I had the unique opportunity through a mutual friend to connect with an American, solo traveller from New York, Shari. She was coming into to Jordan from Israel. As this is something I have never done, I was interested in the process and asked her to write a few paragraphs about her experience. I have read other travellers experiences online and wanted to gain more a first-hand experience of the process. I am taking liberty in saying, I am sure other travellers would like to know about the process.
The following is Shari’s experience crossing into Jordan in the south at Aqaba from Eilat, Israel and out of Jordan at a northern border crossing.
Yitzhak Rabin Border Crossing (southernmost crossing) – Israel to Jordan
It is best to get to the border crossing first thing in the morning, as it can get very busy with tour groups later in the day.
The border opens at 6:30am, Sunday through Thursday, and at 8:00am on Friday and Saturday.
If you get there before it opens, there are benches to wait (and free WiFi), but I recommend getting in the line at the entrance door. If a big tour group gets there and gets in line before you, your wait time will become much longer.
Once I went in, I first went to the cashier window to pay the Israeli exit tax, 101 shekels (Approx US$28).
Next, I went to the passport window. Make sure you have handy the entry slip given to you upon arrival in Israel. I witnessed a couple that misplaced theirs and the agents gave them a hard time. It took much longer for them to go through (and with much more hassle) than it did for me.
After verification of my passport, I then walked across the border to the Jordan side (a very close walk of just a few minutes).
On the Jordan side, they will have you scan your bags and go through a metal detector.
After this step, it gets a little confusing. There is not much signage telling you where to go or what to do next. There were tour guides helping other people across and so they were generous enough to guide me in the right direction as well.
If you have previously bought the Jordan pass, you can skip the visa payment window and go on to window number 10. This window didn’t seem correct to me as no one was there and everything was closed with no sign of an attendant. I moved on to the next window, but a guide informed me that number 10 was correct and that I would just need to wait.
As I had a driver waiting for me outside the border, I asked one of the guides to use his phone and he very nicely helped me call my driver to tell him I was a little delayed but would be there soon (FYI there is no WiFi on the Jordan side).
I had to wait about 30 minutes for the agent to take his sweet time and show up, casually smoking a cigarette and drinking his coffee. Hopefully, this isn’t always the case, but be prepared to wait on the whims of the border agents.
When he was finally ready, I showed the agent my electronic version of the Jordan Pass (places online say you need to print it, but I wasn’t able to and the electronic version was accepted here). He wrote down some information and then stamped my passport.
Without a word, he moved on to the next couple waiting to show their pass. I assumed I was done, but alas the guides told me I had one more stop. There were about 10 people in line waiting at the next window, but one of the agents looked at me and said “Jordan Pass” and he took me ahead of them. Maybe he took pity on me since I had to wait for his colleague for so long. He looked through my passport and waved me on.
A short walk out the final gate to a parking area led me right to my driver patiently waiting for me. The process wasn’t too painful, especially thanks to the help of the guides, but be prepared to wait longer than expected, as you don’t know how the agents may be feeling that day.
Jordan River Border Crossing (northernmost crossing) – Jordan to Israel
Before I arrived at any border crossing looking buildings, my driver stopped in a parking lot with a bunch of taxi cabs. He told me that I would have to pay a cab to take me across the border. I said that was crazy (having walked across the southern border), but he told me it was required. The taxi only cost 1.50 JD (Jordanian Dinar) (Approx US$2.5), so wasn’t too expensive. I soon realized why you needed a cab though. This border is much more spaced out. Without a cab, the walks between points would be very long and not to mention hot (it was close to 40 degrees out that day).
The taxi first took me to a security checkpoint. The driver helped me out with my bags and I passed my bags through an x-ray machine and I was checked with a wand. I assumed from there on I would walk the rest of the way, but when I came out, the taxi driver was waiting for me and drove me another few minutes down the road to another point. He explained that I would go in this building, get my passport stamped, and then I would need to get on a bus to get to the Israeli side. He said this is where he would leave me.
I took my things and entered into an almost empty border control room. There was one agent sitting enjoying a cup of coffee (I had flashbacks to my first crossing expecting to have to wait). Luckily, the agent waved me right over. He then told me I had to pay the exit fee first at another window.
I went over and of course, no one was there. Again waiting on the whims of the Jordanian border agents. A man casually sidled up to the window out of nowhere a few minutes later. The tax was only 10 JD (Approx US$15.00).
I went back to the first agent and he stamped my passport and told me to go to the bus. The bus cost an additional 3 JD (Approx US$4.50). I had to wait about 20 minutes as they only run every half hour. It was stifling hot outside, so luckily the bus driver let us on and allowed us to wait in the AC of the bus. The bus ride took a long time though it wasn’t a physically long distance.
Security stopped the bus and began to do an in-depth security check of the bus. It took probably 20 minutes before letting the bus through. Once we got there, everyone collected their bags and headed into the Israeli side border control.
First, they sent bags through another x-ray machine and I walked through a metal detector. A few people were in front of me, so it took a few minutes for the agents to get to my bag. Upon asking me if the bag they had was mine, an agent began opening every compartment and taking everything out. I sat wide-eyed and annoyed knowing that I would have to repack my bag myself. She opened every case I had inside and unfolded all of my clothes. Finally, she swabbed all over the bag and tested for whatever residues they are looking for. I was all clear, but then I had to repack my bag with no help from the agents. This took me a good 10 minutes (I was very annoyed but tried not to show it).
The last step was to get my new entry ticket into Israel. Here another agent proceeded to ask me many questions about why I was there. Many more than the agents at the airport ever have asked me upon entering Israel in the past.
  • She asked my father’s name.
  • She asked what I was doing in Israel.
  • She asked where I was staying.
When I told her I would be going to Haifa, she asked what specifically I would do there. I told her I would be vacationing. She said can you be more specific. I then told her I would go to see the Bahia Gardens and go visit Akko. She then asked to see reservations of where I would be staying and tickets (or proof) for my departure. She mentioned there was WiFi if I needed to look them up. I showed her my hostel reservation in Haifa and my aeroplane reservation to Greece. She was satisfied with this information and gave me an entry ticket (which I made sure to put in a safe place for my exit).
As there was no one behind me, I asked the agent if she could help me with directions on how to get to Haifa. She spoke with her colleague and very generously wrote the directions down for me. In order to get to a bus or a train and go elsewhere in the country, you will have to take a taxi. The border crossing is pretty remote and not located right next to public transportation. A taxi to the train station in Beit She’an cost 35 shekels (Approx US$10).
Again not too bad of an experience with the crossing, but it does take time, and patience is a must.
Thank you Shari, that was a great summary of the steps it takes to get each way from Jordan to Israel. I had to laugh when I was reading it as some segments reminded me of my own experiences with the casualness of attendants. I don’t know whether it is a gender issue, a control or power issue, a cultural issue, it was very interesting to hear another solo female traveller express similar observations.
Those great comments about the casualness of attendants and service providers, caused me to reflect on some of my experience a few times in Jordan. If you have seen some of my VideoLogs you will hear me reflecting on getting fitter to visit Jordan. This involved months of walking and swimming culminating in some physical changes in my appearance. On one occasion as I was entering immigration at Queen Alia Airport, the immigration officer looked at my photo and said you were fat! I was stunned at his comment, and unthinking I said rudely, just stamp the passport and that is none of your business. I realised in hindsight that could have got me into a lot of trouble. Just luck.
On another occasion, the attendant at the religious site of Mt Nebo, was on his phone for a few minutes before acknowledging me to take my entry payment. No amount of trying to attract their attention worked, in actual fact may delay their attention through sheer spite. I suspect when you have such little power, any occasion to wield some is often taken with relish by some.
Another couple of comments stood out to me reading Shari’s words. most specifically is that you have to suspend your belief or expectations of what you would deem acceptable. You are in a foreign land, at the whim of government officials with personal or national agendas. Just breath, be prepared to be frustrated, delayed, for it takes time, it can seem illogical, it can seem convoluted. That is just the way it is, you cannot fight it. you are on holidays relax and go with the flow.
What an amazing adventure, pack your bags it is time you had one for yourself.