· MIDDLE EAST. · JORDAN ·
Self-Driving in Jordan: the Ultimate Guide
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 25 Aug 2024
Are you wondering if self-driving in Jordan is the best option for you? We spent three weeks driving the entire length of this small Middle Eastern country and this is our honest guide, with all you need to know to make your trip a success, including road conditions, safety, driving tips, gas stations, planning and more.
A vacation to Jordan is synonymous with Petra, one of the new wonders of the world. This means many visitors miss out on all the other fantastic sights across the country, including ancient Roman ruins, deserts, spectacular diving, castles, and historical religious sites.
We really wanted to see more than just Petra, but had no clue what it was like to drive in Jordan! It was the second Middle Eastern country we had rented a car in, so there were a lot of unknowns for us, including the basics about road safety and driving culture.
We found self-driving in Jordan to be the easiest and most time-efficient method of getting around – it gives you the freedom and flexibility to go beyond the crowds. So, if you are intending to see more than just the main sights, we highly recommend renting a car in Jordan!
Having said that, there are still loads of useful things to know which will make your journey safer and more comfortable! Below is everything we learnt, in five easy to read sections, that you should know before taking on a Jordan road trip.
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Why Self-Drive in Jordan?
There are lots of benefits to renting a car for a trip in Jordan:
Buses | while there is public transport between the main tourist hubs of the country, often there are only one or two buses a day which can be quite tricky if you are on a tight schedule.
Flexibility | hiring a car gives you the freedom to be flexible on your itinerary. We did not prebook our accommodation or choose our route, specifically because we had the freedom of a rental car.
Cost | public transport is cheaper than renting a car, however self-driving in Jordan is far cheaper than getting a tour or a private driver. This gives self-driving in Jordan the best price to efficiency ratio! If you are interested in budgeting a trip, check out our Jordan trip cost-breakdown.
Access | renting a car in Jordan gives you the opportunity to reach places that do not have public transport options.
This Driving Guide
Hopefully all this persuades you that renting a car in Jordan is a good call! Below, we’ve written five distinct sections that address everything you need to know about driving in Jordan, including:
1. Useful things to know before Driving in Jordan, like highways and rural road conditions, speed bumps, speed limits, road signs and more.
2. Driving Culture in Jordan, which talks about what the driving personality is like in Jordan, including signalling and beeping.
3. Safety on the road, including wildlife, sandstorms, police, and more.
4. How to rent a car in Jordan. This talks about licensing, picking up your car, prices, rules, our experiences and more.
5. On the road in Jordan, which talks about routing options, parking and gas stations.
DRIVING IN JORDAN
SIDE OF THE ROAD – RIGHT
PARKING – ALMOST ALWAYS FREE
GASOLINE 95 COST – £1.22, $1.61 PER LITRE
MAX SPEED LIMIT – 120 KM/H
ROAD SIGNS – ARABIC AND ENGLISH
SEAT BELTS – LEGALLY REQUIRED
MIN DRIVING AGE – 18
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A GUIDE TO THE ROMAN RUINS OF JERASH | 18 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PETRA
1. Useful Things to Know about the Roads in Jordan
1.1. Road Conditions in Jordan
The main highways in Jordan are generally in good condition. There are three major routes (we drove all of them almost in their entirety!):
The Desert Highway – is the main route with the most traffic, and connects Amman with Aqaba in the shortest time. It’s also the most boring to drive! There are a few sections nearer the south which have a few potholes, but otherwise it’s in great condition.
The King’s Highway – this runs parallel to the Desert Highway and is much slower and winding. It’s a much prettier road to drive, though. The King’s Highway definitely has a load more potholes, is older and is less well-maintained, but still comfortable to drive. It’s not really a highway, more of a standard road, to be honest!
The Dead Sea Highway – this road runs parallel to the Dead Sea, all the way down to Aqaba. It’s really scenic in spots and is less trafficked than the Desert Highway. This was the only road we saw any animals on the road (camels with their owners).
Rural roads | there are a few unsealed and unmaintained roads if you drive in rural areas of Jordan, however these can be completely avoided if you only want to visit the main attractions. Our experiences in smaller villages were all positive, and we have nothing bad to say about even the more rural routes!
1.2. Traffic Management in Jordan
Roads in Jordan are pretty much like everywhere in the world. Below are a few things to know before you go:
Road signs | these are clear and mostly in English and Arabic. There is the occasional sign that is just in Arabic, however I’m unable to tell you what they were saying or if it was important!
Tolls | as of 2025, Jordan does not have any toll roads. However, there are plans to introduce the first one on the Amman Development Corridor.
Speed limits | signs for speed limits can be few and far between and sometimes it can be difficult to tell how fast to go.
In general, if you are in doubt, stick to:
60 km/h in cities
80 km/h on more rural roads
120 km/h on highways
Speed cameras | these are dotted about the major population centres, like Amman and Aqaba. Police checkpoints sometimes have mobile cameras, and in the cities they are at fixed locations.
Speed bumps | these are everywhere and can be quite severe. They are sometimes signposted, however in smaller towns and villages this is rare. They are supposed to be painted for visibility, however many are now faded and easily missed. If you’re not careful, your wheels might leave the ground as you fly over them! Some people really emphasis how bad these can be, however our experience was that they were no worse than other countries we have driven in, like Oman.
2. Driving Culture in Jordan
Every country in the world has their own special, individual (yet collective) ways of driving, and Jordan is no different. Below are a few quirky things we noticed during our three weeks on the road.
Size matters | Generally in Jordan, the bigger car is king; on roundabouts, changing lanes and in any confrontation.
Signalling | an honest, but possibly irresponsible, bit of advice is that it is much easier to change lane if you do not indicate. Seriously, if you have to traverse six lanes in busy traffic, then do not indicate – it is far easier. Generally, in cities, nobody else indicates so watch out for people darting into the smallest gaps in traffic.
Beeping | ignore all the beeping – it seems to be the way a driver announces their presence rather than an aggressive action (unlike places like the United States and Italy).
Which side | we did see a few vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road, even on major dual carriageway roads.
Overtaking | in Jordan, people drive on the right. Normally that would mean that you stay to the right on highways unless you want to overtake, however this did not seem to be the case. You can overtake in any lane you choose, including the hard shoulder apparently! We would recommend sticking to the right anyway if you are not overtaking but be aware of faster cars around you at all times.
3. Is Driving in Jordan Safe?
Self-driving in Jordan is very safe, in our opinion, and we had no issues at all.
Being honest though, there were several factors that any driver should be aware of when considering taking a road trip in Jordan. Here are our genuine thoughts and things to note:
3.1. Sandstorms
We are not sure how common these are, but being caught in a sandstorm is no joke.
This happened to us on the main highway between Petra and Amman and it was super scary. Visibility went from normal to almost zero in less than a second and other drivers do not appear to slow down much! After the sandstorm, there were four large pile-up crashes in the opposite direction and police had closed that side of the highway. Luckily there were no closures that we experienced on our side.
Major Jordanian roads often have a hard shoulder. This gets used for all sorts of reasons, so you can pull over during an adverse weather event, but be aware that cars may still drive quickly down it! Always put your lights and hazards on if there is any visual obstruction from sand – it really helps visibility.
3.2. Traffic and Drivers in Amman
The best tactic when driving in Jordan and especially Amman is to drive defensively (this applies to most countries we have driven in, to be fair). We found most drivers in Jordan to be courteous and considerate, however in central Amman the driving style changes somewhat, and it can be a little hectic.
We drove for a few days around the city and standard rules for roundabouts do not apply, lanes are not adhered to, and neither are speed limits (when they were even possible!). The biggest problem is changing lanes on wider roads and getting onto roundabouts (we call them merge-circles now because of Amman).
The honest answer here is that if you are not a confident driver, avoid the centre of Amman. We really enjoyed driving around the city, however it takes a bit of effort and the traffic can be terrible. If you are not keen, renting a car at the airport does not involve driving in Amman at all (the airport is more than 30 kilometres south of the city) and you can avoid all the hassle.
3.3. Wildlife and Livestock
Unlike in some other countries, like Oman and Costa Rica, we did not see much in the way of wildlife on the roads. There are not a lot of wild animals – we did not even see any dead animals on highways. The only animals we saw crossing roads were livestock (camels) with their herders and this only happened when driving in the south of Jordan.
3.4. Children
We have read reports of children blocking the road to try and sell you trinkets and souvenirs. This never happened to us, although we saw a few groups of children in areas where this behaviour was apparently prevalent.
We did have teenagers throw stones at our car when driving through some smaller, rural villages in central Jordan. Also, at one point they swore at us and blocked the road by effectively not moving. I figure that teenagers can be dicks in any country so I’m not sure that is this purely a Jordanian problem!
It was not a big issue and they moved out of the way when I swore back at them.
3.5. Driving in Jordan at Night
We drove in Jordan numerous times at night, and twice in Amman, which was easier than during the day due to the reduction in traffic volume. The streets were generally well lit where needed and it did not feel unsafe.
In a few more rural places, we drove in the dark and there were no safety concerns. It is worth being extra careful of animals, people, road conditions and speed bumps as there are not always streetlights.
3.6. Police Checkpoints in Jordan
We were pulled over five times by various law enforcement. Some of the times it was at a permanent checkpoint where it is expected, and several others appeared to be just random stops.
The police were always friendly to us and we showed them our car documents, license and identification. It was never uncomfortable.
We read about police with radar guns stopping people for speeding, however we did not see anyone doing this (plus we are careful never to speed in other countries).
4. How to Rent a Car in Jordan
We always booked our Jordan rental vehicle through Discover Cars as they always seem to be the cheapest (and best). They are also wonderful and we love them for always paying out on insurance claims due to unforeseen incidents! Find out more about why we love them in our detailed review.
All the standard global car rental companies operate at Queen Alia International Airport. The same rental companies are available in Aqaba, too.
In the arrivals hall at Queen Alia, the kiosks for the companies are in a row and very obvious – you can’t miss them. Our rental car was brought directly to the arrivals exit. The entire process was very easy and convenient, even though we were picking it up at past midnight.
Hours | we picked our car up at midnight and the kiosks were still operating (along with several sim vendors if you intend to get a local sim card – we chose Orange).
4.1. How Much is a Rental Car in Jordan?
On average, rental cars in Jordan cost around $30-50 per day for a standard model (although currently in 2025, prices can be a little lower if you book a few months in advance).
Both manual and automatic transmissions are available. If you are interested in the exact costs from our trip, check out our complete Jordan budget breakdown where we talk about car rental prices in more detail.
4.2. What License is Needed to Rent a Car in Jordan?
All you need is your foreign driver’s license to legally drive in Jordan.
For us, our normal United Kingdom driver’s license was all that we needed, and we were not asked for our International Driver’s Permit. This is technically a requirement (the 1949 one) and it is advised that you have it even if you are not asked, just to ensure that your insurance is valid.
Credit card | don’t forget the usual requirement of a credit card in the name of the driver for the deposit (and your passport for identification).
Documents | the car rental will also come with a little white document that you keep in the glove compartment which is a type of permit. This was needed at various checkpoints around the country.
4.3. Do You Need a Four-wheel Drive Car in Jordan?
A two-wheel drive vehicle is all you need for a Jordan road trip.
The roads are all sealed between all the tourist destinations and, as a tourist, there was no need for any kind of high clearance. If anything, we would recommend the smallest car you are comfortable with – it makes parking easier.
4.4. Can Women Drive in Jordan?
Yes, women can drive in Jordan!
We saw quite a few women driving, and it’s legal to rent a vehicle as a woman.
4.5. Our Experience of Renting in Jordan
Our car was a Nissan Sunny. These seem to be common rental vehicles in Jordan.
We did not receive our car with a full tank of gas. It was on two of ten, which means we had to fill up that night in the dark rather than waiting for morning.
Rental cars in Jordan were the worst that we’ve hired anywhere in the world, in terms of quality (not safety – the car was fine in that respect). It smelt of cigarette, was very old (didn’t have central locking and the passenger side door lock had to be opened from the inside).
It also turned out that the car permit had expired so we were pulled over by police at various checkpoints (this was fine and the police even told us it wasn’t our fault!).
Returning the rental car was relatively painless, although at one point the company tried to charge us for gas that we hadn’t used. We recommend taking a photo of the gas reading on the car dashboard before leaving the vehicle.
Having said all this, the vehicle did not break down, the air conditioning worked, and our car was not worse than most others we saw while driving around Jordan.
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, Qatar 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. Find out more about why we fully recommend them.
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TAKE A LOOK BELOW OR CHECK CAR RENTAL
5. On the Road in Jordan
Below are few things practical things to note when actually driving around Jordan.
5.1. Gas Stations in Jordan
Gas stations are always attended in Jordan. You just tell the employee how much you want and what type of petrol you need.
All the staff spoke English and we never had an issue with scamming or language barriers. ‘Full’ was always understood, and if you need a specific amount of gas, show the attendant the cash you want to pay. Card was accepted everywhere we went, although we paid in cash. Small tips were gratefully received.
There is no shortage of gas stations in Jordan, even in the less trafficked regions. There are less along the King’s Highway – try and stay above half a tank, just in case. It’s easy to find gas stations on Google Maps.
Jordan is quite a small country, so it does not take that much petrol to get around for the average road trip. The gas for our rental was normal unleaded and currently costs around £1.22/$1.61 per litre.
5.2. How to Plan Your Driving Route in Jordan
In Jordan, we recommend using Google Maps. It worked well for us.
It was always accurate and we had no issues. It correctly identified the insanely long traffic queues in Amman, plus had no problem directing us through more rural areas. The road maps all appeared to be up to date.
Tip | Google Maps always seemed to direct us along the main, faster highways. This meant that if we wanted to take a more scenic, slower route we would have to manually change the GPS. It wasn’t ever a problem, but we would advise that you check your app chooses the route you want!
5.3. Is Parking Easy in Jordan?
Owning a car in Jordan is common and driving is popular, so there is almost always parking, no matter where you go. We didn’t pay for any parking ever, and everywhere we went had decent ,easy parking available.
Hotels | every hotel we stayed at in Jordan had free parking. In Amman it was often underground or through some pretty heavy security checks.
Malls | these all had free parking, but again, with quite a lot of security.
Smaller towns | places like Wadi Musa (the town outside Petra) had easy free parking with no security. There was street parking right opposite the Petra gates, too.
Wadi Rum | here, you park your car in Rum Village for free and leave it there for the duration of your stay.
Aqaba | there is limited free parking in the centre of town.
Jerash | the Roman ruins had a large free parking lot on the site.
All other sites we visited had free parking.
HAVE WE HELPED YOU PLAN A ROAD TRIP AROUND JORDAN?
If you’ve found our content helpful, consider booking your rental car (if you need one!), through the company we always use – Discover Cars. They’re the absolute best and have been our rental companion (and savior, thanks to their insurance) in many destinations across the world. Have a little read about why we’re so loyal if you’re interested!
Also, consider booking your accommodation through Booking.com – we use them exclusively when travelling in the Middle East.
Help like this makes it easier to pay for the upkeep of this site. Thank you!
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Final Thoughts – Self Driving Guide for Jordan
We enjoyed the freedom of renting a car and self-driving in Jordan. It allowed us the freedom to decide on our route as we went along, without the need to pre-book accommodation or stick to a strict itinerary. We always felt safe, even at night and, overall, the driving was reasonably easy. As a tourist self-driving in Jordan, we fully recommend this experience.
Hopefully this post will help you decide if you’d like to take a road trip around Jordan!
Have a great day!
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Thank you, Claire + Nick
Thanks for all the really helpful info! I’m just starting to ponder a trip to Jordan and your website is fabulous!
Thank you so much! Genuinely really appreciate your comment! Jordan is an excellent destination – so much so that we’re going back towards the end of this year! I hope you make it there too 🙂
How many liters u needed for the whole trip?
Hi Ameerah,
Thanks for your question.
From our records we spent 77 Jordanian dinars, which we think is roughly 90 litres.
Hope that helps 🙂