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Aqaba

City in Aqaba Governorate, Jordan

Aqaba

Aqābaʾ is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba.

Plan a trip to Aqaba From Amman

Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148,398 in 2015 and a land area of 375 square kilometres (144.8 sq mi).

Get in

Getting to Aqaba

When entering Jordan in Aqaba you may be entitled to a free visa. Further details you can find in the Jordan article. The Desert Highway terminates in Aqaba. The 1 bus station is about 300 m east of the mosque. There are frequent buses to Amman and other points along the highway. The fare is

See

Worth seeing

As of December 2018, the staff at the information center near the castle claims that there is no place to use Jordan Pass in Aqaba, even though two museums are listed on the official website of Jordan Pass.

Do

Things to do

Except the sea and diving, Aqaba doesn't have a lot of things to offer. The following can be of interest but are easily done in one day. Aqaba Castle. Aqaba museum. Fourth century Roman church. There is a public beach between the city and the fort, although it can be very dirty. There are several public beaches south of Aqaba, which also can be dirty.

  1. 01
    Mount Um al Nusaylah

    Hike this mountain for a great view of the Aqaba area, Eilat on the other side of the Red Sea and the valley behind the mount.

  2. 02
    Ahlan Aqaba Scuba Diving Center

    Al Nahda St., Hotel area in the heart of the city (The road behind the Mövenpick Hotel), fax:, info@diveinaqaba.com.

Eat

Where to eat

In the centre of the city you can find very good hummus, falafel and shawarma (lamb meat in pita bread) places in many local restaurants. Prices start from 0.20 JD for stuffed pies (fatayer), 0.50 JD for a falafel sandwich, 1 JD for ful, baba ganous or hummus and pita, 1.50 JD for pizza-like snacks and 1.50 JD for a shawarma dish. Walk around to find the hole-in-the-wall eateries.

How locals move

Getting around Aqaba the local way

  • Get inMinibus rental with driver from Petra costs 45 JD and it takes about 2 hr to get from Petra to Aqaba.
  • Get inAlso you could hitchhike from the Jordan Valley Highway to Aqaba.
  • Get inFerries run regularly from Aqaba across to Nuweiba on Egypt's Sinai peninsula, bypassing Israel and the sometimes complicated border arrangements.
  • Get inAlso ferries from Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh are available.
  • Get inThere is more information about the boat crossing in the itinerary Ferries in The Red Sea.
  • Get aroundLocal minibuses connect residential areas with downtown.
  • Go nextMany destinations that are not north of Amman can be reached on a day trip.
  • Go nextYou can set up your own flexible day trips by hiring a taxi for the day.

From Wikivoyage: Aqaba, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: H. Zell (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.