Vacation in Jordan

hey dear, my name is hugh and i am a Jordanian.

for schedules of taba to AQABA and then to Amman or any other parts of jordan has to be scheduled from Taba side, or any travel agency near the bus stations or regular travel agencies around town, the best is to grab a local newspaper and check the different offers, because there are quite a lot of options that can satisfy any budget as well.

as for the touristic attractions in jordan, i would suggest and recommend the following, but will list them randomly for u to choose from.
1-Dead Sea, depending on what kind of experience you're looking for, if its peace quitness with a spa experience with some natural minerals treatments and health care for the dear sea products, then ur best pick is kimpenski the dead sea,

if you like some fun times more action and energitic vibe, them Marriott dear sea is ur pick, both provides highest qualities in terms of hospitality and quality of service, with premium prices, that can vary from 150 to 200 dollars a night.

they also have 4 star options that can reach down to 80 to 100 dollars a night.

another touristic spot is of course Aqaba, a typical beach city with a Jordanian charm touch over looking the red sea, and all kinds of marine activities as well as fine accommodation options, i would only go for the intercontinental hotel in Aqaba,

another spot is Ma'en hot springs, or ajloon for a hills and nature fields and pick-nick experience.

you got Wadi Rum as well, where u can camp in the desert all night and experience the hospitality of the local Bedouins in their traditional tents and welcoming famous traditional mean 'the mansaf' which means the explosion in english, so dont expect to have a lot of movement after, and probably nap for 3 hours just to guarantee you'll be able to recharge lol.

other touristic spots related to history is Jerash and Petra which is all built by the Nabateans, and they have quite good quality Accommodation, and I would recommend crown plaza for this spot.

and of course in Amman, make sure you only stay in intercontinental jordan hotel, its situated exactly at the heart of the capetal with a lot of accessibility to all the hot spots of the city and you get a lot of space to walk around the area's of the city and experience the many restaurants and cafe's and tour around the streets of the city discovering the small cornets of old 1950's limestone buildings covering all the mountains of the city...which is the signature of the capital Amman.

as for buses from jordan to israel, same goes to taba, just check with any local travel agencies, you wont find anything printed as they tend not to advertise anything that promotes Israel, for cultural and historical reasons :-).

I would love t give you contacts, unfortunately most companies operating to Taba or israel are usually low budget tourism operators, and that is why it is necessary for you to reach to them, not only for guarantee but a better price as well.

prices of commodities, food water and bread really relies on where you are in Jordan, for example if you go downtown the city, which most tourists prefer to go to get the old version of the city, there you pay less for good quality, but if you want the modern style of the city like going to area's such as Abdoon, or Sweifeyeh, or any of the malls, they are all targeted for upper class consumers, so they pay premuim price as well.... but in terms of restaurants in general you spend around 5 to 15 dollars depending what that meal is, or you can go to the local stuff from homos to foul beans, and falafel as well as all those shawerma places, a decent meal with a drink from those places doesnt go over 2 to 3 dollars a person. so it really depends on ur budget, as i said in jordan you can find all styles and all budgets...

but when it comes to accommodation, i would only recommend 5 stars and a handful of 4 star hotels only, simply because of the service level as well as the security issues, most importantly the attitude of the service staff in the trained 5 and 4 star hotels are a huge difference from the service staff from 3 and below.... big extreme difference.

so ur issue of money is mainly accommodation, other than that, its all good and not so expensive unless u want them to be :-)

tips and suggestions, if ur taking a taxi make sure to tell the driver to on the meter, and max should cost around 2 to 3 dollars for a ride to reach around the city.... 1 dollar is 0,71 fils, basically each 10 dollars is 7 jods. so quite close in a way.

do not go downtown alone, if so then beware of any bag snatchers, although only few incidents have happened previously, but just to be aware in case.

jordanians are tough in nature, but very freindly to tourists, but dont mind the big sad anger look in their faces, that's just how we look, and sometimes feel in away lol.... but nothing to worry about....maybe a bit little funny even when u start to notice it.

jordan is a very open minded country, so you don't need to worry about anything and just enjoy ur time and engage in the culture as well as the modern combination between history and future that presents potential.

should you need further details....please do not hesitate to ask.

cheers