Passports:

Your passport should be valid for at least six months after you arrive in Jordan. Always carry your passport with you when travelling around sensitive areas such as near the border of Israel & the Palestinian Territories - which means most of the Jordan Valley and anywhere along the Dead Sea Highway. Checkpoints and passport checks are common in these areas.

 

Visas:

Visas are required by all foreigners entering Jordan. These are issued with a minimum of fuss at the border or airport on arrival. Note that visas are not issued at the King Hussein Bridge if you plan to enter from Israel & the Palestinian Territories. At the airport immigration counters, join the normal immigration lines to get your visa. There are moneychangers adjacent to the counters; ATMs are only available after immigration.

Tourist visas are valid for three months (ie you must enter the country within three months of the date of issue) for stays of up to one month from the date of entry, but can be easily extended for stays of up to three months.
 

Health care:

Health insurance is strongly recommended. There are excellent hospitals in large towns and cities, with clinics in many villages.

Currency:

Dinar (JOD; symbol JD) = 100 piastres or 1,000 fils. Notes are in denominations of JD50, 20, 10, 5 and 1, and 500 fils. Coins are in denominations of JD1, 1/2 and 1/4; 10, 5, 2 and 1/2 piastres; and 1 and 1/2 qirsh.

 

ATMs

ATMs abound in all but the smaller towns. There are no local charges on credit card cash advances but the maximum daily withdrawal amount is around JD500, depending on your particular card. All banks have large signs (in English) outside indicating which credit cards they accept. Visa is the most widely accepted card for cash advances and using ATMs, followed by MasterCard.
 

Credit cards
Most major credit cards are accepted at top-end hotels and restaurants, travel agencies, larger souvenir shops and bookshops. However, always be sure to ask if any commission is being added on top of your purchase price. This can sometimes be as much as 5%.
 

Language:

Arabic is the official language. English is widely spoken. French, German, Italian and Spanish are also spoken in many tourist areas.

 

Local Produce:

Every town has a souk (market) selling everything from meat and live chickens, to clothes and jewellery. The gold is usually 18kt or above and there is no charge added for the craftsmanship of items like bangles, chains and earrings.

Tourist-oriented towns offer many handicrafts, including mosaic; mosaic schools train young people to work with the colourful, locally hewn stone.

Another distinctive local craft is ostrich-egg painting: the paint is applied with needle pricks and designs can take weeks to complete. 

Other hand-crafted items include sand jars, hand-blown glass and embroidered clothing. Bottled Holy Water from the river Jordan can also be purchased, as can skin-care products made of Dead Sea mud.

 

Shopping hours:

Sat-Thurs 0930-1330 and 1530-1800; some open as early as 0800 and close at 2000. Shops are closed on Friday except for the souks which usually open from 1600.

Food and Drink:

Jordanian cuisine shares many of the characteristics of Middle Eastern cooking but the inclusion of freshly made, local yoghurt and cheese adds a twist to the menu. Aubergines, chickpeas, lentils and beans turn up in many of the dishes and rice and khoubs (flat Arabic bread) are staples. Most restaurants have a mixed menu including Arabic and European dishes. Alcohol is served in most restaurants and bars, except during the fasting month of Ramadan (non-Muslim nationals can drink alcohol only in hotels during Ramadan).

 

Regional specialities:

• Meze: A selection of starters that pre-empt almost every main meal; they include fool (thick stew made with fava beans), hummus (mashed chickpeas with tahini or sesame paste), moutabel (smoked aubergine dip) and tabouleh (finely chopped parsley salad).
• Mensaf: Stewed lamb in a yoghurt sauce. As with most Bedouin dishes, it is normally eaten with the fingertips of the right hand.
• Makloubat: Chicken with spices, including cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and nutmeg.
• Kibbi: Often deep fried, this ground lamb or beef dish is combined with burghul (ground, steamed wheat), onion and cinnamon. 
• Baklava: Assorted honey-drizzled, nut-filled pastries.

 

Tipping:

Generally, 10 to 12% service charge is added in hotels and restaurants; extra tips are discretionary.