Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
destination · Petra
Petra is worth the walk, but the pricing is a maze and the animal touts never stop asking
Review of Petra
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Share your experiencePetra was carved and built by the Nabataeans starting around the 4th century BC, who called their capital Raqmu, and by the 2nd century BC it was the seat of a wealthy Nabataean trading kingdom controlling incense and spice routes across Arabia. Rome annexed it in 106 AD as the province of Arabia Petraea, after which the city slowly faded from major trade routes and largely dropped out of Western knowledge until Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt talked his way in disguised as a Muslim traveler in 1812. UNESCO listed Petra as a World Heritage Site on December 6, 1985, and in 2007 it was voted one of the New7Wonders of the World, cementing its place as Jordan's single biggest tourism draw. The approach alone justifies the trip. You walk down the Siq, a narrow sandstone gorge that in places is only 3 to 4 meters wide with walls rising far overhead, before it opens onto Al Khazneh, the Treasury facade, a rock cut monument roughly 24 meters wide and 37 meters tall. That is only the entrance. The wider Petra Archaeological Park covers about 264 square kilometers at an elevation of around 810 meters, and seeing more than the Treasury means real walking, including an approximately 800 step climb to reach the Monastery (Ad Deir), a facade even larger than the Treasury at roughly 45 meters tall and 50 meters wide. There is also a separate, steeper stair route up to the High Place of Sacrifice. The money side is where the honesty has to kick in. Standard entrance tickets for visitors staying overnight in Jordan run 50 JD for one day, 55 JD for two days, and 60 JD for three days, while same day visitors who are not staying overnight in the country are charged a steep 90 JD. Children under 12 enter free with a parent, and Jordanian university students pay just 1 JD. The Jordan Pass, bought online before arrival, bundles Petra admission with entry to more than 40 other sites nationwide, including Jerash and Wadi Rum, in tiers of 70 JD (1 day Petra), 75 JD (2 day), and 80 JD (3 day), and for travelers staying at least a few nights in Jordan it also waives the standard 40 JD tourist visa fee, which makes it the better deal for almost anyone not on a lightning day trip. Heat and hydration are a real planning issue, not a throwaway warning. Petra sits in a semi arid zone that gets brutally hot in summer with minimal shade along most trails, so budgeting for bottled water bought inside the park (expect to pay well above outside prices across the day) is standard advice, alongside a hat, sunscreen, and good shoes for uneven ancient stone. Winter visits, by contrast, can mean cold mornings requiring a coat, hat, and gloves. Visitor numbers had climbed to nearly 1.2 million in 2019 before COVID and regional instability cut that to around 905,000 by 2022, and the site took a hit from serious flash flooding in December 2022 that damaged parts of the Siq area.
What was great
The Siq to Treasury walk is one of the most theatrical entrances to any archaeological site on earth, and the scale of the carving, a facade roughly 37 meters tall cut directly into sandstone cliff face, holds up to the hype. Push further into the park and the crowds thin fast: the Monastery climb, the High Place of Sacrifice, and the Royal Tombs reward the effort with far fewer people and equally dramatic rock cut architecture. Early entry at opening gives a real shot at photographing the Treasury without a crowd in frame, and the site's UNESCO and New7Wonders status is, for once, earned rather than marketing spin. The two tier ticket system is annoying but at least transparent once you know it exists, and the Jordan Pass genuinely saves money for anyone spending more than a day or two in the country, since it folds in the visa fee on top of dozens of other site admissions.
What nearly ruined the trip
The pricing structure punishes spontaneity. Show up as a same day visitor without an overnight stay booked in Jordan and the entrance fee jumps to 90 JD, nearly double the overnight rate, which is a steep penalty for travelers doing a quick cross border trip from Israel or Egypt. Bottled water inside the park is marked up heavily, and there is minimal shade on the long walks to the Monastery or High Place of Sacrifice, so a midday summer visit without serious water and sun planning is genuinely risky. The animal transport touts are the most consistently reported friction point. Horse, donkey, and camel operators press hard for business along the Siq and inside the site, often quoting different prices than what is nominally included in the ticket, and the animals themselves are frequently documented with saddle sores and rough treatment, which is reason enough to walk instead. Tourist police do patrol the main routes, but the pressure to hire an unwanted guide or ride is near constant for first time visitors who have not been warned in advance.
Safety
★★★☆☆ MixedValue for money
★★★☆☆ FairComments
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