Among the Jordanian cities I’ve visited during my stay, Aqaba was definitely the least fascinating one. Noisy, messy and with very little things to see, after my first day there it didn’t take me long to look for the first bus to somewhere-else. Just imagine the kind of city where diving and snorkelling (both far from exciting) are the one and only activities that get advertised. And that’s because there’s practically nothing else you can do!
One of the many streets of Aqaba
Even when you ask locals, they’ll have a hard time listing some things to do outside the usual floating on the Red Sea hoping for some marine wildlife. If I had to mention the 3rd best thing to do in Aqaba, I’d probably say eating falafels and hummus easily wins the spot.
How do you end up in Aqaba?
Travellers usually end up in Aqaba because of the international airport, the JETT bus station which is well-connected with Amman or because of the border town of Eilat leading to Israel. In fact, just a very small percentage of tourists visit Aqaba for its diving and snorkelling activities.
Nevertheless, if you do happen to find yourself in Aqaba, it’s hard to imagine you would want to spend, for your own good, more than 2 nights in the city.
Things to do in Aqaba
Diving & Snorkelling – This is the main activity in town and thankfully can be enjoyed by anyone independently of the budget. Snorkelling and diving trips are often organised by a couple of companies around the beach area of Aqaba. You can expect to spend anything between 15 to 30JOD for a good organised snorkelling trip, or simply rent the equipment yourself (most hostels offer this) for just 5JOD/day. On the other hand, diving trips can cost as much as 90JOD/pp for a full day comprehensive of on-boat lunch and drinks. Alternatively, you can also avoid taking the boat and start the diving from the shore reducing the costs to 60JOD/pp.
Aqaba Beachside
Beachside & Boat Trips – If you really don’t wanna take a dip, you can always opt to chill on the beachside or take short boat trips. The beach is nothing too special and the same goes for the boat trips (make sure not to spend more than 4JOD/pp) but it’s a good backup option.
Day Trips to Wadi Rum – Aqaba is the closest city to Wadi Rum and for this reason there’s a great variety of tours leaving on a daily basis. The easiest option is to book an all-inclusive tour (transport to wadi rum + tour in the desert) or if you wanna go cheap, just take a taxi to Wadi Rum (20JOD) and once there ask around for tours. In case you’re planning to go down the DIY route, I suggest you get there before 9am to have time to evaluate your tour options and companies.
Tasty Meals at El Shami Restaurant
Hostels, Food-spots & Transport
Generally speaking, hostels in Aqaba are far beyond the standards of other places like Amman or Petra. Instead of taking the shape of places with a common lounge, shared spaces and other hostel-like features, in Aqaba they’re literally refurbished family houses. Not to mention that some of them only have dorms (aka a huge room) with 20+ beds and that’s it. That said, two of the best options for quality/price ratio are called Al Amer Hostel (8JOD/pppn) and Al-Beita Family House (5JOD/pppn).
Overall, around town there are many food options for all pockets. In order to get some great traditional food at a cheap price, try stay away from the main road of Aqaba but head to the back alleys just behind the market area: tasty, cheap and tourist-free.
Last but not least for those wandering how much to pay a taxi from/to the airport, the fare for 1-person is 10JOD, 2 people 10-15JOD and 3+ people 15-20JOD, depending on your bargaining skills.
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