Jordan · Red Sea
Aqaba
Jordan's only coastline, with coral a swim from the beach and Wadi Rum an hour inland.
Aqaba is Jordan's only seaport and its one short stretch of coast, a hot, busy town at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba where the desert mountains run straight down to the Red Sea. Coral reefs and wrecks begin a few metres off the south beaches, the Mamluk fort and the ruins of early Islamic Ayla sit on the seafront, and Wadi Rum and Petra are close enough to reach in a day.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Arabic
Currency
JOD
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Aqaba
The reef coral starts a few strokes off the south beaches, so good snorkelling needs no boat
Wrecks a scuttled freighter, a tank and a sunken transport plane make easy, varied dives
Desert gateway Wadi Rum is about an hour away and Petra about two, so Aqaba works as a base
Layers of history the walls of early Islamic Ayla and the fort the Arab Revolt took in 1917 sit on the seafront
Best time to visit
Oct-Apr
22-34° days
29.527° N, 35.008° E
UTC+3 · Asia/Amman
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Weather & when to go to Aqaba
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Oct-Apr
Diving prime Mar-May, Sep-Nov
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Watch for May-Sep extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Aqaba
June to August is fiercely hot, and the town fills with holidaymakers escaping the cities; the sea is warm but the heat between swims and dives is draining. Winter is mild and sunny, though a north wind can make the water feel cool.
Top things to do in Aqaba
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Japanese Garden - snorkel the Aqaba Marine Park reefs
nature wildlife 👍 PopularThe protected reefs along the south coast are the reason most people come. The Japanese Garden is the best-known stretch, a shallow, colourful coral garden reachable from the shore or by a short boat ride, good for snorkellers and new divers alike.
-
Cedar Pride - dive the scuttled freighter
nature wildlife adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedA Lebanese cargo ship that caught fire in the port and was sunk off the south coast in the 1980s as a dive site. It lies on its side across a reef, now crusted in soft coral, and is Aqaba's signature wreck dive.
-
Underwater military museum - tanks and a Hercules on the seabed
nature wildlife adventureRetired military hardware has been sunk off the south coast as artificial reef: an old tank in the shallows, a C-130 Hercules transport plane, and a line of armoured vehicles and helicopters laid out like a parade. Several sit shallow enough to see while snorkelling.
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Aqaba Fort - the Mamluk castle and the Arab Revolt flag
history 👍 PopularA stout early 16th-century Mamluk fort near the seafront, captured by the Arab Revolt in 1917. The neighbouring archaeological museum is housed in a former residence of Sharif Hussein, and the giant Arab Revolt flag flies on its towering pole nearby.
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Ayla - the early Islamic walled town
historyThe excavated walls, gates and central buildings of Ayla, one of the earliest towns founded under Islamic rule, sit beside the corniche in the middle of modern Aqaba. Easy to walk around in an hour, ideally early or late in the day.
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Aqaba Church - one of the oldest purpose-built churches
historyThe low mud-brick remains of a church from around the end of the 3rd century, claimed as one of the earliest buildings in the world built specifically as a church. Modest to look at, remarkable for what it is.
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Gulf of Aqaba - glass-bottom boat along the coast
nature wildlife 👍 PopularGlass-bottom boats leave from the town beach and run down the coast over the reefs, a gentle way for children and non-swimmers to see coral and fish. Many trips stop for a swim and a snorkel.
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Sayadieh - Aqaba's fisherman's supper
foodThe town's signature dish is sayadieh, fish cooked over rice browned with onions and cumin, served with a tahini sauce and nuts. Seafood restaurants around the downtown market serve it alongside grilled Red Sea fish.
Best areas to stay in Aqaba
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
City centre
First-time visitors $$Busy market streets behind the corniche
Explore hotels in City centre →
South Beach
Divers and snorkellers $$Dive resorts along the marine park
Explore hotels in South Beach →
Tala Bay
Resort stays $$$Self-contained resort bay and marina
Explore hotels in Tala Bay →
Ayla
Upscale comfort $$$Lagoons, marina and golf north of town
Explore hotels in Ayla →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Aqaba
Getting to & around Aqaba
Getting there
Fly into King Hussein International, a short drive north of town, or come down from Amman by coach on the Desert Highway
Flight
King Hussein International Airport (AQJ)
A taxi reaches the city centre in about 15 minutes and the South Beach resorts in roughly half an hour. Flights include domestic hops from Amman and seasonal charters from Europe.
Coach
Downtown coach station
Comfortable intercity coaches run from Amman down the Desert Highway in about four hours
Ferry
Aqaba passenger port
Ferries cross the gulf from Nuweiba in Egypt's Sinai to the port south of town
Drive
Wadi Araba crossing
The land border from Eilat lies just north of town; opening hours and rules change, so check current advice before relying on it
Getting around
Walk
The centre, corniche, fort and Ayla ruins are all within an easy walk, best in the cooler hours
Free
Taxi
Plentiful and the usual way to reach South Beach and Tala Bay; agree the fare or ask for the meter before setting off
TBC
Day trips from Aqaba
Wadi Rum
Full dayDesert valley, jeep safaris
Red sand valleys between towering sandstone mountains, explored by jeep or camel with Bedouin guides: rock bridges, canyons with ancient inscriptions and the landscape of Lawrence of Arabia. Staying a night in a desert camp is worth it.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car, taxi or tour
Petra
Full dayNabataean rock city
The Nabataean city carved into rose-red cliffs, reached through the narrow Siq to the Treasury. A day from Aqaba is long but doable; an overnight in Wadi Musa lets you reach the Monastery too.
Getting there
car | tour
About 2 hr by car, taxi or tour
A little history of Aqaba
People have traded through the head of the Gulf of Aqaba for thousands of years. The Nabataeans and then the Romans used Aila as a port, and Rome's great road from Syria ended here. Around 650 a new walled town, Ayla, was founded beside the old one in the first decades of Islamic rule, and it thrived on pilgrim and trade traffic before earthquakes and raids wore it down.
Crusaders held the town briefly in the 12th century, the Mamluks built its fort, and it slipped into a quiet Ottoman backwater. In 1917 Arab Revolt forces with T. E. Lawrence took it in a famous overland attack, and it became Jordan's outlet to the sea. A land swap with Saudi Arabia in 1965 lengthened the coast, and the port, the beaches and a special economic zone have shaped the modern town.
Rome annexes the Nabataean kingdom; Aila becomes the southern end of the Via Nova Traiana
A church is built at Aila, among the earliest known purpose-built churches
The walled town of Ayla is founded in the early Islamic period
Crusaders under Baldwin I of Jerusalem take the town
Saladin recaptures Aqaba
The Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri builds Aqaba Fort
Arab Revolt forces with T. E. Lawrence capture Aqaba from the Ottomans
A land exchange with Saudi Arabia extends Jordan's coastline south
The Aqaba Special Economic Zone is established
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type C / F / G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+962
Extreme heat risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Jordan eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Aqaba
▸ When is the best time to visit Aqaba?
October to April is the best stretch: warm, dry and sunny, with mild winters that make Aqaba a winter escape for the rest of Jordan. June to August is fiercely hot and crowded, and May and September are already very warm.
▸ Is Aqaba good for diving and snorkelling?
Yes. The reefs of the Aqaba Marine Park start right off the south beaches, so shore snorkelling is excellent, and the wrecks give divers real variety. The Red Sea here is calm and clear for most of the year.
▸ Can I visit Wadi Rum and Petra from Aqaba?
Both are easy from here. Wadi Rum is about an hour away and makes a good day trip or overnight, while Petra is about two hours and is better with a night in Wadi Musa than as a rushed day.
▸ How do I get from Amman to Aqaba?
Coaches and cars take the Desert Highway in about four hours, and short domestic flights connect Amman with Aqaba. Many travellers go down via Petra and Wadi Rum and fly or coach back.
▸ What should I wear on the beach in Aqaba?
Aqaba is relaxed by Jordanian standards but still conservative. Swimwear is normal at hotel, resort and South Beach beach clubs, while the public beaches in town are family beaches where more covered swimwear is the norm. Cover up away from the water.
More in Jordan
Amman
A Roman theatre in the middle of downtown, Umayyad ruins on the hill above, and the Dead Sea an hour away.
✓ best Feb-DecDead Sea (Sweimeh)
The lowest shore on earth, where the water is so salty you float whether you mean to or not.
✓ best Oct-AprPetra (Wadi Musa)
An entire city cut into desert cliffs by the Nabataeans, then lost to the outside world for a thousand years.
✓ best Sep-Jun