General facts:

Jordan is a middle eastern country that borders Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria. It occupies a fairly large surface area, although is not a very densely populated country with a population of just 11 million. It is quite well-known internationally, as it is home to the ancient city of Petra, which is widely considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

Practical details:

Unlike the countries that it borders (apart from Israel), Jordan welcomes quite a large number of tourists annually. It is easy to fly into its capital, Amman, with a number of international carriers. From the UK, Wizz Air operate regular flights from London Luton airport to Amman.

However, Shaun & I entered Jordan by land border rather than by air. We crossed into Jordan at the Wadi Araba border crossing (known as the Yitzhak Rabin crossing on the Israeli side). Unlike the Israelis, the Jordanians charge neither an entrance fee nor an exit fee, on the proviso that you stay in Jordan for at least 3 nights; if you stay in Jordan for less than three nights, then there is an exit fee of 50 Jordanian Dinars, which is approximately €60 or £55.

As mentioned on my Israel blog entry, getting to the Israeli side of the border is quite easy by public transport, coupled with a short walk from the bus stop. However, on the Jordanian side, you are forced to take a taxi from the border crossing into the town of Aqaba. We tried to walk the road into town but were promptly stopped in our tracks by a Jordanian military van. Be wary of the taxi drivers, as although there is a sign with fixed prices for specific destinations on it, they will inevitably try to charge you more, which is what happened to us. Luckily, there is a small hut opposite where the taxi drivers wait which is a local police station, so we went in there and were helped by the police to get the correct fare into Aqaba. From memory, I think it is approximately 10 Jordanian Dinars. The same applies for the return trip from Aqaba back to the border crossing, so try to book a taxi in advance if returning to the border if at all possible.

Aqaba:

We decided to the use the town of Aqaba as our base, staying three nights at a hotel in the town. Aqaba itself is quite a charming coastal town, with lots of shops, cafés and restaurants. It is also on the red sea, which is one of the best places in the world for diving, so I would definitely recommend trying out some of the local beaches and going diving or snorkelling! The beaches in Aqaba itself are not the greatest and have a tendency to get a bit crowded, so it is advisable to head down the coast a bit, close to the border with Saudi Arabia.

I found the Jordanian people to be very hospitable and welcoming, and the local cuisine and coffee was amazing! Be aware that it does get quite hot in Jordan in the summer months: the thermometer regularly went above 40 degrees when we were there in June!

Petra:

Although we very much enjoyed our time in Aqaba, our main highlight in Jordan was visiting Petra. I have never visited anywhere quite like it and I think that the pictures below speak for themselves! From Aqaba, it is possible to get a JETT bus for around 18 Jordanian Dinars, this price being for a return journey. We were told that the journey takes about 1.5 hours each way, although due to the numerous stops that our driver took on the way, this ended up stretching to about 3 hours, so do bear this in mind when planning your trip!