Driving in Jordan is chaos. To start with the negative aspect, there appears to be no road rules and no distinguishable lanes on the road. People drive on both sides of the road anywhere from 40 to 150km per hour, park and stop wherever and whenever they like, and overtake your car at the risk of running you off the road. Unforeseen distractions, such as people reversing down the highway, come out of nowhere. Goats graze on the edge of the highway and pedestrians and dogs meander in front of you. There are frequent speedbumps along the highway without any signage, deep potholes and no traffic lights.
All in all however, we think driving was worth it because it means you can meander across the country at your own pace and stop to take photos whenever you spot something beautiful, and trust us there are a LOT of beautiful places to stop. It’s much better than taking a giant bus or expensive taxi and ending up at all the crowded tourist spots with everyone else. Instead, you can visit the top destinations at off-peak times, or simply wait around until everyone’s gone.
The King’s Highway is a good alternative to the main Desert Highway, as the scenery is excellent and it passes through villages so you can get a feel for the Jordanian lifestyle. It may take you longer but the roads are often in better condition and there are fewer cars.
You definitely need Google Maps and a Jordanian SIM card if you’re going to self-drive, so that you have up to date information and a back-up in case you get lost. Offline maps or GPS just won’t do. We read about one girl who almost drove off a cliff after following GPS instructions. On our trip, we came across a “detour” which involved telling us to turn right off the highway, with no further signage after that. Without internet we would have been stuffed. We purchased an Umniah tourist SIM card at the airport with 5GB data for just 13 JOD.
I would rank the drive from Amman to Petra as the worst driving conditions I’ve ever experienced, just behind Naples (Italy), and Guadelajara (Mexico). If you’re going to drive in Jordan, you need to be willing to drive erratically like the locals, not freak out, and have a good navigator in the passenger’s seat (Clinton). We suggest you avoid driving at night.
As far as the hire car goes, we didn’t see any fancy cars on the road. Our Mitsubishi Lancer from Thrifty looked like it had just returned from war, with innumerable scratches and dents all over it. The windscreen made a hissing sound and had evidence of previous tape around it, so I suspect it wasn’t sealed properly. Occasionally the car smelt like foot or wet sock, and for some reason the steering wheel had exposed wires coming out of it as if someone had tried to hot wire it. The pleather seats were ripped, the air con took twenty years to start and the car really struggled to make it up any hills. We took photos and videos of all the damage in the presence of the hire car company staff, and overall we were happier with a pre-damaged car after we realised how bad the driving conditions were.
Distances aren’t too far in Jordan but it’s worthwhile making sure you always have at least a quarter tank of petrol as there are some long stretches of highway without a petrol station. There are restrooms at the petrol stations, but usually around the side, or in a different building. The petrol stations we visited took credit card and some even had an ATM on site.
Finally, make sure you always have your licence and rental car documents on you as police can request to see these at any time, and fine you if you don’t have them on you. While there are many police cars on the side of the road and a few police checkpoints, we were never stopped and the police were mostly distracted with their cigarettes and mobile phones.
