Field note · Jordan · Ma'an Governorate

Petra and Wadi Musa

JETT's scheduled coach from Amman is the easy way in; everyone else relays through Ma'an on minibuses that leave when full, and once inside the Siq the only transport is a regulated horse, cart, donkey or camel concession.

Researched: 28 September 2026
Reviewed: 29 September 2026
Ways of moving: 12, 17 sources
Not confirmed: 9
Fares seen: 2018–2026

How transport works here

12 ways of moving, each with its rule

We confirmed eleven ways of moving to, from or around Petra: seven by road and four hired or on demand, from 17 sources. One entry is not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Eight of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be. One needs a phone call or a message before you turn up.

The fares were seen in 2018 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Eight fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 3 of the 12 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with nine things we could not confirm.

7 ways

By road

bus

JETT Amman (Abdali) – Petra

JETT office near Abdali station, Amman, to the JETT stop at the Petra Visitor Center, Wadi Musa

JETT's Abdali office; the bus stops right at the Petra Visitor Center, a few minutes' walk from the gate

When: One departure a day each way (JETT live-schedule API shows the Abdali–Petra route as active, 2026)
Takes: About 3.5 hours (Wikivoyage, May 2025)
Fare 2026: 11 JD adult, 7.7 JD child, one-way (JETT live-schedule API, checked September 2026); Wikivoyage quotes 10 JD one-way as of May 2025

Seasonyear-round. Bookingbuy at the JETT office or via jett.com.jo; no reservation required for the standard fare shown by the API. Run byJETT (Jordan Express Tourist Transport).

bus

JETT Aqaba – Petra

JETT office, Aqaba (with pickup at Movenpick Tala Bay and Divers Village) to the Petra Visitor Center stop

JETT office in Aqaba; hotel pickup listed at Movenpick Tala Bay and Divers Village

When: Route listed as active and round-trip in the JETT live-schedule API (checked September 2026); no clock times published in the API
Takes: undated, not directly stated in the sources checked
Fare: not published as a fixed adult price in the live-schedule API (returned as 0); fare could not be confirmed for this route

Seasonyear-round. Bookingbook through jett.com.jo or the Aqaba office. Run byJETT (Jordan Express Tourist Transport).

minibus

Wadi Musa – Ma'an – Aqaba relay

Wadi Musa Bus Station (next to the mosque) to Ma'an, then a separate minibus from Ma'an on to Aqaba

Wadi Musa Bus Station beside the mosque; ask for Ma'an, then change for Aqaba

When: regular during daylight hours; leaves when full, no fixed timetable found
Takes: not stated in the source checked
Fare: 0.55 JD Wadi Musa to Ma'an, 1.50 JD Ma'an to Aqaba; year not stated in the Wikivoyage text, treat as undated

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone, pay on board; going via Ma'an gets the local price rather than the marked-up direct fare. Run byindependent minibus operators.

minibus

Direct Aqaba – Wadi Musa minibus

Wadi Musa Bus Station direct to Aqaba, aimed at travellers crossing from Eilat

Wadi Musa Bus Station; ask for the Aqaba minibus, no fixed stand name given

When: on demand; one early minibus from Wadi Musa around 06:45, returns from Aqaba once full, no fixed timetable
Takes: not stated in the source checked
Fare: 5 JD; year not stated in the Wikivoyage text, treat as undated

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone, pay on board; ask at the tourist information office at the Aqaba border for departure times. Run byindependent minibus operators.

minibus

Direct Amman – Wadi Musa minibus

Amman to Wadi Musa direct, bypassing Ma'an

informal departure points in Amman; ask at the Northern (Tabarboor) bus station

When: on demand, leaves when full
Takes: about 3 hours (Wikivoyage)
Fare 2023: 7 JD charged to tourists as of March 2023; drivers may try to add a separate luggage charge, which the source says to refuseSeen in 2023: a floor, not a price.

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone, pay on board. Run byindependent minibus operators.

minibus

Wadi Rum – Petra minibus

Wadi Rum village to Wadi Musa

arranged through a Wadi Rum tour operator or guide, not a public stand

When: on demand; usual departure around 09:30 from Wadi Rum, can shift for weather or other tour groups
Takes: about 2 hours
Fare: 10 JD; year not stated in the Wikivoyage text, treat as undated

Seasonyear-round. Bookingcompulsory advance arrangement: have your Wadi Rum tour operator or guide call the bus owner the day before. Run byindependent minibus/tour operators.

minibus

Wadi Musa bus station – Little Petra minibus

Wadi Musa Bus Station to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)

Wadi Musa Bus Station in the city centre, ask for Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)

When: at least one minibus around midday (approx. 12:00)
Takes: not stated in the source checked
Fare: fare not stated in the source checked; entry to Little Petra itself is free

Seasonyear-round. Run byindependent minibus operators.

4 ways

Hired, booked and on demand

private hire

Taxi or hired car, Amman – Petra

Amman to Petra and back via either the Desert Highway (faster, Amman–Ma'an–Aqaba road) or the King's Highway (Kerak, Madaba, Wadi Mujib, joining the Desert Highway south of Ma'an)

arranged through a hotel or hailed directly; the King's Highway is a specific route request, not the default

When: on demand
Takes: about 3–4 hours one-way depending on route; the King's Highway is described as slower and more scenic
Fare: around 75 JD or less for a private taxi from Amman including about 6 hours of waiting at Petra; a hotel-arranged shared taxi via the now-discontinued Madaba bus route costs 85 JD; year not stated in the Wikivoyage text, treat as undated

Seasonyear-round; the King's Highway runs through highland areas that get colder and wetter in winter (November–March) than the Desert Highway. Bookingnegotiate directly, or arrange through a hotel (e.g. the Mariam Hotel in Madaba organises a King's Highway shared taxi). Run byindependent taxi drivers and hotel-arranged services.

private hire

Taxi, Aqaba – Petra

Aqaba to Petra one-way via the Desert Highway

hailed in Aqaba or arranged by a hotel; Wikivoyage flags a taxi cartel operating at the Aqaba border, worth avoiding for this specific ride

When: on demand
Takes: about 2 hours
Fare: around 55 JD one-way; year not stated in the Wikivoyage text, treat as undated

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnegotiate directly or via a hotel. Run byindependent taxi drivers.

private hire

Wadi Musa town to the Petra gate, and on to Little Petra

Wadi Musa town centre to the Petra Visitor Center gate; separately, Wadi Musa to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)

taxis wait around central Wadi Musa and outside hotels; many hotels also run a free shuttle to the gate

When: on demand
Takes: gate run: about 15 minutes on foot as an alternative; Little Petra run with an hour's wait: not stated
Fare 2018: 1–2 JD taxi to the gate (or free hotel shuttle); about 25 JD for a return taxi to Little Petra including an hour's wait, as of October 2018Seen in 2018: a floor, not a price.

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone, hail directly or ask hotel reception. Run byindependent taxi drivers; some hotels run their own shuttle.

horse cart

In-site concession: horses, carts, donkeys and camels through the Siq

Four segments inside Petra: entrance to the Siq (foot or horse), Siq to the Treasury (foot or cart), Treasury to the Monastery stairs (foot, donkey or camel), and the Monastery's 800 steps (foot or donkey)

animal handlers wait at the entrance and throughout the site; the ticket includes a short horse ride to the Siq entrance but not further legs

When: on demand, throughout opening hours
Takes: varies by segment
Fare: prices are unset and heavily negotiable; Wikivoyage advises no more than 15 JD per hour for camel/donkey hire further into the site; year not stated in the source, treat as undated. This is a regulated concession with a published animal-welfare controversy: a Brooke charity clinic near the entrance treats mistreated animals for free, and Wikivoyage documents visible whipping and overloading, especially near closing time

Seasonyear-round; animals are reported to be driven especially hard in summer heat. Bookingnone, negotiate on the spot; a common scam quotes the short horse ride as 'free with the ticket' then charges heavily for a longer unrequested ride – agree an all-inclusive price up front. Run bylocal Bedouin concession holders (individual owners, not a single company).

One way

Rules, permits and closures

permit

Petra entry ticket and the Jordan Pass

Petra Visitor Center ticket gate, Wadi Musa

buy at the Visitor Center gate, or online in advance at jordanpass.jo before arriving in the country

When: gate open daily; visiting hours 06:00–17:00 in winter, 06:00–18:00 in summer
Takes: n/a
Fare 2025: Jordan Pass: 70/75/80 JD for one/two/three days at Petra (as of August 2025); this also waives the 40 JD single-entry visa fee for anyone staying 3+ nights in Jordan; without the pass, the same article puts regular Petra entry at 50/55/60 JD for one/two/three days, and 90 JD for anyone visiting Jordan for a single day

Seasonyear-round; note winter opening hours are an hour shorter in the afternoon. Bookingbuy the Jordan Pass online before arrival to get the visa waiver; must be used within 12 months of purchase. Run byJordan Ministry of Tourism / Jordan Pass programme.

Not confirmed

What we could not find out

9 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.

01
The brief's claim of a JETT 'live schedule' with clock times is only partly right: the API (https://jett.com.jo/api/v2/live-schedule) returns route, pricing and pickup-point data but no departure clock times for the Petra routes checked here – the Wikivoyage-quoted 06:30 Amman departure and 17:00 return could not be independently confirmed against the API and should be checked directly with JETT before travel.
02
JETT's own schedule page (jett.com.jo/en/schedule) returned 404 at the time of checking; Wikivoyage separately flags its own JETT timetable link as dead since August 2026.
03
The JETT Aqaba–Petra fare returned as 0 in the live-schedule API and could not be confirmed from any source checked; ask at the Aqaba JETT office directly.
04
Little Petra and the Beidha 'back door' route into Petra (a hiking trail sometimes described as entering near Beidha) could not be confirmed from Wikivoyage or any other source reached in this pass beyond the one midday minibus and taxi to Little Petra itself – the specific back-door hiking route through Beidha needs on-the-ground or trail-guide confirmation.
05
The Madaba–Wadi Musa daily bus via the King's Highway is confirmed defunct as of 2025 per Wikivoyage, correcting any assumption of a scheduled King's Highway bus; only a hotel-arranged shared taxi (about 85 JD) was found as a substitute.
06
petrasite.gov.jo and petra.gov.jo (the official Petra Archaeological Park domains) both redirect to broken pages and could not be used to confirm or update ticket prices or hours; entry fee figures here rely on the Jordan Pass comparison in Wikivoyage's Jordan article rather than an official price list.
07
No self-drive car rental operator, rate or Wadi Musa branch could be confirmed from the sources reached; Jordan's Wikivoyage 'By car' section covers road conditions and driving culture but names no rental company or price.
08
No dedicated Wikivoyage article exists for Wadi Musa (the URL redirects to a 404); all Wadi Musa detail here comes from the Petra article's Get in/Get around sections.
09
The in-site animal concession is four services under one kind: 'horse_cart' was chosen because SCHEMA.md names Petra's concession as the case where a ridden animal and a cart are the same option. 'horse', 'camel' and 'mule' all exist as kinds if this is ever split; donkeys, which Wikivoyage says are the animal most used and most exploited on the Monastery stairs, have no exact kind word.

In the planner

What the planner can route today

The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Petra is this.

Y: Scheduled flightsEilat (ETM), 80 km
N: Trains and coachesno timetable feed known for this country
N: Ferriesno crossing within 25 km
Y: Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
N: Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
N: Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known. Nearest place with more: Ma'an, 29 km.