2-Day Petra Tour from Jerusalem with Madaba, Mount Nebo and a Bedouin Camp

The listing prices this trip at $510 per person for two days. That covers the accommodation in a Bedouin-style campsite, the guided tour, breakfast, lunch and dinner, an air-conditioned vehicle and all entrance fees, including Petra itself. One guide is with you from the moment you arrive in Jordan until you leave.

Groups run up to 47 travellers and the guide speaks English.

What you pay extra

Border fees and the Jordanian visa are not in the price, about $133.20 per person in total. The Israel exit fee can be paid in shekels, US dollars, euros or by card. The Jordanian visa and the Jordan exit fee are cash only, in Jordanian dinars, and there is a currency exchange on the Israeli side of the border, which the itinerary calls a fair rate.

The rules in short

• Original passport, not a copy, plus visa rules checked in advance
• Hat, sunscreen, comfortable shoes, a scarf or shawl, warm clothes for the night and drinking water
• Moderate fitness needed, not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
• Infant seats available, all ages welcome
• Solo travellers will likely share a room with someone of the same gender, depending on group size
• Full refund if you cancel at least 3 full days before departure, nothing after that

Day one starts in the morning from the bus stop outside Ha-Nevi'im St 67 in Jerusalem, with the exact time shown at checkout. The crossing is the Allenby Bridge, called the King Hussein Bridge in Jordan, which sits 381 m (1,250 ft) below sea level, the lowest fixed water crossing in the world. You cross the border and meet your Jordanian guide on the other side, a stage the listing sets at 60 minutes and flags as the good moment to exchange cash to JOD.

Mount Nebo

The first stop is Mount Nebo, about 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level, given 60 minutes in the itinerary. The Bible places Moses here looking out over the Promised Land. From the viewpoint you look over the Jordan Valley toward the Jordan River's west bank, with Jericho in view and, on a very clear day, Jerusalem.

Madaba

Next is Madaba, also 60 minutes, for the mosaic map of Jerusalem in the Greek Orthodox Church of St George. The Madaba Map is a 6th-century floor mosaic, the oldest surviving original map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. After Madaba comes the long stretch, a scenic drive of about 4 hours south to the Bedouin-style camp near Petra, where you eat and sleep.

The night stop is a Bedouin-style campsite near Petra, included in the price along with dinner and breakfast. The listing counts this among the draws of the trip, calling it a chance to experience Bedouin hospitality and taste traditional local food. The camp is reached after the roughly 4-hour drive from Madaba, so you sleep close to the gates of Petra and start day two early.

What to know about the room

Solo travellers will likely share a room with a person of the same gender, depending on group size. Bring warm clothes for the night, as the listing asks. The camp is the only accommodation on this trip.

Day two is the reason people book. You get about 6 hours exploring Petra, the Nabataean capital carved into rose-coloured sandstone in southern Jordan. The Treasury, Al-Khazneh, dates from the 1st century AD, and the city stayed unknown to the West until Johann Ludwig Burckhardt reached it in 1812.

Petra is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the entry fee is already in the tour price.

The ride home

After Petra the itinerary allows about 2 hours to cross back to Israel through the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge crossing. Drop-off in Jerusalem is at approximately 21:00, so plan the evening around a late return. The listing asks for moderate fitness, and Petra involves walking, so comfortable shoes belong on your feet, not in the bag.

Petra draws close to a million visitors a year, according to Wikipedia, which is worth knowing before you picture an empty Siq.

Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, see the UNESCO page on Petra.

Three fees sit outside the $510. The Israel exit fee is payable in shekels, US dollars, euros or by card. The Jordanian visa and the Jordan exit fee are payable only in Jordanian dinars, cash only.

Exchange money on the Israeli side of the border, where the listing says a fair rate is available.

Visas and eligibility

• Most nationalities get the Jordanian visa at the border, no pre-arranged visa needed
• Some nationalities must apply in advance, so check your country's visa restrictions before booking
• You must be eligible to re-enter Israel, either a visa on arrival or a multiple-entry visa arranged in advance
• Israeli passport holders cannot join, even if they hold an additional passport
• Certain religious clothing and objects can create issues at the border crossing, ask the operator before departure if you plan to bring any
• Drones of any size, telescopes and telephoto camera lenses over 1000mm are forbidden in Jordan
• Some sites may close or shorten visiting hours during Muslim holidays, especially Ramadan

The border, the visa and the total cost are set out in Jerusalem to Petra.

The ticket covers the guide, the transport, the camp, the meals and the Jordanian entrance fees. The border charges come on top. The table adds them up from the listing for one traveller and for a couple.

Petra in numbers

The Nabataeans settled the area in the 4th century BC and made Petra their capital. The city peaked in the 1st century AD with an estimated 20,000 people, when the Treasury was carved, a facade 24 m (79 ft) wide and 37 m (121 ft) tall. Rome annexed the kingdom in 106 AD, and an earthquake in 363 destroyed many buildings and the water system.

Most visitors walk in from the east through the Siq, a gorge only 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft) wide in places, which is the route the day-two visit follows to the Treasury.

This is the only overnight trip in the catalog and the only one that crosses into Jordan. The rest are single days inside Israel or the West Bank, at lower prices and with easier cancellation. If two days and about $643 all in is too much, a one-day trip closer to Jerusalem may fit better.

Figures current for Q4 2026.