The best ways to get from Aqaba to Petra depending upon your travel style, itinerary and budget.

Updated January 2024

At around two hours driving each way, the relatively short distance between the southern port city of Aqaba and Petra means that it’s ideal for a day trip.

So, whether you’ve flown to Jordan to seek out winter sun and want to see a few of the sights, or are using Aqaba as base to explore the rest of the country after you scored some cheap flights, you’ll be happy to know that getting to and from Petra is super straightforward - whether you pick a car, a bus, a tour or a taxi.

If you’re only staying in the city for a night or two, you can also easily head there as the next stop on your Jordan adventure or straight from the airport!

Here are the four best ways to get from Aqaba to Petra, with all the information you need to choose the best one for your travel style and budget.

Rental Car From Aqaba to Petra

Unlike Amman which, even for the most experienced drivers, can be a little unpleasant to drive through, the much smaller city of Aqaba is significantly easier to negotiate with a rental car; using your own vehicle to head out on a day trip to Petra is therefore perfectly possible.

The best thing about having your own vehicle, is that you can choose when to arrive in Petra, and as we say in our ‘Guide to Visiting Petra’, the earlier you can arrive the better!

The drive time between the two popular touristic locations is approximately two hours, largely along a quick highway, and you will find free parking a couple of minutes’ walk from the Petra Visitor’s Centre, near the Petra Moon Hotel. Find it here on Google Maps.

The downside of doing your day trip this way is that the driver will have a pretty long day ahead of them, as meaningfully exploring Petra requires several hours of walking under the sun.

If you’re planning on heading out on a lot of day trips from Aqaba, you may be better off picking up your car on arrival at the airport where a number of rental companies have offices and collection stations at the terminal. For those of you travelling to Jordan primarilyy for winter sun and a relaxing resort break, who may only choose to leave Aqaba once or twice (say to Petra and Wadi Rum), picking up the vehicle from one of the city centre offices is more practical and costs about the same.

The only thing to note is that during Aqaba’s high season (October-November), the airport will have more vehicle stock and availability than downtown offices.

We rarely go direct when hiring cars abroad, instead preferring to use two popular rental aggregators to compare costs and find the best deal. The two companies we use are AutoEurope and RentalCars - both of which we have had excellent experiences with and saved substantial amounts over going direct (never entirely certain why, but it’s a common outcome when we do a comparison).

Tours From Aqaba to Petra

For ease, many people choose to visit Petra from Aqaba as part of an organised tour. As such, there are a number of options to choose from.

Petra and Little Petra Day Trip from Aqaba | Whilst most tours focus purely on the main Petra site, this particular option also includes time at Little Petra. Price includes all tickets. Find out more here.

1 Day Petra Tour From Aqaba | This tour includes private transport, your tickets, a three-hour guided tour and lunch. Good value as compared to the above tour - find out more here.

Aqaba Shore Excursion | Obviously only relevant for those visiting Aqaba on a cruise, this tour includes port pick up and drop off, a local guide and lunch. Find out more here.

Petra Day Tour* | This particular tour allows you to select various options, depending upon whether you need Petra entry tickets, a guide and lunch. Note that it can get quite expensive if you select all options, but for transport only it’s fairly priced.

*This tour is currently unavailable.

When it comes to arranging your Petra tour from Aqaba, there are a few things to bear in mind:

Although it’s possible to book a tour which includes both Wadi Rum and Petra in the same day (like this one), we really wouldn’t recommend this. Visiting these two natural wonders are such uniquely wonderful experiences, that if you try to do both in one day, you’ll almost certainly not make the most of either. The only exception to this of course is if you’re only in the country for a handful of days, and want to maximise your time.
Some tours charge far too much. We still can’t work out why this tour is priced at nearly £250 / $300 per person! Be sure to look at a few options to ensure you’re not being taken advantage of and read recent reviews.

Flying into Aqaba but don’t plan on staying in the city? If you want to head straight to Petra, then consider booking this private transfer.

Bus From Aqaba to Petra

Whilst public transport in Jordan can be a little limited, the good news is that there is a daily bus to and from Aqaba to Petra. Here’s the details:

· This is a tourist bus, not a public bus, operated by the Jett company.

· Departure from Aqaba leaves at 8am and you can board at any the three pick-up points: Jett Office Aqaba (maps), Mövenpick Tala Bay (maps) or Divers Village (maps).

· The bus takes about three hours to reach Petra, arriving at the Visitor’s Centre at 11am.

· To return, the bus departs the Petra Visitor Centre at 5pm, arriving back in Aqaba around 8pm.

· The price is 15JD per person each way, or 30JD for a return. Do note that children requiring a seat must pay the full adult fee.

Tickets can theoretically be paid for on the day at the Jett Office but given the very limited departures and seats selling out very quickly, if you leave it to the last moment you may find the service is sold out. For example, at time of publication, even booking a week in advance there were only a handful of seats remaining!

Instead, we’d recommend booking your seats on line via the official website here or on Bookaway.

This option will give you around four or five meaningful hours within Petra on a day trip - read our Visiting Petra Guide to find out if that suits you. Alternatively, you can take the bus one-way and enjoy more time in Petra, and then take it from there.

Taxi From Aqaba to Petra

As with every tourist destination in Jordan, it’s also possible to arrange a private taxi to take you to Petra, wait for you, and then drive you back once you’ve finished exploring.

The price can vary considerably depending upon how long you’d like within the Petra, the company you go with, the number of passengers (the bigger the car, the more you’ll pay) and your haggling skills, but expect to pay somewhere in the region of 75JD to 100JD each way for the whole vehicle.

This may seem like a lot, but would likely work out cheaper than a tour if you’re part of a larger group and may provide greater flexibility on departure times at each side.

If this is something you’d be interested in arranging, we’d recommend speaking with your hotel. Feel free to share recommendations following positive experiences in the comments!