Winter Is The Best Time to Delight Yourself in Amazing and Awesome Petra

Winter is a great time to go to Petra. The days are mostly sunny, but not hot. It’s the best time to hike in Petra. Or top simply walk around and be amazed.

If you read My Best Tips on How to Enjoy Jordan’s Otherwordly Experiences You may have noticed I didn’t recommend any specific hotels. I’ve now been to Petra three times and have no regrets about staying in the same hotel each visit.

At the entrance to Petra is the Mövenpick Hotel. It is in an enviable location, right at the entrance, and is luxurious enough for everyone. It isn’t exactly budget friendly, but you’re paying for location and luxury.

Best Time to Delight Bonus – I got a free room upgrade without asking or being a member of Accor’s rewards program.

Convenience

Realtor’s like to say location, location, location. It’s often true on vacation, vacation, vacation too! I could have stayed at the Petra Guest House, which is actually inside the entrance, and less expensive, but I wanted to see if the Mövenpick was as good as my memories of it. (YEP!)

The front desk clerk upgraded me, took my car keys for the concierge, explained the meals, and booked me a Petra by Night ticket. If I hadn’t already had a JordanPass, I wouldn’t have been able to buy the pass in Jordan, they must be purchased before you arrive. But the clerk could sell me individual admittance tickets.

If you had already bought the pass, you could still download the Petra Offline Map for easy access.

Petra By Night

While it started in 1998, before my first visit in 2001, Petra By Night wasn’t a regular occurence until 2014. Having seen photos I knew I wanted to do it and made sure to schedule my trip around it’s availability.

NOTE: Even with a JordanPass or other day ticket to Petra, the Petra By Night ticket is an additional 30JOD.

NOTE: You aren’t supposed to stay in the park on your day ticket until the Petra By Night.

In winter Petra By Night starts at 8pm, you will not be allowed into the park before 8, but I suggest going over 10-15 minutes early validate your JordanPass ticket and your Petra By Night ticket at the counter. Then you can wait at the turnstyles for entrance.

NOTE: You don’t need to print tickets, they can scan your QR code from your phone.
TIP: Add your ticket to your Google or Apple Wallet for easy retrieval. And/or download a copy to your phone in a custom Jordan Folder so you know exactly where to find it.

Walking

Petra By Night was designed to be a walking tour. In the dark. But you don’t generally need a flashlight or torch or cellphone light. From the Mövenpick to the Treasury it’s 2.3km each way. Plan on at least 60min. It might take longer depending on if you have a guide or how many photos you want to capture.