Guide to Visiting Petra: Tips & Tricks From My 2025 Visit
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If you’re anything like me, Petra is somewhere at the top of your travel bucket list. I had been dreaming about visiting this ancient archaeological wonder for as long as I can remember. And because Jordan is an easy 3-hour flight from Dubai, where I currently live, I finally made my dream trip happen in May 2025.
Despite having Petra at the top of my bucket list for my whole life, I really didn’t know what to expect in terms of traveling there. I did a fair amount of research ahead of my trip and learned much more being on the ground, including things I would have done differently. So if you’re currently searching for helpful Petra travel tips, I hope this post helps you out.
This guide will go over the essential things to do in Petra, including some of the best hikes and must-see attractions. I’ll also give an overview of my 2-day Petra itinerary, the best area to stay, transportation options to and from Amman, and a few restaurant recommendations. Finally, I’m going to give a bunch of practical tips and Petra travel hacks based on my personal experience.
Let’s get to it!
Is It Safe to Visit Petra in 2025?
As I write this in May 2025, tourism is way down in Jordan because of the conflict in neighboring Isreal and Palestine. It’s actually quite sad that so many Jordanians, whose livelihoods are dependent on tourism, have been seriously impacted by this war.
If you ask me, now is a great time to travel to Jordan. Because tourism is down, you’ll have the chance to see Petra without the massive crowds, while also spending your much needed tourist dollars to help give local businesses a boost.
So is it safe to visit Petra in 2025? From my experience, it absolutely is. During my visit, I never felt unsafe due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine – or for any reason for that matter. Petra and Jordan are absolutely lovely!
Practical Petra Travel Tips
Get the Jordan Pass
I really can’t think of a reason not to get the Jordan Pass. The only requirement is that you’ll be staying in the country for at least two nights. The Jordan Pass will give you one to three days in Petra (depending on which pass you choose), a free Jordan visa, and free entry to 40 top attractions and museums. Given the fact that a visa costs 40 JD and a one-day pass to Petra costs 50 JD, it more than pays for itself, even if you’re only in town for a few days like I was!
Practical tip: When using your Jordan Pass, you may need to prove your identity by showing your passport, so be sure to bring it along. I never had to show it, but better safe than sorry.
Here are the current Jordan Pass prices:
- Jordan Wanderer: Price 70 JD; one day in Petra
- Jordan Explorer: 75 JD; two consecutive days in Petra
- Jordan Expert: 80 JD; three consecutive days in Petra
Plan ahead for Petra By Night
Do note that Petra By Night is not included in any of the Jordan Passes. If you want to do this, you can purchase tickets for Petra By Night at the Visitors Center for 17 JD. Petra By Night only takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8:30-11:30pm, so be sure to plan accordingly if you’ve got your heart set on seeing the Treasury illuminated by candlelight.
I opted not to do Petra By Night, so I can’t comment on whether it’s worth it or not!
How many days in Petra?
Most people spend one day ticking all of the must-see Petra attractions off their list. It’s entirely possible to do Petra in one day, but I highly suggest giving yourself two or three days.
I ended up spending three nights in Petra and getting the 3-day Jordan Expert pass, just in case I wanted more time to explore Petra. I spent two days exploring Petra and was too exhausted by day three to go back.
In hindsight, I should have done three half days in the park. Even in May, the afternoon sun was brutal. I would have been better off entering the park around 6-7am and calling it quits by noon for three days rather than exhausting myself in the sun for two days. Even with two days, I still didn’t see everything I wanted to see!
Dress comfortably
I knew I’d be doing a lot of walking during my trip to Petra, but I underestimated just how much. I clocked in roughly 28,000 steps one day and 21,000 the next. Mix that with the number of stairs and mountains climbed and it was a lot.
I opted to just wear my running shoes, capri yoga pants, and a breathable cotton shirt. Not only did this enable me to dress modestly as a woman, but I didn’t overheat in the intense afternoon sun. Actually, in hindsight, it would have been nice to have a long-sleeved linen shirt to help keep the sun off. Despite lathering myself in sunscreen, I still got burned.
Bring snacks, water & sunscreen
There are plenty of places to get water, cold drinks, coffee, and tea scattered all around Petra. But if you’re on some of the longer trails, you may go for a long while without coming across a vendor. There are also a few restaurants located in the heart of Petra (in what is called The Basin), where you can have a full lunch. You should, of course, expect higher price tags. If I recall correctly, falafels and shawarmas were roughly 6 JD and big bottles of water, soda, tea, and coffee were usually 2 JD.
Don’t underestimate the sun either. We visited Petra in May and most everyone I saw was sunburned.
Get an eSIM
From my experience, hotel Wi-Fi is a bit iffy in Jordan. I purchased an Airalo eSIM for 6 JD ($9) before arriving in Jordan and was able to stay connected throughout my trip. It was also essential to have internet data in order to navigate my way through Petra. They have plenty of Jordan plans for you to choose from depending on how much data you’ll be using during your visit, but it’s always easy to top up your plan.
My 2-Day Petra Itinerary (+ What I Would Do Differently)
Day 1
The Siq
On Day 1, we arrived at the Visitors Center at 7 am and showed our Jordan Passes to enter the park. From the Visitors Center, we walked along a dirt trail for 20 minutes until we reached the start of the Siq, a narrow 1.2-kilometer pathway located in between two sandstone cliffs.
The spectacular Siq will ultimately open up to the Treasury. Note that this walk is flat and easy but does take around 45 minutes and you’ll likely be returning the same way to exit the park. I think we did this walk six times in two days.
The Treasury
At the Treasury, you’ll see a booth to your right where you can pay 10 JD to access a viewpoint where you can get great photos with you and the Treasury in the background. This might be worth it if you don’t want to tackle the moderate 1.5-hour (there-and-back) Al-Khubtha Trail to reach the famous Treasury viewpoint.
Street of Facades & High Place of Sacrifice Trail
After the Treasury, we made our way down the Street of Facades and set out on the High Place of Sacrifice Trail. I’m glad we got an early start because it was a fairly long and strenuous 40-minute hike up all the stairs to reach the top of Jebel Madbah Mountain but the views from the High Place of Sacrifice, which is 170 meters high, are stellar.
After that, we opted to continue the trail along the western cliff through Wadi Farasa until we reached the Basin (which is at the base of the 800 stairs that lead to the Monastery). It was very cool traversing down the mountain and coming across hidden tombs and ruins along the way. Plus, we only saw a few other hikers along the way.
By the time we reached the Basin, it was about 1pm and we were exhausted, so we decided to take the free shuttle at the nearby Back Exit Road back to the Visitors Center and grab a late lunch in Wadi Musa. That being said, if we’d only had one day in Petra, we could have tacked on the Ad-Deir (Monastery Trail) to our one-day itinerary.
Theater & Royal Tombs
We returned to Petra later in the day via the Siq to check out the Theater and some of the Royal Tombs before calling it quits around 6pm. We were exhausted!
Day 2
We decided to leave the Monastery for Day 2. Instead of entering via the main entrance and retracing our steps through the Siq and the Main Trail to reach the 900 steps leading up to the Monastery, we decided to do something different and enter Petra through the “back door” entrance to reach the Monastery.
Little Petra & The ‘back door’ Trail
We set out around 9 am Day 2, but in hindsight, I wish we would have gotten an earlier start. By the time we got the free shuttle to Little Petra and then hopped in a 4×4 truck, which is required get to the start of the back entrance hiking trail, it was already 11:15am and the heat was brutal.
If you’re planning on entering Petra through the back exit, I’ll be writing a detailed guide shortly!
It took us around 50 minutes to reach the Monastery from the back entrance trail. The hike is a bit steep and strenuous, especially at the beginning, but I’m so glad we went this way. The views are unreal and most of the time we were alone on the trail. And when you see the Monastery appear from out of nowhere, it’s absolutely unreal.
The Monastery
There are a couple of well-labeled vantage points where you can get great photos. There’s also a little cave cafe just across from the Monastery, where we decided to take a breather while enjoying the view and petting some cats. From there, we made our way down the Ad-Deir (Monastery) Trail and linked back up with the Basin and the Main Trail.
Royal Tombs & Al-Khubtha Trail
The last trail we wanted to do was the Al-Khubtha Trail, which leads you to the viewpoint to see the Treasury from above. We knew this trail started near the Royal Tombs but ended up going the wrong way. FYI, this happened a lot during our two days in Petra!
Instead of following the trail to the left we went to the right and ended up checking out all sorts of fascinating tombs before reaching a dead-end near the theater. Oops. By this time, it was getting late and there was no way we could tackle the 1.5-hour (round-trip) Al-Khubtha Trail. Plus, even the thought of trying to tackle the trail’s 600 uphill steps at that point was painful.
I had every intention of waking up at 6 am to do the Al-Khubtha Trail on Day 3, but my body was so exhausted that I slept in, waking up just in time to grab breakfast and pack up before our car came to whisk us back to Amman.
Where to Stay in Petra
Wadi Musa is the name of the town that’s right outside of the entrance to Petra – and it’s the best place to base yourself. Assuming you’re spending one to three nights in Petra (which is what most visitors do), your days are going to be jam-packed. That’s why I suggest staying as close to the Petra Visitors Center (where you’ll find the entrance to Petra) as possible.
When you see hotels on the map of Wadi Musa, it’s easy to think that hotels are an easy walk from the Petra Visitors Center. But, it’s important to understand that downtown Wadi Musa is located up a very steep hill from the Visitors Center. So unless you want to do some serious walking to and from your hotel each day or depend on taxis, you’ll want to stay as close to the Visitors Center as possible. If you have your own car, then you can stay wherever you’d like!
Good hotels near the Petra Visitors Center
I did a bunch of research and talked to friends who have visited Petra recently and these are my top picks for places to stay near the Visitors Center.
Esperanza Petra: I stayed at the Esperanza Petra, which was an easy 5-minute walk from the Visitors Center. I booked the Deluxe Double Room for USD $55 per night through Booking.com. We were upgraded to the Deluxe Double Room with Balcony, which I highly recommend because the sunset views of the nearby rock formations are pretty awesome! We actually ended up using the balcony a lot because the evening weather was so nice.
All in all, it was a great place to rest our heads at night. Plus, there was a fridge, smart TV, and a sitting area. The complimentary breakfast spread is awesome and they’ll even prepare breakfast for you super early if you want to enter Petra at 6 am, when the park opens. The owner is lovely and will help you with anything you need.
The only thing missing from this place was a pool. Had I known the weather would be so hot and my muscles would be so achy, I would have for sure spent more on a hotel with a pool and hot tub!
Petra Moon Hotel: For something a bit more upscale, Petra Moon Hotel is a great pick that’s just 150 meters from the Petra Visitors Center. The modern rooms here start around USD $130 per night and are outfitted with flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, coffee-making facilities, and private balconies. Plus, you’ll have access to the seasonal rooftop pool and hot tub, which is a huge perk. They also put out a generous buffet breakfast each morning.
Mövenpick Resort Petra: If you’re looking for luxury, Mövenpick Resort Petra is the best hotel in town. This gem is located right across from the Visitors Center and gives you all the creature comforts of a 5-star hotel, like beautifully decorated rooms with private balconies, an outdoor pool, a spa and wellness center, an outdoor terrace with gorgeous views, and some very good bars and restaurants.
Good Restaurants in Petra
Abu Elias Restaurant: Located in the “downtown” of Wadi Musa, I highly recommend Abu Elias Restaurant for local food. The menu has all the classics, from maqluba and mansaf to shawarma and falafel. They give some very generous free apps to start so come hungry!
Mr. Falafel: Mr. Falafel was awesome, especially if you’re looking for cheap eats in Wadi Musa. Expect all the basics like falafel sandwiches and shawarma. But their standouts are the cheesy stuffed falafel and the hearty Mr. Falafel Meal (meat or vegetarian), which is big enough to share and allows you to try five local dishes. This place is located on Tourist Street but they will also deliver to your hotel.
Yummy Bites: If you’re too tired to go out after a long day of hiking (like we were!) and you just want to order a pizza to your hotel, Yummy Bites is both good and they deliver! We ordered a veggie pizza and a potato and cheese manakish and weren’t disappointed.
Getting to Petra from Amman
You’re going to have two main options to get to and from Petra from Amman.
JETT Bus
If you’re traveling solo or on a budget, taking the JETT Bus is going to be the most affordable option. A one-way ticket costs 10 JD ($14), so it’s a good deal for the 3 to 4-hour journey. You can book tickets directly through the JETT website.
The only downside is that there is only one bus per day departing from Amman to Petra (at 6:30am) and returning from Petra to Amman (at 5pm). So if you’re on a tight schedule, like I was, these times may not work for you.
Taxi
It’s also possible to hire a taxi or private driver to take you from Amman to Petra, which is what I did. I didn’t want to haggle with a driver on the ground, so I ended up booking a driver through Petra Crown Transfers. This journey cost us 60 JD ($82) from the Amman Airport to Petra and 90 JD ($127) from Petra to Downtown Amman. You can either make reservations on Bookaway.com or contact them through WhatsApp at +972 779863954. We booked via WhatsApp and paid a bit less than the price quoted on Bookaway.
Minibus
You can also snag a spot in a shared minivan. You’ll see options for this on Bookaway.
Visiting Petra in May
I visited Petra in May and all in all I think this is a fantastic time to visit. The days are dry and sunny and the nights are crisp and cool. That being said, things were starting to heat up which is why I suggest setting out early if you’re visiting during this time of year. The high was 24°C (75°F) the first day and 28°C (83°F) the second day. Suffice it to say we were very hot during day two. But it was far from unbearable for us.
While May is not considered to be the wet season in Petra or Wadi Musa, Petra was closed to tourists because of a flash flood two days before our visit. We honestly didn’t know if this trip would happen. I don’t believe flash floods are common in May, but I suppose you never know.
I think that about covers it! Please let me know if you have questions about visiting Petra in the comments below.
