The 17 Best Safety Tips for Driving in Jordan as an American

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When I booked my trip to Jordan, I knew exploring the country via road trip was what I wanted to do. I mean, there were so many cool things in a relatively small country, how could I just stay put? But, as I soon found out, the most popular means of transportation is usually using a driver. That wouldn’t work for me. For one, I’m terrible at small talk. Second, I enjoy the freedom of having my own rental and going where I want to go WHEN I want to go. How hard could driving in Jordan be anyway?

Surprisingly, not that hard at all!

In this post, I’m going to be sharing everything you need to know about driving in Jordan! Specifically as an American, but the large majority of these tips are universal! So whether you are driving in Jordan solo or with others, there are a few crucial things to know before you hit the road.

Driving in Jordan: The Basics

Before we get on with all the juicy details about driving in Jordan, let’s get some of the most basic details out of the way first, yeah?

(lol, ignore my picture taking face in the rearview mirror)

• Lane Driving: on the right (similar to North America)
• Speed Limits: 60kph cities | 80kph rural | 120kph freeway
• Minimum Age: 18 to drive, “21” to rent (technically, but some rental cars require renters be at least 23 or 25, and if you are under 25 there is an additional -large- fee)
• Blood Alcohol Level: 50mg (but you shouldn’t be drinking and driving anyway!!!!!!)
• Seatbelts: Passengers in the front are required to wear seatbelts, not in the back. (but uhhh, always safer to buckle up, right?)
• Hands free: YES.
• Emergency number: 911
• Fuel Prices (EUR/litre): petrol – 1.02, diesel 0.55 (not many diesel cars though)

Is it Safe to Drive in Jordan?

I meannn. Safety is always relative, right? But as someone who has driven abroad, Jordan wasn’t too bad to self-drive. In general, drivers in Arab countries can be a little…aggressive on the road, but it’s nothing like cities in SE Asia. And really the only “stressful” place to while driving in Jordan was in the big city of Amman. The highways and everywhere else were pretty chill!

The roads are well-maintained, there is proper signage, and there aren’t any super dangerous areas to avoid. I wouldn’t recommend driving in Jordan at night, but only because there aren’t many streetlights outside of the main cities.

That said – is it safe to drive in Jordan as a solo female? I cannot personally speak to that because I was traveling with my partner (who is male), but I was hands down more comfortable driving myself than I would have been in a hired car. I’ve heard some very scary stories from my friend Kerry (of Kerry Somewhere) and the harassment she encountered from her driver and all around Jordan as a solo female traveler.

Not to scare any solo female travelers away from Jordan or anything, but please be aware that it can be an issue.

That said, my other friend Cher (of Wandering Redhead) DID drive in Jordan solo and had a great experience. She didn’t drive in Amman, however, and I believe she found a safe and friendly driver. Although she hasn’t written a blog post about it, follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her blog for more details about driving in Jordan as a solo female traveler.

You Do NOT Need an International License

This was actually my biggest worry when I first decided to self-drive around Jordan. In fact, it’s always my biggest worry whenever I travel anywhere because I prefer the freedom of driving myself. But while driving in Jordan, you do NOT need an international license, at least as an American. All you need is your home license and your passport to rent a car! Yay!

In fact, I haven’t yet driven in a country that required an international license yet, so still waiting on what it’s like to go through that haha.

Who to Rent From?

Jordan has all the usual rental companies that you know and love. Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc etc. There are also more regional rental companies that you might not have heard of before. If you have a company you are loyal to, you might as well go with them. There isn’t really one BEST company to rent from.

I personally have a loyalty to Hertz, only based on the sole fact that I get a /substantial/ discount as part of a work perk with my job, which usually ends up making my rental even cheaper than the budget companies!

But even if you don’t have a rental car loyalty, I would STRONGLYYY recommend against budget companies in Jordan. Trust me. The roads aren’t terrible in Jordan, but when you avoid budget companies, you also usually avoid things like the AC not working or your gas tank not being full at pickup.

And ALWAYS book online in advance. ESPECIALLY if you only know how to drive automatic. Booking at the airport is at least twice as expensive and the car selection will be incredibly limited.

Should You Get Rental Insurance?

Errr…I meannn.

You should always have some sort of coverage when you rent a car, whether at home or abroad.

I personally don’t get the car rental company insurance because I have full coverage with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. It has a ton of benefits, especially for frequent travelers, but one of my favorites is that when you book a rental car with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, you have FULLL coverage. Like. Everything.

And the card won’t report any incidents to your driving insurance back at home (it’s primary insurance). Other travel cards like the Sapphire (non-reserve) and my Alaska Airlines card, for example, only offer secondary insurance.

If any of you have ever gotten into a traffic incident at home and had your insurance spike, you know how impactful that is.

I don’t want this post on driving in Jordan to turn into a card promotion post, but I do definitely recommend it, especially for renting cars abroad. If you would like to apply for the card and want extra miles, let me know and I can refer you!

How Much are Rental Cars?

Again, for the best price, you should always book in advance. I booked my rental car about two months out because it’s the only area of travel prep where I’m extra cautious (and I also only drive automatic), but I saw that about one or two weeks out from my trip, prices really spiked. So, with that in mind, I would recommend to book your car rental at least a week or two in advance, maybe a month out if you only drive automatic.

The high season in Jordan is in the spring (March-May), so rental cars are unsurprisingly more expensive then. However, in general, I’ve found rental cars in Jordan to be decently reasonable! Especially if you are splitting the cost with others. Here are some of the price ranges you can expect:

(price per day in low season)

• Mini: $22 USD manual | $28 USD automatic
• Economy Cars: $25 USD manual | $30 USD automatic
• Compact Cars: $30 USD manual | $35 USD automatic
• Fullsize Cars: $55 USD manual | $65 USD automatic
• SUV: $50-60 USD (mostly automatic)
• Premium Cars: $130 USD (mostly automatic)

During high season, add about $5-$10 USD to those prices. If you plan on driving in sand, you WILL need 4×4 capabilities so keep that in mind.

Thoroughly Inspect Your Vehicle

Okay, now that you’re reassured that driving in Jordan will work for you and your travel plans, let’s move onto the actual tips. ANNND my first tip would be to very carefully document your car at pick up. I mean, of course you should do this with every rental car, but I be mindful of two very specific parts for rentals in Jordan. The AC and the fuel level.

First, a surprisingly number of rental cars in Jordan have broken ACs. Mostly from budget rental companies. If you don’t mind driving with the windows down, then by all means don’t make a fuss. But I HATE all forms of wind, and even more on dusty roads, so it’s a deal breaker for me.

Second, take note of the fuel level. Many times, you might not be given a car with a full tank. You don’t want to hit the road on your way to Petra and find yourself without a gas station in site and your tank on E. That said, most contracts will require you to return the car with the tank full regardless. If it doesn’t though, take a picture of the tank at pick up so you can make sure you don’t unnecessarily overfill if you don’t have to.

Signs are in Arabic AND English

Similar to my experience driving in the UAE, all of the major road signs were in both Arabic and English. Woo! In terms of signage, Jordan is great about having major attractions labeled on the freeway to make it easier to grab the right exit. The roads themselves aren’t super confusing either.

ALWAYS Fill Up When You See a Gas Station

Once you leave the city, YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN. Gas stations are few and far between once you start your road trip. So with that in mind, ALWAYS fill up when you see a gas station because it could very well be another 100+km (60ish miles) before you see the next one. I personally would never let my tank drop below half, but I was on a tight itinerary and didn’t really want to waste time getting towed.

While we’re on the topic of gas stations, one thing to note about driving in Jordan is that the gas stations have attendants that fill up your tank for you. Since I live in Oregon, USA, this is nothing new to me. But if you’re used to pumping your own gas, it might be a bit of a shock. You just tell the attendant how much gas you want and hand them the money/card.

I didn’t personally run into any problems with scams at the gas station, but just in caseee. Pay attention to your fuel meter. A gas attendant might stop the fuel when your car is only half way, but keep the money meter running.

I have never experienced that in all my time renting cars abroad, but it never hurts to be careful!

Use ONLINE Maps

Google Maps is notoriously outdated when it comes to countries in the Middle East. I experienced this driving in the UAE and while driving in Jordan. The roads and infrastructure change so rapidly in the Middle East that Google Maps literally cannot keep up, so an offline map that you download isn’t going to help too much. Especially if you get to the destination and find…it isn’t there. So you need to look up destination and double check the address.

If possible, I highly recommend the use of an online map when driving in Jordan. If you don’t have an international phone plan (I don’t), think about picking up a pocket WiFi or SIM card at the airport. I have my own pocket WiFi from Keepgo that allows me to pick up a cheap SIM card in any country I travel to and everyone I travel with can use the data at the same time!

Get the Jordan Pass BEFORE You Arrive

If you are planning on driving in Jordan, I thiiiink it’s safe to assume you probably want to see a handful of sites around the country. In that case, I would recommend you pick up the Jordan Pass.

That said, you DO need to buy it before you arrive in the country (similar to the JR Pass in Japan), so add that on your pre-flight checklist!

Expect Police Stops

There are a lotttt of police stops in Jordan. I’ve also experienced this in Mexico, and like Mexico, for the most part you just get waved on. In fact, it’s even friendlier in Jordan and once they see you’re a tourist, they’ll usually smile real big and give you a nice “Welcome!” and whatnot.

I mean, they didn’t do that to me, but whatever.

I guess I won’t hold that against them.

In any case, don’t be surprised by the amount of police presence randomly on the freeway. Don’t worry about it if they wave you down either. It just a quick lil 30sec stop. All rental cars in Jordan have a 70- license plate, so it’s super easy to identify travelers driving in Jordan.

Expect Even More Construction

The only thing MORE present than police on the highway is construction. I SWEARRRR Jordan is in a never ending cycle of freeway construction. Seriously, I don’t even know what they’re adding. Just constant construction.

So with that in mind, don’t be surprised by delays or sudden one-lane segments of the freeway. I personally didn’t experience any traffic jams, but I’ve had a few friends stopped on the freeway for an hour or two.

The Unexpected: Packs of Wild Dogs???

Okay, now I’m not saying you’ll necessarily experience this while driving in Jordan but…when I was headed to Little Petra, I drove through some mountains at night and came across like…a pack of wild dogs. There must’ve been like, fifty or sixty dogs. Just chillin on the mountain pass. I slowed down, but they were like barking and lazily charging my rental car.

As dogs sometimes do to cars.

But it was just…such a strange thing to happen….

Idk man, if you’re driving in Jordan and experience this, PLEASE let me know so I don’t feel so alone. I CANNOT be the only one this has happened to.

Parking in Jordan

Jordan might not be the most wallet-friendly country, but I have some good news: most of the parking in Jordan is free!

I mean, there ain’t always parking spots, but most of it IS free. Hahah.

The only paid parking spaces or lots that I saw were in Amman, and even then only a handful. I visited in November, so thankfully I had great luck with parking while driving in Jordan! Literally no issue! Though keep some bills around for parking lots in Amman if you plan on driving in the city.

That said…uhh make sure you aren’t parked in any red or yellow zones – or block people in. I saw someone’s car literally get towed out of a crowded parking lot because they had parked in a no-park zone. You could also get a parking ticket! Which…leads me to my next point…

Getting a Ticket in Jordan

Erpp…so I got a traffic ticket in Jordan. Whoops.

But whatever. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve gotten a ticket. Or the second. Or the third. Or…well, let’s just say I’m familiar with them, okay?

Remember what I said earlier about there being a lot of police on the highway? Yeahhh, some of them will be chilling with their handy-dandy speedometers waiting for a speed racer to come flying down the turn. And with a highway speed limit of 120kph (75ishmph), and even SLOWER in construction areas, it is VERY easy to speed on those flat segments.

Honestly though, getting a speeding ticket in Jordan isn’t the end of the world. You should AIM to get one, but it happens. Here’s what will happen:

1. Police officer will wave you down.
2. Police will ask for your ID and rental papers blah blah.
3. They will hand you a ticket.
4. The end.

Unlike speeding tickets in Iceland, you do NOT need to pay them on the spot. In fact, you SHOULDN’T. Hold onto your ticket until you return your car to the rental company. They will deduct the cost of your fine from your deposit.

My speeding ticket in Jordan was JOD 20 ($28USD). Considering my speeding ticket in the USA was almost $200 USD, I’d say it wasn’t that bad.

This doesn’t mean that fines are not serious in Jordan, and it is not uncommon for police to fine tourists because they are going over the speed limit while turning a blind eye to locals, so watch out!

The whole “drive the same speed as everyone else” doesn’t work in Jordan. Remember, it’s VERY easy to tell who is a tourist and who is a local. Don’t be surprised to see the police waving off a local who was speeding but write you a ticket (that’s what happened to me).

Driving in the Desert

Now, I’m allll for driving yourself around and being independent, but one thing I can advise against while driving in Jordan: I don’t suggest driving on your own in the desert. Even if you off-road all the time, but ESPECIALLY if you don’t.

Jordan isn’t a very big country, but them deserts are VAST okay?? There’s no WiFi, no cell service, no GPS help, no froyo stands – NADA. It will be extremely difficult to navigate, especially without a guide.

But if you must, I still have some tips because that’s what I’m here for.

Make sure you rent a 4×4 car with great off-road capabilities. You’ll also need to know how to deflate and reinflate your tires to drive in soft sand (unless you ENJOY being stuck and stranded). Bring a tire deflator with you and you’ll want your tire pressure between 15 and 20 PSI in each tire when driving in sand. Then remember to reinflate your tires when you leave the sand!

Before you enter the desert, stop by the tourist center. One, because you have to pay the entrance fee (JOD 25 ~$35 USD). Second, you should grab yourself a map. You’re going to need it.

The alternative is to park yourself and join a tour for some desert adventures! I went with Captain’s Camp!

You CANNOT Cross Borders

This was not obvious to me. Since I was flying into Jordan and flying home from Tel Aviv, the most LOGICALLL thing to do was to drive myself to Tel Aviv.

AHT AHT AHT.

That’s gonna be a no from Palestine/Israel dawg. If I’m not mistaken, you can’t drive into Egypt either. I actually don’t think you can take your rental car out of Jordan at all.

#borders

So your driving in Jordan will remain solely driving in Jordan.

Driving in Jordan: Conclusion

Well hopefullyyyy you’ve found some useful tips for driving in Jordan! It was fun to relive some of my fast and furious moments through the country.

Well, except those wild dogs. That was just scary.

If you are able to, I highly recommend self driving in Jordan. It’s not much worse than driving in the USA (Amman excluded – but even then…Houston highways are pretty close).

Have you ever been to Jordan? If you have, did you opt for the self driving in Jordan route, or did you have another mode of transportation? Let me know in the comments below!

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