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

Updated January 2024

Whether you’ve flown to Jordan to seek out winter sun and want to see a few of the country’s most famous 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 the unmissable Wadi Rum is super straightforward.

Plus, with a journey time of less than 50 minutes each way, the short distance between the two makes the southern city of Aqaba an ideal base from which to explore the desert - whether on a day trip or an overnight adventure.

If you’re only staying in the city for a night or two, heading to Wadi Rum as the next stop on your Jordan adventure makes a lot of sense (you can even go there straight from the airport!)

In this short post, we’ve shared the four best ways to get from Aqaba to Wadi Rum - bus, rental car, taxi, and tours - with all the information you need to choose the best one for your travel style and budget.

Reaching Wadi Rum Independently

Right, first things first.

The most important thing to note if you’re trying to decide whether to make your own way to Wadi Rum with public transport, a rental car or private taxi (i.e. independently, as opposed to an organised tour with pick-up in Aqaba) is that you will still need to arrange a tour or transport to take you into the desert proper once you reach the entrance.

This can either be an overnight stay in a bedouin tent or bubble room plus a jeep tour, or simply a full or half-day jeep tour before heading back to Aqaba the same day.

To do this you have three choices:

Book a tour directly with one of the many camps scattered across the desert. We’ve selected our top pick of desert camps in this article (published soon).
Book via a tour company like Viator or GetYourGuide
Turn up and find one on the day

Whilst turning up to book a tour is absolutely possible (we were offered quite tours by a number of Bedouin guides upon arriving at the Wadi Rum Rest House), unless you’re travelling on a super tight budget and are hoping to score a last minute deal, we’d highly recommend arranging a tour in advance. This is especially true for those wanting to spend the night in the desert during high season when the more popular camps tend to have very limited availability.

We cover how to book your Wadi Rum tour in much more detail in our ‘Complete Guide to Visiting Wadi Rum’ (published soon), but for quick reference, below are a number of highly rated tours that can be booked in advance, online:

Overnight Stays

Tour One | This super popular, highly-rated and very well-priced tour includes a full-day jeep tour and an overnight in a Bedouin camp. Find out more here.

Tour Two | If you’d prefer to sleep under the stars (like we did on one of our nights in Wadi Rum), this tour is an excellent choice. Includes full-day jeep tour and food. Find out more here.

Full Day Tours

There are an abundance of full-day jeep tours available, the vast majority offering identikit days out. This tour tour however is particularly highly rated and includes stop at all major attractions in Wadi Rum, good guides and food throughout the day. Check availability and prices here.

Half-Day Tours

If you’re short on time but determined to make the most of what you have, a half-day tour may be perfect - this option has an abundance of excellent reviews and would be our pick!

RENTAL CAR FROM AQABA TO Wadi Rum

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 Wadi Rum is a breeze.

You can pick up a rental car at the airport or in the city.

If you’re planning a lot of day trips from Aqaba, or a Jordan road trip, 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. For those of you travelling to Jordan primarily for winter sun and a relaxing resort break, who may only choose to leave Aqaba once or twice (say just 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 for spontaneous short-term bookings than downtown offices.

We rarely go direct when hiring cars, 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), and list various companies in Aqaba.

Depending on where you are staying in Aqaba, the drive time to Wadi Rum is around 50 to 55 minutes along a good, well-signposted road, and your first stop will be the Visitor’s Centre located here on Google Maps.

Here you will need to park up briefly and head inside the building with your Jordan Pass (if you have one - if you don’t, then entry is 5JD per person) to provide details of your stay / visit. You will then be given a ticket which you should put somewhere visible in the car.

Get back in your car, and drive a further 7 kilometres to Wadi Rum Village / Rest House (here on Google Maps) where you will be able to park your car and meet with your guide / tour.

It is safe to leave your vehicle in this car park for as long as you are in the desert, but we recommend taking valuables with you and storing anything worthwhile out of sight.

Read Later // 17 Things To Know Before Driving in Jordan

TOURS FROM AQABA TO Wadi Rum

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

We’ve selected some of the best, but it’s important to note that the vast majority of tours beginning and ending in Aqaba only spend a couple of hours in Wadi Rum itself; if you’d prefer a longer experience, you may be better off considering one of the other options mentioned in this article for your Wadi Rum adventure.

Tour One | This highly-rated half-day tour includes transport to and from Aqaba, a two-hour jeep tour through Wadi Rum, entry fees (if you don’t have a Jordan Pass) and an English speaking guide. Find out more here.

Tour Two | Another popular tour option, this includes private transfer, a two-hour jeep tour, an English speaking guide/driver and the option to add in a traditional Bedouin lunch. Check prices and availability here.

Tour Three |If you’d prefer a full-day option, this is the tour to go for! Includes transfers, a guided 6-hour jeep tour to the Wadi’s most iconic destinations and a Bedouin lunch. Find out more here.

Important Tip // When researching tours from Aqaba to Wadi Rum, you may well come across options to visit 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.

BUS FROM AQABA TO Wadi Rum

Whilst Jordan’s public transport is far from a perfect system, there are a couple of good options for those relying on buses to travel between Aqaba and Wadi Rum - minibuses and the JETT bus company.

Minibuses

· The local minibusses run from Aqaba to Wadi Rum a number of times a day - but not on a specific timetable.

· Instead, the drivers wait until the minibus is full before departing. To get a gauge on approximate departure times, you’re best asking the drivers in Aqaba the day before.

· The buses leave from the station located outside of Aqaba Police Station (maps)

· A one-way journey costs just 3JD.

Do note that tickets cannot be booked in advance and that buses can get filled very quickly. We recommend asking the drive what’s the best place / time to wait for a bus back to Aqaba (feel free to let us know in the comments if you do this and can share advice!)

The JETT bus

· This is a tourist bus, not a public bus, operated by company called JETT.

· 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).

· Despite this being a relatively short distance, the JETT website states that the bus arrives at the Wadi Rum Visitor’s Centre at 11am, whilst other sources state it takes around 1.5 hours - if anybody takes this bus, and can confirm this the journey time we’d be delighted to share here!

· To return, the bus departs the Visitor’s Centre at 6.30pm, arriving back in Aqaba around 8pm.

· The price is 15 JD per person each way, or 30 JD 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.

TAXI FROM AQABA TO Wadi Rum

As with every tourist destination in Jordan, it’s also possible to arrange a private taxi to take you to Wadi Rum to join your jeep tour.

This should cost around 20 JD, but prices can vary depending on the company you go with, the number of passengers (the bigger the car, the more you’ll pay) and your haggling skills.

Whilst it is possible to arrange for your driver to wait for you, this will obviously affect the price quite considerably. Either agree a round-trip fare and collection time that suits everyone (and don’t pay it all up front), or arrange your return journey with a driver when you wish to head back to Aqaba (this raises its own challenges).

If you’re not too worried about price and simply looking for a more convenient experience, we recommend arranging your taxi to Wadi Rum with your hotel - but feel free to share recommendations and prices following positive/negative experiences in the comments as we want this post to be as helpful and useful for travellers like you.