Whether you travel to Jordan by land, air or sea, Jordan is an easy country to visit and visas and money exchange services are available at all borders.
Travel to Jordan by Sea
Jordan can be entered at the port of Aqaba via the Egyptian port of Nuweiba. Just nine miles from the border with southern Israel, the Port of Aqaba is the country’s only seaport. There are two services, ferry and speedboat. If you are a non-Egyptian national (Egyptians are not required to pay the prices inflated by the authorities) you have to pay around $60 for the ferry or around $70 for the speedboat (both one way). The slow ferry might take up to 8 hours, the speedboat consistently makes the crossing in about an hour, though boarding and disembarking delays can add many hours, especially since there are no fixed hours for departures.
Travel to Jordan on Land
Border crossings
Travel to Jordan by car is one of the most comfortable way to reach this amazing destination. On both sides of all three borders there are money changing facilities, places to eat and drink, and duty-free shops. On the Jordanian side of all three borders there is a post office and a tourist information counter (8am-2pm, closed Friday).
· King Hussein/Allenby bridge
Only 40km from Amman and 30km from Jerusalem, this border crossing (8am-6pm Sun-Thu, 8am-12pm Fri & Sat) offers travellers the most direct route between the two cities. It is a common way to exit, but not enter Jordan, because Jordanian visas are not issued at this border – so get a Jordanian visa at an embassy/consulate beforehand, or use another border crossing. Crossing the border can take up to three hours, depending on Israeli security measures; avoid 11am to 3pm when delays are more common.
· Sheikh Hussein bridge (North)
There is one direct crossing point between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank: the King Hussein Bridge (also known as the Allenby Bridge). The Sheikh Hussein Bridge is at the north of the Jordan Valley, and the Wadi ‘Araba crossing is in the south near Aqaba and Eilat. Each of these entry points are open from 08:00 until 23:00 from Sunday through Thursday, and till 14:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. They are closed on most Jordanian and Israeli holidays
· Wadi Araba Border Crossing(South)
It is an international border crossing between Aqaba, Jordan and Eilat, Israel. Open from 6:30 to 20:00, Sunday through Thursday, and from 8:00 to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, it is currently one of the three entry/exit points between the two countries that handles tourists.
Travel to Jordan by Air
The modern Queen Alia International Airport about 35km away from the south of Amman, is the country’s main gateway. There are two terminals, only 100m apart and opposite each other. Terminal 1 is used mostly for Royal Jordanian flights and Terminal 2 is used by other airlines. Both terminals have ATMs, foreign exchange counters, a post office and a left luggage counter. The departure lounge has a decent café if you need to use up your remaining dinar. Obtaining a visa on arrival takes less than a minute – queue up in the normal immigration aisle.
The national airline, Royal Jordanian is well run and has direct flights to most major cities in Europe and all over the Middle East. Royal Wings, a subsidiary of Royal Jordanian, has smaller planes for short flights from Amman to Tel Aviv (daily), Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh (four weekly). In addition, Jordan is served by a number of foreign carriers that offer the most direct flights to Amman, and have excellent connections all around Europe and the UK.
In addition to Queen Alia, Jordan has two other international airports:
Marka International Airport in East Amman serves routes to nearby Middle Eastern countries, as well as internal flights to Aqaba.
King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba operates about ten flights a week to Amman and it can handle even the largest jets. The largest operator at Aqaba is Royal Jordanian Airlines, which also undertakes about six charter flights to Europe, with European charter airlines adding a further dozen. German carriers are particularly well represented.
(Information obtained with special thanks to Amani Tours in Amman)