Guide to Aqaba Crossing

Published 26/03/2026

Contact me: aqaba.crossing@gmail.com

This guide contains everything I desperately wished I'd known before crossing the Yitzhak Rabin border from Eilat, Israel to Aqaba, Jordan so hopefully it saves you some stress! Disclaimer: This is just based on my experience, don't take this as an official source of information.

A note on cell service: I have Hot Mobile (a standard Israeli carrier) and had service the entire way from Israel to the Aqaba airport. I also heard rocket alerts going off on other people's phones throughout the crossing, so it seems other people had service too.

I made this crossing with my three brothers ranging in age from 18 - 23 years old on 25/03/2026. Overall, the border is easy to navigate and the signage is clear — though you may need to tip (read: bribe) an officer to get through, so bring cash. ILS works fine.

We arrived at the border at 6:40am Israel time, exited at 9:05am Jordan time (8:05am Israel time), and reached our gate by 10:15am for an 11:30am flight. At the time of our crossing, Israel had not yet switched to daylight savings, so Jordan was one hour ahead. For simplicity, all times in this guide use Jordan time. The crossing was relatively uncrowded when we went — I'd recommend building in more time than it took us, just to be safe.

Step-by-Step: How to Navigate the Border Crossing

1. Pay the Israeli crossing fee ("agura") online You can pay in advance at: https://borderpay.metropolinet.co.il/order-toll-hebrew/

2. Take public transportation to Eilat Central Station Most buses to Eilat require advance reservations (though they don't always check): https://reserved-seats.egged.co.il/reserved-seats-app/order

3. Take a taxi to the Yitzhak Rabin border crossing There is no public transportation option to the crossing itself. Google Maps link — Get there early!

Crossing hours: Sunday–Thursday 6:30am–8pm; Friday–Saturday 8am–8pm.

4. Enter the Israeli side of the border crossing Show your passport and let them know you paid the agura. If you didn't pay online, head immediately to the "Financial Services" booth just inside the entrance.

5. Israeli passport control Continue past the Financial Services and Customs booths to passport control. You have two options:

• Israeli biometric passport: Scan your passport at the self-service machine and take the blue slip it prints.

• Non-Israeli passport: Proceed past the biometric booth to the manual passport control windows just beyond. (We didn't go through this route — if you have firsthand experience, please email me so I can add it!)

Important!! If you exit Israel on your Israeli passport, you will be required to enter Jordan on your Israeli passport as well. The Jordanian officers are very thorough about enforcing this.

6. Follow signs "To Jordan" You'll pass through a small gift shop and then wait in line at a tent where officers check your blue slip, passport, and agura payment confirmation.

7. Cross the fence into Jordan Up to this point, wearing a kippah is completely fine. Once you cross into Jordanian-controlled territory, use your own judgment. We didn't see anyone wearing one after this point, and based on the atmosphere, we'd strongly recommend against it.

8. Walk to the Jordanian border security checkpoint Follow the path straight ahead, pass through another gift shop (stay entertained by reading the various warning labels on the cigarette packages), and proceed to security. Bags go through an x-ray belt and you walk through a metal detector. This step is remarkably lax — there were two soldiers sitting on a couch smoking, and no one was actively monitoring the detector. Liquids went through without issue. Tefillin should be fine as well, unless a particularly alert or angry officer happens to be on duty.

9. Passport stamping line — stay alert here Once past security, you'll join the passport stamping line. As you enter the line, someone will approach you, ask to see your Israeli passport, and try to force you to book private transportation to the airport. Decline firmly — just tell them you already have transportation arranged (the Arkia shuttle, more on that below).

Note: We read online that Israeli passport holders cannot take taxis to the airport. This turned out not to be relevant for us thanks to the Arkia shuttle, but if you have firsthand experience with this, please email me.

We waited 25 minutes in the stamping line before reaching a crowded, loosely organized area staffed by three officers.

10. The bribe zone If your passport is non-standard — for example, a red "travel document" rather than a standard blue passport — you may be pulled aside and asked to pay for "expedited documentation" (translation: bribery). Don’t freak out, it’s okay. But you should have cash on you in case this happens.

We brought 3,000 ILS for four people. Two of my brothers have standard blue Israeli passports; my other brother and I both carry red travel documents. The blue passports were stamped without any issue. My brother and I, however, were approached by a man who told us we'd need to come with him and pay — or face hours of additional paperwork. My brother and the man stepped outside and my brother paid him 500 ILS per person (1,000 ILS total). The man then brought our American passports back to the officer and we were stamped through without further trouble. They would not stamp our American passports until we bribed the man since we exited Israel on our Israeli passport. 

The Jordanian passport-stamping officers were not particularly pleasant to deal with. There was a "good cop/bad cop" dynamic, but nothing about it felt genuine, and the whole interaction had a transactional quality to it. Just stay calm and get through it.

11. Board the Arkia shuttle to the airport Once stamped, exit the border crossing and head to the parking lot on the left. Look for buses labeled "Arkia" — they're easy to spot, and the ride is free.

Load your luggage underneath and wait for the bus to fill up (we waited about half an hour). Before departure, someone boarded the bus asking for "tips for handling the baggage." We didn't tip, and there was no pushback.

The ride to the airport takes about 11 minutes, including a brief stop at an airport checkpoint where you stay on the bus.

At the Aqaba Airport

The airport is small and easy to navigate. Here's the layout:

1. Tell airport staff your flight number upon entering.

2. Baggage x-ray — Liquids go through fine. Tefillin should too; we didn't see anyone stopped at this stage.

3. Check in at the desk.

4. Passport check — They'll stamp whichever passport you entered Jordan on. For my brother and me, that was our American passports; for our other two brothers, their Israeli passports. The officers here were relaxed and didn't seem bothered by our Israeli connection, unlike at the border.

5. Security — Computers out, watches off. Water was fine but we saw some other liquids removed. This checkpoint was noticeably more thorough than earlier ones. If tefillin were going to be flagged anywhere, it would be here — though I still think the odds are low. That being said, according to this Israeli website, Jordan prohibits bringing objects of religious nature across the border and I've heard stories of tefillin being confiscated, so make your own decision.

6. Head to your gate. There are only three gates, all right next to each other.

Gate note: We were flying to Athens out of Gate 3, but the screen was showing a flight to Cairo. Airport staff told us to ignore it — and they were right, we boarded there without any issue. Boarding also didn't begin until about 10 minutes before takeoff, so don't worry if things seem quiet right up until departure.

On the flight: Cabin crew did not speak Hebrew. Announcements were in Greek and English. Complimentary sandwiches were served (not kosher).

Our Timeline

7:40am - Arrived at border (6:40am Israel time)

8:05am - Reached Jordanian side of border

8:25am - Joined passport stamping line

8:50am - Reached the front of the stamping line

9:05am - Exited the border crossing

9:41am - Arkia bus departed for airport

9:52am - Arrived at airport

10:15am - Reached the gate

11:30am - Flight departed

**See below for other people's experiences!

Did you have a different experience? What else should people know about the crossing? Have a tefillin story? PLEASE email aqaba.crossing@gmail.com so that I can add your experience to the site for other people to learn from! We’re all going through this at the same time, let’s help each other out.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions as well! I'm just a person like you :)