Jordan Pass: What It Covers and When It Pays Off
4 min read
The Jordan Pass pays off if you stay at least two nights, buy it before you arrive and visit Petra. It bundles the tourist visa and entry to more than 40 sites. It does not pay off for a one-night stay, and it does not replace your tour: it covers entry tickets, not transport or a guide. Check the price on the official Jordan Pass site, which is the only source for it.
What it covers
The Jordan Pass site says it gives prepaid entry to over 40 attractions, “including Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum”, and includes the tourist entry visa. Its FAQ links a full list of sites. That list includes the Amman Citadel, Ajloun Castle, Umm Qais and the desert castles Qasr Amra, Qasr Kharana and Azraq Castle, which the Jordan Tourism Board’s fee page otherwise charges one by one.
How many nights?
Two. The FAQ and the price page both say the visa fee is waived if you buy the pass before arrival and stay a minimum of two whole nights (three days) in Jordan. Without the pass, the FAQ puts the single-entry visa at 40 JD. You do not prove the stay on arrival: according to the FAQ, the immigration system checks it when you leave, and if you stayed less you are sent to an office to pay the fee. The pass waives only a single-entry visa.
What it does not cover
- Petra by Night. The FAQ says it is not part of any package, and that the pass lets you into Petra during the day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Split Petra visits. The pass comes in three versions: Jordan Wanderer with one day in Petra, Jordan Explorer with two and Jordan Expert with three consecutive days. The FAQ says the Petra days must follow each other, so you cannot spread them over your trip.
- The Dead Sea fee. The page of the 2-day Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea tour says the visa and the Petra and Wadi Rum entry fees are covered by the pass, but the Dead Sea fee is not.
Validity
The FAQ says the pass is valid for use within 3 months after purchase. It is activated when you scan it at the first site and expires one month after that first scan. A one-week trip fits easily; a trip that stretches over more than a month does not.
Do not pay twice
Tour pages treat the pass differently, and some include entry in the price. The Desert Castles tour from Amman asks pass holders to tell the operator so that fees paid in the price are reimbursed on site. The Desert Castles and Wadi al-Dahik tour says entrance fees are not included: pay on site, or bring the pass and your passport. The 14-hour Petra and Wadi Rum day tour lists entry tickets only “if option selected”. On Petra from Amman we explain the choice of options in more detail. If you hold the pass, choose a version without entry tickets, or ask the operator in writing what happens at the gate.
How to decide
- Write down the sites you will really visit: Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum, the Amman Citadel, the desert castles.
- Add their entry fees from the Jordan Tourism Board’s fee page and the visa fee.
- Compare the total with the pass price on jordanpass.jo.
The same page lists a separate Petra ticket for visitors who spend only one day in Jordan: 90 JD, against 50 JD for the regular one-day ticket. If you only have one day in Jordan, check which Petra ticket applies to you.
Who should buy it
- Buy it if you are staying two nights or more and plan Petra, Jerash and Wadi Rum.
- Skip it if you stay one night, or if your tour already includes every entry ticket.
- Think twice if you want Petra by Night: the pass is only for daytime entry, and the evening ticket is separate.
More options: Petra tours from Amman, Wadi Rum tours, Jerash, Ajloun and Umm Qais tours and Amman Citadel and city tours. For the longer trips, see our guide to 2 or 3 days of Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.
Our recommendation: buy the pass online before you fly if you will spend two nights or more in Jordan and visit Petra, then pick the option without entry tickets when you book, for example on the full-day Petra tour.
