Jordan-Israel border crossing via King Hussein Bridge (Allenby)
If you are visiting Jordan, you may as well consider crossing the border over to Israel while you are there and explore the Holy Land even further. The easiest way to cross is through the King Hussein Bridge Border Crossing, but there is a lot of confusing and unclear information on the internet. Therefore, I decided to make it easier for you by sharing my own experience. Below, you will find everything you need to know and the steps to take to reach Israel from Jordan.
Step 1 - Decide which Border Crossing you would like to use
There are three border crossings from Jordan to Israel: The Wadi Araba Crossing connecting Aqaba in Jordan to Eilat; Sheikh Hussein Crossing, located further north but not very commonly used by tourists; and King Hussein Bridge Border Crossing, located just about 1 hour drive from Amman, which is the one I will be discussing more in-depth in this post. The choice of which border crossing to use depends on the itinerary you have planned for both Jordan and Israel. If you are wondering how I planned mine, have a look at my full itineraries for Jordan here and for Israel here..
Step 2 - No rental cars are allowed to cross the border
If you have travelled across Jordan with a rental car, make sure to drop it off at the airport or Amman City Center the night before you decide to cross the border to Israel, as it is not allowed to take rental cars across. You can also drop it off at King Hussein Border Crossing (there are some rental cars companies with offices at the border), but make sure your rental car agency allows you to do so in advance.
Step 3 - Arriving at the border crossing
You can get to the border via Taxi (a reasonable amount will be around 30 JOD for the ride) or by using the JETT bus service from Abdali station in Amman, which departs every morning at 7:15. The full JETT bus schedule can be found here. The ticket price is 11 JOD for both adults and children. Make sure you have some cash with you to pay for it.
*IMPORTANT NOTE:*
Also have some JOD with you to pay for the exit fee at the border, the bus to cross from the Jordanian to the Israeli Border, and also exchange at least 20 JOD to Israeli Sheqel while in Amman. This will make your life easier once you enter Israel and need to pay for your transportation to Jerusalem, from there you will find all other connecting busses if your destination is not the Holy City.
Step 4 - Once you arrive at the Border Crossing
When we arrived at the border there were no signs whatsoever that tell you what to do, so we just had to keep asking other travelers in the queue who had crossed the border previously. Now, this needs a step by step bullet points guide so let’s dive in:
- To start with, once you are dropped off at the crossing by your bus or taxi, enter the border crossing area (big stone arches).
- Once inside, ask one of the police officers you see around which building to enter to cross to Israel (we had to get into the building on our left, but it might be changing, so make sure to ask).
- Inside the building, they will first scan all your luggage. When done, they will make you stand in a queue for the 'Departure Desk'.
- There will be 4 desks in total, so just follow the numbers and do what they ask you. In short, one is the 'Exit Desk', then they will move you over to a Passport Control Desk (where they will keep your passport and give it to you later on), a little form will be given to you to complete at the third desk and the last is the 'Customs Fee Desk’ where you will pay the 10 JOD per person exit fee from Jordan.
- When everything is done, they will let you wait for quite a while in the lobby and then eventually direct you to a bus that will take you across Palestine to reach the Israeli Border from Jordan. We waited on the bus for a good hour before it departed for the 15-minute ride across Palestine, so get ready to wait for a while if you are unlucky. Again, make sure you have cash as no cards are accepted here to pay for your bus fare. Someone will come and collect the money when everyone is seated. There is an ATM inside the Border Crossing building, but I wouldn't rely on that, if it doesn't work when needed and you don’t have the cash, you will be asked to get off the bus. The bus ride costs 7 JOD, and you will have to pay an additional 1.50 JOD per bag. There will be a military check while crossing Palestine, so don't get scared if you see soldiers getting on the bus. Your passport will be handed back to you just before the bus departs from the Jordanian Border.
Step 5 - Arriving at the Israeli Border
This was total chaos when we got off the bus! Everyone rushed out of the bus, and in our case, the driver was literally throwing our bags out of the bus luggage compartment. They even broke my trolley at this point! My advice is to let everyone go forward and avoid being in the crowds because it looked like a mediaeval battle in there!
The first step is getting your bags checked in. You will have to queue at one of the desks, tell them how many pieces of luggage you have, and they will give you a sticker for each of your ‘checked-in bags’. You simply have to attach the sticker they give you on your luggage and put them on the luggage belt, you will then get them back after Passport Control. The only problem here is that people were literally pushing the luggage through the opening and onto the luggage band! So we waited again until everyone was gone and put our two little trolleys through.
Next step: Security checks, Immigration, and Passport Control. Your passport will not be stamped directly; the tourist visa is a little piece of paper that you will need to keep with your passport at all times while in Israel. They might also ask a lot of questions at passport control; just answer them honestly, and you won't have any issues.
The last step will be picking up your luggage and… Welcome to Israel!
But you haven’t finished yet…
Right outside the building, you will find a little cabin where you can buy the ticket for a shared minivan that will take you to Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. Prepare for another long wait! We had to wait for 3 minibuses until we managed to get on one (another hour basically). The cost is 50 NIS per person, and the ride to Jerusalem takes about 45 minutes. This is why it will come in handy to exchange a few JODs to NIS in Jordan before your border crossing. If your final destination is not Jerusalem, connecting buses to Tel Aviv and other destinations can be found just across the road from your drop-off point. You could also get a bus or taxi from the border; however, you will have to wait even longer for the bus, while the taxi was a little over our budget, so we decided to go for the medium alternative.
That said, I hope you enjoy your border crossing adventure and have a fantastic time in Israel. Happy Travel all!
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