Jordan

Get in

thumb|450px|Visa policy of Jordan

Do

Go diving or snorkelling in the Red Sea by Aqaba. The Red Sea has some of the world's most famous coral reefs and is a popular place for diving and snorkelling. Turtles, squids, clownfish and a sunken tank are a few of the underwater sights. Equipment can be rented at diving centres, and if you contact them they are happy to come pick you up by car and take you to a good beach spot and back. Floating and "swimming" in the Dead Sea is one of the highlights. Explore the country's desert landscapes, experienced through guided Bedouin tours.

Eat

Jordanian cuisine is quite similar to fare served elsewhere in the region. The daily staple being khobez, a large, flat bread sold in bakeries across the country for a few hundred fils. Delicious when freshly baked.

For breakfast, the traditional breakfast is usually fried eggs, labaneh, cheese, zaatar and olive oil along with bread and a cup of tea. Falafel and hummus are eaten on the weekends by some and more often by others. There's no convention for when you should or should not eat any type of food. It's up to you. This is the most popular breakfast. Manousheh and pastries come in as the second most popular breakfast item. All of the hotels offer American breakfast. thumb|Making mansaf The national dish of Jordan is the mansaf, prepared with jameed, a sun-dried yogurt. Grumpygourmet.com describes the mansaf as "an enormous platter layered with crêpe-like traditional "shraak" bread, mounds of glistening rice and chunks of lamb that have been cooked in a unique sauce made from reconstituted jameed and spices, sprinkled with golden pine nuts." In actuality more people use fried almonds instead of pine nuts because of the cheaper price tag. The best mansaf can be found in Kerak.

While mansaf is the national dish, most people in urban areas eat it on special occasions and not every day. Other popular dishes include Maklouba, stuffed vegetables, freekeh.

Levantine-style mezza are served in "Lebanese-style" - which is typical to Jordanian style - restaurants around the count…

Drink

Although Jordan is an Islamic state, the locally brewed Amstel beer is available in the better restaurants. Guinness, Becks and Heineken are served in bars catering for westerners. Jordanian wine, mostly from Mount Nebo, is also quite good. A few shops, especially in the tourism centres also sell harder alcohol. Liquor stores are generally identifiable by the Amstel logo. In touristy areas it is easy to find them, and only during Ramadan they might be closed. One exception is Wadi Rum, because there are no shops here, just camps, but the more luxurious ones will cater for such needs.

For more details on alcohol in Jordan, also see the Amman article.

Sleep

Amman has an abundance of 5- and 4-star hotels. In addition there is a good number of 3-star hotels and there are plenty of 2-star and 1-star hotels in downtown Amman which are very cheap, and there are plenty of tourists, especially those that are passing by stay in these hotels.

There are two scales of rating the hotels in Jordan. There are the standard, Western-style 5-star hotels such as the Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, etc., and then there are the local 5-star establishments. The local establishments that are considered '5-star' in Jordan would be more like 3-star hotels in the West. A traveller will pay top dollar for a Western brand-name 5-star hotel in Amman or Petra and less for the local 5-star hotel.

Furthermore, for longer stays it is possible to get furnished apartments for 200-600 JD a month.

Seems like it is illegal to camp next to the Dead sea, locals warn that police will take you if they see your tent next to the shore during evening or night, but camping right next to some building or shop is fine for police.

Stay safe

right|thumb|Tourist police kiosk at Petra Jordan is a relatively safe country, however there are some precautions you need to take, to ensure your safety.

Stay healthy

Hospitals in Jordan, especially Amman, are abundant, Jordan's health care system is advanced and the country takes great pride in being a hub for medical tourism.

The biggest risk to your health in Jordan is being involved in a road traffic accident.

Take caution with buying food from vendors; the vendors usually have no bad intentions, but the food might be unclean.

Aggressive dogs can be a problem in remote areas of Jordan, although they are far less numerous than in many other parts of Asia. If they get too close to you, (pretend to) pick up a stone. They will remember this gesture from the last painful experience. Carrying a large stick might also help.

Rabies is endemic in Jordan, and promptly seeking post-exposure prophylaxis after an animal bite is recommended. Receiving a vaccine booster before travel isn't completely necessary, but it's recommended if engaging in activities with a high risk of animal contact, such as caving. In other words, you can be protected before, and you have a very limited amount of time to get treated after a bite. If you start showing symptoms of rabies, death is 100% certain. It's better to err on the side of assuming the animal was rabid.

Tap water is said to be potable, at least in some areas, but most people drink bottled water, which is the safest choice for visitors.

Respect

Jordan is a majority-Muslim country with a large Christian minority. It is one of the most liberal nations in the region and very hospitable to tourists, and locals will be happy to help you if asked.

Women may wear regular clothing without harassment in any part of Jordan. Western fashions are popular among young Jordanian women. However, modest clothing should be worn in religious and old historical sites.

Connect

WiFi is commonly available in restaurants, cafés, hostels and hotels.

Most of Jordan has mobile coverage. There are three mobile operators: Zain - the largest mobile provider Orange Umniah

Card-based temporary numbers can be purchased at the airport or any mobile shop for 5 JD. These numbers can be subsequently recharged with a prepaid card starting at only 1 JD. Temporary "throw away" phones can be bought at many mobile phone shops across the country for around 20-30 JD, but a Jordanian must buy the phone before possession can be transferred to you.

When buying prepaid cards in Jordan, foreign travelers may be required to provide a passport, even for prepaid cards. This is in contrast to the practice in Europe.

Due to geographical features near the Dead Sea, there is a possibility that Jordanian SIM cards might attempt to connect to cell networks in The Palestinian Territories. To avoid unintended roaming, which is usually disabled on prepaid cards by default, it is advisable to explicitly select the network of the operator from which the SIM card was purchased, instead of relying on the "Automatically select network" option in your phone settings.

In 2024, there were many reports that GPS was not working reliably in the Gulf of Aqaba and the general area near the city of Aqaba due to the ongoing conflict in Israel/Palestine. Although the city is safe, be prepared for your GPS device to show an incorrect location or no location at all.

Go next

There are border crossings to Israel, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria, but most travellers will want to keep well clear of the latter two for reasons of safety. There are also ferries from Aqaba to several locations in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula; see Aqaba#Egypt for additional information.