SURVIVAL GUIDE - Jerusalem and the Holy Land - page 305

RED SEA FERRIES

Aqaba in Jordan and Nuweiba
in Sinai are linked by a
ferry and a catamaran. Both
of these make one sailing
each way, once a day. The
ferry, which also carries cars,
takes three hours, while the
catamaran completes the trip
in around one hour. Booking
in advance is not necessary
unless you are travelling with
a car. It is possible for
passengers to obtain a Sinai
Permit (see p299) on board
both vessels - this allows you
to stay in the region for up to
14 days.

Bright yellow taxis amid the busy traffic of central Amman

Stations also tend to be some
distance from the town centre,
often requiring a taxi ride to
reach them.
The other line, be t ween
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv A
(following on to Haifa), was
upgraded in 2005 and it
passes through some
particularly lovely scenery.
However, the train is much
slower than the bus - allow
an extra 40 minutes. There
are 6-10 trains per day.

to Aqaba takes about five
hours and one from Amman
to Petra about three.
The only regular rail service
in Jordan is the three times a
week train up to Damascus.
It runs on the Hejaz Railway,
built at the turn of the 20th
century by the Turks but
more famous for being
repeatedly blown up by
Lawrence of Arabia and his
Arab fighters (see p233) . The
trip takes about nine hours
but you must have a visa in
advance to enter Syria.
To get about in Amman
there are city buses, but the
destination is indicated only
in Arabic. Taxi drivers tend to
be honest and use the meter,
making this an acceptable
way of getting around. Only
late in the evening or for
longer journeys (such as to
and from the airport) will you
have to agree upon the price
beforehand.

DIRECTORY
BUS INFORMATION
IN ISRAEL
Eilat Bus Station
Ha-Temarim St.
Tel [phone]. l

Haifa Bus Station
Ha-Mifratz and Hof Ha-Karmel
Stations
Tel [phone]. l

TRANSPORT IN JORDAN

There are several national
bus companies in Jordan. The
main one is JETT , which runs
blue-and-white air-conditioned
buses between Amman and
Aqaba, the King Hussein
(

Jerusalem Bus Station
224 Jaffa Rd.
Tel [phone]. l

Tel Aviv Bus Station
Levinsky St.
Tel [phone]. l

( llenby) Bridge and Petra.
Booking your seat in advance
is advisable. The JETT bus
station in Amman is on King
Hussein Road. Ten minutes'
walk downhill on King Hus-
sein is the Abdali bus station,
which is where all the other
Jordanian bus companies
depart from for routes north
and west, including services
to Ajlun, Jerash and the King

Egged Tours
Central Bus Station, Eilat.
Tel [phone]. l

4 Nordau St, Haifa.
Tel [phone].

TRANSPORT IN SINAI

l
59 Benhuda St, Tel Aviv.
Tel [phone].

The resorts of the east coast
of the Sinai peninsula are
served by the buses of Egypt's
East Delta Bus Company.
Services are not particularly
frequent with no more than
about half a dozen buses a
day. All of these buses are
either coming from or heading
to Cairo (which is between
seven and nine hours away).
Only one or two of these
buses pass by St Catherine's
Monastery, so you need to
check timetables carefully.
A very informal shared taxi

l
Egged Information
Tel *2800 l
www .egged.co.il

A
Hussein Bridge. All non-JETT
buses to the south (including
services to Kerak, Petra and
Aqaba) leave from the Wahdat
station, some 5 km (3 miles)
south of the city centre.
The one destination that is
hard to reach from Amman is
the Dead Sea. There are no
scheduled bus services. The
only way to get here is by
minibus or shared taxi.
Shared taxis are common in
Jordan and far more frequent
and convenient than buses. A
shared taxi ride from Amman

BUS INFORMATION
IN AMMAN
JETT Bus Station
King Hussein Rd.
Tel [phone]. l

TRAIN STATION
Tel Aviv Central
Train Station
Arlosoroff St.
Tel [phone].

A
service also operates in Sinai,
but it can take time for the
cars to fill up and the drivers
can be alarmingly reckless.