Tip: Buy a Jordan Pass in Jordan

Are you visiting Jordan soon and are you planning to visit as many places of interest as possible? Then the Jordan Pass is definitely for you! In this article, you will find information about the Jordan Pass and you will read why you should or shouldn’t buy it.

What is the Jordan Pass?

The Jordan Pass is a pass that gives you access to 40 sights and attractions in Jordan. If you purchase the pass prior to your trip and stay in Jordan for a minimum of three nights, you will not have to pay for the visa, which you will have to pay upon arrival in the country. You will also receive a digital brochure with all kinds of useful information about the sights and attractions in Jordan.

How does it work?

If you bought a Jordan Pass, you don’t have to pay an entrance fee for approximately 40 attractions. You’ve already done this by buying the pass in advance. Show your pass at the entrance of the attraction (if it is covered by the pass) and you can go inside. Do you want to order a pass? You can do this via the Jordan Pass website.

Note: The Jordan Pass is valid within 12 months of purchase and automatically expires 2 weeks after the first time it is scanned at an attraction. In addition, you always have to show your passport, so don’t forget to bring it with you everytime you visit a sight or attraction.

Places of interest

The pass allows you to visit various UNESCO World Heritage Sites, museums, castles and other hotspots. Some included attractions are the historic city of Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and Amman Citadel. Curious about the whole list? Take a look at the website of the Jordan Pass.

Prices

There are 3 types of passes. Each pass gives you “free” access to 40 sights and attractions, exempts you from the tourist visa fee (provided you stay at least three days) and comes with a digital brochure with information about the sights.

The difference between the passes is the number of days you can visit Petra. With the Jordan Wanderer pass (70 JOD per person) you can go to Petra for one day, with the Jordan Explorer (75 JOD per person) you can go to Petra for two days and with the Jordan Expert (about 80 JOD per person) you can go to Petra for three days.

Is it always beneficial to buy a Jordan Pass?

The answer to the question is always “Yes”, as long as you stay in Jordan for at least three days. There are two situations, which I will explain below.

Flying to Jordan

Are you flying straight to Jordan? Then you are obliged to buy a visa upon arrival at the airport. The costs are about 40 JOD per person. Are you also planning to visit the historic city of Petra? Then you pay 50 JOD per person for one day. These two amounts together are already more than the cost for a Jordan Pass, not to mention the other attractions. In this case the Jordan Pass is cheaper than paying everything separately. Besides that, it also saves you time, because you don’t have to queue for a ticket every time.

Land borders

Do you, like us, go to Israel first and cross the land border to Jordan? If you stay in Jordan for more than three days, you don’t have to pay for your visa. That saves 40 JOD per person, so we decided not to buy the pass. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference in hindsight. A visit to Petra costs for one day 50 JOD per person, Wadi Rum about 5 JOD per person, Jerash 10 JOD per person and the Citadel of Amman 3 JOD per person. The other attractions usually cost around 1 or 2 JOD per person. For us, buying the pass was about as expensive, but if we could have done it all over again, we would have just bought it for the sake of convenience!