Published on Jun, 2023
Petra has been #1 on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and it exceeded my expectations. I am really glad that we opted for the 3 day instead of the 2 day trip, we had about 10 hours and that seemed like the minimum amount of time I'd want to spend given the long distances that you need to cover. I'd say we walked somewhere between 10-15 miles during the course of the day. I brought hiking boots and I was glad I did, any kind of sandals and I would have slid or tripped. Tennis shoes would also work, just not open toed sandals, even the walking kind. Bring LOTS of water, the prices at Petra are silly expensive.
Our guide was extremely personable and very knowledgeable, he had a real passion for the subject matter. Our driver was also very good. We spent the morning hours with him on the main road, had lunch and then had 5 1/2 hours to explore on our own. We made the trek up to the monastery (800+ steps, some of them very steep) and then headed back on the Wadi al Farasa trail which was a lot more steps. We didn't see more than 10 people on that trail and we were on it for 2 1/2 hours.
The rest of the trip was very interesting, the stop at Mt. Nebo, Madaba, Wadi Rum where we took a jeep tour.
The lodging was very nice, we upgraded to a cabin so we didn't have to share a bathroom, If I was younger I might have but I enjoyed the comfort of an air conditioned tent with a private bathroom. There's a fire pit with music and tea in the evening, under the stars. My only complaint was the wifi was terrible, fortunately the bus had great wifi so I could use that while driving to and fro
The food at the 1st buffet and the last buffet was fantastic, the food at the Seven Wonders camp was good.
Borders crossings were fine, you can pay with credit card to exit Israel (190 or 196 NIS, roughly $53US). You can also do this online but the bus is going to wait for you. Coming back there's a cash fee to exit Jordan of 10 dinars ($14US), the guide collects the passports and the fee. One more stop at the Israeli border, we got through quickly, the only person detained took about 30 minutes but she eventually got through. You spend a lot of time on the bus on days 1 and 3, almost none on day 2.
This was one of 5 tours we took during our visit, 3 with Abraham and two with another company. This was far and away the best of the bunch.
