By The Visit Israel Editorial Team · Last updated
Guided day trips across the Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba border to Aqaba — snorkeling, city tours, Mamluk fortress, Red Sea beach clubs and the local souk. Border logistics handled by the operator.
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Turn your Aqaba visit into an overnight. The Movenpick Resort and Kempinski Aqaba sit right on the beach; budget options are available near the city centre. Live rates, no fabricated prices.
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Driving to the Yitzhak Rabin crossing is the easiest way to start an Aqaba day trip — parking is available on the Israeli side and you pick up a Jordanian taxi on arrival.
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Aqaba is the easiest cross-border day trip from Eilat — Jordan’s Red Sea city sits just across the Wadi Araba border, less than 10 kilometres from the centre of Eilat by road. Unlike Petra, which demands a full long day, Aqaba works as a half-day excursion: a short taxi ride to the border, 30–60 minutes of crossing formalities, and you are on the Jordanian side of the same Gulf of Aqaba that laps the Eilat beach. This guide covers what to do once you get there, how to run the border efficiently, and whether an overnight makes the trip more worthwhile.
For the bigger picture of Eilat excursion options — Timna, Petra, Red Canyon and more — see our Day trips from Eilat guide.
| Border crossing | Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba (5 km north of central Eilat) |
| Crossing time | 30–60 min each way (allow 90 min at busy periods) |
| Drive Eilat → crossing | 10 min by taxi (roughly ₪50–70) or 5 min by car |
| Aqaba city centre from border | 10 min by Jordanian taxi (~2–5 JOD) |
| Hours | Approx 06:30–20:00 (verify before travel; closed Yom Kippur + Eid al-Adha) |
| Visa | On arrival for most nationalities (check current fee and rules) |
| Best as | Half-day afternoon trip or overnight stay |
| Currency | Jordanian Dinar (JOD); some USD/EUR accepted at tourist sites |
The crossing is named the Yitzhak Rabin Terminal on the Israeli side and the Wadi Araba Terminal on the Jordanian side. It is the southernmost of the three Israel–Jordan crossings and by far the closest to Aqaba; the two border facilities are connected by a short shuttle.
Getting to the crossing from Eilat: A taxi from the city centre takes about 10 minutes and costs roughly ₪50–70 (confirm the rate before getting in). If you are renting a car, you can drive to the Israeli terminal and park in the surface lot on the Israeli side — you do not take your Israeli rental car into Jordan. On the Jordanian side, licensed taxis wait at the terminal for the 10 km run to Aqaba.
Processing time: For organised tour groups, the crossing can take 45–75 minutes in total as the group’s paperwork is processed collectively. Independent travellers typically move through faster once both queues are short. Mid-morning (09:00–11:00) tends to be the busiest window as tour departures cluster. Early morning (07:00–08:30) or early afternoon after the lunch lull are the smoothest times to cross.
What to carry: Your physical passport (valid at least six months), the Israeli entry card / teudat avar (keep it — you need it to re-enter Israel), and enough cash in JOD or USD for taxis, lunch and any site entry fees. ATMs are available in Aqaba city. See our border crossings guide for the full picture on the three Israel–Jordan crossings.
Aqaba is a genuine Jordanian city of around 200,000 people — not a purpose-built resort. That gives it a different atmosphere from Eilat: a working corniche alongside the tourist strip, a real souk, and a city centre that functions independently of tourism.
Aqaba’s reefs sit along its southern shore, accessible from shore entry or by short boat. The Japanese Garden site is the most visited — a broad patch of reef named for its orderly arrangement of coral formations, rated among the finest shore-entry snorkel sites in the northern Red Sea. The Cedar Pride shipwreck, a Lebanese freighter deliberately sunk in 1985 as an artificial reef, is one of the most photographed dive sites in the region and accessible to beginners. Water temperature peaks at 26–28°C in summer; visibility regularly exceeds 20 metres year-round.
Beach clubs: Several Aqaba beach clubs rent snorkel equipment and sun loungers:
Entry to these clubs typically includes beach and pool access; equipment hire is extra. Compare to the Eilat diving and snorkeling guide if you want to weigh up both sides of the border before deciding where to snorkel.
A compact Mamluk-period fortress dating from the early 16th century, standing at the edge of the city centre near the seafront. Entry is free or a small fee. The castle is small — plan 30–45 minutes — but the waterfront position and the modest museum inside (tracing Aqaba’s history from the Nabataean period through the Arab Revolt) make it one of the most rewarding stops in the city for those interested in the region’s layered history. The coastal view from the battlements is good.
Aqaba has a Special Economic Zone status that gives it lower tax rates than the rest of Jordan. Practical result: electronics, alcohol, cigarettes and some imported goods are noticeably cheaper here than in Israel or in other Jordanian cities. The main souk runs a few streets back from the waterfront and is an enjoyable half-hour wander even if you are not buying. Keep in mind that Israeli customs rules apply on re-entry: check the current duty-free allowances for items brought back from Jordan.
The Aqaba corniche — a palm-lined seafront promenade — runs several kilometres along the Gulf. Seafood restaurants and shisha cafes are clustered near the souk end; international hotel restaurants are at the beach resort end. A long lunch by the water is one of the most straightforward ways to use the midday hours, when snorkeling is at its least comfortable and the site-seeing is at its hottest.
| Aqaba | Eilat | |
|---|---|---|
| Best reef access | Shore entry from beach clubs (10-min taxi to beach zone) | Shore entry at Coral Beach Nature Reserve (20-min walk from hotels) |
| Crowd levels (peak) | Lower — fewer day-trip visitors than Eilat | Higher — Israeli families and tour groups |
| Coral health | Strong recovery on south-shore reefs | Recovering; protected sections of Coral Beach reserve in good shape |
| Facilities | Beach clubs with hire gear | Well-run reserve with marked underwater trails |
| Entry cost | Club day-pass + equipment hire | Coral Beach reserve entry + optional equipment hire |
| Recommended for | Divers wanting variety; repeat visitors to Eilat | First-time snorkelers wanting maximum ease and short walk from hotel |
The honest answer is that both are world-class Red Sea sites and the difference in experience for a casual snorkeler is small. If you have already snorkeled Eilat’s Coral Beach and want to see a different section of the reef, Aqaba is a rewarding comparison.
One day (half-day Aqaba focus): Cross the border at 08:00–09:00, reach Aqaba by 10:00, snorkel until 13:00, lunch on the corniche, visit the castle and souk, and be back at the border by 16:00 to avoid the afternoon queue. This is the most common format and it works.
One day (full Aqaba day): Cross early (07:00), use the full day — morning on the reef, lunch, castle, souk, evening on the waterfront — and cross back at 19:00 before the border closes. Requires more energy but gives a much fuller picture of the city.
Overnight: The main benefit is the Red Sea at sunset and sunrise from the Aqaba shore — genuinely different from the day-trip version — plus the ability to do a full dive day rather than a rushed snorkel session. A mid-range hotel in Aqaba city (closer to the souk and corniche) or a beach resort on the south-shore reef strip. An overnight also pairs naturally with a Petra day trip the following morning — Aqaba to Petra is about 130 km (roughly 1.5–2 hours), making an Aqaba overnight the logical starting point for a 2-day Petra trip.
For more Eilat excursion options: Day trips from Eilat • Eilat tours compared • Petra from Eilat vs Amman • Israel border crossings guide • Eilat travel guide
The Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba border crossing is about 5 km north of central Eilat — a 10-minute taxi ride or a 5-minute drive. The crossing itself typically takes 30–60 minutes each way on a normal day, but can stretch to 90 minutes during busy periods (Israeli and Jordanian school holidays, Friday afternoons). Give yourself a full 2-hour buffer for the crossing in both directions and do not plan a tight departure time back to Eilat.
Most nationalities receive a Jordan entry visa on arrival at the Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba crossing — check current entry rules and fee structure for your passport before you travel, as these change periodically. Note that the Jordan Pass (which bundles the visa fee plus entry to Jordan's major sites including Petra) is valid at this crossing too, though it requires a minimum two-night stay in Jordan to waive the visa fee — for a short Aqaba day trip, the standard visa on arrival is usually the simpler option. Israeli passport holders should check current entry rules for Jordan separately.
For most visitors, a half-day split between snorkeling at the Japanese Garden site or a beach club (Berenice or Marina) in the morning and exploring the city centre — Al-Aqabah Castle, the souk and the waterfront corniche — in the afternoon is the most satisfying use of the day. Budget 3–4 hours on the water and 2 hours for the city. If you prefer a purely urban experience, the duty-free market (electronics, alcohol, cigarettes are significantly cheaper than in Israel) plus a long waterfront lunch fills a comfortable day.
It depends on what you are looking for. Aqaba's dive sites — particularly the Japanese Garden and the Cedar Pride shipwreck — are generally less crowded than Eilat's Coral Beach during peak season, and some sections of the Aqaba reef have seen stronger coral recovery in recent years. Eilat's Coral Beach Nature Reserve has the advantage of accessibility (you can snorkel from shore with minimal effort) and well-maintained facilities. Experienced divers often rate Aqaba's variety higher; for a first-time snorkeler who wants maximum ease and zero logistics, Eilat's reserve is hard to beat. Both are world-class by any global standard.
Yes — Aqaba is one of the few Jordan destinations where you do not need an organised tour. The crossing at Yitzhak Rabin is straightforward for independent travellers: take a taxi or drive to the Israeli terminal, process exit, walk or take a shuttle to the Jordanian terminal, process entry, then catch a Jordanian taxi the 10 km into Aqaba city. The whole crossing without a tour group can actually be faster than travelling with one, because you are not waiting for a group to assemble. On the Jordanian side, Aqaba is compact and walkable. Ensure you have cash in Jordanian dinars (JOD) for taxis, entry fees and the souk — cards are accepted at major hotels and restaurants but not universally.
The Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba crossing generally operates from approximately 06:30 to 20:00, but hours are subject to change on Shabbat, Jewish holidays (including Yom Kippur, when it closes) and Islamic holidays (including Eid al-Adha). Always verify current hours at the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority website or with your tour operator before travelling, especially around any public holiday period. Arriving early in the morning avoids the mid-morning surge of tour groups and allows more time in Aqaba.
By The Visit Israel Editorial Team · Last updated