Petra Mistakes to Avoid or They Can Ruin Your Visit.
There are many tours out there selling Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea in two days, and let me tell you, that’s a horrible mistake. Petra is not just a stop between the desert and a lifeless lake. It’s more than that.
Petra is enormous, much more than I thought it was going to be, full of dust and ancient mysteries, and let me tell you, it deserves more of your attention. A cute picture with a camel won’t do it, unless you don’t have time or you just want to say you’ve been there, ticking it off your bucket list.
And hey, I am not the perfect tourist, but when you learn about its history, tombs carved into stone, temples, caves and cliffs, you feel the weight of it and start imagining Nabataeans walking around, trading in the markets, camels here and there. Such an advanced city, protected from the sun by the shade of the rocks, almost hidden in the desert.
Then you learn that it was eventually depopulated, and suddenly the whole place feels even stranger.
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Going back to what I am actually writing about, I am not preaching perfection, as I committed my sins too, which I will confess later. That’s why I feel the urge to advise travellers about possible mistakes that might happen while you walk through its red and dusty alleyways, if we can call them that. So here I present my personal Petra travel tips, or what not to do in Petra to be more precise.
Walking through Petra’s sandstone passage.
Mistake 1: Booking a Two-Day Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea Tour
Let’s begin with the biggest crime against basic geography and history.
You will find these tours everywhere, and if you have limited time, fair enough. But most people travelling to Jordan stay for at least 10 days. Plenty of time to give Petra two full days, or if time is tight, at least one full day. No excuse.
One full day can give you the main route in exchange: the Siq, Treasury, Street of Facades, Royal Tombs and maybe the Monastery if your legs and lungs are cooperating.
But two days give you time to actually look around instead of marching through it all like airport security is chasing you. You’ll have time to breathe, explore the High Place of Sacrifice, which sounds dramatic and I believe it is, walk random trails, and spend time drinking tea in front of the Treasury while making cat friends.
Don’t feel bad if you only have one day. It’s still worth it. But if you do have time, please be merciful towards the Nabataean ancestors and honour their hard work. That city was not easy to build.
Mistake 2: Thinking the Treasury Is Petra
I do not like to repeat myself, but unfortunately, some tourists do think that all there is to see is the big, massive Treasury. Yes, it is the most impressive, but it is not everything.
I see Petra like a big art painting. You need to step back to really appreciate the work of art.
It’s like going to Rome, looking at one column and saying you have understood the Roman Empire. The Treasury is just an introduction to what is coming, so keep walking and exploring every corner. I promise that you will be surprised.
I must also say that you need some kind of planning. When they give you a map, please have a look. It’s easy to get lost. As I said, it was a city, so yes it’s BIG.
I really do recommend getting a local guide. Not a random one you find on the way, but a certified guide who understands and knows every corner, someone who will give you context for every tomb and carved masterpiece. It will also help you avoid getting lost, which is helpful.
If you want to do it on your own, fine. Just prepare yourself, mark the places you want to visit and create a route. Otherwise, you will end up feeling like a headless chicken looking for water and shade. Bad business.
I will leave a list of official Petra certified guides herewho can make your visit much smoother and richer. Note that if you are, like me, a solo traveller, someone needs to take your pictures…
Just saying.
Above the Treasury, Petra stops feeling like a monument and starts feeling like something ancient and alive.
Mistake 3: Following a Stranger Into an Isolated Area Inside Petra
I did this.
So let me remove the moral superiority performance. I realised afterwards that maybe that could have gone wrong.
A man approached me. He was cool, nice and looked disturbingly like Captain Jack Sparrow. Not inspired by Jack. I mean fully committed to the Disney role.
He offered to take me through a route to see the Treasury from above. I said, why not?
We moved away from the main trail. No more crowds. Suddenly, we were isolated. At the time, it felt magical. Now, looking back, that could have gone very wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, he was respectful. He took impressive photos of me and showed me one of the most unforgettable views I have ever seen.
But again, I was lucky. The fact that nothing happened does not make that decision safe.
Solo female travellers here must be very careful with unofficial guides offering secret routes and special places. Don’t do what I did. Be more sensible.
That’s why I insist on using anofficial Petra guide and staying on the main trails.
And please, do not assume that just because someone is charming and smiley, they are safe. Predators are usually very charming.
Following an unofficial guide through one of Petra’s quieter routes. It felt cinematic at the time. Looking back, it was also a risk.
Mistake 4: Forgetting That Petra’s Bedouins Were Displaced in the Name of Tourism
I must correct something I believed it was true when I first visited Petra.
While walking through Petra I thought some of the men walking around the park were pretending to be Bedouins because it felt too performative. Just my Jack Sparrow Beduin encounter was surreal enough to not believe that these people actually belong to Petra.
I recently learn that Bedul (Petra’s Bedouin Community) are really Bedouins, just different form other communities I found later in Wadi Rum.
The story gets darker though. The Bedul, have been living around Petra for generations, inside caves and tents. But over the last few years they have been displaced to “protect tourism” as Petra received more and more visitors.
Some families have lost their homes, access to parts of the land they depended on. Some still live there “illegally”, and still sell souvenirs inside some caves to make a living. So when people sell you rides, jewellery, unofficial guiding, just remember they trying to survive.
So be kind, listen, tip them if you can. Just don’t switch off your common sense. Respect their community but also respect your boundaries.
A Bedouin man inside Petra, seems a nice guy.
Mistake 5: Accepting an Invitation to Sleep in a Cave Inside Petra
This is a HUGE mistake.
And it is also against the rules.
I do not care how secret, beautiful, magical or once-in-a-lifetime the experience might feel. You will be isolated, at night, with no protection, and that itself is a big red flag.
Petra has strict opening hours. If someone is inviting you to remain inside after everyone else leaves, you should run in the opposite direction.
There have been reports from female travellers of harassment and sexual assault connected to isolated encounters around Petra and cave invitations.
This is not just gossip and paranoia. The National has reported on romance scams, blackmail, violence and sexual-assault allegations involving female tourists in Petra, and first hand travel experiences describe illegal cave stays inside the national park.
And hey, I am not saying everyone is dangerous. I am saying that gambling with your safety and dignity should not be your romantic story to take home.
Mistake 6: Using Animals Because Everyone Else Is Doing It
I used an animal in Petra. Massive mistake.
At the time, I asked the man, “Are you sure? Is she not tired?”
He said no, she was fine, she was rested, and this was normal for her. So I believed him.
Now I know he just wanted to earn his living. Which is understandable in a way, but I now think I should have just tipped him and walked away.
Some people do it because it looks cool, they want a picture, or they’re tired.
For the last reason, there are golf carts that transport people within the park. Very useful.
They will also sell you the “included ride”, where a tip is expected afterwards.
I ask you to think about the animal. Camel, horse or donkey, it doesn’t matter.
Horse riding inside Petra. I did it, but looking back, I would not make the same choice again.
Mistake 7: Staying Too Far From Petra
Another mistake is not checking where your hotel is when you type “Where to stay near Petra Entrance” and hoping that Google will show you an exact location. It won’t.
Wadi Musa, also called Petra Village, is bigger than it looks, and hiring a driver every morning and evening to go back and forth to your hotel is not the best option. Not for your pocket at least. Your legs will be grateful too.
The best place to stay is near the Petra Visitor Centre. For two nights, it should not destroy your budget.
I will leave a helpful map here to locate hotels near the Petra entrance.
You can thank me later.
How Many Days Do You Need in Petra?
One full day is the minimum, but two days are perfect.
If your Jordan itinerary is very tight, by all means, do one day. Better than nothing. But if you do have time, then allow yourself a couple of days to feel what Petra actually is.
I do warn that anything less than a full day is too rushed. It is no longer an experience, but just a photo.
And please, do not combine Petra with Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea unless you have no other alternative.
Is Petra Safe for Solo Female Travellers?
I travelled through Petra on my own. I did not feel harassed in a sexual way because I drew my boundaries.
But you will have plenty of unofficial guides offering to take you through secret places. Do not accept that, for your own good.
Use official Petra guides. It will stop unnecessary negotiations and awkward moments.
Generally speaking, most people were friendly, and Petra is visited by many solo female travellers who have had good experiences.
Just do the common-sense things we should be doing anyway: stay on marked trails, don’t follow strangers, do not sleep inside illegally, and tell someone that you are going to Petra that day.
Final Thoughts: Petra Is Worth More Than a Rushed Itinerary
Petra is genuinely the most extraordinary place I have ever visited.
Not just the Treasury, but the place as a whole.
Its silence. The caves. The colours of the stones. How fresh it feels under the shade and how burning hot it is under the sun.
The feeling that an entire city is hiding in front of you and refusing to explain itself.
It is also a place that is physically demanding, so bring proper shoes, water and the mental capacity for a full day of walking through an ancient archaeological site. Petra is not a stopover. Treat it like it deserves, and it will give you back something that I can hardly explain.
You must go and feel it for yourself.
