How to Travel Amman to Tel Aviv

More notes from Craig of Travelvice.com on how to travel from Amman, Jordan to Tel Aviv, Israel

It was only 68 miles (110k) between Amman and Tel Aviv as the crow flies, but took over 12 hours, 2 Israeli interrogations, and $43 in transport to make it over here.

I was laughing so hard in front of my hosts this evening when I discovered an extra piece of paper in my passport… it was from the 20-year-old female Israeli soldier that I was laying it on thick with to try and keep from getting grilled too hard (on my travel to questionable Arab countries, what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be going, etc). I was quite successful, but maybe overly so (laughing).. the paper has her e-mail address on it! Hilarious!

Notes that may be of assistance (1 Jordanian dinar = 1.41 USD):

• 7th Circle is not the place to go if you’re trying to go to the King Hussein Bridge crossing. You need to depart from the “Jordan Street Buses Complex”. A shared taxi will cost 5JD, takes 45 minutes to reach immigration.

• A mandatory 5JD fee is in place for leaving Jordan, plus a mandatory bus across the border that costs 4JD.

• I arrived at the Jordanian checkpoint at 10:15 and didn’t depart on the other side (after Israeli immigration) until 17:00!!! A real mess.

• The only option to Jerusalem other than private taxi is a minibus that costs about 38 shekels (6.5JD), takes 1 hour.

• The minibus drops you off in the worst spot in Jerusalem — somewhere near the Damascus Gate & Rockefeller Museum. There are no banks/ATMs, and you must take a taxi to reach Jerusalem’s central bus terminal. That’ll probably run 20-30 shekels (3.5-5JD), take 10 minutes. Advisable to change money at the border before getting on the shuttle bus.

• Buses run to the Tel Aviv central bus station (from the Jerusalem bus station) go for 19 shekels (3.25JD), taking 50 minutes.