Petra and Wadi Rum: One Day or Two?
Petra and Wadi Rum in one day or two from Amman: the hours each tour gives at Petra and in Wadi Rum, the 105 km between them, the drive back, and who the 14-hour day suits. November 2026.
Petra and Wadi Rum fit in one day from Amman only as a 14-hour run with about 3 hours at Petra and 2 in Wadi Rum. With two days you get Petra in daylight and the desert at dusk and dawn. One day suits a traveller based in Amman with a single free day; two days suit anyone who has them. The best-known one-day version is Al Amal’s From Amman: Petra & Wadi Rum Private or group Day Tour, from US$117 a head for two adults sharing a private car, transport only (checked November 2026).
The calendar is Al Amal’s day tour. One adult pays US$234.70 for the private car, or US$161.35 to share a car with a 2-hour jeep tour included (15 January 2027); no option includes a local guide.
The Petra Wadi Rum road
From the Petra Visitor Centre to the Wadi Rum Visitor Center is about 105 km by road. Al Amal’s itinerary allows 105 minutes for it. The bigger number is the drive from Amman: about 238 km to Petra, 3 hours each way on the day tours’ itineraries.
Hours at each place
| Tour | Car to Petra | At Petra | Petra to Wadi Rum | In Wadi Rum | Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Amal’s day tour | 3 hours | 3 hours | 105 minutes | 2 hours | 3.5 hours to Amman |
| R&H VIP Travel & Tourism's private day | 3 hours | about 4.5 hours of stops | 2 hours | 3 hours | 3.5 hours to Amman |
| Al Amal's Petra-only day | 3 hours | 5 hours | not visited | not visited | 3 hours to Amman |
| Jordan Private Tours and Travel's 2-day tour | day one | at your own pace | the same afternoon | 2-hour jeep tour and the night | day two, by the Dead Sea |
The listings’ itineraries, GetYourGuide, checked November 2026.
On the day tour the clock starts at 6:00 AM, so 3 hours of road puts you at Petra around 9:00. It is about 2.1 km on foot to the Treasury and about 5.7 km to the Monastery along the mapped paths, so the full walk there and back is over 11 km in three hours. Wadi Rum comes in the afternoon, and the drive back to Amman is the longest leg of the day.
A July 2026 reviewer of Al Amal’s day tour put it plainly: both places deserve a full day, and the itinerary was too tight to do both from Amman. Another, in December 2025, liked the driver but found the tour overpriced for the time at each place.
Two days instead
The 2-day tours change the rhythm rather than the distance. Jordan Private Tours and Travel’s 2-day tour visits Petra on day one at your own pace, drives on to Wadi Rum for a 2-hour jeep tour and a night at a Bedouin camp with dinner and breakfast, then goes north past the Dead Sea on day two. On the operator’s other 2-day trip, From Amman: Petra, Wadi Rum, & Dead Sea 2-Day Trip, the driving is 3 hours from Amman to Petra, 2 hours from Petra to Wadi Rum, 4 hours from Wadi Rum to the Dead Sea and 1 hour from the Dead Sea to Amman. Ten hours in a vehicle, then, but spread over two days with a night in the desert between them. If you have the two days, that is the better way to see both.
Entrance fees and a local guide at Petra are not in the 2-day tour’s price either. The 2-day tour and its camp goes through the options and tents.
Who one day suits
- Amman is your only base and you have one free day: the day tour is the only way to see both without a hotel change.
- You care more about Petra than the desert: a Petra-only day gives 5 hours there instead of 3, and Wadi Rum can wait for another trip.
- You are going on to Aqaba: Wadi Rum is about 65 km by road from Aqaba, so a southbound trip can split the two. Petra and Wadi Rum from Aqaba covers the tours that start there.
From Amman: Petra & Wadi Rum Private or group Day Tour
Al Amal: 14 hours from Amman, about 3 hours at Petra and 2 in Wadi Rum; private or shared car, jeep tour and tickets on the options that include them.
Check dates →Amman: Petra, Wadi Rum, and Dead Sea 2-Day Tour
Jordan Private Tours and Travel: Petra on day one, a 2-hour jeep tour and a Bedouin camp night with dinner and breakfast, the Dead Sea on day two.
See the 2-day tour →From Amman: Full-Day Private or Group Tour to Petra.
Al Amal: Petra alone from Amman, about 5 hours on site; the Petra ticket on the options that include it, no guide.
See the Petra day →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
More from Amman
Petra and Wadi Rum Tours with Open Dates
Day tours and 2-day tours with live availability. Pickup, what is included and the cancellation terms show before you book.
Petra and Wadi Rum in One Day
Al Amal's 14-hour day from Amman: about 3 hours at Petra and 2 in Wadi Rum with an English-speaking driver. The jeep tour and entry tickets only on the options that include them; no local guide.
Check dates