» Weather     » Language    »  Currency    »To go to Jordan     »Visas    »Holidays     »Can I stay in touch? »     "But isn't dangerous?"    »Hotels    »Food and Drink       »What to buy?    » Do I have to tip?    »Hair dryer    »Time    »Other countries

Weather:
 Jordan has a long and pleasant spring and fall, from mid-March through May and from mid- September through mid-November. Rain falls from November to March---sometimes. In the Jordan Valley, around the Dead Sea and in Aqaba on the Red Sea the winters are warm and pleasant. For weather information you may contact this links:

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/JOXX0002_c.html  

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=JO&refer=.

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Language
  Arabic is the official language. English is widely spoken throughout the kingdom. Road signs and many business signs are in English. If you need to communicate in a language other than English or Arabic, you may just get lucky to run into a student in one of the countries excellent language programs. Or you can wave your arms to sign. That usually works very well.

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Currency:
 Jordan's currency is the Jordanian Dinar, or JD. It is subdivided into 1000 fills. 

 Paper notes: 50, 20, 10, 5, and 1 JD.

Coins: 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 fils, and 1/2 dinar.

US $1 = JOD 0.708.

The daily exchange rate is published in local newspapers.
You can change foreign cash or Travellers’ checks at any bank in Jordan. Travellers’ checks will be charged a commission-sometimes a very hefty one. There are also authorized money-changers in most cities and you will usually get a rate of exchange reasonably close to the bank rates. Hotels of three stars or above will also change money but at much less favorable rate. Foreigners are permitted to open accounts at Jordanian banks in either Jordanian Dinar or in foreign currencies. Currency exchange, operate under the guidelines and regulations of the Central Bank of Jordan. The Central Bank also sets the minimum and maximum interest rates for financial institutions to follow.

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To go to Jordan:
 Jordan has land borders with Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and a seaport with daily connections by ferry to the Sinai in Egypt. Royal Jordanian Airlines is the official carrier for the kingdom, but the international airports in Amman and Aqaba also serve carriers including KLM, British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Middle East Airlines, Egypt Air, Pakistan Airlines and all major carriers from the Persian Gulf states, among others.

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Visas:

Any non-Arab visitor to Jordan, whether for business or tourism, needs an entry visa. The visa can be obtained on arrival at any airport port or land border, except the King Hussein/ Allenby Bridge. The visa costs JD10 or $15US. Some nationalities require visas in advance. Please check with us for the latest information.

Departure Tax

	For Non Jordanian	For Jordanian
By Land	5 JD	8 JD
By Air	20 JD	20 JD
By Sea	5 JD	6 JD

 
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Holidays:
 

The Islamic feast days, marked with a * are not fixed dates and will only be definitively determined a few days beforehand, according to the sighting of the moon. Usually the two Eids and also New Year's Day and Labour Day are followed by a couple more days holiday for banks and offices, etc. The fixed holidays dates are marked with two **. The ATMs are very much used on holidays, so draw out money early before it's all gone., they will "go dry" before the banks reopen.

Weekends:

The official Jordanian weekend is now Friday and Saturday. On these days, banks and most offices are shut. Post offices are open on Saturdays and also on Fridays until 12 noon. These days, many ordinary shops are open 7 days a week. They may close Friday mornings, and only open after mid-day. Friday Prayers.

On Fridays, with the exception of the long distance services, buses usually run in the mornings only, and many buses not at all. You should check this if you are planning on traveling on a Friday.

Can I Stay in Touch?:
  Sure, if you want to. There are mobile, telephone, fax and telex facilities. You'll find Internet cafes everywhere in all cities. Most of the hotels provide clients the internet service if you can't live without it. Also there are two English-language newspapers, the Jordan Times which is daily and Star which is a weekly. Major hotels also offer a wide variety of foreign newspaper and magazines.

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"But isn't dangerous?":
No, Mom—in fact, people find Jordan one of the safest places to travel, to invest (please bring large cheeks), and to hobnob (witness the big-shot World Economic Forum meetings at the Dead Sea, or the conclave of Nobel Laureates in Petra). There is virtually no street crime. People will fall over each other scrambling to help you if you have a medical emergency, get yourself into trouble or just look a little confused. Visitors who forget their cameras, passports, wallets full of money, or whatever on busses or in taxis or in restaurants are amazed to get their belongings back intact, but it happens all the time. Really.

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Hotels:
 We have all kinds, from super-duper 5* resorts to funky backpacker specials. There are no IAYH hostels in Jordan, but there are plenty of clean and inexpensive accommodations. You can depend on us to book you into the best value for your budget--we've seen them yesterday, not last year when your guidebook was written.

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Food and Drink:
  Eating is one of the most popular national pastimes. Traditional Jordanian cuisine leans heavily on fresh produce (we grow a lot, and availability is seasonal), chicken and lamb, yoghurt and rice. Most dishes are prepared from fresh ingredients. In Amman you'll also find international restaurants of every stripe, including (horrors!) McDonalds and the ubiquitous KFC. Now in Petra you can even learn to cook your own Levantine goodies at the Petra Kitchen. And you can buy beer, wine and spirits except during Ramadan, the holy month of Islam when alcoholic beverages are not widely available. You should try arak, the local anise-flavored fire water.  Jordan wineries produce some outstanding table wines, mostly around Madaba and Ajlun but sold throughout the country.
 

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What to Buy:
 There are a wide variety of traditional handicrafts, and no lack of shops selling them. The best are cross-stitch embroidery, rugs, Bedouin jewelry, pottery, hand-blown glass and fake antiquities. Please don't buy the real antiquities.....what are your grandkids going to see when they visit Jordan? You'll have to buy at least one sand bottle in Petra just to show everyone back home the amazing natural colors, and you won't believe the designs these artisans can create in a sand bottle. Don't buy the bottles outside Petra--the sand is dyed.

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Do I have to tip?:
 Rated hotels and restaurants will add a gratuity of 10% to your bill, but the lion's share of this is not going to the people who will serve you.  You might want to add another 5-10% for the servers.  Smaller establishments usually expect you to leave a tip in line with the service you received. Tipping is a way of thanking the people who take care of you. The average income here is $210 a month, and the average family has over 7 children, so your money is going for a worthy cause!  Tourist guides and drivers will expect to be tipped.   If you bring along as much luggage as we usually do, it's nice to tip the hotel porter about one dinar to put into his truss-fund.

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Hair dryer:
 Jordan's electricity supply is 220 volts/50 cycles AC. Sockets are generally of the two-pronged European variety, while a variety of other sockets and plugs—especially the 13 amp square three-pinned plug—are in use. To be safe, bring a multi-purpose adapter. American equipment requires both an adaptor and a transformer. Most varieties of adaptors and transformers are readily available in electrical shops throughout Jordan.  And great news for travelers--most laptop chargers, mobile phone chargers and other can't-do-without accessories now are built to accept either 110 or 220 volt inputs.....hurray!

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Time:
  Jordan is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Or three hours while we are on Daylight Savings Time (usually May 1 to October 1). That means we're seven hours ahead of New York, and eight hours ahead of Perryton, Texas

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Other countries:
  Petra Moon offers programs which combine visits to neighboring countries. It is very simple to arrange extensions to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. A number of our specialized tour programs include one or more of our neighbors. Boundaries have been shifting in the Middle East since men learned to mark off turf, but there is no reason that should affect your holiday.

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