Travel guides
The best travelguide to Jordan is undoubtedly the Rough Guide. It has more then 400 pages of info (compared to a bit more then 200 for LP), and it is really very reliable and detailed. The main advantage compared to LP is that it has much more info on trekkings, as this part was written by Tony Howard, the man who wrote "Walking in Jordan", the bible on trekking in Jordan.
Order the Rough Guide Jordan now for only 13.99 US$ (edition 2002)
Jordan is an excellent country to go trekking. The "Bible" on trekking in Jordan is the book "Walking in Jordan" by Tony Howard. This is an excellent investment for anyone wanting to spend several days trekking.
Order the Walking in Jordan now for only 13.27 US$ If I didn't convince you with my comment on the Rough Guide (which is a pitty), you can still go for the LP (edition 2003)
Order the Lonely Planet Jordan now for only 13.99 US$ If you plan to visit more countries in the Middle East, the LP on the Middle East is propbably a more economical (and less heavy) option. It has info on Turkey, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. It has 912 pages, edition 1/2000.
Order the Lonely Planet Middle East now for only 17.49 US$
Other books 
If you can't make up your mind, click on the Amazon.com logo and search for more books
Hotels
Since 1999, the government has implemented a 13% tax which will be added to your bill. The same goes for restaurant bills. This has now increased to 16% (5/2004).
Sightseeing
The Jordanians are well aware that you're coming here to see Petra, and they will charge you accordingly. Here are the prices:
- 1 day: 21 JD
- 2 days: 26 JD
- 3 days: 32 JD, but you get the fourth day for free.
-
Remark: in order to stimulate tourism, the government has decided to give a discount of 50% on all sites, but thi might change again in the future (5/2004).
Other sights are cheaper like Jerash (5 JD), Aljun (1 JD), Castle Kerak (1 JD) etc... Here as well, there was a 50% iscount at the time of writing (5/2004).
There's a student discount of 50% also on the already discounted prices. This can be had with any student card, not just the ISIC card..
Medical matters
Hepatitis AIf you travel with a backpack and don't mind eating in cheap restaurants, it's easy to catch Hepatitis A. Chances of getting infected range from 1/300 to 1/50 per month depending on your standard of travelling. It's not dangerous, but you will be sick for some weeks.
There is a good vaccination for Hepatitis A nowadays, so ask your doctor. You need 2 shots (used to be 3 shots) at 0 and 6 months, although if you can it's even better to postpone the second shot till after 12 months. They are expensive, but they protect you for 10 years.
Hepatitis BYou can only get this through sex and blood transfusion. It might be wise to get vaccinated. Get your shots at 0, 1 and 6 months. They are equally expensive as hepatitis A.
Typhoid feverThere is also a good vaccination consisting of 3 pills to be taken every 2 days. Take them early enough before you leave since it's better not to combine them with malaria pills, although these guidelines have recently changed (meaning you can combine them). The vaccination works for 3 years.
Travellers diarrheaWe always have antibiotics at hand in case of diarrhea. We take Ciproxine 250 mg two tablets at once and then another 3 tablets, one tablet every 12 hours.
Weather
The best time to visit is spring or autumn. Winters can get cool in Amman, but aqaba will enjoy nice temperatures.
I went in may, and this is really a superb time to go there. It's not too warm yet, and you'll see plenty of flowers, especially flowering oleanders are remarkable during your trekkings. It is however too late for the black iris, you'll have to go earlier then.
Trekking
I can't repeat it enough, but Jordan is an excellent destination for trekking. You'll need local guides for this, and they're not cheap. In RSCN territory like Wadi Mujib, you'll need a minumum of 5 people and each has to pay 20 JD for the guide, Dana is a bit cheaper. Private guides will charge between 50 to 100 JD for a day of guiding. We did several walks with our group, and this is a hitlist of the most popular treks with scores from 1 till 10:
|
Walk
|
Number of votes
|
Mean score
|
|
Wadi ibn Hammad
|
8
|
9,38
|
|
Wadi Mujib with descent through Siq
|
5
|
9,30
|
|
Wadi Rum: Rakabat canyon
|
8
|
8,81
|
|
Wadi Rum: Burdah bridge
|
6
|
8,75
|
|
Rummana campsite-Dana
|
6
|
8,58
|
|
Dana: Feinan- Al Foron
|
8
|
8,44
|
|
Wadi Mujib with descent through Ibex trail
|
3
|
8,33
|
|
Mansourah - Feinan through Wadi Guweir
|
8
|
8,25
|
|
Little Petra-Petra
|
8
|
7,5
|
|
Wadi Yabis (North Jordan)
|
8
|
6,25
|
Go to Amman
