Budget Guide To Jordan

The Monastery, Petra

Jordan caters for most types of budget, though it might be challenging if you really are on a shoestring!

Type Of Travel

Jordan was the first “real” trip / road-trip we undertook with our 3 kids (aged 4, 4 & 6 at the time of travel in April 2024). So clearly, we did not try in any way to cut costs.

Of course it was no high-end trip, as we wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway… But we rented a family car (neither 4WD nor SUV), stayed in mid-range hotels or apartment rentals, simply enjoyed our trip and offered the kids a few “extras”, like a donkey ride a day in Petra, a camel ride in the Wadi Rum, …

Itinerary & Time Of The Visit

We traveled 12 days in April 2024 and and drove a 1.250 km loop starting from Amman, taking us to:

• Jerash & Aljun Castle,
• Madaba, the Kings Highway and its Castles (including a short hop to the Dead Sea),
• The Wadi Rum,
• Aqaba,
• Petra,
• And back to Amman (Madaba, close to the airport).

Global Budget

Jordan is not a cheap country to travel, and if you travel on a shoestring, you might have some challenges. But it is easily doable on a mid-range price level. Beware that high-end options tend to be significantly more expensive than in other destinations, as Jordan caters for many tourists from the Gulf states, ready to dish-out their “Petro-dollars” without counting.

Two sidenotes on this budget:

• The costs for the car rental are divided into 5 people, so you could actually consider that it is actually 38,30 € per person per day if you are 2
• The same partly applies for hotels and apartment rental, though we had to book larger family rooms or larger flats. So maybe this is not completely in line with the budget we would have had if we were only two adults

Accommodation

You have a wide choice of options, at least in the mid-range price segment, which also includes the possibility to rent flats or houses for one or several nights. As mentioned above, beware that high-end options tend to be significantly more expensive than in other destinations, especially at the Dead Sea and in Aqaba.

Restaurants & Food

The first 4 days of the trip were during Ramadan, and finding any restaurant open except in touristic centers was a bit of a challenge. On top of that, with 3 little kids, we did not focus on restaurants, as we wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway, though people are extremely friendly and understanding with kids in Jordan.

But all in all, food is really good, and you have countless local restaurants that caters for all budgets, or small supermarkets if you prefer to eat a snack at home or on the way.

Transport

We have no idea how public transports work, as we never investigated this. But it seems that it is not an option except if you have significant amounts of time at hand and are ready to rough it. Renting a car (a sedan car is perfect, no need for a 4WD or anything like a SUV) is a very good way to discover the country, it is reasonable, safe and very convenient. Road conditions are good, traffic is easy to manage. Gasoline is easy to find, except around the Dead Sea.

Splurge At Reasonable Costs?

Beware that high-end options tend to be significantly more expensive than in other destinations, as Jordan caters for many tourists from the Gulf states, ready to dish-out their “Petro-dollars” without counting. Therefore, Jordan might clearly not be the ideal destination for this!

Reduce Costs?

That was clearly not our goal, as mentioned above, so we did not try in any way to reduce costs…