1. Visa and entry requirements: People from most countries can get a visa on arrival at Jordan from the immigration counter for a fee. However, if you have a passport from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and few other countries you will need to apply visa at your country of residence before travelling to Jordan. For more details visit the Jordanian consulate website at your respective countries. Visa application is quite straight forward and can be done online or in person for which all details are provided in the consulate website.
2. Jordan Pass: This is a very useful pass to buy in advance before travelling to Jordan. This will allow a single entry to almost all the historical sites and museums in Jordan. There are many options available. We recommend purchasing the pass with the option of 2 days entry into Petra as Petra cannot be covered in one day. You will need to buy the pass using your personal information and passport number, therefore once purchased the pass can only be used against the passport number it was bought. One of the main benefits of purchasing the Jordan pass is free visa on arrival. Please visit the website of Jordan pass (http://jordanpass.jo) for more details.
3. Entry fees for children: Most tourist attractions have free entry for children under the age of 12. Therefore you do not need to buy a Jordan pass for kids under 12.
4. Getting around in Jordan: Jordan is not a very big country and can be easily covered by road from north to south or east to west in a day. Though the public transportation system is very comfortable, reliable and convenient to use unless you are a local. In our opinion when you are in Jordan it’s best to hire/rent a car along with a driver for the entire trip from airport pickup to drop as it gives the flexibility of moving around within the country in a comfortable and safe way. We used the car rental service from Destination Jordan (http://destination-jordan.com/) for our trip. We recommended this to a few of our friends who travelled to Jordan and gave excellent feedback. Therefore we recommend Destination Jordan for their high quality and reliable service.
5. Safety: In spite being located in a conflict zone Jordan is reasonably safe to travel to. We travelled to Jordan in 2017 with our 4-year-old son and. did not feel concerned with safety. There is a heavy presence of ‘Tourist police’ (more like military) at every major tourist attractions for the safety and security of travellers. Initially for a day or two the presence of tourist police may stick out like a sore thumb, but soon it will fade away in the background!
6. Eating out: Jordan is a food lover’s paradise with a good selection of places to eat-from fine dining to street food. Street food is quite inexpensive but of good quality. We recommend eating at restaurants frequented by locals – it’s not a secret that you cannot go wrong with a place filled with locals! Find out more about our blog on Jordanian food here.
7. Taxi: In Amman local taxis are available within the city which are quite safe, though most don’t use the meter. We took taxis a couple of times during our first and last day in Jordan while going to or coming back from a restaurant in the evening. The fares are reasonable-we paid 2-3 US dollars for a 10 min ride. Though Jordan has it’s own currency which is stronger than USD, the taxis always ask you to pay in US dollars. Make sure you bargain and settle for a fair price. We found it quite easy and quick – the taxis want to earn a quick dollar too!
8. Supermarkets in Jordan: There are quite a few supermarket chains in Amman and in other towns of Jordan. These are the best places to buy local stuff like, coffee (try cardamom mixed coffee) and spices to take back from your travels. We visited Safeway and brought back lots of spices and coffee.
9. Currency: Jordanian Dinar can be purchased outside Jordan or while in Jordan as well. We recommend buying before travelling, but there are many official exchange bureaus at banks around Amman and other towns were you can easily exchange USD, GBP or Euros to Jordanian Dinar. In addition, credit cards can be used widely in Jordan as most superstores, restaurants and hotel accept credit cards.
10. Local people: Jordanian people are very friendly and welcoming. Kids get a warm welcome everywhere. As with Middle East, hospitality in their culture and it is enriching to try and interact with locals during your stay in Jordan…it is always the best part of any travel……
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