From Amman to Damascus and other Jordan Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: There are several buses every day for Damascus, leaving Abdali busstation in Amman. The journey takes about 4 hours + the time at the border.
Another way, just a little bit more expensive but probably quicker (as there are fewer persons to go through customs) is to take a servise taxi. Just go to Abdali busstation and wait until a car fills up. I paid 5,5 JD between Amman and Damascus. The service taxi will stop at Baramke busstation in Damascus.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: For driving in the desert in Wadi Rum a 4WD vehicle is a must.
Tourists who have rented a car to travell around Jordan in can park it on the parking space next to the resthouse and continue in a rented jeep with guide. Or why not on a camel?

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: Most people stay in Wadi Mousa when visiting Petra. It is walkingdistance between the two but as the road down to Petra is steep and you probably will do a lot of walking in Petra it is good to take a taxi to the entrance of Petra. Most hotels offers the taxi ride for free.
When in Petra there are several ways to go around if you don't want to walk.
From the entrance there are horse-drawn cabs going through the siq to the Treasury (Al-Khazneh). From the treasury to the theatre or "city centre" you can ride a camel. Up to the Monestary you can rid a donkey. It doesn't look convenient neither for the man or donke though.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: Camels are not very much used by the beduines today but in Wadi Rum you can go on a camel trek. I had heard a lot before coming hear that it was a very nice experiense but your budy would be in a lot of pain after (but people I met in Wadi Rum said there were no problems). I skipped the camel this time but if I will make another trip to Wadi Rum I will defenitly go on a camel trek.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: From Damascus:
There are a few busses going to Amman from Baramke station every day. As I didn't want to wake up to early (for the bus) it suited me better just to show up at the station when I was ready and take a service taxi. They leave when they are full and probably you don't have to wait to long. I paid 500 SP.
The time to reach Amman depends on how long it takes at the border. For me it was quick but we had to wait for one passenger in two hours. Don't know why it took so long for him.
The service taxi stops at Abdali bus station in Amman.

Also three years later I took a service taxi the same way for 500 SP. This time we were only three people in the car (me, a girl who spoke English and her uncle) and it was quick at the border. It took about three hours between Damascus and Amman.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: There are no direct buses between Amman and Jerusalem. From Amman you take a service taxi or a bus from Abdali station. As I arrived to Abdali station by taxi (400 files) a bus was just leaving. The bus took an hour to the border at King Hussein Bridge and I paid 2 JD. I saw someone pay less but they said I was going to another gate (but it was not far away). It seems like all foreign people, or none arabs, leave from another gate (and also arrives to another gate at the Israeli side). After getting a stamp in the passport I was shown to sit down outside to wait for a bus together with many others. After an hour a bus came and for 3 JD it took us all way over the bridge to the building of the Israeli passport control.
For some people it was fast at the passport control and they got the stamp after a few questions. But I, and some others, who had a Syrian visa and stamp from Lebanon had to answer many questions and then wait. After 1,5 hours I finally got the stamp in my passport (you can get it on a paper if you ask) and could continue.
It was Sabbath (Saturday) and therefore no buses were running, but there are service taxis (sheruts). The service taxi to Jerusalem was 30 shekels and it took about one hour.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: I visited the Desert Castles east of Amman as part of a tour (only transport) organised from Farah Hotel in Amman. We were three people in the car sharing the price and I paid 13 JD. The places we visited were Qasr Kharana, Qusayr Amra, Qasr al-Azraq and the Wetland Reserve, Hammam Sarah and Qasr al-Hallabat (in the mentioned order).
We had lunch in Azraq and the driver told us about a restaurant were tours could have lunch (and it was cheaper if we came from Farah Hotel, 3,5 JD), but we preferred to have a falafel at a caf?. They were very tasty and was 250 fils. We asked if it was possible to visit the Wetland Reserve (it was not in the original plan) and the driver was happy because then he could go to the mosque after letting us off at the Visitor Centre.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: I had planed to visit Ajlun and Jerash on a daytrip from Amman using public transport, but was a bit concerned if I was going to be in time to catch the last bus back from Jerash (I had got mixed reports of when it was leaving).

As I had breakfast in the hotel in the morning I was going I heard a French couple talking to the man in the reception and they had the same plans as I had. I talked to them and in the end we decided to take one of the tours from the hotel (only transport), which would give us the time also to visit Uum Qais. We started in Uum Qais, then went on to Ajlun and last to Jerash. It was a long day but we did not have to rush through any of the sites and it was convenient. We split the price between the three of us and I paid 16,5 JD.

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