What Is The Jordan Pass & Why You Need It

In December I had the opportunity to travel to Jordan, a beautiful country that had been on my travel bucket list for a very long time.

Before going my friend recommended I get the Jordan Pass, I had no idea what this was but it made my trip much easier and more pleasant.

If you’re planning to visit Jordan soon but aren’t sure whether to purchase the Jordan Pass, this guide explains it all.

In this review I cover everything including what is the Jordan Pass, how much does it cost, what attractions are included, and some simple maths to show you if the Jordan Pass is really worth it.

What is the Jordan Pass?

The Jordan Pass is an initiative of the Jordan Ministry of Tourism to make it easier for tourists to travel around Jordan. It’s a unified ticket that combines a tourist visa fee and entry to 36 tourist sites across the country.

How much does the Jordan Pass cost?

There are three tiers to the Jordan Pass. They all include entry to 36 tourist sites in Jordan, your visa fee, digital brochures and maps you can download and entry to Petra.

The only difference between these is how many days access you get to Petra.

The Jordan Wanderer (70 JOD) gives you 1-day access to Petra, the Jordan Explorer (75 JOD) includes 2 days in Petra and the Jordan Expert (80 JOD) covers 3-day entry to Petra.

You have to purchase your Jordan Pass online before travelling to Jordan and you can buy it here.

What attractions are included in the Jordan Pass?

There are 36 sites included in the Jordan Pass. The most famous amongst them is obviously Petra.

Other popular attractions include the Citadel of Amman, the Wadi Rum desert, the archaeological site of Jerash, the Roman theatre in Amman and Kerak castle.

Click here to see the full list of attractions included in the Jordan Pass.

Is the Jordan Pass worth it?

I’ll do the maths for you. If you add up the cost of a visa on arrival to Jordan (40 JOD) and of a one-day entry ticket for Petra (50 JOD) if you purchase the basic Jordan Wanderer (70 JOD) you have already saved 20 JOD.

Add on top of that all the entry fees of the other 35 tourist attractions included in the Jordan Pass and you’ll find it’s well worth the money.

The more sites you visit, the more it’s worth it. Even if you were travelling to Jordan to see only Petra you would still save money with it.

You should get the Jordan Pass if:

– You’re planning on spending longer than three consecutive nights in Jordan

– You want to visit Petra

– You are eligible for visa on arrival

– You are travelling to Jordan alone and not as part of an organised or package holiday tour (these will sometimes cover the cost of visas so you should check if it’s still economically worth it)

– You want to feel cool when you land in Jordan and fly straight through the “Jordan Pass holders” queue at the border control without wasting time

– You want to save time and money 

My experience using the Jordan Pass

Before purchasing the Jordan Pass I was a bit wary about it since there are lots of reviews online of people saying they had issues with the Jordan Pass.

These were either with the checkout processes on the website that resulted in them being charged hundreds of pounds for multiple failed transactions, or onsite in Jordan with the staff at tourist attractions not knowing about the Jordan Pass and charging people for entry anyway.

These reviews are all dated 2017 or earlier and are now not relevant anymore. The Jordanian Tourism Authority has had time to update its website and train its staff accordingly.

I travelled to Jordan in December 2018 and didn’t have any issues either purchasing the Jordan Pass online or using it for entry at any of the sites.

When you buy the Jordan Pass you receive a PDF copy that you can print out, but also a mobile version that you can just show on your phone.

Since I didn’t have a printer handy I just had the mobile version and showed that every time. Very often they didn’t even scan this, we just showed it at the entry and they waved us straight through.

You don’t need to print the Jordan Pass but if you’re concerned about your phone running out of batter and not being able to show it you might feel more at east having a printed version on you too.

One thing to note is that there are some popular attractions in Jordan that aren’t included in the Jordan Pass, such as Mount Nebo, Petra by Night or the Wadi Mujib.

Another important thing to be aware of is that the Jordanian tourist visa is valid for 1 month, but the Jordan Pass only gives you access to the tourist sights for 14 days from the first validation.

Two weeks are more than enough to visit Jordan, but if you’re planning on staying longer just plan your itinerary accordingly.

Overall, I had a very positive experience travelling around Jordan with the Jordan Pass. I visited a lot of the attractions included in the pass so it saved me a considerable amount of money.

Getting waved straight through at the entry of these sites without having to gather the right amount of JOD was very simple and made for a pleasant travel experience.

Have you travelled to Jordan with the Jordan Pass? How did you find it? Let me know in the comments below!

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