The Jordan Pass: Save Money and Time on Your Jordan Trip
Buying a Jordan Pass online is highly advantageous, as it waives the Jordanian tourist visa fee and grants you free entry to sights.
In this guide, I’ll explain what the Jordan Pass is, how it can save you both time and money on your trip to Jordan, and how to buy it.
What is the Jordan Pass?
The Jordan Pass is a special tourist pass for foreign travellers visiting Jordan.
The pass was introduced by the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to attract more visitors to Jordan and streamline their travel experience.
While the Jordan Pass is not compulsory for tourists visiting Jordan, it makes sense for most travellers to buy one, as it will save both money and time.
Advantages of the Jordan Pass
Buying a Jordan Pass has two main advantages:
– It waives the fee for a tourist visa.
– It grants you free access to dozens of sights across the country, including Petra.
In addition, you also get access to some online brochures and maps that might be handy for your trip to Jordan, although this benefit isn’t particularly exciting.
Different passes
There are three different categories of the Jordan Pass, with the main difference being the number of days you wish to visit Petra.
– Jordan Wanderer Pass, which costs 70 JOD (€89) and includes a 1-day visit to Petra.
– Jordan Explorer Pass, which costs 75 JOD (€96) and includes a visit to Petra on 2 consecutive days.
– Jordan Expert Pass, which costs 80 JOD (€102) and includes a visit to Petra on 3 consecutive days.
All of the above passes waive the tourist visa fee and provide free access to dozens of other museums and sights in the country.
Calculate your savings
If you have already started researching your trip to Jordan, you may already see how the Jordan Pass can save you money.
The Jordan Pass provides free access to Petra, which normally has a high entrance fee if you were to pay for a regular ticket on entry to this great archaeological site.
I was planning to visit Petra for two days, which would normally cost 55 Jordanian dinar (€70) for a two-day ticket.
Additionally, there are savings on the Jordanian visa fee.
Foreign tourists from around 120 different countries, including those from the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, China, Australia, and India, can apply for an e-visa or obtain a visa on arrival at their entry point into Jordan.
However, an e-visa or visa on arrival for Jordan costs 40 JOD (€51), which is waived for those who have bought a Jordan Pass.
To summarise, I would have paid 95 JOD (€121) for a visa on arrival and a two-day ticket to Petra, whereas buying a Jordan Pass for 75 JOD (€96) provides both a free visa on arrival and free access to Petra.
That’s already significant savings on the Jordanian visa and Petra entrance fee alone, and it doesn’t even account for the additional savings on other sights included with the Jordan Pass, such as Wadi Rum, Amman Citadel, and Jerash!
Saving time at the airport
The Jordan Pass is not only a money-saver but also helps you save significant time upon arrival at the airport.
If you buy a visa on arrival at a Jordanian airport, such as Amman or Aqaba, you would normally need to queue first at the visa desk to pay the fee before proceeding to the passport control queue.
Especially when several flights carrying foreign tourists arrive simultaneously, this can result in a considerable wait at the visa desk.
This was exactly the case when I flew into Aqaba on my Wizz Air flight from Bucharest, as nearly all the passengers were Romanian and other European holidaymakers visiting Jordan.
That meant about 180 people from my flight were heading straight to the visa desk queue, which was staffed by just one person.
As I had pre-purchased my Jordan Pass, there was no need for me to queue at the visa desk, as in this case you can go directly to the passport control counters.
You simply show your Jordan Pass to the immigration officer at passport control, and you will be stamped into the country.
I’m quite sure that by the time I was already at my hotel in Aqaba, some other passengers from my flight were still queuing at the airport!
Terms and conditions
Although the Jordan Pass is likely to be of great value to most tourists, there are some terms and conditions you should be aware of.
First of all, it’s important to note that the Jordan Pass in itself is not a visa, it only waives the visa fee.
You still need to fulfil all entry requirements for Jordan, so check with the embassy or Jordanian authorities to find out what they are.
The tourist visa fee is only waived if you stay a minimum of 3 nights in Jordan – in case your stay is shorter than this, you will be asked to pay the visa fee upon departure for the country.
The Jordan Pass is only valid in combination with an official ID, so be sure to carry your passport when visiting sights across the country, as you will likely need to present both to obtain free entry.
Also note that the Jordan Pass is non-refundable, and even if a certain sight is closed and you cannot visit it, no refund will be provided.
Where to buy the Jordan Pass
There is only one official government website where you can buy the Jordan Pass: www.jordanpass.jo.
Although you may find many other websites with slightly different URLs (such as .com instead of .jo), these are not official and will likely charge more for the same service.
The Jordan Pass is valid for 12 months after purchase, so it doesn’t matter if you buy it just a few days before your trip or many weeks in advance.
However, once the Jordan Pass is activated (when it is scanned at the first sight you visit in the country, and not on your date of arrival into Jordan), it will automatically expire after two weeks.
How does the Jordan Pass work
After selecting and paying for your Jordan Pass, your documents will be automatically sent to your email inbox.
The pass is sent in two formats: As a full-page A4 document and as a mobile ticket that displays perfectly on your smartphone.
Your pass will list your personal details, such as your name, nationality, and residency, and also includes a scannable QR code.
This QR code is scanned by Jordanian immigration officers at passport control to confirm that you do not need to pay for a visa on arrival.
You will also need to show this QR code at the ticket desk at Petra or other tourist sights across Jordan to receive a free entry ticket.
Although I had no issues showing the mobile pass at passport control and at sights throughout Jordan, it is advisable to bring a printout as well, in case there are problems scanning the QR code from your phone.
Conclusion
If you are planning to visit Jordan as a tourist, it’s a great idea to buy a Jordan Pass, as it will save you both money and time on your trip.
Among the benefits of the Jordan Pass are free access to tourist sites, including Petra, and exemption from the visa-on-arrival fee.
If you plan to stay in Jordan for at least three nights and visit Petra, buying a Jordan Pass will be much cheaper than paying for a tourist visa and Petra entrance ticket separately.
However, it’s not just about saving money as the pass also saves you time upon arrival into the country by allowing you to bypass the visa desk and proceed directly to passport control.
This article is part of the ‘Journey Across Jordan: From Aqaba to Petra and Amman‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Subsidised Flights: Why Airline Tickets to Jordan Are So Cheap
2. The Jordan Pass: Save Money and Time on Your Jordan Trip (current chapter)
3. Exploring Aqaba, Jordan’s Seaside Resort City
4. Jordan Bus Travel: Amman, Aqaba, Petra, Wadi Rum by JETT Bus
5. In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia: On Horseback Across the Wadi Rum Desert
** rest of the chapters to follow soon **
