Footwear

If you want to visit the Petra's high hills locations like the Monastry , High Place of Sacrifice and others is better to take a hiking boots, running shoes do not have good grip and you can slip at those precarious stairs of Petra.
You do not need a sophisticated and heavy model . I took a Bull Terrier and worked very well not only for Petra but for all the hikings I did in Jordan.

Hiking sandals with closed toes are the best solution. You can get away with snearkers, but expect to throw them away when you get home.

I would take neither hiking boots nor running shoes. I would bring hiking sneakers (trail shoes) or hiking sandals with closed toes. Hiking boots are too heavy and it is a bit overdoing it for the terrain, running shoes are not sturdy enough. Best bring sneakers because February in Cairo can be a bit chilly so you'll need closed shoes anyway. Oh yeah, I would also recommend trail shoes or hiking sandals for the Valley of the Kings and the Pyramids in Egypt.

Edited by: t_maia

I did the "high places" of Petra in sandles, that's what the locals do. Worst case scenerio, take a mule up.

I was happy I wore my hiking boots for all the climbing in Petra but mine are the cotton, light-weight variety (the brand is called Palladiums in the Netherlands). I wore them in Wadi Rum as well which saved on all the sand getting in your shoes.

I spent 3 days in Petra and 3 days in Wadi Rum last year, wearing old running shoes and had no problems at all. We walked all over Petra, to the Monastery, up steep stairs and via the high place of sacrifice (see my travelogue). You definitely don't need heavy hiking boots. The biggest problem is sand and dust, which gets into everything.

I agree with the posters above that the ideal solution is probably to take trail shoes. However, in my opinion if you don't have any you'll be fine with running shoes.

You won't need hiking boots. Trainers or light trail shoes/boots will be fine.

Have a great trip.

View photographs from my trip to Jordan

OP

No need for hiking boots, just wear a comfortable pair of running shoes or whatever othr type of sneaker you prefer. For descriptions and photos of the visit my wife and I made to Jordan see the "Jordan & Egypt" section of Our Travel Journals: http://www.evcal.org .