Adding a trip to Israel after your visit to Jordan is sure to give you a deeper perspective of more of the Middle East. There are a few ways to get from Amman to Jerusalem including a bus, taxi, private transfer, airplane and a sherut (shared taxi). It is not very complicated to cross the border from Jordan to Israel, but you need to pack your patience. Most of the trip will be spent waiting around, no matter which option you choose. Before you depart from Amman to Jerusalem ensure your phone is charged and you have a few snacks as the 100 kilometer journey generally takes close to 6 hours.
How to Get from Amman to Jerusalem, Including Border Crossing Information
Each of these sections are broken into two parts because you cannot actually bring a vehicle across the border. You will take your luggage and walk across and then choose a mode of transportation to get to Jerusalem.
Where to Stay in Jerusalem
You will want to book your accommodation in advance of your arrival in Jerusalem. It is a very popular place to visit and popular accomodation options do sell out. Here are some top picks.
LUXURY: Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem or Inbal Jerusalem or Mamilla Hotel
APARTMENT HOTELS: Stay Jaffa Jerusalem
BUDGET: Abraham Hostel
Amman to Jerusalem Bus
Because you have to change buses at the border and walk across, I have split the crossing information into two parts, the first part will be how you get to the border and the second part will be once you are on the other side.
Part 1: Amman to King Hussein Bridge / Allenby Border Crossing
Going from Amman to Jerusalem by bus is a very common way for tourists to get to King Hussein Bridge / Allenby Crossing and into Israel. Although the area is actually part of Palestine, Israel controls the border and the roads leading to Jerusalem. The bus from Amman to Jerusalem goes only once per day and it leaves the JETT Abdali station at 6:30am. You can check for any schedule changes on their page. Ensure you are there by 6 to pay for your ticket (bring dinars and ensure you have more dinars for the exit tax) and load your luggage.
The cost for the Amman to King Hussein Bridge Border Crossing on JETT is JD11 for adults and JD6.60 for kids. The bus ride is about an hour.
The bus will park and you need to go into the customs office and pay your exit tax. The cost is 10JD. They will give you a small receipt. You can ask to not have your passport stamped and they will give you a small slip of paper with the stamp instead (keep it inside your passport and it is eventually taken away at one of the many security checks along the way).
After you hand over your passport, they will keep it and advise you to sit and wait. You can wait upwards of an hour. Why? Well they want to process enough people to fill up a bus AND they also have massive tour groups to process at the same time. So although the waiting area may not be packed, you will likely have to wait.
They will eventually call your name and give you your passport back to get on the bus. Again you will wait until it is full. Make sure you have your original ticket handy as they will ask for it. Many passengers arrive by other means (taxi, rental car etc) and they have to get on the same bus, so they have to pay for it. There will be someone collecting money from them.
The bus will drive across the no-mans-land between the two borders and arrive at the Israel Customs and Immigration. Again you may have to wait. We waited on the bus for over an hour. There were several busses infront of us and they only unload one at a time as the processing area is small. Better to wait on an airconditioned bus on a hot day anyways. so get comfy.
Once your bus gets to the front of the line you will be unloaded. Collect your luggage and get in line. Your luggage will be scanned and you will wait for passport control. You may be asked one question, you may be asked 20. Your passport WILL NOT BE STAMPED. They do not even ask you. They print a blue piece of paper with your photo and passport information to keep inside your passport (You get a similar pink slip when you leave. Both you can keep). Once that is done, you have transport options to Jerusalem (Taxi, private transfer or sherut, the shared taxi – Keep reading for information on Allenby Crossing into Jerusalem).
Amman to Jerusalem by Taxi / Private Driver
Part 1: Amman to King Hussein Bridge / Allenby Border Crossing
It is quite easy to take a taxi to the King Hussein Bridge / Allenby Crossing from Amman. The drive is a little under an hour. The Taxi or private driver will take you to the customs office and you will have to bring your luggage inside, pay the 10JD exit tax and then wait. They will take your passport for processing and ask you to take a seat. You can wait upwards of an hour and they are processing dozens of passports, despite the low numbers in the waiting room. If you do not want your passport to be stamped with an exit stamp, let them know and they will stamp a small piece of paper.
When they call your name, they will give you your passport back and you take your luggage and board a JETT bus. You need to pay for the bus. It is 7JD plus 1.5JD per piece of luggage. Ensure you have Jordanian Dinars left. You can always convert them to Israeli Shekels when you get to Jerusalem, so do not worry.
The rest of the process is the same as above, the bus does not leave until it is full. And although it is a 5 kilometer drive, it can take an hour, as the busses line up to enter Israeli customs. Only one bus enters at a time as the processing space only holds 100 people or so.
Once your bus gets to the front of the line you will be unloaded. Collect your luggage and get in line. Your luggage will be scanned and you will wait for passport control. You may be asked one question, you may be asked 20. Your passport WILL NOT BE STAMPED. They do not even ask you. They print a blue piece of paper with your photo and passport information to keep inside your passport (You get a similar pink slip when you leave. Both you can keep). Once that is done, you have transport options to Jerusalem (Taxi, private transfer or sherut, the shared taxi – Keep reading for information on Allenby Crossing into Jerusalem).
From Allenby Border to Jerusalem
When it come to how to get from Amman to Jerusalem you have now done most of the hard work. Upon exiting customs, if you walk past the waiting tour busses around the corner you will find a taxi stand selling tickets. It looks like the photo below.
The price for a seat in a shared taxi from Allenby to Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate is 42ILS per person and 5 ILS for each piece of large luggage.
After purchasing your ticket, proceed to one of the shared taxis, the driver will load your luggage into the van and it does not leave until it is full. The shared taxis to Jerusalem look like the photo below. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Jerusalem. The only options is Damascus Gate. From there you are right near the Old City and can take a taxi or public transport to your accommodations.
Further Israel & Jordan Travel Planning
Do not let your travel planning end here, check out some more resources for planning the perfect trip to Israel. I have a guide on planning a trip to Jerusalem to get you started.
How to get around in Jordan
While planning your time in Jordan, check out these popular posts on getting around: How to get from Amman to Petra, How to get from Amman to the Dead Sea, How to get from Aqaba to Petra,
Also check out Popular Tours from Amman, and Popular Tours from Aqaba
What to Buy in Israel?
I have an entire post dedicated to what to buy in Israel. You will find popular souvenir ideas as well as some unique ones you may not know to look out for! If you are planning some time to visit Bethlehem or other areas of the West Bank, check out what to buy in the West Bank.
Books to Read on Israel
Click on the books below to read more about each one
Travel Insurance for the Middle East
There are a few other things to think about when it comes to travel. The first thing is travel insurance. Whether it is an emergency room visit for something as simple as strep throat, or an emergency appendix surgery, or an unfortunate moped incident things do go wrong when people travel every day.
I highly suggest travel insurance and a good policy. I personally never travel without it, and I even checked into my policy about care for my children if I am ever in an accident or hospitalized. There are just too many things to think about.
You can find out more information and buy your travel insurance here.