Travel budget: Prices & costs in Israel & Jordan

Would you like to do a round trip through Israel and Jordan? Then you’re probably curious about the budget you’re going to need! In Israel they pay with the Israeli shekel (NIS) and in Jordan with the Jordanian Dinar (JOD). The prices in Israel are comparable with the Dutch/European prices or maybe even a bit higher. Jordan is cheaper compared to Europe. In this article I will tell you more about the costs we made during our 12-day roundtrip through Israel and Jordan.

Note: The costs made have been converted to euros.

Flight tickets to Tel Aviv and back from Amman

Because we wanted to fly to Tel Aviv and return from Amman, we decided to book two separate tickets. The outward flight to Tel Aviv was with Transavia from Eindhoven and cost € 61,- per person. The return flight was from Amman with Ryan Air to Brussels Airport and cost € 74,- per person.

In total we paid € 135,- per person for our flight tickets.

Visa Israel and Jordan

For a stay of up to 90 days you do not need to apply for a visa for Israel in advance. This visa is free of charge upon arrival at the airport.

For Jordan, visa validity depends on the number of times you want to travel into the country. The Single-Entry Tourist Visa is valid for 2 months, the Double Entry Visa is valid for 3 months and the Multiple Entry Visa is valid for 6 months. A tourist visa is available upon arrival and costs about € 50,- (40 JOD). Do you, like us, cross the border from Israel? Then you don’t need to pay for the visa.

It is also possible to purchase a Jordan Pass. Will you stay in Jordan for at least three days? Then the visa is included in the price of the Jordan Pass. Here you will find more information about purchasing a Jordan Pass.

Transportation in Israel and Jordan

Prior to our trip we initially wanted to rent a car in both countries, but because the one way costs (pick up in Tel Aviv and drop off in Eilat) in Israel were so high, we decided to only rent a car in Jordan and use public transport in Israel.

Cost of transport Israel

In Israel we used public transport, a taxi and a commercial bus company. Below you will find an overview of the costs:

• Train from Tel Aviv Airport to the city center – € 3.50 per person
• Bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – € 4,- per person
• Tram from Jerusalem Central Station to Yafo Street – € 1.50 per person
• Taxi from the Wailing Wall to the Mount of Olives – € 18,- per person
• Bus from a commercial company from Jerusalem to Eilat – € 25 per person

Please note: One of the dive masters from the diving school where we dived in Eilat took us from the center in Eilat to the border of Jordan (for free). That’s why these taxi costs are missing in the overview above.

Car rental costs in Jordan

We did rent a car in Jordan. We picked it up in Aqaba and delivered it to the airport in Amman. The costs were € 276,- for six days. The following was included in this price:

• Theft (THW) Liability / excess of USD 250,00 excluding tax
• Collision Damage Exemption from Liability (CDW) Liability / excess USD 350.00 excluding tax
• Unlimited mileage
• Single travel costs (Pick up in Aqaba and delivery in Amman)
• Additional driver
• VAT (see full AV)

In total, we refueled twice, for a total of about € 80.

Taxi and Uber costs in Jordan

Because we were walking from Israel across the border to Jordan, we were forced to take a taxi to the airport of Aqaba and pick up our rental car here. There is a large sign at the border with fixed taxi prices, but unfortunately taxi drivers don’t abide by that sign. The taxi from the border to the airport cost € 15, – and the sign said it would cost € 9, -. So, this saves a few euros.

We used a lot of taxis and Uber in Amman. As Amman is a very big and busy city, we didn’t want to drive here and opted for an accommodation just outside the center with a free private parking space. We visited all sights in Amman by taxi or Uber, which cost a total of about € 45, -.

We spend about € 260,- per person on transport on Jordan. This includes the rental car and gasoline.

Accommodations

It is always difficult to set the budget for accommodation, because it depends very much on the type of accommodation you want to stay in. Generally, we stay in middle class accommodations in a double room with a private bathroom. The prices we paid in the month June varied from € 41,- and € 87,- per night.

For 11 overnight stays in middle class accommodations we paid approximately € 275,- per person.

Eating and Drinking

The cost of food and drink, as well as the price of accommodation, depends very much on the type of restaurants you like to visit, how often you eat out and how much alcohol you drink. The latter may be cause for a high bill in Jordan, because the Muslims themselves (usually) don’t drink alcohol.

The prices for food and drinks are high in Israel. A simple lunch (2 sandwiches and 2 bottles of water) will cost about € 25,- and for a simple dinner around € 45,-.

In Jordan these prices are a lot lower. However, we haven’t been out to eat out extensively here and have often eaten small dishes at various restaurants and markets. An extensive Jordanian breakfast at a local joint cost less than € 4,- per person and for a hookah with four cups of tea and a large bowl of nachos we paid € 32,- at VU’s Cafe. The prices of the dishes we ate at the Jara market are between € 0,70 and € 4,- per person.

We spent about € 190,- per person on food and drinks for 12 days. Every day we went somewhere for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Activities and sights

A number of activities in Israel and Jerusalem are free of charge, but for some you need to pay. The most expensive thing we did in Israel was diving. This cost about € 100,- per person. We also did a daytrip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem which cost about € 35,- per person.

In Jordan, the visit to Petra was the most expensive activity, for which the entrance fee for one day is about € 62,50 (50 JOD) per person. Would you like to visit the park for several days? Then buy a two- or three-day ticket, because then you pay € 6,- (5 JOD) per person per day extra instead of another € 62,-.

In 12 days, we spent about € 300,- per person in entrance fees for sightseeing, day trips and activities.

Day budget tour Israel and Jordan

If we add up all the costs incurred in both countries, without the cost of flight tickets and visa (because we didn’t have to pay for this), but including transport costs in the countries themselves, we would have lost spent € 85,- per person per day, about € 1.025,- per person for 12 days.

Depending on the desired luxury of your accommodations and restaurants you will end up with a budget between € 80,- and € 100,- per person per day. You don’t have to save on food and drinks, activities, attractions and accommodations! Do you mainly sleep in hostels, don’t go diving, travel by public transport and don’t eat out three times a day? Then you could make ends meet with about € 60,- a day.