Saturday, April 5, 2014

Renting a car in Jordan

We rented a car from Thrifty at the Amman airport for just under $300USD for a week. Gas for all of our driving around cost approximately $125USD. Gas stations in Jordan are cash-only and full-service. Overall, our driving experience was positive as the roads were in good condition and usually well signed. Our primary point of concern was other drivers. It seems that very few drivers use turn signals, pulling into oncoming traffic at 5 miles an hour is not considered a hazard, and there is a lot of seemingly random horn honking. 

There are frequent checkpoints along the main highways. A police officer will hold up a stop sign and wave you to the side of the road. When we were chosen to pull over, I would hand over my driver's license (my U.S. license, as I did not get an international driver's license) and the car registration card that Thrifty provided. Most police officers spoke some English and would usually ask us where we were from and maybe where we were headed and then we'd be on our way. 

My general advice for others would be that if you are going to drive in Jordan, don't speed, drive defensively, and know that Google maps is not complete for Jordan. While GPS worked very well, the road map itself was not up to date and many places in Jordan do not use street addresses. If you're unsure of where you're going, it's best to get directions before setting off.
We would not have seen this amazing view of Jordan and the Dead Sea
if we had not rented a car and wandered off on our own.

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