Petra Day Tours: The Complete Guide

I grew up in Wadi Musa, the town at Petra’s gate, and spent eleven years driving the Desert Highway run between Amman and the site. I watched thousands of visitors arrive, walk the Siq, see the Treasury, and leave. Most of them asked the same question on the drive back: “Was that worth the money?” The answer depends entirely on where you came from and what you paid for the ticket. Here’s what you need to know.

The one rule that matters: 50 JOD versus 90 JOD

Petra charges you almost double if you don’t sleep in Jordan. One-day tickets for an accommodated visitor — someone who has spent at least one night in Jordan — cost 50 JOD. The same ticket for a non-accommodated visitor (in and out the same day) costs 90 JOD. That’s the difference between $70 and $127 for the identical walk down the identical Siq.

This single rule explains the entire price map of the Petra tour business. Tours from Amman or Aqaba start at $73–$93 because you already slept in Jordan and qualify for the 50 JOD rate. Tours from Eilat, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Sharm El Sheikh start at $289 and run to $583 because the operator is absorbing the 90 JOD ticket, the visa, the border fees, and 6–15 hours of transport, all so you can be back in bed on the wrong side of the border. There’s also a loophole: if you visit Petra on your first day in Jordan and then stay the night in or around Wadi Musa, you can claim 40 JOD back at the ticket office the next day, landing you at 50 JOD. But that requires two days.

Time on site: the real decision-maker

Forget the tour price for a moment. The question that decides everything is: how many hours will you actually spend inside Petra?

From Amman (five hours at the site), you can walk the Siq (20 minutes), see the Treasury (5 minutes to admire it), explore the Street of Facades and Royal Tombs (30–40 minutes), and still have time for lunch and an optional Monastery climb (40 minutes of hard stair). Five hours is the working day I know; it’s enough to see the main features and feel like you touched Petra.

From Aqaba (eight hours door to door, roughly four hours on site), you get similar coverage but tighter. From Eilat or Tel Aviv (2.5 hours inside), you get the Siq, the Treasury, and either a quick free wander or a guided sprint. You will not make the Monastery climb. You might not make the Royal Tombs. This is the trade-off for crossing an international border.

From Sharm El Sheikh (roughly 10 hours in Jordan total, three of them guided tour), you get a three-hour guided walk and time to explore on your own. It’s long, it starts near midnight on a ferry, but if you’ve come from Egypt and this is your only chance, the day is honest.

Which departure city actually makes sense?

If you’re already in Jordan — Amman, Aqaba, anywhere in the country — a Petra day tour is worth it. The 50 JOD ticket rate and the proximity make the day cheap and sensible. Book five hours from Amman and you’ll understand what I mean.

If you’re starting from Israel (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Eilat) or Egypt (Sharm El Sheikh), the question changes. You’re no longer paying for a tour; you’re paying for a border-crossing experience that happens to include Petra. A $583 flight-and-tour from Tel Aviv for 2.5 hours of walking is expensive. But if Petra is your only chance, and you want a guide who knows the entry process and the site, it’s less stressful than going it alone. If you can spend a night in Jordan first (Amman, Aqaba, anywhere), the math gets much better: one night + $93 Amman tour beats $583 flight-and-ferry every time.

Two days versus one

The most-reviewed product on the entire site is the Amman: Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea 2-day tour ($249, 1,521 reviews). This is because two days is what Petra deserves. Day one, you visit Petra properly: five hours to walk the full trail, see the Monastery, sit and absorb. Day two, Wadi Rum by jeep and the Dead Sea to float. By the end, you’re tired but you’ve touched Jordan and understood why people come here.

One day is enough to see Petra. Two days is enough to understand it.

The Jordan Pass trap

The Jordan Pass (Wanderer 70 JOD / Explorer 75 / Expert 80) bundles the Petra ticket and waives the 40 JOD tourist visa. The math looks good: 50 JOD ticket + 40 JOD visa = 90 JOD; the Pass at 70 JOD saves 20 JOD. But there’s a catch: the visa waiver only works if you stay three consecutive nights in Jordan. Leave earlier and you pay the 40 JOD visa anyway, making the Pass dead weight. If you’re doing a same-day trip from Israel or Egypt, do not buy it. If you’re in Jordan for three nights or more, it saves money.

My honest recommendation

From Amman or Aqaba: book the five-hour Amman tour, the one with the 50 JOD ticket. Cost around $73–$93. Walk the Siq at dawn, see the Treasury, spend time at the Royal Tombs, and decide whether the Monastery is worth 40 more minutes. You’ll be back in your hotel by evening. If you can spare a second day, the Wadi Rum + Dead Sea addition is worth the time.

From Eilat (Israel border): the eight-hour tour is the least travel-heavy of the border options. Expect 2.5 hours at Petra and $390. The border logistics are smooth. It works.

From Jerusalem or Tel Aviv: only if Petra is non-negotiable and you can’t spare a night in Amman. Otherwise, fly to Amman instead. One night + the Amman tour ($73) beats the same-day flight-and-ferry by money and sanity.

From Sharm El Sheikh: the ferry + 22-hour day is the ultimate “I came this far, I’m going to see it.” If you’re already in Egypt and Petra is next, take the tour. Three hours guided plus time to wander is real.

Book ahead. Bring your passport. Wear sunscreen. The light is better in the morning, and the walk is easier if you start at dawn. Everything else — the guide, the logistics, the water — the tour handles.

Ready to book?

Pick your departure city first, then the tour. Most people reading this are starting in Amman, where the cheapest full days sit, or in Eilat and Tel Aviv, where the border and the ticket do most of the damage to the price. If you have a spare night, the two-day tours solve the fee problem outright. Availability and live prices for the most-booked Amman departure are below; the all tours page has the rest.

Frequently asked questions