Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba: How to String Together Jordan's South

Here is the thing nobody tells you about Jordan's three headline attractions in the south: they are practically in a row. Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba line up down the same corridor like someone planned it that way, and the distances between them are almost embarrassingly short. You can go from a carved-rock canyon city to a Martian desert to a coral reef in less time than some people spend commuting to work in a week.

This is the single most efficient stretch of touring in the country. Petra to Wadi Rum is about 110 km, roughly 1.5 hours. Wadi Rum to Aqaba is only about 60 km, around an hour. So the whole southern trilogy is maybe 2.5 hours of driving spread across two or three days, with the good stuff stacked in between. The mistake people make is not the distance — it is trying to cram it into too few days and spending the whole time in the car looking at the things instead of being in them.

Let me lay out how the pieces fit, and how much time each one actually deserves.

How far apart are Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba?

Petra to Wadi Rum is about 110 km and takes roughly 1.5 hours. Wadi Rum to Aqaba is about 60 km and takes around one hour. That is the entire southern corridor — under three hours of total driving connecting all three sites.

For context on the bigger picture: Amman down to Petra is about 235 km and 3 hours on the Desert Highway, and Amman to Aqaba is about 330 km and 3.5 to 4 hours. Because Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba are strung along the way south, you are essentially driving one long line from the capital and stopping at each pearl on the string rather than doubling back. It is a route that rewards going one direction and flying or transferring home from the far end.

What order should you visit them in?

The natural order heading south from Amman is Petra first, then Wadi Rum, then Aqaba — big-hike history, then desert, then a soft landing at the sea. It works beautifully because the intensity tapers: Petra is a demanding day on your feet, Wadi Rum is awe with a jeep doing the walking, and Aqaba is where you finally sit down and float in warm water while your calves recover.

You can run it in reverse if you are flying into Aqaba's airport, and it works just as well. The key is not the direction but resisting the urge to reverse-course. Because the three sit in a line, backtracking wastes hours; a one-way southern route with a transfer or a flight home from the end is the smart shape.

Can you do Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba in 2 days?

You can do a tight two-day version: Petra on day one, then Wadi Rum with a camp overnight, then Aqaba on day two — or a Petra-plus-Wadi-Rum two-dayer with Aqaba tacked on. Two days is doable but brisk; three days is where it breathes.

A three-day plan gives Petra a proper full day (the Monastery climb alone is 800 steps and 45–60 minutes up, and you do not want to be rushing that with one eye on the clock), a full Wadi Rum jeep tour with a night under the stars, and an unhurried day in Aqaba to actually snorkel or dive rather than just wave at the sea from the car. If you only have two days, prioritize a full Petra day and one desert night, and treat Aqaba as a bonus rather than a main event.

What is the easiest way to do this route?

The easiest way is a private driver who runs the whole corridor with you, because the alternative — piecing it together with intercity buses and taxis between Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba — is possible but eats time and patience that you would rather spend on the sites.

Our Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba 2-Day Tour is built for exactly this line: a private car and professional driver who collect you, connect all three, and get you to your Wadi Rum camp and your Aqaba hotel without you touching a bus timetable. To keep it honest — we provide the car, the driver and the transfers; entrance fees (Petra 50 JOD one-day, Wadi Rum 7 JOD), your desert camp, and any diving are separate, or covered by your Jordan Pass where applicable. You bring the sense of adventure and the sunscreen.