Petra Travel Forum

Hi!

May I get some advice. Firstly, is it safe to go to Petra on a group from Eilat for a few days? I heard of some recent bombings in Jordan at tourist sights, what do you think? I am a solo female traveller (first time) and will be in Israel for most of my trip. Secondly, can I get my visa at the border? Can you recommend a tour company in Eilat that takes people on 2 day trips to Petra? How would the visa work if I went with a tour? Please recommend a non-religious tour company, the one that was recommended on this site was a Christian tour company. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that I am Jewish and don't want anything religious, non-denominational would be ideal.

Thanks!

Certainly it is safe! There have been no bombings at tourist sites at all!

And yes, you can get your visa at the border and if you mean the border at Eilat/Aqaba then it is free. This is a very easy border to cross, you can almost always get through the two countries in twenty minutes or so.

I have no tourist agency recommendation, there must be dozens at Eilat! But it is very easy to go alone - just cross the border and take a taxi to Petra! It's about an hour and a half and should cost 30JD, or around 45USD. There are plenty of small hotels in Petra.

Agree that it is absolutely safe, that you can get your visa at the border and that you can do it alone or with a group. For a single female a group might be better to avoid some of the really bad hassels at the entry to Petra.

1. Check out Jordan Jubilee - tons of info there: http://www.jordanjubilee.com/

2. Some of the many, many tour groups that leave from Eilat for Petra, Wadi Rum, Wadi Musa and other spots in the area:

http://www.tovagilead.com/israel_eilatpetra.html

http://www.desertecotours.com/English/jordan_short_tours.asp

http://www.travelmania.com/tour.asp?Tour_ID=60

Also - google it. There are dozens on the internet and more that aren't, once you are in Eilat :)

Im joining this thread since it looks like im going to
finally do it soon...

I understood though that Israeli's DO NEED a visa to enter Jordan.
Any idea bout the costs and how long does it take to issue a visa ?

Would it be safe for me as a woman alone to take a taxi to Petra ??

I will meet my friend in Petra and we'll take from the a guide,
Any recommendations for good guides ? are two days relatively
enough to explore Petra area ?

Any personal reccomendations for nice hotels in Petra area ?

If we'll go for 3 days, any other idea for something not
too far from Petra to visit ?

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Sharon.

The visa for Jordan is free at Aqaba, for Israelis as for others.

Yes, yes, yes, yes IT IS SAFE!!!!!!! (I really am tired of saying this!)

Check our Petra page for more info

Lulu

I will also join this thread as i am thinking of going to Petra, would anybody know if it is ok to cross to Eilat from Taba? would this need any pre-prepared documentations? then crossing to Petra as an Egyptian, with a Joradanian, and an algerian friends, would that be a problem if we are coming from Egypt across Israel?

what's the dress code in Petra? we're planning our trip around end of March.

thx for the help :)

Thanks LuLu...

You might be very tired of saying this but trust me
we (Israelis) are much more tired of the unsafety feeling
wherever we go especially in Arab countries. you have NO idea
how does that feel.
And not for nothing all people ask this question...But okay
we wont get onto any political discussion here, i appreciate
your help !!

Thanks,
S.

Dalia, Egyptian passport should not have a problem as well as
Jordanian passport since there are relations between all the 3
countries (other wise there wouldnt be any open borders).
I suspect there will be a problem with the Alegirian passport
in Israel !

S.

Legaly there is no problem with an Algerian passport, or indeed with any passport from any country.

In actuality it will probably mean an extended questioning, but if your friend is travelling toether with you in a group, even that shouldn't be too bad.

I don't know about the Algerian passport, but the Jordanian one would need special permission and a good reason to come into Israel. Take the ferry!

Are you sure about the Algerian passport ???
Im not sure an Algirian pssport holder can enter Israel.

i will have to start asking in travel agencies, and embassies

The law in Israel does not automatically exclude the passport of any country, not even those that we are still in a state of war with, such as Syria.

Jordan/Egyptian passports have no more problems than British, EU or Canadian passports. There is a full peace treaty and tourists of all 3 countires cross the borders regularly.

Holders of passports from Algeria, Syria, Iran and so on can expect extended questioning for security reasons.

I think taking the Ferry to Akaba would be a solution, any idea if it is better from Noeiba, or do you have better ideas?

I think you might be a bit wrong (?)
That may be the law.
On reality ? different story...
"Tough life" at the borders and airports !
They definitely should be prepared for that.

Yes, well that is exactly what I said above :)

Absolutely wrong! Most definitely Jordanian citizens cannot get into Israel without as I said special permission in advance.

See Sharon's remarks about being nervous about Arabs!

Wandering -

Are you perhaps referring to Jordanian laws? In Israel there is no special permission needed. A full peace treaty was signed on October 26, 1994. Since then the citizens of both countries are free to visit the other.

No absolutely not! Law and practice are most definitely not the same thing. They might be free to come - after having satisfied a whole lot of rules, regulations and security tests!

No Jordanian can just show up at the frontier and even hope to get through.

No arguement about security being important to Israel, but I do wish that you would be a bit more specific about other requirements. Those same security requirements are the same for anyone from anywhere...

A number of Jordanian friends have applied for visas for Israel with varying results.

Excluding those who wanted to go for business and medical treatment etc, the people who applied for ordinary tourist visas had to produce the following papers (these are the papers I remember, possibly there were others) :

A paper saying that they had never been in prison
A bank statement showing a respectable balance
Letters from their employer and various local officials (the mayor and the chief of police in the town, usually) stating that they were the person they said they were, that they were in steady employment and that they had a good reputation in their town.

The first two are normal requirements for most Western visas. The others are more unusual.

The resplies to the applications took about six weeks to come through and approximately 50percent were rejected. Nobody understood the reasons for the rejections, they seemed to make as good a case as the visas that were granted.

But quite definitely a Jordanian citizen cannot show up at the Israeli frontier and be immediately granted a visa.

That is very interesting. Thank you. I will be interested to see how this is accounted for by the Israeli port authorities...

True that any nation may decide on the requirements for entry to it, but some are more strict than others. I stand by the Israeli requirements for security reasons, including perhaps proof of ID, (the USA today is, i think, a good deal more strict for instance) but wonder about how that is used and why 50% are rejected.

This still doesn't mean that Jordanian, or Algerian or any other passports are rejected out of hand, but rather that the requirements for a visa are more stringent for some passports.

Don't get me wrong! I am not saying that these requirements are in any way reprehensible, unreasonable or unusual. I am simply saying that "not being automatically excluded" from a country does not mean that one can arrive at the border (as you seemed to say at the beginning) and being allowed entry.

OMG - So the whole thing was a misunderstanding based on semantic usage.
My apologies if my statements above were not clear.

What I meant to say, if I didn't express myself clearly is that no nationalities are automatically excluded according to Israel law. I didn't continue, as I perhaps should have, to say that some nationalities do require more paperwork than others.

As an Israeli I am very much accustomed to having to fill out long, detailed paperwork for visiting some countires. For Austraila, for instance, it was a 6 page biography (almost)!!

Thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding.

Any recommendation regarfing the booking of hotel room ?
Wousl it be best to book directly at the hotel's website
or through other websites ?

If through other websites, can you recommend of a real good
and trustable / reliable (especially for paranoids like my self)
websites to use ?


Is it allowed by Local law in Jordan to bring alcohol with me ?
(a bottle of wine).

Thanks.