi Rum. Plenty of restaurants in the city centre, shops offering scuba diving etc, its a typical tourist town.

Wadi Rum, headed here from Aqaba, it was like landing on the moon. The scenery is weird as hell, some bits are vast expanses of flat sand, and other bits are red mountains, a very beautiful place. Plenty of activities to do, I probably liked here more than Petra TBH.

A few random thought...

Jordanians, some of the nicest people in the world, all unbelievably nice and really seemed happy to show off their country.

Traffic in Amman, apparently theres 2.2 million people in Amman, which cant be true, theres at least 5 million cars. Traffic is horrendous, but the driving standards are worse, they really cant drive to save themselves. I saw 3 crashes in Amman, then saw the aftermath of a bad accident about 30 minutes outside of Petra. I considered hiring a car before I went, but glad that I didnt. The JETT buses cost £10 for Amman to Petra and Petra to Aqaba. I flew from Aqaba to Amman for £35 to save getting another bus.

Food, I usually just asked the waiters to recommend something, everything I had was very nice, starters cost £3-4 and mains were £8-10. No matter where I ate in Jordan, these prices were pretty consistent. The one thing Id recommend is Spicy Potatoes in Zajal Restaurant in Amman, which were unbelievably good, the staff in that restaurant were unreal. A couple of places sold beer, but I never bothered with it.

Prices, I read before that Jordan was expensive for the area, cant say that I agree at all. There were small cafes offering meals for £3, street food was available in some areas, but as mentioned above, I always used proper restaurants, water/soft drinks were less than £1, even tourist tat was cheap, taxis literally cost a couple of pound to go anywhere in the city. Not once did I feel that I was being overcharged.

I wish that I had spent less time in Amman, its not a bad place, but its just a city, maybe should have gone to the Dead Sea instead.

Location is everything in Amman and Wadi Musa, there just isnt any flat land, you can look on a map and think its a 15 minute stroll, when you get there you realise that you're climbing up the side of a cliff, then down, then up again, then you realise why every single person drives everywhere.

Nice one mate, sounds like a great trip. 

My missus said the same about Wadi Rum, no surprise it's been used for several films! She also raved about the locals. 

Defo on my list of places to go soon. 

[slasher]

On 11/5/2025 at 3:31 PM, kumnio said:

Bored at work, so thought Id type this...

@Squirrelhumper @slasher

Amman, decent enough city, TBH outside of the theatre and citadel, theres not much to see. The old souk near the theatre is pretty interesting for a wander, you could probably buy anything there. I stayed the first night near the seventh circle, which is where you get the bus to Petra from, which was a slight mistake, much better staying in town and just getting a taxi to the bus in the morning. The bus leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 10:30, including a daft stop midway.

Wadi Musa, a town that only really exists for tourists to Petra really, which is amazing. I had 1.5 days there, which for me was pretty much perfect. Arrived at 10:30, checked into the hotel, quick shower and was at Petra just after 11:00. Climbed up to a couple of viewpoints, went inside some caves, took a few of the paths, before deciding to call it a day and head back to the hotel at 17:00, you must stay within 5 minutes walk of the Petra entrance, some of the hotels were up the side of a cliff. Checked out of the hotel at 8:00 the next day, but left my bag, and had the full day in Petra before a bus to Aqaba later that evening. Walked to the end of the world, or thats what the sign said anyway. You can take a golf buggy, horse, donkey or camel for bits of the way, personally I preferred to walk it myself, a few bits of the path were a bit iffy, but nothing was extreme. Plenty of stalls selling usual tourist tat, soft drinks, food etc, there are a couple of restaurants midway to get a bite to eat and some shade. There are signs saying that Petra closes at 17:00, but that must be last entry, as there were people coming in at 16:45 both days. The locals in Petra looked like extras from Pirates of the Caribbean to me, it was a bit weird in a funny way.

Aqaba, headed here after Petra, the bus left at 17:00 and arrived about 19:30. Its a resort town on the Red Sea, not really my cup of tea, but was only there for two nights, either side of Wadi Rum. Plenty of restaurants in the city centre, shops offering scuba diving etc, its a typical tourist town.

Wadi Rum, headed here from Aqaba, it was like landing on the moon. The scenery is weird as hell, some bits are vast expanses of flat sand, and other bits are red mountains, a very beautiful place. Plenty of activities to do, I probably liked here more than Petra TBH.

A few random thought...

Jordanians, some of the nicest people in the world, all unbelievably nice and really seemed happy to show off their country.

Traffic in Amman, apparently theres 2.2 million people in Amman, which cant be true, theres at least 5 million cars. Traffic is horrendous, but the driving standards are worse, they really cant drive to save themselves. I saw 3 crashes in Amman, then saw the aftermath of a bad accident about 30 minutes outside of Petra. I considered hiring a car before I went, but glad that I didnt. The JETT buses cost £10 for Amman to Petra and Petra to Aqaba. I flew from Aqaba to Amman for £35 to save getting another bus.

Food, I usually just asked the waiters to recommend something, everything I had was very nice, starters cost £3-4 and mains were £8-10. No matter where I ate in Jordan, these prices were pretty consistent. The one thing Id recommend is Spicy Potatoes in Zajal Restaurant in Amman, which were unbelievably good, the staff in that restaurant were unreal. A couple of places sold beer, but I never bothered with it.

Prices, I read before that Jordan was expensive for the area, cant say that I agree at all. There were small cafes offering meals for £3, street food was available in some areas, but as mentioned above, I always used proper restaurants, water/soft drinks were less than £1, even tourist tat was cheap, taxis literally cost a couple of pound to go anywhere in the city. Not once did I feel that I was being overcharged.

I wish that I had spent less time in Amman, its not a bad place, but its just a city, maybe should have gone to the Dead Sea instead.

Location is everything in Amman and Wadi Musa, there just isnt any flat land, you can look on a map and think its a 15 minute stroll, when you get there you realise that you're climbing up the side of a cliff, then down, then up again, then you realise why every single person drives everywhere.

Great gen m8! 👍

That said my powers of persuasion on Mrs Slasher are failing me on this one so far, she’s not having it!