A falafel sandwich costs 1 to 1.50 JD, $1.35 to $2. A chicken shawarma is 2 to 3 JD, $2.70 to $4. A sit-down meal of mansaf or maqluba in a mid-range Amman restaurant runs 8 to 12 JD per person, $11 to $16.
Jordan: What the Numbers Actually Look Like
The Jordan Pass costs 70 Jordanian dinars for the basic tier, which comes to about $99. That single figure decides the shape of most budget trips here, because the pass waives the 40 JD visa fee — roughly $56 — and covers entry to Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and dozens of smaller sites. Buy it before you arrive or the visa math changes entirely.
Petra alone costs 50 JD for one day without the pass, about $71. Two days runs 55 JD, three days 60 JD. If you are paying cash at the gate, one day is the only sane option. With the pass, stay as long as you like.
The pass pays for itself on day one. Everything after that is food, transport and beds.
Petra in Practice
The site opens at 6am in summer, 6:30am in winter. Gates close at 6pm in summer, 4pm in winter. Last entry is two hours before closing. The walk from the visitor centre to the Treasury takes about 25 minutes through the Siq. Most people do it before 8am and have the place nearly to themselves.
The Monastery is 800 steps up from the basin. It takes 45 minutes to an hour at a normal pace. Donkeys offer to carry you for 20 JD, about $28, and the animals look tired.
Petra by Night runs Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets cost 17 JD, roughly $24. You walk the Siq by candlelight to the Treasury and sit on mats while someone plays a flute. It lasts about two hours. The pass does not cover it.
Wadi Rum is 90 minutes south by car from Petra, about 115km. The visitor centre charges 5 JD entry, $7, on top of whatever you pay for a tour or camp.
Beds and Food
A bed in a Petra-area hostel dorm runs 8 to 12 JD, so $11 to $16. Private rooms start around 25 JD, $34. In Amman, dorms in the Jabal Amman and downtown areas sit at 7 to 10 JD, $9.50 to $13.50. Wadi Rum desert camps range from 15 JD for a basic tent with shared bathroom to 40 JD and up for a bubble tent with a private bath — $20 to $54 and beyond.
A falafel sandwich costs 1 to 1.50 JD, $1.35 to $2. A chicken shawarma is 2 to 3 JD, $2.70 to $4. A sit-down meal of mansaf or maqluba in a mid-range Amman restaurant runs 8 to 12 JD per person, $11 to $16. Hummus and bread at a local place is 2 JD, $2.70. Coffee is 1 to 2 JD, $1.35 to $2.70. A 1.5-litre bottle of water costs 0.5 to 1 JD, $0.54 to $1.35, and you will buy several a day in summer.
Alcohol is expensive. A local beer in a bar is 5 to 7 JD, $5.40 to $7.60. A cocktail in a Western-style Amman bar is 10 to 15 JD, $11 to $16. A bottle of wine from a liquor store is 12 to 20 JD, $13 to $22.
A daily food budget of 10 to 15 JD, $11 to $16, is realistic if you eat where locals eat. Double it if you want restaurants with tablecloths.
Moving Around
The JETT bus from Amman to Petra takes about three and a half hours and costs 8 to 11 JD, $8.60 to $12. It leaves from the Abdali station in the morning. The same route by taxi costs 60 to 80 JD, $65 to $86, split between passengers.
Amman to Aqaba on the JETT bus is 12 to 15 JD, $13 to $16, and takes four hours. Amman to Wadi Rum is 15 to 18 JD, $16 to $19.50.
The local minibus from Petra to Wadi Rum is cheaper, around 5 to 7 JD, $5.40 to $7.60, but it leaves when full and the schedule is unreliable. A private car between the two is 40 to 50 JD, $43 to $54.
Within Amman, a taxi across the city is 3 to 5 JD, $3.25 to $5.40. A shared white taxi on a fixed route is 0.5 to 1 JD, $0.54 to $1.35. Rideshare apps operate in Amman and cost roughly the same as a metered taxi. From Queen Alia airport to downtown Amman, a taxi is 20 to 25 JD, $22 to $27. The airport bus is 3.30 JD, $3.60, and drops you at the North Terminal.
Car rental for a small sedan is 25 to 40 JD per day, $27 to $43, before fuel. Petrol is around 1 JD per litre, $1.08.
The Money Math
Ten days is a fair length for Jordan. A bare-bones version:
The Jordan Pass: $99. Hostels for nine nights at $13 average: $117. Food at $14 a day for ten days: $140. Transport between Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum and back: roughly $60. Wadi Rum camp for two nights: $50. Petra by Night: $24. SIM card with 10GB data: 10 JD, $11. Airport bus both ways: $7.
That comes to about $508, or roughly $51 a day. Add a Wadi Rum jeep tour at 35 to 50 JD, $38 to $54, and entrance fees at Jerash and the Dead Sea if you go, and you are closer to $600.
A mid-range version with private rooms, restaurant meals and a rental car for four days lands between $1,100 and $1,400 for the same ten days.
The expensive part of Jordan is not the country. It is the flights in. From the US east coast, return fares to Amman typically run $700 to $1,100 depending on season. From Europe, $150 to $400 return on a low-cost carrier from a handful of cities.
What the Numbers Tell You
Jordan is not a cheap country by regional standards. It is a cheap country if you move the way Jordanians move, eat what they eat, and buy the pass. The gap between a $51 day and a $140 day is almost entirely accommodation, transport mode and alcohol.
Cash matters. Many small shops, taxis and falafel stands take dinars only. ATMs are common in Amman, Petra and Aqaba but thin elsewhere. Withdraw in larger cities.
The Jordan Pass needs to be purchased before arrival to waive the visa fee. That is the single biggest saving on the trip and it takes ten minutes to sort out. Everything else — the 1 JD falafel, the 5 JD minibus, the 15 JD desert tent — is available to anyone willing to skip the bubble tent and the airport taxi. The country rewards that choice with the same Siq, the same Treasury, the same 800 steps to the Monastery, at roughly a third of the cost.
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