From Sharm to Taba, from Taba to Aqaba, from Aqaba to Petra
I want to share my experience of how, while relaxing in Sharm, I took a tour from a street agency, and not from a hotel guide, and went to Petra.
T. Since an excursion to Petra is not a cheap pleasure, especially if you buy it from a hotel guide, I decided to monitor the Sharm tourist services market and find the cheapest one from a street agency, then check the reviews and find people on social networks who traveled with this agency and find out everything.
When I started monitoring prices for Petra, they reached $320 per person, but I still found the cheapest one for $205 already with a visa.
I contacted these guys on Instagram (they speak Russian well), they came to my hotel, I left an advance payment of $100 and waited for the day when the tour was ahead (excursion on Fridays and Tuesdays to Petra).
On Friday at 1.00 am, the guide picked me up, as I understood by another travel agency, which organizes a trip to Petra from all over Sharm. He did not speak Russian, they communicated with him in English.
We probably collected all the tourists from Sharm hotels for about 40 minutes, and went to Taba. In a small bus, I was one Russian speaker, all the rest were Italians, Czechs and Poles. We drove to Taba for 3 hours, with stops for the toilet (the toilet is paid - $ 1, take Egyptian pounds with you for the toilet, so as not to overpay).
About 5 am we were in Taba, by this time a couple more buses arrived with tourists. We passed all the border control, we were all put on a ferry and we went to the shores of Jordan in Aqaba. By ferry, the journey is about 45 minutes. On the way you will see nearby the land of Israel (Eilat) and Saudi Arabia. The mobile operator "Kyivstar" started sending me SMS that Israel welcomes me.
In general, upon arrival at the port of the Royal Yacht Club of Aqaba, a group of tourists and I stood in line for 45 minutes at the border control, received visa stamps in our passports and guides were already waiting for us. I was on the Russian-speaking ferry, two more girls from Kyiv, an elderly couple from Mariupol and a young couple from Kyrgyzstan. We were all picked up by a Russian-speaking Jordanian guide and taken to the bus.
The road to Petra from Aqaba is about 2 hours with a stop at a roadside shop for a toilet (free in Jordan) and coffee with cardamom (be sure to try Jordanian coffee and even buy it).
Upon arrival in Petra, our guide with a great sense of humor accompanied us throughout the tour and told us everything about the history of the city.
To get to the main attraction of Petra - the tomb of El-Khazneh - you need to walk in the heat for about 2 km and then the same amount until you see all the sights, and back as well. I was in September and it was very hot, I put on closed clothes and tied a arafatka - this saved me from the scorching sun. Cold water is sold there in tents for $1 per 0.5 liter. While walking back, I bought 3 bottles, it was very hot, but it was cold.
After the tour, which lasted about 5 hours in Petra, we were taken to a restaurant, well fed with local dishes, a drink was included (fanta, cola 0.33 l to choose from).
At 18.00 we were back in Aqaba, repeated all the border control procedures and headed to Taba. In Taba, we were all seated again, depending on the hotel, on buses and taken to Sharm. As planned, I was in Sharm at 23.00, full of emotions and impressions, I didn’t even feel tired of joy that I visited the ancient and incredibly beautiful city of Petra.
The tour may actually seem difficult and expensive, but if you really want to see the new Seventh Wonder of the World, you don’t pay attention to the fact that almost a day without sleep. . . To be honest: it’s worth it, you have to see it with your own eyes. . .
And finally:
The tour was super, the Jordanian guide was super (he studied in my native Kharkov), we were well fed and returned to the hotel. . . ))) The lunch box that I ordered at the hotel was still untouched (but just in case take the case with you). Therefore, I recommend an excursion to Petra from Sharm with hands and feet! )))
