The cost of a week travelling around Jordan, here goes.

I would love love lover to be able to travel without the worry of cash or a budget, but that is not my reality.  I am fortunate to travel to some wonderful places, but whilst exploring each I am careful to watch the coffers and make sure that I stick to the budgets I have set myself.  I shall apologise in advance for the lack of pretty pictures and significant detail of attractions in this post, but rest assured those will come in due time.  For now though, it is all about the cash flow.

Budgeting isn’t always easy, there is always the possibility of getting lost in the moment, finding a once in a lifetime opportunity or trying to keep pace with friends new and old, but with the increased interest and popularity in budget travel, it is becoming slightly easier as time passes.

Along with accomplices for the week @thetravelpop and @PeteChurchill7 we decided that £400 (ish) was an accepting cost of a week travelling around Jordan for a week, including travel within country, admissions, food, accommodation and purchases.  Here’s how I personally got on.

The cost of a week travelling around Jordan – the breakdown

Costs  JD £ $ €
Visa 20 17.16 28.29 20.55
Madaba (1 night)        
Taxi from airport to Madaba hotel 3.5 3.00 4.95 3.60
1 nights accommodation inc breakfast 20 17.16 28.29 20.55
Dinner at hotel 14 12.01 19.80 14.38
Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George admission 1 0.86 1.41 1.03
Church of St John the Baptist admission 1 0.86 1.41 1.03
Petra (2 nights)        
Taxi to Petra via Karak 15 12.87 21.22 15.41
Karak castle admission 2 1.72 2.83 2.05
Lunch at Karak 8 6.86 11.32 8.22
2 nights accommodation inc breakfast 32 27.46 45.26 32.88
2 nights dinner 12 10.30 16.97 12.33
Petra by night ticket 12 10.30 16.97 12.33
Petra day ticket 51 43.76 72.14 52.39
snacks/water/tips/misc 20 17.16 28.29 20.55
Wadi Rum (1 night)    
Overnight tour inc transport from Petra, dinner + breakfast 55 47.19 77.79 56.50
Amman (3 nights)    
Taxi from Wadi Rum to Amman 22.5 19.31 31.82 23.12
3 nights accommodation inc breakfast 60 51.48 84.87 61.64
Citadel admission 2 1.72 2.83 2.05
Roman Theatre admission 1 0.86 1.41 1.03
Taxi for day tour of Jarash, Mt Nebo, Bethany and Dead Sea 25 21.45 35.36 25.68
Jarash admission 8 6.86 11.32 8.22
Mt Nebo admission 1 0.86 1.41 1.03
Bethany admission 12 10.30 16.97 12.33
Dead Sea admission 20 17.16 28.29 20.55
Dinners 15 12.87 21.22 15.41
Lunches 10 8.58 14.14 10.27
Taxi to airport from Amman 5.5 4.72 7.78 5.65
snacks/water/tips/misc 30 25.74 42.43 30.82
 My 7 day total  478.5 JD £410.57 $676.80 €491.59




Notes:

Visa

  • Visa on entry, but MUST be paid in JD.  Get currency in advance if possible, otherwise there are exchange desks upon arrival, but I doubt they give you a very good rate.

Madaba

  • Taxi from airport to hotel was 14JD total, our taxi shared between 4.  Organised through our hotel.

Petra

  • Taxi from Madaba to Petra via karak was 60JD total, our taxi shared between 4.
  • Cleopetra hotel/hostel.  Highly recommended!

Amman

  • Taxi from Wadi Rum to Amman was 90JD total, our taxi shared between 4.
  • Jordan Towers Hotel – Very good location and value.
  • Day long taxi tour of Jarash, Bethany, Mt Nebo and Dead Seas was 100JD total, taxi shared between 4.
  • If spending a whole day at the Dead Sea, pay the extra and go to O Beach resort over Amman Beach resort.
  • Dinners, Wherever you go, ask for ‘Mansaf’ (if you like lamb).
  • Lunches, Hashem restaurant for bargain humus and falafel.
  • Taxi from Amman to airport 22JD total, taxi shared between 4.

Further Potential Savings

£410 per person for the week in Jordan wasn’t too bad I think, but that said, there was the potential for savings on that total if you’re keen to spend even less.

Our day tour of Jarash, Bethany, Mt Nebo and the Dead Sea was out of Amman, and cost 100JD  in total (minus a tip for our excellent driver).  Broken down between the 4 in our party it worked out to a very affordable 25JD each.  However, had we swapped a night in Amman for another night in Madaba and organised the same trip from Madaba I dare say it would have worked out that bit cheaper going by the rate card used by our hotel in Madaba which quoted …

  • Mt Nebo, Bethany and the Dead Sea at 30JD
  • Jarash at 40JD

Now these were quote as two separate day trips, so to combine the two might see a bit of a deal struck.  Even if you can’t negotiate the price down, added together they come to 70JD, 30JD less than our tour from Amman.  Essentially it only saves you 7.5JD per person (assuming you are a taxi of 4 also), but that is near enough the cost of admission into Jarash.   Look after the pennies/dinar … you know the rest.

We also paid well over the odds for our dinner on our first night (Madaba).  The hour was late and so we went for the easy option, but £14 for a meal in Jordan is way above the norm.  For example, in Amman we found kebabs for 1JD each.

Cost of Flights

It probably won’t have escaped you that I did not mention the cost of my flights in the above.  Well, flying with Easyjet set me back £237 (inc 1 hold bag).  That’s not too bad at all, but I have been made aware that Easyjet will soon cease their route from London Gatwick to Amman.  That means that your next best bet from the UK/London will be British Airways.  When I looked up the cost of return flights with BA I found them to be around the £400 mark, however a lad we met in Amman named Jeff said that his flights with BA from Heathrow to Amman set him back only £270, which in my book in a bargain.   Worth checking out Skyscanner and Momondo to see if you can get the same.

Inspiration

So what can £410 (plus flights) get you?  Why would you want to travel to Jordan?

Like I said, this post is a little low on site detail and photographic inspiration, but those posts are on the way I promise.  For now, how about you take a wee peek at the below and see if any of my instagrams from Jordan spark your interest travelling to the middle east.

If you want to see where in Jordan each of these photos was taken, simply head over to my Jordan Instagram page.