9 Day Israel and Jordan Itinerary
Hello again blog. Long time no write. I've been a bit busy having fun, but now the UK winter has hit, I find myself with a few spare hours a week that I would rather be hiding indoors, than outside in the mixture of people, rain, and smog that consumes a lot of the London breathing space.
That aside, I took my last trip to see sun earlier this month, and a bunch of people of people have been messaging me about it. So I will start with the easiest details first - my loose itinerary!
First things first, my favourite Pub Quiz section - Geography! Israel and Jordan are bordering countries in the Middle East, separated by the Dead Sea, and to the east of the Mediterranean Sea, making it a very affordable flight from Europe! Together, they border Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As dangerous as that sounds when I re-read it, as long as you're staying away from the borders and the land mines between the border (more on those, an American lady and a border crossing later), you'll be right as rain!
I'm going to start off with saying, this was a trip of speed, with 6am alarms most mornings, and getting sleep in where I could on buses!
Day 1 - Tel Aviv
I arrived from an overnight flight at around 9am. It took me over an hour to get through customs, as it was a Saturday. For anyone concerned, customs do not stamp your passport, as it can then make it hard to get into other countries, since there is a lot of dispute as to whether Israel is a country or not.
I then had to catch an over priced taxi into the city as the trains don't run on Saturdays! In Jewish religion, Shabbot, or the Sabbath is recognised on Saturday. I believe there is some kind of shared taxi/mini bus station which is A LOT cheaper than a taxi too.
I arrived at the hostel at around 11am, made some initially unwilling friends (don't worry, they're my Facebook friends now), and went down to the beach with them for the entire day to sleep off my flight and catch the last summer rays!
Day 2 - Tel Aviv
After an unexpectedly rowdy Tel Aviv pub crawl with an Australian who seemed to have an unlimited credit card, my new friend and I headed into Jaffa to grab some food. We were both really surprised at how cosmopolitan and cool it seemed.
We then went down to the recently developed waterfront and hired bikes from the Tel-O-Fun stands, and rode along the beach front path!
It's a pity that Tel Aviv is a few hours too far for a city summer break, as it has all the aspects of a good long weekend - good food, good beach and good night life!
Day 3 - Jerusalem/Bethleham
After being woken early up by a old Spanish man with a BMI in the danger zone, I decided to just get up and bus to Jerlusalem. Israel as an extensive bus network with regular service through a company called Egged. The website is really easy to use, and there's no need to book!
Tel Aviv Bus Station to Jerusalem Station
Time: Every 20 minutes
Travel Time: 1 hour
Cost: 16 ILS
I didn't spend nearly as much time in Jerusalem as I would have liked to, but I arrived early, and did the classic Sandemans free tour, which starts at 11am from Jaffa gate.
From there, I headed to Bethlehem for a few hours, which honestly, was quite shocking. It was a contrast to the Tel Aviv beach life and the conservative Jews in Jerusalem. It really bewildered me that as we passed into Palestine, the bus didn't stop at the border, but coming back into Israel, certain individuals were asked to get off the bus for a passport check.
East Jerusalem Bus Station to Bethlehem
Time: There is no time table, but the bus goes pretty regularly
Travel Time: 20 - 40 minutes
Cost: 5 ILS
Tips: 1. Take your passport, as you will cross into Palestine
2. Drop a pin onto whatever map you're using once you arrive in Bethleham, as the bus leaves from the same place
Muslim Quarter, Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem
Palestine - Israel Wall
Day 4 - Masada Fort/Dead Sea/Jerusalem
Another day, another early morning. I found two English girls who I had previously met, at breakfast. After we'd taken full advantage of the hostel breakfast, to the put off not needing to eat until 7pm that evening, we jumped on a bus to Masada to climb up to the fort! I don't know how they managed to build a fort in such a high place, but they did, and the view across the dead sea was awesome.
Jerusalem Station to Masada Fort
Time: Check the Egged site
Travel Time: 2.5 hours
Cost: 37.5 ILS
Masada Fort
Time to Climb: Less than an hour with your grandma
Cost: 41 ILS
We were hoping to head to the free Ein Gedi beach, but unfortunately the beach there is closed, as there are a heap of sink holes that appeared a few years ago Off to Ein Bokek we went! The free Ein Bokek beach doesn't have any of the famous Dead Sea mud, however there were a bunch a people buying the mud in a plastic, and painting themselves for the 'Gram.
Masada Fort to Ein Bokek
Time: Check the Egged site
Travel Time: 20 minutes
Cost: 16 ILS
Dead Sea, Ein Bokek
Masada Fort , looking over the Dead Sea
Day 5 - Jerash/Amman
Today's the day where I crossed in Jordan, and boy a day it was! There are three land borders between Israel and Jordan. Starting from the north - Beit She'an/Sheikh Hussein, Allenby/King Hussein Bridge and Wadi Araba. In a nutshell, the closest crossing to both Jerusalem and Amman is the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge.
You need to already have a Jordan visa to cross at this crossing, but not at the other two crossings. For more detailed information about the logistics and visa prices, click here.
Remember to have some cash at the border to pay for the exit fee (in ILS) from Israel, and the entrance fee into Jordan! You're able to exchange cash at the border in Jordan for this. I generally try to carry some emergency USD with me, just incase something happens.
To save some cash, I would recommend getting a Jordan Pass. It includes the price of the visa, entrance to Petra, and a heap of other sites in Jordan. However, to use it, you need to stay in Jordan for a minimum of four days, or else they'll charge you the visa cost when you leave.
I ended up crossing at Beit She'an/Sheikh Hussein, and overall I found the crossings really easy and low key. I would also advise to leave Jerusalem as early as possible. There was barely anyone at the crossing when I crossed, but it can potentially take a a few hours as I soon discovered. Cue an older American woman, and her even older (but definitely not wiser) Israeli tour guide. They asked me to share a taxi with them from the border to Amman, which is completely normal, and good way to save some money. Little did I know my association with them would lead to us being held in JORDANIAN customs being searched and questioned over an Israeli land mine sign they had stolen off a fence between Israel and Jordan. YES, TWO PEOPLE OVER TWICE MY AGE STOLE A LAND MINE SIGN. THIS IS NO WAIHI MINE. THESE ARE THE KINDS OF MINES THAT BLOW LEGS OFF PEOPLE! Two hours of customs quizzing me where my Australian passport was, as they didn't believe New Zealand was a real country later, we were in a taxi.
But with all full body and bag search hilarity come a silver lining - we went to the Jerash ruins en route to Amman! They're Roman ruins, and unlike in Rome, you actually get a heap of breathing space, and there was only a handful of people visiting!
Jerash
Day 6 - Little Petra
I got up pretty early again, as the bus to Petra leaves at 6.30am. I chose to stay over night in Wadi Musa, the village that Petra is accessed from, and spend the night in a Bedouin camp here, rather than go down to Wadi Rum, as I was quite tight on time.
Once I arrived at the camp, I headed down to Little Petra for the afternoon, and hung out with some Bedouin guys who took me into the mountains for some sweet views and fire wood collecting.
Little Petra
Day 7 - Petra
After getting up pretty early, I spent a full day in Petra, and walked a lot! Ended up having to run the last 2km out of Petra to catch the bus as I lost track of time! There is only one bus leaving from Petra each day so it's really important that you book it before you turn up, or else you might end up staying an extra night, or having to pay for a taxi back to Amman.
It's easy enough to book the bus online, and you can just get the reception staff at your hostel to ring and confirm for you. If you chose to just turn up and buy a ticket, it's really important that you buy it from the booth, rather than give a rando guy standing round the buses your cash.
If you have a group of three or four, it might work out cheaper to actually just catch a taxi back, as they will take you door to door, and you won't then have to catch a taxi from the bus station to your accommodation. Details on this here.
Day 8 - Amman
Since I'd had a pretty full on few days, I decided to take Amman quite slowly, and get some sleep to make sure I didn't get sick before I had to go back to work. I woke up late, wandered around Amman, sampling baba ganoush, hummus and a lot of different juices. There's a few sites to see in Amman, including the Roman Theater and Citadel, which the Jordan Pass gives you access to for free.
Like many Middle Eastern countries, Jordan produces perfume, and many perfumeries will make copies of European scents. I was able to get 6, 15mL roll-on bottles of oil for 30 JOD.
Citadel, Amman
Day 9 - Jerusalem/Tel Aviv
On the last day, I headed from Amman to Tel Aviv to catch my evening flight. There was less of an ordeal than the previous border crossing, mainly because no one befriended me, and I was able to cross at Allenby/King Hussein Bridge. Once again, find in depth information here.
I also stopped in Jerusalem for a final wander through the souks, and of course a kebab.
Overall, the trip was epic! Could've done with a day to head down to Wadi Rum, but you can't have it all!
Sarah
