Visiting Petra from Amman

Petra charges at the gate, and what you pay there is decided by something that has nothing to do with the park — whether you are sleeping in Jordan. Get that one decision right before you book anything else, because it moves the cost of your day by 40 JD.

What a day at Petra actually costs

The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority publishes one fee table, and it has two prices for the same day inside the same gate. If you are spending at least one night in Jordan, a one-day ticket is 50 JD. If you are not — if you fly in and out, or cross from Israel and back — it is 90 JD.

The rule exists to price day-trippers who cross a border and leave, and it catches anyone on a same-day return. It is also the single strongest reason to build your trip around a night at the gate rather than a long day out of the capital. A bed in Wadi Musa is cheaper than the 40 JD the ticket costs you without one.

The Jordan Pass, and the twenty dinars that decide it

Do the arithmetic before you buy anything. A one-day Petra ticket on its own is 50 JD. The Jordan Wanderer pass is 70 JD and covers that same day at Petra, your tourist entry visa, and entry to more than forty other sites — Wadi Rum, Jerash, Mount Nebo, Madaba and Shobak Castle among them.

Twenty dinars more than the ticket you were going to buy anyway, and the visa alone usually settles it. The conditions are published and they are simple: buy the pass before you arrive in Jordan, and stay a minimum of two nights. Several operators say the same thing in their own exclusions — one writes the Petra fee off in a single line as covered by the pass.

Two things the pass does not do. It does not cover Petra by Night, which is a separate 30 JD ticket. And if you plan to walk the back route to the Monastery, present the pass at the ticket office first.

Where to buy, and when

You have three ways to settle the fee and they cost the same. Buy a Jordan Pass online before you fly, which is the only one that also covers the visa. Buy a Petra ticket through the authority's own online office, which saves you the window on arrival. Or pay at the Visitor Centre on the day, in dinars.

A fourth route exists and it is not the authority's: many of the trips from Amman sell the ticket back to you as a grade you tick at checkout. That is convenience rather than a discount, and on a day when you would rather not think about cash at the gate it is worth taking.

Opening hours, by season

The park runs on two timetables and switches between them on fixed dates.

There is no published last-entry time, so plan backwards from the closing hour. It is over a kilometre from the Visitor Centre to the Treasury and the same distance back, and the return leg is uphill in the late afternoon. In summer the 6am opening is the useful part of the day: the first two hours are the only cool ones, and the Siq is empty.

What your tour fare covers, and what it does not

Read this before you compare prices, because the fares on this road are not comparing the same thing. Not one of the departures from Amman includes the Petra ticket in its base fare. What the fare buys is the vehicle, the driver, the fuel and the hours — and on the longer runs the camp, the meals and the jeep.

• Always in the fare: a private or shared vehicle from an Amman hotel, an English-speaking driver, and on most listings Wi-Fi and bottled water.
• Sometimes, as a grade you tick: the Petra ticket, and two or three hours with a licensed local guide at a stated price.
• Almost never: meals, tips, and the Wadi Rum fee of 5 JD if the day goes on to the desert.
• The Dead Sea, on the two- and three-day runs: a resort charge of about forty dollars a head for the beach and lunch, usually in cash to your driver.

Petra Amman Tours lists every departure with what its own fare states, so you can see which ones settle the gate for you and which leave it to you.

How long you need inside

Hours at the site separate one fare from another far more than price does, and the grid hides it completely. Three hours reaches the Treasury; seven reaches the Monastery.

Be honest with yourself about the Monastery. It is a climb at the far end of the site, and a day trip with four hours inside will not get you there and back. If you want it, take a departure with six or seven hours on the ground, or sleep at the gate and start at opening.

What to bring, and what the walk is like

The approach is a firm gravel track, the Siq floor is uneven stone, and everything past the Treasury is sand, rock or steps. Wear shoes you can cover several kilometres in. Take a hat, sunscreen and more water than you think you need, because there is very little shade anywhere on the main trail.

Carry small dinars. The gate takes cards through its online office but the horse handlers, the carriage drivers, the tea and the tips run on coins and notes. And if the forecast is wet in winter, check before you set off: the Siq is a slot canyon, and the authority closes the site when there is a flood risk. Book a fare that refunds and that risk costs you nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority — entrance fees
• Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority — opening hours
• Jordan Pass — packages and prices
• Jordan Tourism Board — entrance fees

Checked September 2026. Prices and hours are the authority's own and can change — verify before you travel.

For the road itself, the two highways and the coach timetable, see getting to Petra from Amman. For what the season does to the hours and the heat, see Petra month by month. And for the rest of it, including accessibility and the trails that need a licensed guide, the full set of answers is there.

Petra Amman ticket prices are set at the gate by the authority rather than by any operator, and every fare on this road is quoted without them.