Jordan is almost completely land-locked with a small outlet on the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba and a frontage on the Dead Sea. Jordan is bordered by Israel and the West Bank (Palestinian Territories) to the west, by Syria to the north, by Iraq to the east and by Saudi Arabia to the south.
Getting to Jordan by Plan
Jordan's national airline is Royal Jordanian Airlines and is also served by a number of foreign carriers including
BMI, Air France, Air Baltic, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Egypt Air,
Emirates, Alitalia and Delta Airlines, plus Low-cost airline such as Air Arabia.
Queen Alia International Airport is Jordan's main airport. It is 35km south of Amman.
You should allow 45 minutes to reach the airport from the downtown
Amman, approximately 30 minutes from West Amman.
In addition to Queen Alia, Jordan has two other international airports:
- Marka International Airport in East Amman (serving routes to nearby Middle Eastern countries, as well as internal flights to Aqaba).
- King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba.
Getting to Jordan by Car
From The Holy Land
You can cross into Jordan by car from Israel,
but the border formalities are time-consuming and expensive as
Jordanian insurance is required and you will even have to change your
license plates.
From Syria
Long distance taxis operate the route from Damascus to Amman.
This trip should take around 3.5 hours.
From Iraq
It is theoretically possible to enter Jordan from Iraq depending on
your nationality.
From Saudi Arabia
Entry from Saudi Arabia is by bus. Jordan-bound buses can be taken from almost any point in Saudi Arabia or the Gulf. .As the crossing is the middle of the desert, be absolutely sure that all paper work is in order before attempting the journey, otherwise you might be lost in a maze of Arab bureaucracy. The trip from the border to Amman is 3 hours and up to 20 hours to the either Dammam, Riyadh or Jeddah on the Saudi side. The trip can be uncomfortable but is cheap.
By Bus
Long distance services operate from a number of Middle Eastern destinations including Tel Aviv and Damascus.
By Boat
Jordan can be entered at the port of Aqaba via the Egyptian port of Nuweiba.
There are two services, ferry and speedboat.
Expect to pay around $30
for the ferry or around $60 for the speedboat (both one way) if you are a
non-Egyptian national. The slow ferry might take up to 8 hours,
and can be a nightmare in bad weather. 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.
You cannot buy the ticket in advance and the ticket office
does not know the time of departure. You can lose an entire afternoon or
even a day waiting for the boat to leave.
UPDATE: prices have
increased. The speedboat is now $70 and the ferry is $60 (+$10 or 50 EGP
departure tax from Egypt).
