· MIDDLE EAST · JORDAN ·
18 Useful Things to Know Before Visiting Petra
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 25 Aug 2024
If you’re planning a trip to the magnificent city of Petra, in Jordan, check out these essential hints and tips that you should know before visiting, including animal issues, ticketing, prices, weather and more.
The Rose City of Petra is on most people’s bucket lists. This ancient Nabataean city, hidden in the rocks of southern Jordan is a world wonder, for excellent reason.
We recently visited Jordan’s most popular attraction on a road trip around the country, where we devoted three full days to wandering the impressive site. Petra took me by surprise – the site is huge, unique, and well worth as many days as you can throw at it.
I know the title of this post sounds a bit click-baity, but honestly these things are useful and not just information we knew about beforehand. There were a few things that even really shocked us (and not always in a good way).
IN THIS GUIDE //
Things to know about Petra, Jordan
PETRA QUICK FACTS
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VISITING PETRA
CAR HIRE FOR A JORDAN TRIP
WHERE TO STAY IN PETRA
FINAL THOUGHTS
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PETRA QUICK FACTS
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OPENING TIMES: 6AM – 6PM IN SUMMER, 6AM – 4PM IN WINTER
NEAREST TOWN: WADI MUSA
COST: JOD 50-90
BEST SEASON: AVOID SUMMER (JUNE – AUGUST) WHICH IS HOT, AND WINTER (DECEMBER – FEBRUARY) WHICH CAN BE WET, SNOWY AND COLD
AGE OF SITE: OVER 2000 YEARS
TIME NEEDED: AT LEAST A DAY – TAKE TWO OR THREE IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
NUMBER OF OFFICIAL TRAILS: 8
NICKNAME: THE ROSE CITY
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A GUIDE TO THE ROMAN RUINS OF JERASH | HOW TO PLAN YOUR WADI RUM TRIP
Essential Things to Know Before Visiting Petra
1. Petra During Ramadan
We visited during the first few days of Ramadan and went to the site prepared to not eat or drink all day. However, it appears that supplying the tourists with food and drink continues, despite the holy month. We climbed up the cliffs and hid whilst eating our lunch, but we saw tourists eating in the restaurants and even getting guides to carry their water.
So the moral here is that you don’t have to go without food and water, but also please don’t be that guy who expects the guides to carry their consumables.
Also tea is still offered at all the little Bedouin shelters. Some told us they do not follow Ramadan.
CAR HIRE FOR YOUR JORDAN TRIP
We always rent our vehicles all over the world, including our recent trips in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco, with Discover Cars. They’re often the most affordable, plus they paid out immediately on an insurance claim we made when our car took some heavy damage in Sicily. We fully recommend them.
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TAKE A LOOK BELOW OR CHECK CAR RENTAL
2. Visiting Petra On a Day Trip Costs a Fortune
Do not plan to visit on a day trip to Jordan, for example over the border from Israel. The one-day ticket cost is 90 JOD (US$127). Petra is cool, but not $127-dollars-for-one-day cool!
It’s expensive, even on a normal one-day pass – try and stay for longer for significant discounts. If you want to find out more about the costs of a Jordan trip, check out our detailed Jordan budget.
3. Check for Cruise Days in Aqaba
Unfortunately, Petra gets the cruise ship tours. You’ll want to be avoiding those bad boys! The enormous groups of people all arriving at the same time can really harm your atmospheric Nabataean buzz.
There are gaps in the cruise schedules so you can potentially avoid them by checking online at websites like these. If you happen to be visiting during a cruise ship-heavy day, go early, as close to opening as possible.
Outrun the crowds!
4. Petra Gets Snow
It’s likely most people picture Petra as hot and dry. But the region gets snow in the winter and a fair amount of rain, especially during January and February. Adverse weather can actually shut the site, so be aware and keep an eye on the forecast. The best months to visit are between March-May and September-November.
5. The ‘Free’ Petra Horse Ride
Your ticket includes a ‘free’ horse ride from the entrance to the Siq. Don’t fall for it. It is anticipated that you will tip (the expected amount is 5 JOD) and the horsemen often do not have change. I have also read accounts of them not letting people off the horse if they do not agree to a tip amount. Just walk the extra distance, it’s not worth the hassle.
I personally felt harassed by these guys every time I walked past.
6. Don’t Forget Your Passport
Don’t forget your passport. Two out of the three times we entered the site, our names were checked to see that they matched the paper ticket.
You don’t want to have to go back to your hotel and get in line behind all the late arrivals, do you?
7. Little Petra is Free
If you fancy an extra excursion, then just up the main road past Umm Sayhoun is little Petra. This is a quiet little site with minimal interesting features (but also minimal tourists!). You’ll still get somebody trying to get you to take a tour. This is advertised as a length of around one hour, but the site will only take you about 10 minutes to see.
Also, there are just as many vendors here as in the main Petra site.
8. Prepare to See The Mistreatment of Animals at Petra
If you read up on animal welfare issues at Petra, it is not exactly an unknown issue.
The donkeys at Petra, in particular, are not well looked after.
Despite this, 280 lb people continue to get tiny donkeys to haul them up the billion steps to the Monastery (we saw this ourselves). The authorities continue to permit this, along with the handlers. Don’t give the animal handlers a second of your time apart from to point out any neglect or abuse you notice. Also photograph it, post it on social media and report it to the tourism police.
As long as tourists tolerate the abuse, the handlers will not change their ways.
9. Get the Jordan Pass
The Jordan Pass is well worth it if you are spending a bit of time in Jordan.
Described as the ’ultimate sightseeing package’ on the official website, you can get entry into more than 40 attractions and the cost includes your visa fee. Attractions include Petra (for up to three days), Jerash, Wadi Rum and many more (not Petra by night though).
10. Watch Out for Child Labour at Petra
We saw children serving tea and food to tourists in many of the small Bedouin shelters on our hikes. We also saw a (very young) child driving a chariot alone and another selling postcards. I asked each of them, across the days we were there, if they went to school, to which they all replied ‘tomorrow’.
I’m not sure if they were all actually going to school ‘tomorrow’ but be aware if you give them money then you are encouraging them to skip school. The area around Petra has a big problem with kids dropping out.
11. Stay Overnight at Petra
This kind of goes alongside the ‘don’t only come for a day trip’. Wadi Musa is the surrounding town, just by the gates to Petra, and has a whole variety of accommodation that would suit any traveller. There are also markets and restaurants (we didn’t have a problem getting supplies and food, even during Ramadan).
We stayed four nights at the Petra Plaza Hotel, about a 20-minute walk from the entrance to Petra. We fully recommend this place – the staff were wonderful, it was great value and the breakfast was decent; they even brought little snacks to us in the afternoon during Ramadan. There was also a free mini bar – I am a sucker for soft drinks.
WHERE TO STAY IN PETRA
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The nearest place to Petra is the small town of Wadi Musa. It’s situated right at the main entrance to the site and many hotels in the town are walkable from the entry point.
Where we stayed | our choice was the Petra Plaza Hotel, in the centre of town, to give us an easy drive and walk to the entrance. This hotel was absolutely lovely and such great value for the price, with cute free gifts(!), a smashing breakfast, clean rooms with lovely views, afternoon snacks and more. It’s also walking distance from many restaurants and 20 minutes from the Petra visitor centre. We’d definitely stay here again – it was the best value hotel on our Jordan road trip.
The other place we considered staying was the Petra Guest House, which is basically at the Petra visitor centre. It looked so classy when we popped in, with easily the best location in Wadi Musa. However, we were on a bit of a budget, so opted for the Petra Plaza (no regrets). The Petra Guest House is also home to the famous Cave Bar. If you have more money, we’d recommend this one!
The nicest option in town is the Movenpick Resort, just opposite the visitor centre. We went in here and instantly regretted being poor. It has a beautiful pool, spa, roof top bar, amazing architecture and more – all the things you need after a long day hiking around Petra.
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12. Be Aware of the Altitude
It’s not super high at 2700 feet but being at altitude if you’re a sea-level sucker like me means every inch matters!
Just be mindful that walking up the mega-steps might be more exhausting than you were expecting.
13. Prepare for Vendors
The number of vendors at Petra surprised me (maybe I was naïve!).
There are so many, especially on the way up to the Monastery where the path is narrow. Mostly, on the internet, you’ll hear about how lovely all the conversations are with the Bedouin vendors, however this was not always the case for us.
We felt pressured, harassed, and exhausted. In fact, our first day was not that great, purely because of this. One reason it was particularly bad for us was because we went in at opening time – being the only ones there made us felt like targets. Our experience just wasn’t all rosy and cheery like the internet paints it out to be.
14. The Treasury From Above
When you reach the Treasury through the Siq, what seems like a billion guys will be waiting there to take your money – which totally destroys the vibe of this magnificent place. They will offer you tours, shortcuts and trinkets. In particular, they will ask for money to take you up to a viewpoint of the treasury from above (as is seen in so many Instagram posts).
An even better viewpoint above is reachable for free, though, by just following the path on the official map that goes past the Royal Tombs. Take the Al-Khubtha Trail (green on the map) – don’t listen to the guys who are hanging around, you do not need a guide for this view.
On a separate note, some of these guys who sell the photo spots were getting into actual fights with tourists (I’m not sure who was in the wrong, but we saw this on two separate days). They were clearly high on something and it was all rather grim.
15. Petra by Night
This is an evening event that is put on three times a week in Petra, which we have received mixed reviews for (and didn’t want to waste our money on).
We have heard that it is not the serene experience you hope for with hundreds of tourists all crammed into the Siq at the same time! It costs 17 JOD and seems a bit tacky – apparently it is very pretty, though!
So, your choice if you want to risk it for $24! Ticket information is available on the Visit Petra website.
16. Steps Steps Steps
Any of the trails marked on the official map as ‘hard’, are not really technically difficult, there’s just a million steps!
Wear sturdy shoes. It’s not just that there are steps (millions and millions of steps), there’s also some amazing hiking and climbing opportunities which we would have been less comfortable doing in flipflops.
17. Phone Signal
Our cell phone coverage worked all over the Petra site.
We picked up Orange sim cards at the airport in Amman from a lovely man in the kiosk at arrivals. Our phones worked everywhere at Petra, with minimal signal interruption. You can get quite off the beaten track around the area (if you are lucky) and it is reassuring to have cell service.
If you can’t use or don’t want a real sim, consider using an e-sim. We have used Airalo hundreds of times over the past three years (literally), and currently it’s $5 for a week of e-sim cell coverage in Jordan. Check out Airalo if you’re interested.
18. The Official Map is Wrong
The official map has a little key that it uses to mark the trails. This key indicates that every trail apart from the main trail requires a guide. This is absolutely not the case.
You can take any trail around the site without any need for a guide, and from our experience it is not necessary either – we went quite off course (intentionally) and did not get lost or in trouble.
Final Thoughts – Things to Know Before Visiting Petra
Petra is a World Wonder for a reason, but to make a visit enjoyable, it’s still useful to know certain things about the site and set expectations appropriately.
We genuinely loved visiting Petra, it was one of the highlights of a full year of travel around the world. However, child labour, animal cruelty and extreme crowds are also a reality of this popular historical site.
If you want to visit an incredible ancient Nabataean city that does not suffer from animal welfare issues, small children working and extreme crowds, consider reading our post on Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s premier pre-Islamic archaeological wonder.
We hope these points help you plan for your trip a little bit! If you are thinking of organising an extended trip around Jordan, check out our posts on Wadi Rum, Jerash and our full two-week itinerary.
Have an excellent day!
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