Jordan Scams to Watch Out For

There are two major Jordan scams to watch out for when traveling to this beautiful country.

Here are the two Jordan Scams to watch out for:

Scam #1: Border Taxis

When you cross the border from Israel to Jordan, you will need to take a taxi to reach your accommodation. The Jordanian government placed signs with taxi set prices at the border to make things easier for tourists.

When I crossed the border to Jordan, the taxi company’s manager tried to trick us. He pointed at the price and said it is per person instead of per taxi. I had to argue with him that the taxi price on the sign is per cab, not per person (the price is 44 JOD for a cab ride to the Petra). After much argument, he charged us 44 JOD + 5 JOD for some kind of admin fee.

I’m pretty sure he lied to us about the admin fee but at that point, we were so exhausted from the long travel from Jerusalem to the Jordanian border in Eilat / Aqaba that I just said, “okay fine” just so we can get to our hotel to get some badly needed rest.

Make sure you don’t fall for the taxi scam. Firmly say that the price on the board is per taxi, not per person. If they insist on ripping you off, there is a tourist police office in the border. Threaten to report the individual trying to scam you to the tourist police. That should get them off your back.

Most taxi drivers are not trustworthy but this is quite a sizeable scam. (1 JOD is roughly 2 CDN dollar, 44 JOD = $88 CDN per person, this is a huge Jordan scams)

Scam #2: Fake Wadi Rum Experience

If you go to Jordan, you will definitely want to camp overnight in Wadi Rum. If you don’t know what Wadi Rum is, it is the red desert they used to film the movie The Martian. The desert is beautiful and you will want to book your experience with the Bedouin people who are the sole group allowed to run tours in the Wadi Rum protected area.

The problem arises when local tour companies know that tourist wants to visit Wadi Rum. They will try and sell you a fake Wadi Rum experience upon arrival to Jordan.

While I was taking the taxi to Petra upon arriving in Jordan, our taxi driver got switched to another driver. The new taxi driver turned out to be a sales person. For the rest of our taxi ride to our hotel, it turned out to be one giant sales pitch where the guy tried to get us to cancel our Wadi Rum booking and book with him instead. He offered me a much lower price for the Wadi Rum overnight experience.

My gut feeling told me something is off and this guy is not trust worthy. I told him to give me his business card and I will confirm with him later if I want to switch over to his company.

Immediately, I emailed the company I did the booking with to see if they would price match the offer I just received. The Bedouin company sent me an email back stating that the individual offering me the lower price is in fact a scam that will take me to a desert that looks similar to Wadi Rum.

Conclusion

Don’t let the Jordan scams stop you from visiting this beautiful country. The Petra and Wadi rum is two of the most amazing places I’ve visited in my life. In fact, Wadi Rum was the highlight of my Jordan trip. Have an amazing journey to Jordan and don’t let yourself get scammed!

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