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Day trip · Updated October 2026
Yes, you can go from Sharm el-Sheikh to Petra and back in a day. You drive to Taba, take the ferry to Aqaba, then drive about two hours to Petra. Memphis Tours, the Egyptian operator whose trips we sell, publishes this as a one-day group trip. Its plan collects you at 1:00am and has you back at your hotel at 1:00am the next night. The trip is worth it if Jordan will not fit into another holiday. Below are the route, the fixed fees and the entry-stamp question to settle first. Fees and visa rules come from official sources, checked October 2026. Trip times come from Memphis Tours' published plan.
| Day trip from Sharm | Two days, one night in Petra | |
|---|---|---|
| Petra ticket | 90 JD, the price for visitors not staying overnight in Jordan | 55 JD for two consecutive days, if you stay overnight |
| Time at Petra | A few hours in the middle of the day | Opening time on day two, and the far end of the site |
| Door to door | About 24 hours on Memphis Tours' plan, from a 1:00am pickup | The same legs, split across two days |
| Jordan entry at Aqaba | Free ASEZA visa for eligible nationalities who leave via Aqaba | The same, as long as you leave Jordan via Aqaba |
| Best for | A one-time look at the Siq and the Treasury | Anyone who wants to see Petra properly |
The short answer
Take the night in Petra if you can spare it. You save 35 JD on the ticket and get a full day on site. The day trip suits someone who will never reach Jordan otherwise and can cope with a night on the road. Ticket prices are from visitpetra.jo, and the ASEZA visa from AB Maritime, both checked October 2026.
Ferries to Jordan leave from Taba Heights and Nuweiba, further up the Gulf of Aqaba. So every Petra trip from Sharm starts with a long drive north.
The first leg is the road from Sharm to Taba Heights, a resort area south of Taba town. It is about 210 kilometres. Route planners give about two and a half hours by car. Memphis Tours allows about three and a half hours by coach, and Sinai roads have checkpoints.
The second leg is the Aqaba-Taba fast ferry. It runs between Taba Heights Marina in South Sinai and Marina Tala Bay, south of Aqaba. The crossing takes 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the sea. You must be at the terminal an hour before departure. Source: AB Maritime, the Jordanian ferry operator, checked October 2026.
The third leg is the road from Aqaba to Petra. Petra's official site, visitpetra.jo, gives about two hours by bus. Then you walk in, see what you can, and travel back the same way.
Memphis Tours publishes this trip as “Petra Tour from Sharm by Cruise”. It is a one-day group trip across two countries, also available as a private tour. Their archived listing ran it on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Confirm current days and price on enquiry.
The published plan starts with a hotel pickup in Sharm at 1:00am, and the coach drives to Taba. Staff meet you there and again in Aqaba after the ferry. You then go straight to Petra.
At Petra the plan includes a short horse ride towards the Siq, about 700 metres and optional. You walk the 1.2-kilometre Siq to the Treasury. Then you continue along the Street of Facades to the Roman theatre, the Royal Tombs, the colonnaded street and Qasr al-Bint. Lunch is at a local restaurant. Then you return to Aqaba for the ferry, and the coach has you back in Sharm at about 1:00am.
The listing includes hotel pickup and return, an air-conditioned coach, ferry tickets both ways and the Petra ticket. It also includes an English-speaking guide in Petra, lunch, the entry visa to Jordan, and service charges and taxes. Personal spending and tips are extra.
The archived list does not name two things: the 10 JD Jordanian departure fee and your Egyptian entry. Ask about both when you enquire.
Memphis Tours' website could not be read when we checked in October 2026. These details come from their page as archived on 8 December 2025. Its prices were valid until 30 April 2026 and have expired, so we do not print them.
On the Memphis Tours plan, the coach needs about three and a half hours to Taba. Add an hour at the terminal, up to an hour at sea and two hours to Petra. That is over seven hours each way before border formalities.
Both ways, that comes to around 15 hours of travel inside a 24-hour day. The rest goes on border formalities, lunch and Petra itself. You reach the site after a night on the coach.
The ferry runs to a weekly schedule, and AB Maritime asks passengers to check it 24 hours before travel. That schedule decides which days a trip can run.
For most people, no. You pay the highest ticket price and see a small part of the site. The day covers the Siq, the Treasury, the tombs and the Roman street. That is the classic first visit, and little else fits.
The Monastery sits at the far end of Petra, up roughly 800 uneven steps. A day tripper rarely has the time or the legs for it after a night on a coach. Petra by Night needs its own ticket and an evening in Petra, so it is out of reach too.
It is worth it in one case. You are on a beach holiday in Sharm and will probably never come back to this region. You want to stand in front of the Treasury once. Then a long, tiring day is a fair price.
It is a poor fit for young children, poor sleepers and anyone with limited mobility. Petra is several kilometres of uneven ground, and the main trail is open to the sun for most of its length.
Memphis Tours confirms its current price on enquiry. Whoever you book with, these official fees sit inside the price.
The Petra ticket for visitors who do not stay overnight in Jordan is 90 JD. Children under 12 enter free by day. You need your passport to buy it. Source: visitpetra.jo, checked October 2026.
Leaving Jordan on the ferry costs a 10 JD departure fee per passenger, whatever their age. It is paid in cash at the border, in Jordanian dinars only. Source: AB Maritime, checked October 2026.
On top come the ferry fare, the coach, a guide and lunch. Compare quotes on five items: the Petra ticket, the ferry, the departure fee, the Jordan visa and a guide inside Petra. Ask each seller in writing. A low price without the 90 JD ticket only looks low.
Many visitors to Sharm enter Egypt on a free Sinai entry stamp at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. The UK FCDO says it covers stays under 15 days in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba. The German Foreign Office gives the same four towns and the same 15 days. Both checked October 2026.
Other entry points work differently. At the Taba land border from Israel, the FCDO lists a border tax: US$20 to stay in Taba, or US$120 to go on to Sharm. At Nuweiba port, a free 15-day South Sinai visa is reported by the ferry operator, AB Maritime.
A Petra trip leaves Egypt and comes back by ferry. For that return, the FCDO says you need a visa only if you will stay in Sinai over 15 days or travel beyond Sinai. At Taba Heights that visa costs US$35. It is sold at the terminal, often for cash only. Source: gov.uk, checked October 2026.
No official source covers the day-trip case explicitly. So ask the seller in writing which Egyptian entry your passport needs for their trip, and keep the reply.
A multiple-entry e-visa removes the doubt. The official portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg, lists it at US$65, against US$30 for single entry, checked October 2026. A single-entry visa covers one entry, and the return from Jordan is a second one. If Cairo or Luxor comes later in your holiday, you need a full visa anyway.
Aqaba sits inside a special economic zone. AB Maritime says certain travellers get a free entry visa on arrival under the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) law. The condition is that you leave Jordan via Aqaba.
ASEZA's own site, visitaqaba.com, adds that you leave within one month from the same border. A same-day return on the ferry meets both conditions. Some nationalities need a visa in advance, so check your own passport before you book. Memphis Tours lists the Jordan entry visa as included.
The Jordan Pass bundles Petra entry with other sites and waives the visa fee. That waiver needs a stay of at least two nights, and you must buy the pass before you arrive, according to jordanpass.jo. A day trip does not qualify.
If you want to travel independently, check the ferry first. AB Maritime's home page lists the Taba line under tourist-group transport. Its route page says all nationalities may travel, with limits for Egyptian citizens. Confirm with AB Maritime that you can book as an individual. Checked October 2026.
The Jordan half is simple. Public buses run from Aqaba's bus station to Petra in about two hours, according to visitpetra.jo. For taxis, visitpetra.jo points you to your hotel.
The ferry lands at Marina Tala Bay, south of Aqaba town. You need transport from there into town or straight to Petra. From Tala Bay to Wadi Musa, the town beside Petra, is about 145 kilometres by road.
On a same-day return, the risk is missing the ferry back. Leave Petra with time to spare, and know the sailing time before you set off.
Split the journey across two days and most of the problems go away. You cross on day one and sleep in Wadi Musa. On day two you walk into Petra at opening time, before the crowds and the heat.
The ticket gets cheaper too. Visitors staying overnight pay 50 JD for one day, or 55 JD for two consecutive days. A day visitor pays 90 JD. Winter opening hours are 6:30am to 5:00pm, from 2 October 2026 to 1 March 2027. Source: visitpetra.jo, checked October 2026.
With two nights you can add Wadi Rum, about an hour and a half from Petra. Two nights also meet the Jordan Pass visa-waiver rule. Ask Memphis Tours whether they can run their trip over two days.
AB Maritime also runs a ferry to Aqaba from Nuweiba, south of Taba. The crossing takes two and a half to three and a half hours, and you arrive at the port three hours early. That suits an overnight trip better.
The land route crosses from Taba into Israel, then into Jordan near Aqaba. That is two borders each way, and the Taba border tax on the way back. Our Egypt to Jordan page compares the ferry, land and air routes in detail.
Read the travel advice for Jordan before you book. The UK FCDO's Jordan page was last updated on 10 September 2026, when we checked in October 2026. The US State Department publishes its own at travel.state.gov. Read both governments' advice for Egypt and Sinai too, and check again before you travel.
Check that your travel insurance covers Jordan for the day as well as Egypt. Carry Jordanian dinars in cash for the departure fee. Bring a warm layer for the night coach, and closed shoes with grip for Petra.
Petra closes at 5:00pm in winter. Heavy rain can send flash floods through the Siq, which closes it while the risk lasts. Some Januaries bring snow. Spring and autumn suit the day trip best.
We sell the trips of one Egyptian operator, Memphis Tours. To book their Petra trip from Sharm, use the enquiry form on this page. Tell us your hotel, your dates, how many of you are travelling, and which entry stamp is in your passport.
Say whether you want the group day trip, a private version or a night in Petra. The current days, price and inclusions come back on enquiry. None of our fixed Egypt tours goes to Sinai or Jordan.
If you have not booked Egypt yet and Jordan matters to you, plan both countries together. Our Egypt and Jordan tours page shows how to split the days.
No. AB Maritime, the operator, lists no Sharm sailing. Its fast ferry to Aqaba leaves from Taba Heights Marina, and a slower one from Nuweiba. On the Taba ferry, seats are not numbered, and snacks and drinks are sold on board. Source: AB Maritime, checked October 2026.
Only some. AB Maritime's Taba Heights route page says Egyptian citizens can travel if they work in tourism or hold a diplomatic passport. Others need prior approval. Source: AB Maritime, checked October 2026.
They can, but it is a 24-hour day. Petra entry is free for under-12s by day, according to visitpetra.jo. The 10 JD ferry departure fee applies to every passenger, whatever their age. A night in Petra is far easier with children.
Take Jordanian dinars in cash for the 10 JD departure fee, which is paid in dinars only. Petra's ticket office takes cash in dinars or a Visa card. If you might need an Egyptian visa at Taba Heights, carry US dollars in cash too.
AB Maritime asks for a passport valid for at least six months to use the ferry. You also need your passport to buy a Petra ticket. Check the expiry date before you book.
About 290 kilometres in a straight line, calculated from coordinates. By the ferry route, it is about 210 kilometres by road to Taba Heights. After the crossing, Petra is about 145 kilometres from the marina at Aqaba.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
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