Jordan on a Budget: What I Actually Spent in Two Weeks
I spent around £1,200 in Jordan for two weeks, plus £180 for flights.
So yes, I did Jordan on a budget. But no, I am not going to sit here and pretend Jordan is dirt cheap, because that would be a lie.
Jordan can be affordable if you plan well, use buses where possible, choose basic accommodation, eat locally, and avoid turning every small inconvenience into a private taxi situation. But Jordan can also quietly drain your money if you are not careful.
This is my honest breakdown of Jordan travel costs, how I kept the trip manageable, where I spent more, and what I would do again. Not a perfect spreadsheet. More like a useful survival note from someone who did it slightly chaotic but still made it work.
If you’re planning to stay in Jordan, here’s an overview of all the hotels.
If you’re planning to stay in Jordan,
Is Jordan Expensive to Visit?
Jordan is not the cheapest country I have travelled to. It is not outrageously expensive either, but it sits in that strange middle ground where some things feel affordable and others slap your budget across the face. Local food can be cheap. Buses can be cheap. Basic hotels can be reasonable. Walking around Amman, Aqaba or local areas can cost nothing.
But the big travel experiences add up quickly. So when people ask, “is Jordan expensive?”, my answer is: Jordan can be done on a budget, but it is not effortless budget travel.
You need to plan. Not in a boring military way, but enough so you do not end up paying for convenience every time the country throws a hill, a desert, or a confusing bus stop at you.
My Two-Week Jordan Budget
For two weeks in Jordan, I spent around:
£1200 That included accommodation, food, transport, tours, Aqaba, Wadi Rum, beach club visits, diving, taxis, buses and all the little things that appear from nowhere. My flights were very cheap, which helped a lot. I paid around £180 return, but I would not plan your entire Jordan budget assuming you will find the same. Flight prices have moods. Rude ones.
Accommodation: I Went Basic, but Location Mattered
I did not choose luxury accommodation in Jordan. I chose places that were practical, affordable and well-located. That made a big difference.
If you want to compare prices, here’s an overview of all the hotels in Jordan.
Amman: Amman Pasha Hotel
In Amman, I stayed at Amman Pasha Hotel. It cost me £16 a night. It was very basic, but the location was excellent. It was right in front of the Roman Theatre, central, and it had a rooftop with live music. And honestly, in Amman, location matters. The city is hilly, busy and chaotic in that very alive way. Being central helped. I could get around more easily, use Uber when needed, and stay close to the old part of the city. For a Jordan budget trip, I would rather have a basic hotel in a useful area than a nicer place far away where every movement costs extra.
Aqaba: Golden Lotus Hotel
In Aqaba, I stayed at Golden Lotus Hotel, and this was the best hotel of the trip. I paid around £350 for 10 days, which helped keep the whole trip under control.
Aqaba was a good base because it is small and walkable. I could move around easily, find food, go to the beach club, organise activities, and not spend money every five minutes just getting from one place to another. That is one of my biggest Jordan budget tips: Stay longer in one base when it makes sense.
Dead Sea Base: Grand East Hotel Resort & Spa
I also stayed by the Dead Sea at Grand East Hotel Resort & Spa, which cost me around £120 for three nights full board. That was one of the smarter budget choices of the trip because food was included, I was already close to the Dead Sea, and I used it as a base to visit Wadi Mujib for the day. Trying to do everything from Amman can sound fine on a map, then reality arrives with heat, distance and transport nonsense. Staying near the Dead Sea made Wadi Mujib much easier and gave me a slower stop between Amman, the water, and the canyon.
Transport in Jordan: Cheap if You Plan, Expensive if You Panic
Transport is where Jordan can either stay affordable or become expensive very quickly. Inside Amman, I used Uber. That made life easier. I did not want to negotiate every ride while trying to understand hills, heat, traffic, and my own poor sense of direction. Uber gave me a price before getting in, which was useful and less mentally exhausting.
For longer distances, I used buses where I could.
Amman to Aqaba by bus
The bus from Amman to Aqaba cost me around £10 each way.
That was one of the best budget choices I made. It is a long journey, but for that price, it made sense. A private driver for that route would have been much more expensive. Book your bus here
Aqaba to Wadi Rum / the desert
From Aqaba to the desert, I found a bus near the police station for around £3.
Fancy sleeping under the stars in Wadi Rum? Check how I did it!
Fancy sleeping under the stars in Wadi Rum?
That felt like one of those tiny travel victories. Not glamorous, not smooth, not “curated”, but cheap and it worked. Beautiful.
Camels crossing the road near the Dead Sea in Jordan, one of those small unexpected moments that happen when travelling between places by car.
Local drivers
I also met a driver there who gave me fair prices from place to place.
That helped a lot, especially in areas where buses were not convenient. But this is also where you need to be careful. A fair driver can save stress. Too many private rides can quietly murder your budget. Jordan is possible without renting a car, but you need to be flexible. Sometimes you use Uber. Sometimes a bus. Sometimes a local driver. Sometimes you walk. That is budget travel.
Booking a transfer might be necessary in certain situations, here’s a list of official drivers in Jordan.
Booking a transfer might be necessary in certain situations,
Aqaba Helped Me Save Money
Aqaba was probably the place that helped my budget the most. I stayed there longer, my hotel was affordable, and the town was easy to move around. You can walk almost everywhere in central Aqaba, which saves money straight away.
I also went to Berenice Beach Club. From many hotels, including mine, there was a free shuttle to the beach club. That made it much easier and cheaper than arranging taxis every time. At Berenice, I could snorkel for free once there, and diving cost me around £20 each time when I went. That was actually very reasonable.
Aqaba can become expensive if you say yes to everything like a happy fool, but it can stay manageable if you choose carefully. For me, it worked because I had an affordable hotel, a walkable base, beach access, a free shuttle to Berenice Beach Club, snorkelling, cheap diving, easy food and a slower pace. If you are trying to do Jordan on a budget, spending more time in Aqaba can actually help balance out the expensive parts of the trip, especially Petra and Wadi Rum.
Tours in Jordan: Useful, but Not Always the Best Memories
I did my first tour with GetYourGuide. It was useful, but it had that organised tour feeling: Go here. Do that. Stand there. Photo. Move.
Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you need convenience. Sometimes you need transport sorted. Sometimes you are short on time and do not want to decode the entire country like a puzzle with heatstroke. But it was not the Jordan that stayed with me most. The better experience came later, when I had the Bedouin story. That felt more human, more personal, and more alive.
Fancy sleeping under the stars in Wadi Rum? Check how I did it!
Cooking food under the stars in Wadi Rum, Jordan
I would still use organised tours in Jordan for certain things, especially if you want ease, safety, transport, or you do not have much time. But I would not overbook everything before arriving. Jordan is one of those places where the best moments can happen outside the neat little booking box.
Where Jordan Gets Expensive
Jordan gets expensive when you start stacking the big things together: Petra, Wadi Rum, private transport, Dead Sea resorts, tours, beach clubs and “just one more” activity. Petra is worth it, but it is not cheap. Wadi Rum can also climb quickly once camps, jeep tours, food, transport and extras are added together. Private rides are another quiet budget killer, especially if you use them for every awkward route instead of taking buses where they work. The Dead Sea is cheaper if you keep it simple, but the resort version can push the cost up fast. Jordan is absolutely possible on a reasonable budget, but only if you choose carefully where to spend and where to stop pretending your wallet is infinte.
Where You Can Save Money in Jordan
A camel resting in the Wadi Rum desert, one of the classic Jordan scenes that makes the trip feel worth the money, even when the budget starts quietly crying.
Use buses for long routes
The easiest way to save money in Jordan is to use buses for the long routes whenever they actually work. The Amman to Aqaba bus was around £10 each way for me, which is a huge saving compared with private transport. I also used the Aqaba to desert bus near the police station for around £3, which was excellent. Jordan is not always smooth without a car, but some routes are much cheaper than people think if you do not panic-book private rides for everything.
In Amman, Uber helped me avoid random taxi negotiation and gave me clearer prices. For me, that was worth it. Staying central also mattered more than I expected. A cheaper hotel far from everything can become expensive if every outing needs transport, so my basic but central Amman hotel made sense. The same applied in Aqaba, where having a good base meant I could slow down instead of spending money moving every.
Staying longer in one place also helped. Aqaba worked well because I was not constantly changing hotels, arranging transfers, buying snacks for journeys, making tiny mistakes, and paying for little movements that add up. Every move costs something: transport, food, energy, taxis, time, sanity.
I also saved money by using free hotel shuttles where they existed, especially the shuttle to Berenice Beach Club in Aqaba. Always ask your hotel what transfers or local options they know about, because not everything useful is obvious online. And finally, do not overbook every tour before arriving. Book what you need, but leave space. Some local options may be cheaper, better, or more personal once you are actually there, because Jordan is one of those places where the best moments do not always arrive pre-packaged.
Was Jordan Worth the Money?
Yes. Even with the costs, Jordan was worth it. It is one of the most layered places I have travelled: Amman’s chaos, the Roman Theatre, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, the desert, the sea, the Bedouin stories, the food, the routes, the heat, the moments where everything feels ancient and immediate at the same time.
Jordan is not the easiest budget destination, but it rewards you if you move carefully. It is not a place where I would arrive with no plan and expect everything to be cheap and smooth. That would be brave, by which I mean ridiculous. But with some planning, buses, basic accommodation, local food, smart bases like Aqaba, and selective tours, Jordan on a budget is possible.
