Petra: the real ticket price, and why the Jordan Pass changes everything

The Jordan Pass pays for itself on the Petra visit alone, before counting the 40 other sites it opens. The Wanderer pass costs 70 JOD (~$99 / £77) and covers the Jordanian visa plus one day at Petra. Paid separately, those two items come to 90 JOD. The saving is immediate: about 20 JOD (~$28).

The maths is simple, yet Petra's prices remain one of the worst-documented subjects online. Three figures still circulate although they are wrong, outdated or misunderstood: a 90 JOD ticket that applies to almost nobody, a Petra by Night at 17 JOD that no longer exists, and a pass described as a visa when it is nothing of the sort.

This article puts every amount back next to its official source, verified on 31 July 2026. The exchange rate used is 1 JOD ≈ $1.41, the Jordanian dinar having been pegged to the dollar for decades, so the equivalents barely move. For the rest of the route, our Jordan travel guide covering Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea sets out the stages and real driving times.

What does a Petra ticket actually cost?

A one-day Petra ticket costs 50 JOD, about $71, and the price rises very little if you stay longer. The official scale from the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, checked on 31 July 2026, runs to four lines:

• 1 day — 50 JOD (~$71)
• 2 consecutive days — 55 JOD (~$78)
• 3 consecutive days — 60 JOD (~$85)
• Day visitor with no overnight stay in Jordan — 90 JOD (~$127)

Look at the second line. An extra day costs 5 JOD, a little over $7. It is one of the best-value decisions of the whole trip. The site stretches several kilometres, between the Siq, the Treasury, the Tomb of the Roman Soldier and the long climb to the Monastery: a single day forces you to give things up.

Two practical rules to know before the ticket desk. The days must be consecutive: you cannot visit on Monday then Thursday on a 2-day ticket. And your passport is required at purchase, because it is what proves you are sleeping in the country. Under-12s enter free during the day.

Official online ticketing exists at petrapass.pdtra.gov.jo. It saves the morning queue without changing the price.

Does the 90 JOD rate apply to you?

No, in almost every case: the 90 JOD (~$127) rate applies only to someone who enters and leaves Jordan on the same day, with no overnight stay in the country at all. The official PDTRA table calls this a "day visitor", and it is the single biggest source of confusion about Petra's prices.

Many readers assume "I am not sleeping in Wadi Musa, so I pay 90 JOD". That is wrong. The test is a night spent in the country, not in the town of Petra. If you sleep in Amman, Aqaba, Wadi Rum or a desert camp, you pay 50 JOD like everyone else.

So who actually pays 90 JOD? Mostly day trips arriving from Israel via the Wadi Araba crossing, or cruise passengers landing at Aqaba who re-board the same evening. A traveller on a normal Jordan itinerary does not fall into that category.

The consequence is very concrete for a round trip from Eilat or Tel Aviv. A single night spent in Jordan drops the ticket from 90 to 50 JOD: the hotel night nearly pays for itself, and the pace of the visit becomes human. On top of that, an exit tax of 8 JOD (~$11) applies at each land border, waived when you leave by air.

Why does the Jordan Pass pay off on Petra alone?

Because it absorbs the entry visa, which costs 40 JOD (~$56) on its own. That is the whole mechanism, and it comes down to one subtraction. Here is the calculation, with official Jordan Pass prices verified on 31 July 2026:

• Without the pass — visa 40 JOD + one-day Petra ticket 50 JOD = 90 JOD (~$127)
• With the Wanderer pass — 70 JOD (~$99), visa and one day at Petra included
• Immediate saving — about 20 JOD, roughly $28, before you have visited anything else

The 40 JOD cost of the Jordanian visa on its own is confirmed by the French foreign ministry. That figure is what tips the arithmetic: without it the pass would be an ordinary product; with it, skipping the pass means paying more for fewer sites.

Which tier should you choose?

The three passes differ only in the number of days at Petra. Everything else is identical.

• Wanderer — 70 JOD (~$99), 1 day at Petra
• Explorer — 75 JOD (~$106), 2 consecutive days
• Expert — 80 JOD (~$113), 3 consecutive days

The 5 JOD gap between Wanderer and Explorer is, to our mind, the easiest call of the trip. Add more than 40 included sites, Jerash and its Roman colonnades among them, and the gap with buying separately widens further.

Two limits worth remembering. The pass is valid for 3 months after purchase and expires one month after the first scan, which is ample for a normal trip. More importantly, there is no child or reduced rate: for a family with children under 12, who enter Petra free, the sums are worth redoing line by line.

How many nights in Jordan does the pass need to cover the visa?

The official issuer requires two whole nights, but French government advice states three: plan on three nights to be safe. This is the one point in this article where two reliable sources contradict each other, and it would be dishonest to hide the gap rather than let you judge.

Here are both versions, word for word. The Jordan Pass FAQ, that is the issuer itself, makes the waiver conditional on buying before arrival and staying two whole nights, meaning three days on the ground. The French foreign ministry, in its update of 22 July 2026, says three nights minimum.

What do you do with a contradiction like that? Look at the cost of being wrong. Adding a night to your itinerary costs one hotel night in Jordan. Being refused the waiver at the checkpoint costs 40 JOD (~$56) in visa fees. When in doubt, the margin costs less than the penalty, and a third night fills itself easily between Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

Three rules that are often misread

• The pass is not a visa. It waives the visa fee. The visa itself is issued on arrival, on presentation of the QR code.
• The check happens on the way out, not on entry. It is when you leave that the length of stay is verified against the condition.
• Purchase must precede arrival. A pass bought from your Amman hotel opens the sites but does not refund a visa you have already paid.

One last prerequisite, independent of the pass: your passport must be valid for at least 6 months on the date of arrival. A thirty-second check that avoids being turned away at boarding.

Does Petra by Night still cost 17 JOD?

No. Petra by Night costs 30 JOD (~$42) per person, and the show is not included in the Jordan Pass. The 17 JOD figure, still repeated across a large share of travel pages, has been out of date since the show was overhauled on 1 May 2025. The gap is more than $20 per person: for a couple, the surprise lands hard on the evening budget.

The official detail sits on the PDTRA's Petra by Night page, checked on 31 July 2026:

• Days — Sunday to Thursday
• Time — 8:30pm to 10:30pm
• Price — 30 JOD (~$42), free for under-10s
• Condition — a valid day ticket or Jordan Pass is required on top

Note the days carefully. The "Monday, Wednesday and Thursday" listings floating around everywhere predate May 2025: it now runs Sunday to Thursday. In other words, a stay concentrated on Friday and Saturday means missing the show entirely, whatever your budget.

On its exclusion from the Jordan Pass, the official pass FAQ is explicit. The pass covers daytime entry, not the candlelit evening. Budget 30 JOD separately, on top of your pass, if the Siq lit by lanterns is part of why you are coming.

What time should you arrive at Petra?

The site opens at 6:00am in summer and 6:30am in winter, and that first hour is by far the best of the day. The hours published by the PDTRA give 6:00am-6:00pm in the summer season and 6:30am-5:00pm in winter. The official page still carries the 2025-2026 season labels: exact switchover dates for 2026 are not published, so check the day before your visit.

Why insist on opening time? Because the Siq is a corridor. At 6:30am you have it almost to yourself and the low light does exactly what you hope for on the sandstone. By around 10am the coach groups from Amman arrive in numbers and that first view of the Treasury has to be negotiated between shoulders.

The other argument is heat. The climb to the Monastery involves several hundred steps in full sun: doing it early or late in the afternoon is not an aesthetic preference, it is common sense. Bring water, a hat and shoes that grip on polished stone.

How do you split two days?

The pattern that works best, from what we see in traveller feedback: day one for the main axis, Siq, Treasury, colonnaded street and royal tombs; day two for the upper city, with the Monastery and the viewpoint over the High Place of Sacrifice. Two days, 55 JOD, and a site that stops being a race.

A word on reaching Petra from Amman: allow a good half-day on the Desert Highway, and more on the King's Highway, which is prettier but markedly slower. Arriving in Wadi Musa the previous evening remains the best way to be at the gate when it opens.

Security situation: what French government advice said on 19 July 2026

Petra, Wadi Musa and Amman are under no travel restriction, but since 9 July 2026 Jordan has seen Iranian overflights and missile and drone fire over its territory. This comes from the Jordan travel advice page of the French foreign ministry, updated on 19 July 2026.

The facts, as the official page states them:

• Strongly advised against — the Azraq and Mafraq areas, in the east and north-east of the country.
• Heightened caution — Aqaba.
• No restriction — Petra and Wadi Musa, as well as Amman.
• Air travel — Jordanian airspace is open and Amman airport is operating.

Neither dramatising nor downplaying: these points describe a shifting regional situation, not a closed country. An Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea itinerary currently runs outside the flagged areas.

The only rule that holds is to read the up-to-date advice just before departure, then during the trip. A country page can change from one day to the next, and it is the reference point for your travel insurance and your cancellation terms alike.

The summary to keep before you book

Five decisions sum up everything above, in the order in which they commit your money.

1. Buy the Jordan Pass before arrival. It is the condition for the visa waiver, and the source of the ~20 JOD (~$28) saving.
2. Take Explorer rather than Wanderer if Petra genuinely interests you: 5 JOD more for a second consecutive day.
3. Plan three nights in Jordan. The pass issuer asks for two, French official advice says three: the margin costs less than 40 JOD of visa.
4. Ignore the 90 JOD rate as soon as you sleep at least one night in the country, anywhere at all.
5. Budget 30 JOD separately for Petra by Night, Sunday to Thursday, without counting on the pass to cover it.

One final reflex, valid for every price quoted here: look at the date of the page you are reading. Petra by Night went from 17 to 30 JOD, its opening days changed, and Jordanian fee tables move without notice. Every link in this article points to the corresponding official source, because that is what settles it.

Prices and conditions verified on 31 July 2026 against the official sources cited. Conversion rate used: 1 JOD ≈ $1.41.