Driving in Jordan And Whether It’s Recommended

When we told our friend Bashar we were planning on driving in Jordan, he thought we were insane.

We were backpacking in Jordan then, and Bashar welcomed us and showed us around. Having family in the country, he knew the Jordanian's behaviour on the road very well.

He didn't know that we already had some experiences with gravel roads in Patagonia, pot holes in Costa Rica, sandy roads in the Namib desert or hectic movement in the Dominican Republic. So we had our fair share of awful road conditions, different rules than back home in Europe and reckless fellow drivers.

Exploring a country in self-drive might not always be a good idea (thinking of suicidal roads in Indonesia), but it is the most straightforward and flexible way to travel. You can choose your routes, the stops, eventual detours, etc.

So we would always opt for a car rental in Jordan or elsewhere (we just got back from a road trip on Réunion Island). Even if that means upscaling our travel budget a bit.

Here's a quick overview of what you should know before and while driving in Jordan if you're up for it!

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Before All Else: Is It Even Advisable To Drive in Jordan?

Assuming you are not a beginning driver and have some experience driving in foreign countries: yes, I recommend driving in Jordan.

Driving in Jordan gives you the freedom to experience the country more deeply.

On the other hand, if you never drove outside your local area, especially in a country with a different ground (think: sand, gravel and such) or where the rules are a bit more 'bendable' than at home, it is much more complicated.

Still, Jordan is a country where you can accumulate your first driving experiences in an environment you're not used to without being too tough to navigate. I still recommend doing it, even with more precautions than usual.

While public transportation is more relaxing and cost-effective, we visited Jordan during the Covid19-pandemic. To increase our safety, we privileged driving ourselves over being scrammed with a dozen strangers inside a tiny bus.

Also: we have a thing for road trips! Be it in Sebi's home country Austria, driving down the coast in Croatia or a short trip through Slovenia: we love putting on Disney music at total volume and just singing and dancing along.

Now, if you are way too scared to dare an adventure of driving in Jordan yourself, there are private drivers available for hire here.

How To Get To Jordan

Before even thinking about renting a car, best is to first get to the country.

Jordan's main airport is Queen Alia International Airport and almost all major airports and airlines can get you there.

Best is to compare prices of different flight providers on Skyscanner and then choosing the best option.

What You Should Know Before Renting a Car in Jordan

Where to rent and what to watch out for

Before looking for the appropriate car rental company in Jordan, you should know what places you are going to visit.

Because this will influence your choice of car. For example: 

• If you plan on just driving from one city to the next, a smaller to middle sized car is fine.
• You want to stay at a Wadi Rum camp? You most certainly need a 4x4!
• During what season will you visit? In the hot summer you will die without air-conditioning.
• Planning on going on a rough adventure? You might end up sleeping in your car and so a midsized to big car with enough space for a sleeping bag and a good heating system is a must.

These are things to consider before even looking for the best car rental options in Jordan.

Cars are available with both manual and automatic gearboxes and different return options regarding the tank are available (full-to-full, advanced payment, etc.)

From what we saw at the airport, the cars are generally in a good condition but do have a lot of scratches and dents due to the sand, wind and gravel flying around when driving in Jordan.

As with every car you rent anywhere in the world, thoroughly check the condition of the car and have the clerk write down everything you notice.

Also, we always take pictures from every angle of the car (don't forget the top and the bottom as well as the metal frame around the wheels...) while doing the detailed check.

Which car rental company in Jordan is the best?

We booked our car through Rentalcars with a company called 'dollar' at the Queen Alia Airport in Amman and in short: everything went super smooth.

Though we had good experiences with Sixt when in Costa Rica where this was the best company in terms of cost/performance ratio, 'dollar' had way better deals in Jordan.

During our previous travels, we had some experiences with car dealers wanting to add an extra insurance (Mexico, the Dominican Republic and so on) even though we already had purchased full covering through Rentalcars, this wasn't the case here.

We were prepared for it but weirdly enough, no-one was trying to trick us - it felt kind of weird haha.

General rules and information on driving in Jordan

Despite the fact that the  British ruled over the country for a very long time, Jordanians drive on the right-hand side of the road.

Seatbelts are mandatory and speed limits get checked more and more often through patrols with radars on the road.

But even so, Jordanians are not the slowest drivers. They rarely respect speed limits and can be pretty abrupt in their manoeuvres (read below) so don't get tempted by following their movements.

There are no toll fees on the highways and no road tax vignette to buy beforehand.

You shouldn't have any problem finding a working gas station, at least on the main roads between cities and/or tourist attractions like Petra or Jerash. If you plan on visiting Wadi Rum, though, you might want to fill up the tank before heading deeper into the desert.

How To Navigate The Country?

Your best friend: the GPS

You can get one for an additional fee with every bigger car rental company in Jordan. But you might want to consider buying an e-SIM. We always use the app Airalo, where you can purchase different plans at a small price for the duration of your trip. We had about 8 GB of internet which was more than enough for two weeks in Jordan.

That way, you can either use Waze or Google Maps. The good thing with Google Maps is that you can download offline maps that will stay valid for 29 days (through the wifi at the airport for example) and the navigation will work just fine even without internet.

We also use the free app called Maps.me a lot because you can use it as a GPS as well without any internet. But in general, we'd always compare the route to the one given by Google because sometimes you end up on roads that aren't actually roads, more like paths.

On a side-note: It's also a great map for walking strolling through the city without getting lost or hiking tours, it's a lot more precise than Google Maps with their pedestrian option.

Road signs and getting directions

The main road signs are both in Arabic and English. Especially when it comes to tourist attractions, there is no chance you won't find your way.

Asking people for directions could be a bit more difficult, depending on where you are:

In the cities, you will find plenty of English-speaking people. The cities are quite multicultural and English is important for business-communication.

On the countryside, it's a whole other story. We spent time with our friends' family for example and without him, we would  have been completely lost in translation. When we got invited for supper, I had to join the ladies of the house for a picture next door. Our friend wasn't allowed in as a man. There was happy chit-chat all around me and the women seemingly asking lots of questions in Arabic. We managed to communicate through hand-signs.

The closer you get to tourist attractions, that means places like Petra or the desert, you might assume that due to the remote location and the particular living conditions of the Bedouins, it will be hard to communicate. But no, the Bedouins are actually really good at English! So finding your way around there won't be a problem at all.

Road Conditions in Jordan

City vs countryside

In big cities like Amman, you will most likely experience what you know from bigger cities all over the world: serious traffic-jams in the mornings and afternoons.

Because I studied close-by, I had to learn to drive in our Belgian capital, Brussels. It's a very aggressive way of driving that you do need to apply because otherwise you'll find yourself completely stuck at every corner.

I felt driving in Amman was kind of similar. Except that here, the chaos is far bigger because, unlike in Brussels, people don't respect the lanes, squeezing themselves into every free corner. Add to that people strolling between the cars (where there is even space to walk), selling fresh dates and sweets and toys for kids.

Always make good use of your signal-horn. That's very important.

Streets in bigger cities like Amman or Aqaba are usually one-way. So if you happen to miss your exit, you will have to follow the dense traffic all the way to the other side of the street in order to be able to reverse.

Highways in Jordan

There are three main highways in Jordan that connect North to South:

• The Desert Highway (R15)
• King's Highway (R35)
• Jordan Valley Highway (R65)

They are generally in a good condition with broad lanes and not that many potholes. Highways in Jordan are not like those in Europe, though.

Here, the highways are actually more like bigger roads, connecting smaller towns and passing right through them.

So you can't just put the cruise control on a fixed speed and let your car drive you. You will most certainly have to seriously slow down every few kilometres (sometimes only a few hundred meters).

If you don't, you risk damaging your car cause the speed bumps are abundant every time you're near or inside a settlement and they pack a punch, trust me. 

It's also normal to have people cross over the highway without a warning. And without hurrying. Even the animals are a bit more careful when doing that...

More on the dangers on the road in general below.

The Desert

I figured this should be separated from the rest because the desert requires a whole other level of driving expertise than the rest of the country.

Have you ever driven on sand? No? Well, it's something else. Like I said, I had already experienced it in Namibia. But this is different, still. 

Granted, we didn't have the right car anyway - that's why I said a 4x4 is probably better (but also a lot more expensive).

But even if you don't have one, if you plan on doing guided tours inside of Wadi Rum anyway, the guides will most certainly have a pick-up to drive you around.

General Driving Behaviour of Jordanians

Speeding and on edge

That summarises the Jordanian driving style pretty well. They don't respect speed limits and, especially in the city, they're always in a hurry.

If you find yourself waiting first in line at a red light, be prepared to hit the pedal as soon as it turns green! Jordanians love to start honking when you wait a millisecond too long.

Yielding and giving way

Jordanians don't yield. It's just one big merger every time roads come together. And even when they don't.

Right of way? What's that? I think there isn't even a term in Arabic for that. In any case, they don't give way.

Lanes are something very approximative

While these so-called 'highways' have four lanes in total, two in each direction, Jordanians seem to love playing a game called 'how many cars can fit side-by-side on one lane?'.

And if someone coming from the opposite direction is on the verge to pass a slower car, you will get a friendly warning with flashing lights that you should MOVE OUT OF HIS WAY!! It's up to you if you prefer to hit the breaks or use the ditch to let them through...

The use of indicators

There just is none. It's like they never learned that cars had them, let alone how and when to use them.

Dangers On The Road

Police checks

Unlike many other countries we've been to (especially Mexico), police corruption isn't a problem in Jordan. As long as you carry your passport, driver's license and vehicle papers, you should be fine.

They might hit on you, though, if you're a woman. At one police check, the agent wanted to know if Sebi and I were 'family', yelling something about 'beautiful' in Arabic to his colleague in the back... or maybe it just was what I wanted to understand with my meagre knowledge of the Arabic language haha.

Police checks might be a bit more thorough the closer you get to the borders with Saudi-Arabia. Usually, they will have a quick look into your car but mostly, when they see that you're a tourist, they will leave you alone. Arabic people will have their car checked in detail, though.

Potholes, obstacles and speed bumps

Like I mentioned earlier: the speed bumps are far from innocent and also not always very visible when you drive through towns and villages.

On well-maintained streets they will be marked in yellow and with a road sign but again: that's more the exception, not the rule.

Also, if there happens to be a sign, it will most likely be right before the bump. So if you only see it once you're at the sign, you will feel. Always keep your eyes out front.

Oh, and don't think when a bump looks kind of flat that it actually is. We miss-judged them so many times by hitting the breaks for one that ultimately wasn't that high at all but also the other way round where the car almost took off because the bump seemed flat but wasn't.

Driving at night - not recommended 

These speed bumps and potholes are also the reason we wouldn't recommend driving at night. Streets aren't well lit, not even the highways.

Those freakin' speed bumps will damage your car and it's nearly impossible to see them at night.

Always plan ahead and try to reach your destination shortly after sunset at the latest

Wildlife and people crossing

Another reason for not driving at night: as mentioned before, animals and people just LOVE to cross the road (even the highways) when you expect it the least.

And they really take their time in doing so. Flashing your lights or honking at them won't speed up the process. Just always be on the look-out and slow down early enough.

Still Want To Drive in Jordan?

It might seem scary when reading through this whole post. But it actually isn't. There are just a few things you should know beforehand so they don't surprise you.

After a while, we got so used to it that we caught ourselves adopting certain Jordanian behaviours...

It is chaotic and you always have to keep your eyes open and be focused but honestly, we've seen far worse driving-styles in other countries. Jordan isn't actually that bad if you remember certain non-written rules.

The advantage is the immense freedom you get to choose your routes, the places to stay, the spots for picnics or just enjoy the landscape. The latter look surreal at places, you should definitely take the time to get out of the car to contemplate them.

I hope I didn't scare you away but instead inspired you to just take on the adventure of driving in Jordan.

Found this guide useful? Please pin and share this post for others to see (and to support my reach in Google's vastness... 🙂

Also feel free to comment if you have any more questions regarding driving in that very cool country!

As ever

xx

Cyn

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