Before every trip, we spend a lot of time planning where exactly we want to go, what sites we want to see at each location, how many days we should spend there, and what time of year to travel to that specific location. We have created these Trip Summary pages to help outline all of these factors we considered in hopes that it helps you plan your next trip. We always try to be as well prepared as we can for every trip we take. We make sure to document any unforeseen issues or key learnings to help others if they come across similar situations. We hope you get some value out of the Tips we provided as well.
Itinerary
End of the year trips are always our favorite. This is usually the time of year we are able to take a 2 week trip and get out of the office during the holidays. This trip lasted from Dec. 20th 2019 to Jan. 5th 2020.
We had intended to spend New Years Eve in Dubai and spend Christmas in Israel just before. Knowing these key dates and locations, we were able to plan the rest of the trip around this. If we were going to Israel, we had to check off another bucket list item and visit Jordan to see Petra, a Wonder of the World. We even got to experience Petra By Night. After we made it to Dubai for NYE, we spent our remaining time exploring Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The total trip duration was 17 days. Here is how the days broke down between each destination:
-Jordan (Amman): 1 Day
-Israel (Haifa): 1 Day
-Israel (Tel Aviv): 1 Day
-Israel (Jerusalem): 1 Day
-Jordan (Petra/Wadi Musa): 1 Day
-Jordan (Wadi Rum): 2 Days
-Jordan (Amman): 1 Day
-Jordan (Dead Sea): 1 Day
-UAE (Dubai): 3.5 Days
-UAE (Abu Dhabi): 1 Day
-Total Travel Time: 3.5 Days
We had a lot of time to spend on this trip, but as you can see, it was still a very fast paced trip. We had initially planned to visit the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, and Bethlehem (or as much as we could in 1 day), but we lost a day dealing with a rental car issue and not being able to drive across the Jordan/Israel border.
There was a lot of driving in Jordan and constant trains in Israel. This allowed us to optimize all we could see, but made us regret not being able to spend more time in the places we enjoyed. We both loved Tel Aviv because of the history in the Old Jaffa area, markets, modern urbanization and infrastructure, beaches, and nightlife. We would have spent at least a few more days here if we could.
We enjoyed the full experience of Wadi Rum, and this place will always hold a special place in our hearts so we are very biased now.
With limited days in UAE we chose to stay in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We chose to skip Ferrari World since it was similar to other amusement parks we have done elsewhere and to save some coin. We used that time for more unique activities.
We also enjoyed the extravagance of Dubai but staying here for more than few days is unsustainable for the cost conscious traveler. Keep this in mind when you decide how long you want to stay here.
Tips For Israel
-Saturdays are considered Holy Days (Shabbat), so a lot of businesses are completely closed until Sundown and it is hard to get a Taxi before 8 pm. Keep this in mind if you expect to travel a far distance by taxi on a Saturday (prices will be 1.5x if you do manage to get one…)
-Buy the Israel public transport card. Used for buses and trains and super cheap.
-Get lime or other scooter apps to use while in Tel Aviv. Cheap and easy way to get around and very fun.
Tips for Jordan
-Breakfast is mainly hummus, pita bread, jam, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheeses so be prepared. This isn’t a bad thing, just a fact…
-Renting a car is a very easy way to navigate
-You will notice there are police checkpoints every few miles. We were initially concerned something was wrong, but this just seems to be the norm for their task force. They will do random stops and check IDs and paperwork. We got stopped once and showed our US drivers license, they immediately let us go without any further questions.
-BUY the Jordan Pass (This is a tourist pass that allows you access to all the major sites in Jordan. If you plan to do most of the popular site seeing you will save some money).
-Not many people know English, get familiar with Google Translate
-If you plan to visit Petra and are considering Petra By Night, check out more info on that here.
Tips for Travelling between Israel and Jordan by Ground
Getting between Israel and Jordan via car or ground travel was a very tedious and painstaking process. We would highly recommend flying to save time and even money (as surprising as that sounds).
We had arrived by plane in Jordan where we got a “multi” entry visa at the airport upon arrival. We then rented a car and drove to the Northern most Jordan/Israel Border Crossing called Jordan River Crossing or Sheikh Hussein Border. Once we got to the border we were told they had closed for the night, this was 7 pm, so we had to find a place to stay in Jordan that night nearby the border crossing.
Upon returning to the border the following morning with our rental car we only then were told that we could not get through the border. This led to one full day lost for driving 2 hours back to Amman, and then renting a taxi and returning to the border crossing.
Taxis are also not allowed to cross the border, so at each border, you have to get into a separate, temporary, taxi that gets you through.
To make it through from Jordan to Israel, you will board a bus after getting the proper documentation, go through customs, and then arrive in Israel. Because there are no cars allowed through, you need to rent a taxi from the border to get anywhere in Israel. This can be expensive, especially if you are trying to get a taxi on a Saturday.
Heading back into Jordan from Israel was another nightmare. We started in Jerusalem and took a metro train to the central bus station and boarded bus 961 to Tiberias. Stopping on Route 90 near the Allaby bridge crossing we walked 50 yards to the King Hussein Bridge border crossing. Here, we jumped into another temporary taxi to get us to the border.
After making it all the way through without any issues, we realized they had held our passports back. It turns out, the “multi” entry visa was only a one time use so we had to purchase the Jordan Pass at the border to waive the Visa fee and proceed into the country. They charged us each USD $92, but we later found out this was a pass we could have bought ourselves for USD $70 online. Once we got that sorted out, they let us through and we enjoyed the rest of our trip!
With all this being said, here are some concluding tips:
-Check the border hours of operation, there are 3 border locations, and they all have different rules and regulations making it very difficult to understand how to get through.
-You CANNOT take a rental car between countries
