Middle East - Anthony Ham [333]
Sheikh Hussein Bridge Crossing (Jordan Bridge)
Known in Arabic as ‘Jisr Sheikh Hussein’, this border crossing( 6.30am-10pm Sun-Thu, 8am-8pm Fri & Sat) links northern Jordan with Beit She’an in Galilee.
Service taxis and minibuses leave Irbid’s west bus station for the border (JD1, 45 minutes). From the bridge, it’s a 2km bus ride to the Israeli side (usually excruciatingly slow, so if your bags aren’t too heavy, it’s best just to walk) from where you take a taxi 6km to Beit She’an for onward connections inside Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
King Hussein/Allenby Bridge Crossing
Known in Arabic as ‘Jisr al-Malek Hussein’, this border crossing( 8am-2.30pm Sun-Thu, to 11.45pm Fri & Sat) offers travellers the most direct route between Amman and Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
To reach this border from Amman, take a service taxi from Amman’s Abdali (or Wahadat) bus station to King Hussein Bridge (JD4, 45 minutes), or there’s a single daily JETT bus (JD8) at 6.30am.
Buses (JD2) shuttle between the two borders, and although the ride to the Israeli & Palestinian Territories side is short, it can last an eternity with repeated stops for passport and bag checks. At the time of research, it was not possible to walk, hitch or take a private car across this border.
To get to Jerusalem from the border, take a sherut (Israeli shared taxi; around 200NIS for the car) to Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate.
If travelling in the other direction, you must pay an Israeli exit tax of 127NIS (around US$29, compared to around 69 NIS at other borders). Note that if you intend to return to Israel, you must keep the entrance form given to you by the Jordanians – you may have to prolong your stay in Jordan if you cannot find it.
If you intend to enter Jordan using this crossing from Israel and the Palestinian Territories, then you need to obtain a visa in advance (JD10) from one of Jordan’s embassies or consulates abroad. This applies, however, only if you’re entering Jordan through this crossing for the first time. If you are re-entering Jordan, you do not need to reapply for a Jordanian visa, providing you return through King Hussein Bridge within the validity of your Jordanian visa or extension. Keep the stamped exit slip and present it on returning. Note also that this option does not apply at any of Jordan’s other border crossings.
At the Israeli border post, request officials to stamp the Jordanian exit slip rather than your passport if you intend to visit Syria and/or Lebanon. For entry to those countries, there must be no evidence in your passport of your trip to Israel, including use of any of Jordan’s border crossings with Israel and the Palestinian Territories. For more information, Click here.
Wadi Araba Crossing (Yitzhak Rabin – formerly known as Arava)
This handy border crossing ( 6.30am-10pm Sun-Thu, 8am-8pm Fri & Sat) in the south of the country links Aqaba to Eilat. To get there from Aqaba, it’s best to take a taxi (JD5, 15 minutes); you can walk across the border. On the other side, take a taxi to Eilat (25 NIS, 2km). All in all, Aqaba to Eilat takes about an hour.
SYRIA
The border crossings between Jordan and Syria are at Ramtha/Der’a and Jabir/Nasib. Note that most people need a visa from the Syrian Embassy in their home country: they are not available at the border nor from the Syrian Embassy in Amman.
Bus
Air-conditioned JETT buses make the journey between Amman (Abdali) and Damascus (JD7, seven hours) twice a day in either direction and there’s a daily afternoon service to Aleppo (JD10, 11 hours). Book a day in advance for either.
To travel directly between Damascus and Amman, it’s quicker and cheaper to take the direct bus or service taxi. If you want to explore Jerash and Umm Qais in Jordan or Ezra’a and Bosra ash-Sham in Syria, it’s also possible to take a bus from Irbid’s south bus station to Ramtha (JD1), another minibus or service taxi to the border and then transport to Der’a and Damascus beyond.
The