TRANSPORT AROUND JORDAN

Want to know how to get to Wadi Rum? Then, please read the information below which gives information about meeting up with us and the different ways you can travel to Wadi Rum from Petra and Aqaba.

Finding your way around Jordan may feel like a challenge sometimes, especially with the language barrier, and the lack of formal addresses, even in Amman. Therefore having a reliable taxi driver can be a lifesaver.

We can give some transport assistance to guests who have booked with us. Please ask us when you are here for help to leave Wadi Rum using a taxi driver (we should call someone at the latest the night before you are due to leave). Or when you contact us to book you can also ask if you would like us to arrange a driver to bring you to Wadi Rum. Email enquiries should be sent to:

Odeh.southernHoweitat@gmail.com

On request we can also pass on the contact details of drivers who we know well and recommend.

Petra to Wadi Rum (or vice versa)

• 2 hour journey

• By Taxi: 45 JD (max. 4 people per taxi )

• You can also take the early morning Petra bus. This leaves Wadi Musa at 6.00-6.30 am (the bus will collect from most Hotels in Wadi Musa), arrives Wadi Rum 8.30 am: 10 JD p.p.

• The bus can also be taken from Wadi Rum to Petra. It departs Wadi Rum at 8.30-09.00 am, arrives Wadi Musa 10.30-11.00 am: 7 JD p.p. If you need to use this bus let us know on arrival so we can make sure to bring you back to the village on time to catch it.

• The bus will usually run everyday (including Friday’s) if there are enough tourists coming from Petra - Wadi Rum. Sometimes at quiet times of year it will not run everyday. On rare occasions rain or snow can affect the bus because they may close the roads to get out of Petra. This bus will run on Friday's as long as there are enough people wanting to use it.

Aqaba to Wadi Rum (or vice versa)

• 1 hour journey time

• Taxi from Aqaba town center to Wadi Rum: 25 JD (max. 4 people per taxi).

• A taxi from Aqaba South Beach/Tala Bay/Ferry Port to Wadi Rum: 30 JD (max. 4 people per taxi).

• From the border (Aqaba/ Eilat), or Aqaba Airport a taxi can be arranged. On booking this journey please provide your full name and passport number. The driver needs this information to show he has a valid reason to be waiting there. He also has to pay 10 JD to be allowed to collect you, so the price is 40 JD for this journey.

• Wadi Rum to the border (Aqaba/Eilat), or Aqaba Airport. This journey is 30 JD.

• There is a one daily bus between Aqaba and Wadi Rum. It starts from Wadi Rum 6.30-7.00 am, arrives in Aqaba 7.30-8.00 am. This bus is the only bus for the Rum Village so it is usually full each day. If you would like to try to catch it we can try to get you back to the village early enough. However, tickets cannot be booked for the bus, so we do not usually recommend trying to catch it. The bus journey is 3 JD p.p. (This bus does not run on Fridays).

• The bus from Aqaba to Wadi Rum leaves the bus station in Aqaba at approx 1.00 pm, but you should be there for 12.00 pm to be sure to get a seat as it is usually full each day. This bus will come all the way to Rum Village. Price: 3 JD p.p. (This bus does not run on Fridays). We may need to charge you 15JD for the return journey from the camp to the village if we need to run an extra Jeep to bring you back. If you are the only guests and everyone will leave at the same time this charge doesn’t apply.

• During term time there is also an early morning bus from Aqaba - Wadi Rum for the teachers of the school. I am not sure of the cost or how you catch it as it is not primarily a tourist bus, and I never use it, but it leaves Aqaba around 6am and gets to Rum Village around 7am.

• There is one more option to go to Aqaba from Rum Village. You can take the bus going to Petra as far as the high way junction. This costs 3 JD p.p. At the highway you get down, you cross the road, you will see a bench seat with a shade to wait at. Any bus that passes is going to Aqaba and if this bus has free seats they will stop. This last leg of the journey costs 1 JD p.p. This is not a good plan on Fridays as the buses are so infrequent, you could be waiting for hours.

Other taxi journeys within Jordan

We are not currently arranging taxi journeys around Jordan. To give an idea some general prices are given below:

Amman to Wadi Rum: 100JD (from the airport: 90JD)

Dead Sea to Wadi Rum: 100JD

Madaba to Wadi Rum: 100JD

Amman City to Dead Sea: 45JD

Amman City to Petra: 85JD

Aqaba to Petra: 50JD

Rental Car

Many people explore Jordan by renting a car. In general the roads are good and not too busy so Jordan is not a difficult country to drive in.  Amman is more difficult to navigate & there is more traffic but the rest of the country the roads are simple and the important signs are in Arabic and English.  This is probably the most flexible way to explore as the buses can be restrictive in their route and timings, and taking taxis can add up and involve some hassle.  

Also some sites in Jordan (Dana, Dead Sea, Wadi Mujib, Desert Castles) can only be reached by rental car or using a taxi/ private driver. 

A lot of the rental cars in Jordan will also provide a GPS navigator with the rental car, which proves to be a good option for many people.

Arrival in Wadi Rum

When using the bus from Petra or arranging your own transport please note the following directions for meeting up: 

Arrival By Rental car or Taxi

If you are driving to Wadi Rum by rental car/ taxi firstly you will reach the visitor center, where you will need to park the car, and go to the desk to buy your entrance ticket. If they ask you what your plans are you can tell them you have an e-mail reservation and that you are meeting your guide in the village. THERE is no charge for any vehicle to drive on the tarmac road to Rum Village. There is only a charge if you have a 4x4 and want to drive in the desert.

Once you have your ticket continue down the road with your car/taxi for about 5KM. You will reach the village. I will meet you at the Guest House which is the 1st building on the right as you enter the village. There is a car park there where you can park your car safely. Please call or text me from the road when youare close to Wadi Rum, so that I know you are on your way and on schedule.

If you are arriving in a TAXI, take a little bit of care.  If the driver wants you to change to another guides car, before the Visitor Center or before the village, or at a different place in the Village (other than the GH), he is not giving you to me but a guide who will give him commission for 'delivering' you. If you are suspicious or have any problems you can call me (00 962 776 886 481/ 0776 886 481). 

Arrival on the Bus from Petra:

(Dep: 6-6.30am, arr: 8.30am, price: 10JD p.p)

If you are arriving on the bus from Petra, then please tell the driver you have a booking and that you are meeting your guide in Wadi Rum village at the Guest House. He will firstly stop at the visitor center, where one of you should quickly go to get your tickets, while the other one stays with the bags and bus, to make sure he doesn't leave without you. Once you have your tickets, the bus will continue to Rum village. The Guest House is the 1st building on the right as you enter the village and if he doesn't stop please indicate to him that you want to get off there. I will be waiting for you. 

Sometimes Hotels in Petra will tell you the bus is not running when it is. This is usually because they want you to take a shared taxi, they will usually (not always but it does happen) also try to get you to change your booking to their contact in Wadi Rum. If the Hotel is telling you the bus is not running please e-mail me (wadirum.mehedi@gmail.com) and I will call the driver to check if this is correct or not. Sometimes it will not run if there are not enough people, the road is closed etc, so it can happen.

You can also call me or text me/Whatsapp + 962 772800913

If you do decide to change to their guide, please do contact me to cancel so I am not waiting unnecessarily for you. Many thanks.

All Guests: PLEASE NOTE **

Please don't listen to the people who are waiting outside the Visitor Center building as they spend the whole day waiting to 'catch' tourists and they will lie with you quite happily and tell you they are me or work for me! They can be convincing but don't believe them. I will not wait for you there, and a guide that works for me will not wait for you there. We will wait in the village. Also don't give them the money for your ticket as they will keep it & not give it to the Visitor Center. You can simply walk to the Visitor Center Office without talking to them, buy your ticket and then continue to the village in your car to the village.

Can't you just meet us at the Visitor Center?

As much as I would like to meet you at the Visitor Center, I don't usually do this as it is simply not practical.

The Visitor Center is 5KM away from the Village where we all live, where the shops are, petrol shops and so on.

Practically if I try to meet all my guests at the Visitor Center, once you have arrived we then need to drive to the village to sit together talk about the tour, drink some welcome tea, get organised etc. (nowhere to sit at the Visitor Center). Then when I am driving between the Visitor Center and Village or sitting talking with people that have just arrived, the Visitor Center is left unattended. Then if you are expecting to meet someone there and we are not there, it will be easier for people to trick you. I could pay someone to sit there all day, everyday waiting for my guests, but even then once he has met them, he would either need to call me to collect them, or to bring them to the village himself, leaving the Visitor Center unattended again. This also quickly adds up to a lot of backwards and forwards journeys between the Visitor Center and Village. Not good for the environment and a waste of time when it is easy for you to come to the village.

People can either arrive in Wadi Rum on the bus from Petra, by Taxi or in a Rental Car. For all three options it is easy to continue to the village and to meet us there. Then when you arrive we can sit together, drink some tea, talk about the program, introduce you to your guide etc, then if other people arrive at the same time it is okay, and no-one is left waiting, or arrives to find no-one waiting to meet them.