Jordan Guide
The southern desert and Aqaba
Aqaba
Jordan's beach resort of AQABA glories in an idyllic, sunny setting on the shores of the Red Sea, at the southernmost tip of the country. From a standing start, in the last decade or so it has transformed itself into a world-class leisure destination. Hotels at all grades are springing up in the town as well as on the adjacent beaches and luxury waterfront developments; investment is pouring in to improve the city's infrastructure and facilities; and charter flights direct into Aqaba's international airport are allowing holidaymakers to bypass Amman and north Jordan altogether. Some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world is centred on the unspoiled coral reefs which hug the coast just south of the town – an engaging counterpoint to the nearby desert attractions of Petra and Wadi Rum.
And yet, despite the package tourists flip-flopping through the town centre in shorts or bikinis, Aqaba's proximity to – and historical links with – Saudi Arabia make this one of the more socially conservative town in Jordan. Historically neither a trading port nor a commercial hub, Aqaba was only ever significant as a stopping-off point for pilgrims travelling to and from Mecca. If you've come expecting a pacy, cosmopolitan mini-Dubai, you'll be disappointed. The contradictions between deep-set tradition, big business and mass tourism look set to give small-town Aqaba a lively spin in the years ahead.
Jordan's standard peak seasons (March– May & Sept– Nov) are supplemented by European tourists seeking Aqaba's pleasantly warm sunshine in the winter (Dec– Feb). Summer (June– Aug) is the main Saudi and Gulf holiday season, and also when Eastern European holidaymakers come to sizzle on the beaches. Thousands of Egyptian and North African pilgrims stop off here on their way home from the hajj pilgrimage. And the town can be booked solid on holiday weekends, as Ammanis and others head for a short break by the seaside.
During the four mild months around Christmas, a few days in Aqaba can pleasantly warm the chill of Amman from your bones, but for the rest of the year, daytime temperatures damply soar. Summer can be stifling, with July and August's fifty-degree days and thirty-degree nights too much to bear.
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