Jordan - few quick questions

I should have also said - we are playing with the idea of hiring a car for some of the trip so we can see some of the sites and do a loop around the Dead Sea area. We're looking at Monte Carlo company and see others on here have recommended them. They will drop off the car in Amman and collect it again - but I am just wondering if anyone has any advice or thoughts on driving in Amman and to / from the Dead Sea. Is Amman crazy? I live in Sydney and can drive there, surely it cant be as bad??!! Is signage hard? Is a good map going to help? Or would you think a taxi is just a better option?

I've just back to Australia from Jordan amongst other destinations. Having tossed and turned over whether to rent a car or hire taxis, we rented a car from Monte Carlo for 5 days.

The car itself was perfectly fine. It was not the model we had originally ordered but this happens regularly enough when renting vehicles in any country. I would say the larger car was not really what we wanted given space and traffic conditions in Jordan and petrol considerations.

The only really issue I had though is that the GPS we hired was IMHO hopelessly out of date and the screen was awfully small. Given the concentration required to drive in foreign traffic and streets unfamiliar to us, these were not stresses we needed. For example a couple of km out of the airport on the freeway to Amman the GPS was advising to do a u-turn as it was not coping with the relatively new dual carriage way. Note I also had to pay a few JD to get the car out of the park at the airport (maybe I missed a pass or something) but I‘m glad I had currency. Monte Carlo provided a good map but even so I was happier with my dodgy GPS.

Be aware that Amman is not the same as Sydney which is crowded but predictable to drive in. The traffic is tight, lanes often unmarked, red lights can be a suggestion and traffic is generally worse. I was glad to have paid for the extra insurance. When Ruth (she doesn’t know it but her advice has proven invaluable to me) says drivers in Amman are crazy I would concur. I would say that the streets were blissfully quiet for midnight or early morning drives. Don’t think I would drive in Amman again but now that I am home and have already done it I might - it just wasn’t really a pleasant part of our trip (King’s Highway was though).

Happy to blab on more about my thoughts about driving in Jordan - the night drive from Wadi Rum to Madaba is another story.

FYI - I ride a motorbike no worries in Sydney, the wet, at night on long distances of over 500km etc so I’m generally pretty confident on the road.

Driving in Amman is a hassle in Summer. It is quite easy finding your way to the Dead Sea, but you would most probably get lost touring the rest of the country; especially the southern part of Jordan.

In all cases, I would recommend to contact a travel agency in Jordan and they'll provide you with chauffeur driven services which is better because you'd have someone from their end covering entrance fees and taking care of you while en route.

• fuel is very expensive in Jordan

Accommodation at the Dead Sea: I Would recommend either the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort (ask for village rooms), or the Jordan Valley Marriott Dead Sea. These two properties live up to their standards unlike some other 5* hotels down there :)

You have to - I mean - HAVE TO visit Petra, and try to catch the Petra by Night experience (which takes place only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays). And if you're ok with camping, you would loooooove Wadi Rum (AKA Valley Of The Moon).

Oh, a note I think worth mentioning is that Ramadan starts around 20 JULY. In the Holy Month of Ramadan, Muslims fast between dawn & susnet, do their best to diminish dependence on material goods and establish solidarity with the poor and less fortunate. Most restaurants do not serve food before IFTAR time (sunset prayer), except for a couple of touristic restaurants. I would advise you not to eat and drink water in public places as a sigh of respect towards the people who are fasting. However, it is perfectly fine to eat or drink in hotels and touristic sites this time of year.

Hmmm, if you have any questions do let me know :)

When I was in Amman, I stopped a random cab and asked to hire the guy for the day for, I believe, 60 JD, which I split with another guy I was with. I can't confirm the exact price, but this was awhile ago, so things will have gotten more expensive. What I can say is that after dealing with unscrupulous taxi drivers everywhere else in the Middle East, I felt like I was getting a fair price in Jordan whenever I hired one.

I did this in broken Arabic, though, so you may want to pick up a phrasebook and smile if you go this route.

We returned from a two week visit to Jordan recently. Some answers to your questions.

1. When you flew from Aqaba to Amman on the back end of our trip, we paid 20 JD for taxi from the airport to the Kempinksi. We we returned to the airport, we negotiated with a taxi for 15 JD to the airport. Not sure what is normal or "fair" but that's what we paid. The airport is quite a ways outside of Amman, I'd say a 30 minute drive without traffic at least.

2. We did the Dead Sea thing for a day; paying an exorbitant amount of money to use the Movenpick's facilities. Also the Kempinski offers direct access as does the Marriott.

3. Not sure on the cost of a taxi. We had a self-drive car for the first week of our trip.

Re: driving in Amman. As a reference point, we live in NYC and own a car so we drive frequently. Amman is the equivalent of midtown NYC, on a Friday afternoon, before a holiday, heading out of the Holland Tunnel. It's crazy. We had no intention of driving in Amman, but wound up in city center by accident driving from the north on the desert highway. Not only is the traffic intense, but streets signs and directional signs are not consistently in English. Driving in Jordan is stressful enough (good luck negotiating roundabouts in some of the provincial towns) we certainly did not need the added stress of driving in Amman.

Are you planning on staying in Amman and using that as a base? If so, I might suggest basing yourself in Madaba or even the Dead Sea. Most of the sites are easily accessible from the Dead Sea highway, or the other major roads heading east.

If you are planning on (as I understand it)
day 1 - land and sleep
day 2 - go to dead sea
day 3 - dead sea to Amman

Then I would also suggest staying in Madaba, its nearer the airport and the dead sea, its also pretty and calm, with great views and a great restaurant.

I expect you could probably then take a taxi to the dead sea and the next day get your hotel to arrange transport to Amman (if you email them I'm sure they'll quote prices).

As for hotels I've been to the Holiday Inn for the day and it was lovely - but I have no idea of prices etc.

Personally I wouldn't drive in Amman but I don't like driving much anywhere. It all depends on what you are used to. Its not as crazy as many places I have been to, but in the summer traffic is really busy and there are lots of jams, as you don't know the city you wouldn't know the back routes to avoid the jams! Once you're outside the city driving is pretty easy (or from what I've seen) and the dead sea road easily sign-posted and easy to follow.

Do make sure you have your passport to hand when going to the dead sea as you may be asked for it at the checkpoint down there (just don't have it stashed at the bottom of your suitcase).

G

Amman can be a bit overwhelming, especially in the summer when a lot of people flock down here for the cooler weather.
Never had any problems though and navigating is rather easy.
Outside of Amman it's a breeze.
No problem getting food during Ramadan either. Fast food chains will only offer takeout meals, higher end restaurants are open although they might not serve alcohol before sunset. Holiday resorts operate as usual. It is considered polite though to avoid eating/drinking/smoking in front of others. You will find that if you are in company you will be offered at least drinks by your host, even if they are Muslim. You are a traveler after all and exempted from fasting.

You have good advice from above posts.Bear in mind now is peak summer season started after mid June.Tens of thousands of holiday makers flock into Jordan in their cars most of them prefer to stay in Amman ,so traffic is chaotic to say the least.It is best to stop a taxi and ask for direction and follow him when driving in and out of Amman that will save you lot of hassle.
Dead Sea area is hot or very hot it can be more comfort to stay/visit at a resort than the Amman Beach
enjoy

I would strongly recommend booking your hotel on the Dead Sea, they are very popular with the locals, as well as visitors from Saudi Arabia and at the weekends get completely booked up.

All the 5* hotels offer sea access and swimming.

If you are going to Amman just to have a sleep why not go straight to the Dead Sea, especially as cost is not a consideration? There is a taxi booth at the airport where you are issued with a voucher for your destination, the prices are fixed so you won't get ripped off.

In your situation I think it's too much hassle and not really practical or economical to hire your own car. In Amman you would need to take a whole load of trips to match the price of a hire car- the taxi ride is between 1.5 and 3 JOD.

A whole day trip around Dead Sea area should cost around 60 JOD, but don't leave arranging it until you get there- anything arranged through an expensive hotel will cost you much more.