In 2007 Petra was named as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Did you even know they re-did wonders? I didn’t but IDK why this wasn’t always one of them!
Inhabited for thousands of years between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, the city was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Phoenicia. What makes it so incredible is that Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains filled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites and they are constantly discovering new things!
The views everywhere were just stunning. It is just incredible how they were able to build such detailed, ornate architecture into the stone. Some parts with deep valleys reminded me of Antelope Canyon. “The Treasury” is one of the most recognized spots of Petra and there are tons of “guides” there to take you to different viewpoints or around on a camel or donkey. Just make sure you agree to the price before you do anything. We paid $5 to take the camel around the treasury for 2-3 minutes. Enough time to get some good photos!
We didn’t actually travel to Jordan for a trip but actually booked a day tour from Israel while we were staying in Eilat. We thought it would make things easier so we didn’t have to deal with the cross-border/visa process plus transportation on our own. While overall I am thrilled to have experienced Petra, there are definitely things I would do differently if able
Tips how you can plan better than me:
Book a 2-day trip with a stop in Wadi-Rum.
Some people on our tour stayed the nights in hotels or even a Bedouin camp. There is so much driving to get to Petra from Eilat that I would have appreciated a second day to see more of the top sites. Petra was our goal and so we were happy with that, but there is always room to expand and improve. Because it was only a day trip, it did feel like we were a bit rushed to see things, which I really didn’t like.
Book a smaller tour (if able).
I hate feeling like a number in a crowd and large tours feel so rushed and impersonal. I would much have preferred a tour of 10-12 people than our packed bus of 40. I feel like we missed out on some information and detail about the history of the site because we were always playing catch-up and getting to the guide after he had started talking.
If you fly into Jordan and are looking for a hotel, stay at the Marriott Petra.
The hotel has great views, service, and is a perfect location to walk to Petra and even book a private tour.
We will probably never be back to Petra so I am glad we have so many photos and memories but I will definitely take my lessons learned and apply them to any future Wonders of the World we may see and I hope you can too!
Xx
Kali