Only a Week in Israel/Jordan!

You can only get a taxi / bus from the side of the county you're in.

I've stayed at the Cleopetra in Wadi Musa (Petra) and can recommend that. They treated me well and I was satisfied. Of course, there are other good options as well.

Check out www.jordanjubilee.com for more information about the Jordanian part of your trip.

TripAdvisor also lists a lot of options. Of course, take their reviews with a grain of salt as many are fabricated. I look for consistent reviews from multiple reviewers and ignore the ones from first time posters.

Again, good luck on your trip.

Just read the last couple of posts while replying, not thought of the flight option, may save us time, thanks. Also the jordan link and hotel recommendation.

@laketraveller,
Just as an example, when I traveled to Peru, I spent almost a full month around Cuzco- hiking, climbing, rafting, etc. and that was an amazing trip, BUT, if I were in Peru for work and had only 4-5 free days, would I just stay in Lima, the capital, because I don't have enough time for some "real" traveling? Nope- I'd use flights instead of buses, take the train to Machu Pichu instead of a 4 day hike and make the most of the time and opportunity I have.
And to the point, I know people who have done the Petra day trip and enjoyed it immensely. It's pricey for sure but if you're going to have a tight budget AND a short amount of time, you won't see much.

and one more thing-
The price of a one day Petra tour from Eilat is 300 USD inc. pick up from the hotel (in Eilat), transportation, guide, entrance fees to Petra, lunch, short horse back ride, border taxes & tips.
Just for comparison, 2 dives from a boat in Aqaba cost 135 USD, crossing the border another 50 USD, lunch- 15 USD, taxis- 35 USD...
And that's just for a couple of hours of looking at some fish :)

Thanks Amirico, just checked flights and reckon it can be done like this:

thurs- arrive 17-15 stay in tel aviv
fri - 1 hour to jerusalem stay jerusalem
sat - stay jerusalem
sun - fly tel aviv-eilat 1 hour 11.10-12.15, bus/taxi to petra
mon - stay petra
tues - fly eilat-tel aviv 14.00-15.00, stay tel aviv
wed - hire car to haifa/gallilee/nazareth stay over at one of them
thurs - drop hire car off, fly home 18.15

You think this possible?

Funny you should mention cusco, as I only had 7 days in peru 7 years ago, mainly to see machu pichu, so did the flight there instead of the trek. Had a great few days, staying at a little village 1 night on the train route back, with natural hot springs, can't remember the name but great memorys.

cheers again

Flying with El Al from Ben Gurion to Eilat is very economically priced - 129 shekels each way. A taxi from Eilat airport to the border takes roughly 7 minutes and would cost roughly 35 shekels. You must pay an Israeli departure tax of 101 shekels. The great things about this border crossing are its relative ease and also there is no Jordanian visa fee...it's completely free. Once you've entered Jordan, there are plenty of taxis waiting. Pay roughly 45 dinars to get to Petra. It's less than 2 hours by car. The entrance/admission fee to see the sites of Petra is 50 dinar/person. Upon leaving Jordan you will have to have an 8 dinar exit tax. No fee to re-enter Israel.

@ross4,
The town's name is Aguas Calientes and it's a lot of fun, just like everything else around Cuzco.

Your itinerary is fine and doable although I have a few remarks:
The weekend isn't ideal for Jerusalem as less places are open (shops, museums, markets, mosques, synagogues, etc. All depending on the day and part of the city you're visiting).
According to your plan, thurs, sun, tues, and thurs will be mostly flying and driving so I've rearranged it a bit.
Unless there is some nighttime activity in Petra, I would spend only one night there,
Otherwise, the next day will be mostly wasted.
Same for your flight to Eilat- if you fly mid-day you won't get anything done in the morning and by the time you land in Eilat, cross the border and arrive in Petra, it'll be late afternoon and again- you won't see much.

Rent a car for 2 days and use is for one day in the north and one day in the Dead Sea area.

thurs - arrive 17-15. Sleep in tel aviv
fri – half day in tel aviv and fly tel aviv-eilat around 16:00, bus/taxi to petra or early morning flight to Eilat which may give some daylight time in Petra/Wadi Rum. Sleep in Petra.
sat – visit petra, fly eilat-tel aviv in the afternoon/evening. Sleep in tel aviv
sun – morning in tel aviv, noon- rent a car, drive to the north. Sleep in the north (many great options).

mon – A day in the north (haifa/gallilee/Nazareth), around 15:00, start driving through the Jordan Valley (Route 90) to the Dead Sea. Sleep at Metzoke Dragot, Ein Gedi or Masada.
tues – The dead sea area. In the afternoon- drive to Jerusalem and return car there. Sleep in Jerusalem.
wed – Jerusalem.

thurs – Jerusalem, until 14:00. Shuttle to the airport, fly home 18.15
friday- totally inefficient day at the office...

thanks again guys, think we can fit a bit more in now, appreciate the beer at the end of each day even more! May get back to you on any hostels etc but thanks for the links, Enjoy 2012!