Day trip to Petra from Sharm El Sheikh

Tour Details:

We will pick you up at your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2 a.m.; You will recognize our driver by the sign with your name in his hands. You will be transferred to the port of Taba, from where  you will take a ferry to Aqaba in Jordan. In addition, we will provide you with any assistance in passing through passport and customs control. Our driver will be waiting for you at the port of Aqaba. Travel time to Petra will take about 2 hours.

In the unofficial world ranking, Petra was included in the New Seven Wonders of the World, but was officially designated as  a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.  The city is carved into numerous rocks with its temples, tombs, small and large residential buildings, tombs, as well as staircases and streets.

Getting to Petra is not easy at all, first you will need to overcome the rather narrow, poorly lit Siq gorge. It’s not a very long hike, but for an additional fee you can rent a camel, horse or donkey for the ride.

Siq will take you directly into the city and you will see the most famous building – Al-Khazneh (Treasury) –  the Treasury, which is known to many from numerous photographs, postcards, travel magazines and even films. By the way, “Treasury” has nothing to do with its name, most likely it was just a mausoleum (royal), and according to some rumors, it was here that countless treasures were hidden.

Over the centuries, residential and other buildings of the city gradually disappeared, and about 1400 years ago Petra was completely abandoned by the inhabitants of the city and forgotten by the Western world until almost the 12th century A.D. Some tombs survived earthquakes, conquests and oblivion. Families of Bedouin tribes used them as housing, but were forced to leave due to the development of tourism in the area from the 1970s and 1980s.

The “Treasury” itself is about 40 meters high and 25 meters wide, but you will be able to see other huge monuments. One of them is rightfully considered to be Ad Deir, the “Monastery” (almost 50 meters wide and about 45 meters high), which is located not far from the city itself. It is not a tomb, but a temple to the divine king of the Nabataeans, and when in the 4th century A.D. the population converted to Christianity,  then it began to serve as a monastery, which has retained its name to this day.

Next, you will discover the Facade Street, the former center of the city, with its many rock-hewn tombs that date back to the Nabataean and Byzantine periods, and at the very end,  the amphitheater (designed for more than 5000 seats) built by the Nabataeans and enlarged by the Roman conquerors. A short walk up the hill can see some of the largest tombs, the so-called Royal Tombs.

Exploring this amazing lost city in its magical atmosphere is astounding with the grandeur of its architectural and artistic masterpieces.

After this unforgettable visit, we will take you for lunch at one of the local restaurants in Petra, before heading back to your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh.