Sjack91 Posted 25 January , 2018 Share Posted 25 January , 2018 Good morning, I am travelling over to Israel in October and was planning on doing a day tour from Eilat to Petra. I have been looking around at various tour companys but was hoping to visit Aqaba which they do not seem to guarantee. I arrive into Tel Aviv on the Tuesday evening and the plan was to drive south to Eilat and spend the night there. This would then mean we had a full day to have a conducted tour to Petra. At night return to Eilat and spend the evening there. The reason for the one day tour is we have to be in Tel Aviv on the Thursday evening. Could anyone give me any tips on how to go about this trip or recommend a tour company? Our last option would be to drive on our own from Eilat to petra (with hired car) Any help on this would be greatly appreciated Regards Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 25 January , 2018 Share Posted 25 January , 2018 (edited) Stuart, A one day tour to Petra staring from Eilat will not be enough time to see everything at Petra, never mind Aqaba; the drive is quite long. I have done such a one day tour from Eilat and it is just enough to see the main sites at Petra. I used Desert Eco Tours (in Eilat) who provided a car from the hotel to the border, assistance with the border crossing, then car plus a driver and a guide for the Jordanian side: an excellent, safe driver, and a knowledgeable guide with v. good English. Well worth the visit, but if you can find an extra day all the better Good Luck Michael Edited 25 January , 2018 by michaeldr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjack91 Posted 25 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 25 January , 2018 Thank you for the advice Michael I have been looking around to see what is best. I see the tour you have mentioned and that is the standard of company I would go with. They leave a little earlier than the others which I think would mean you are at the front of the ques so to speak. Unfortunately we only have the one day. It is something I have always wanted to do but would always have loved to do it right as you say. 2/3 days. But if I don't go the 1 day trip I feel I will never get there as this could be my last trip to Israel for a while. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 25 January , 2018 Share Posted 25 January , 2018 Never visited from the Israeli side but have visited a few times whilst in Amman and can only echo Michael in one day really is not enough. Enjoy your visit Stuart. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 25 January , 2018 Share Posted 25 January , 2018 We went to Petra in 2003 just after the Iraq war started: we had the place to ourselves! We also had a night under the stars with a Bedouin family in Wadi Rum. Your short trip will leave you with only one conclusion -- you must come back and do it properly. Enjoy Cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjack91 Posted 25 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 25 January , 2018 Thanks for the responses I am going to go as I have no option of another day. I would rather go and say "I enjoyed it I would love to go back for longer" than not go, waiting to do it in the right way but possibly never doing so! Hope that makes sense Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 25 January , 2018 Share Posted 25 January , 2018 (edited) In a previous job I was doing an Aqaba-Petra-Aqaba day run at least twice a year between January-February for ten years... Don't ask - but something to do with guiding American tour groups while paying back Ph.D expenses! We would arrive by ship the evening before - if in the afternoon with time to see the castle - and set off around 07:30 the next day to have a "full day" at Petra, which for most people meant just doing the walk through the Siq, the theatre and central area (but not the then unexcavated temples), Quasr Bint, lunch, a wander around, etc - but only the really energetic could fit in as extras EITHER the High Place or El (Ad) Deir: both were possible if you missed lunch! Then leave around 15:00 for the journey back to Aqaba (I once had to do a 20 minute run up back up to the High Place to find a missing "guest"!). I can't find my notes otherwise I could give you timings - but from the late 1980's-early 1990's, and so possibly the roads have improved since then? Long and short of it, take into account you have to cross the border both ways (and Israeli customs and border control have never been friendly to yours truly with lots of Arabic stamps in his passport!), well, an hour in Aqaba (if the castle is open - look for the Roman milestones there, featured in my book on Trajan!), and then a long drive to Petra and really only enough time to see the central bits. IF you can make two days of it, stay overnight in Petra - the lighting is superb late in the evening and early in the morning, but rather flat in the daytime. And you will see more! Oh, and yes - Wadi Rumm - great Nabataean temple there plus some other stuff of more direct WW1 interest! Julian PS: Most unforgetable trip there? Sometime around 1989/1991, when the roads to Wadi Musa and Petra from Aqaba were blocked by snow and ice and so we didn't get there! Edited 25 January , 2018 by trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjack91 Posted 25 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 25 January , 2018 Thank you Julian It sounds like you have many memory's from your time there! Do you know of any tours that leave Eilat earlier in the morning? Some leave the hotel at 7 to be at the border, others 8. I was wondering if any left before 7 and we could beat the rush? Other option would be to drive to the border and leave the car but not sure how that would work? Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 26 January , 2018 Share Posted 26 January , 2018 11 hours ago, Sjack91 said: ...It sounds like you have many memory's from your time there! Do you know of any tours that leave Eilat earlier in the morning? ... Memories, yes - the site is fantastic, the journey there also of interest, and Wadi Rumm a truly impressive landscape. But I simply have no idea about access from Eilat then or these days. I do recall there was a time when Jordan would only allow people in from Eilat to Petra if they had arranged an overnight stay at a hotel in Aqaba/Wadi Musa - something to do with Jordan not receiving any income from day-trips except the entrance fees: but that may have ended now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 26 January , 2018 Share Posted 26 January , 2018 3 minutes ago, trajan said: but that may have ended now. As far as I know, yes it has ended that requirement But your tour agent in Eilat will confirm that for you before you book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjack91 Posted 26 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 26 January , 2018 Thank you Contacted Desert Echo tours. Great reviews online and if Michael is recommending them that's good enough for me. Looks like we could possibly do the 1 1/2 day tour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver99 Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 Hello Sjack91. Other than the evocative name of Aqaba, there isn't anything worth seeing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, diver99 said: Hello Sjack91. Other than the evocative name of Aqaba, there isn't anything worth seeing there. Well, the castle is still there isn't it? That was the centre of Ottoman resistance against TEL and his raiders... And it used to contain - and perhaps still does - a nice little museum. Not been there since early 1995, but doubt that the castle would have gone. Oh, and there were plans to display the late Roman and early medieval defences in the modern 'city centre', but I don't know if they went through. Edited 29 January , 2018 by trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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