How to Get an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba, Jordan
One of the main reasons for heading south was to get an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba so that we could continue our adventure to Egypt by ferry. But first, let’s talk about the amazing invention of air conditioning…
Arriving in Aqaba, Gabi, Frenchie, and I were all exhausted and warm from our night in the Wadi Rum desert, but our taxi driver helped us find a hotel that fit out budget and our need for air conditioning. As check-in was still a few hours out, we went to find food and eventually returned to finish our wait in the air-conditioned lobby. Then the following day…. it was out to learn the hard lessons about getting an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba.
About Aqaba
As most people have never heard of Aqaba, let me give a brief introduction. Aqaba is a beach town sitting on the Red Sea and on clear days you can see Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt. Most Jordanians we met did not seem to find it attractive, and only recommend visiting Petra and Wadi Rum.
However, we came to Aqaba to get our full Egypt Visa. Why? As we are crossing to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, you only receive a Sinai Visa upon entry, not a visa for all of Egypt. But, we have plans to go to Cairo and the Pyramids in Giza which require the full visa.
Kicking Off Our Time in Aqaba
We spent our evening in Aqaba being low-key. We had dinner nearby and then relaxed in our luxurious accommodations. It was a nice change of pace. It also didn’t help that it still felt like 117 degrees outside at 7pm. No exaggeration, that’s actually what it said online.
Sleeping inside in the air conditioning was pretty amazing but morning came early as Frenchie had to catch a bus to Amman and Gabi and I were off to the Egyptian Consulate to get our Egyptian visas around 9:00am.
Visiting the Egyptian Consulate in Aqaba, Jordan
We called our taxi driver from Wadi Rum, and he took us to the Consulate free of charge, picked up food for us, and helped us get copies of our passport. He then proceeded to wait with us for about an hour before we convinced him it was okay to leave.
The Egyptian Consulate was full of Egyptian men and zero women with no other tourists, making us stick out like a sore thumb, but come on, it’s the Consulate, surely it’s safe!
The Consulate of Egypt in Aqaba
The Egyptian Consulate is open from 9am – 3pm Monday to Friday. Here is additional information on it.
- Address: Third District, P.O. Box 952, Aqaba
- Email: consulate.aqaba@mfa.gov.eg
- Phone: (+962) 3 201 6171
- Fax: (+962) 3 201 5159
What You’ll Need to Get an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba
In order to get an Egyptian visa in Aqaba, you’ll need to take the following with you:
- Passport valid for more than 6 months out
- 2 Passport photos
- 1 Copy of passport
- 17 Jordanian Dinar
- Your patience as it will take many hours
What to Do Upon Arrival at the Egyptian Consulate
When you first walk into the Egyptian Consulate, you’ll turn in your passports, two passport photos, and a copy of your passport to the front desk and fill out an application form. If you’re as fortunate as we were, it will then sit on the front desk for about an hour and a half before the guy at the front desk takes it upstairs and returns empty-handed.
After another half hour, our passports eventually turned up back downstairs and were given to the lady in back to process our visas. We later found out upstairs was the Consul Deputy who approved the visa for us. Unfortunately, having our passports in sight again did not expedite the wait. The man at the front desk actually told her to handle Egyptian citizens first.
After about three hours of waiting, we asked, and they said 1:00pm so we decided to venture out and buy our ferry tickets while we continued to wait. We asked the front desk about a travel agency, and he made a phone call and then escorted us upstairs to the Consul Deputy’s office.
Meeting the Consul Deputy
Fortunately, he Consul Deputy fortunately was much friendlier than those we had met downstairs, and stated that we were brought up to his office as we had questions. As our questions were not really in need of his authority or knowledge he made a few phone calls and helped us plan our way to Nuweiba, Egypt that night.
He also provided an update on safety in the area and pointed out that they never receive tourists looking to go on their own to Egypt from Jordan. They only ever had tourist groups with visas handled by travel agents. As we talked, he also provided a travel agency for us to book our ferry tickets, and our passports reappeared upstairs for his final sign off, which he gave.
With that, he gave us a business card, complete with his office phone number and his Facebook, and we were officially done at the Egyptian Consulate. We had successfully gotten our Egyptian visas in Aqaba after only about 4.5 hours of waiting.
Buying Ferry Tickets to Egypt
The only way to go directly from Jordan to Egypt without flying is by ferry. Otherwise, you have to go through Israel and pay additional immigration fees.
About the Ferry from Jordan to Egypt
The ferry from Aqaba, Jordan goes directly to Nuweiba, Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula. It currently leaves at 11pm and arrives at 1am, but it is one hour earlier in Nuweiba making it a 3 hour journey. Tickets cost around $75 USD one way.
Find the most up to date information about the ferry on the official AB Maritime site.
Our Adventure Buying Ferry Tickets Begins
After the Consulate, we could not get a hold of our taxi driver so the travel agency sent one to pick us up. It took about twenty minutes for him to arrive, and then he talked on his phone for 95% of the time ignoring any questions we asked him.
Upon arrival, the guy at the travel agency refused to look at us as we asked about the ferry times and cost. We ultimately decided to go elsewhere. (Rumor has it, it is because we are Western woman, I can neither confirm nor deny this.)
Finding Another Travel Agency
When we walked out of the travel agency and into the streets of Aqaba, we had no idea where we were in relation to our hotel. Therefore, we did what we always would do in the situation and went into the nearest hotel to ask for a map or wi-fi to find our way.
Surprisingly, we were greeted by a group in the lobby with a frozen fruit drink and an invite to sit down. Unfortunately, they didn’t know our hotel but started calling their friends for help until one realized he could share his wi-fi and Gabi was able to map us home passing another travel agent. Thanking them with super Shukrans (thank yous) for their help and hospitality, we headed back into the heat to the next travel agent.
Take Two on Buying Ferry Tickets
Unfortunately, this effort also proved to be useless as the travel agency no longer existed. Instead, we stopped in the Samsung store to get a break from the heat. Again, we were met with great hospitality with cold water and an offer to take us to a travel agent nearby after they closed in ten minutes.
We attempted to grab food next door, but they would not serve Gabi and I (being a woman is complicated here…), and ultimately one of the men from the Samsung store came and ordered the food for us. We then proceeded to eat and wait in the air conditioning until Samsung closed. Then we were off to travel agency number three.
Third Times a Charm
This time we succeeded with the travel agency and were treated like human beings. We purchased our ferry tickets for midnight, the only time the ferries run.
Having accomplished all of our necessary tasks and running around the city to do so, we spent the remainder of the day hiding from the heat and napping in preparation of being up all night.
So about Getting an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba…
If you are headed to Egypt from Jordan, you can get an Egyptian Visa in Aqaba, but be prepared to wait. Additionally, if you are a Western woman, you may face some challenges with travel agencies or even buying food in Aqaba. And also importantly, if you’re in Aqaba in summer, make sure your hotel has air conditioning so you don’t boil alive.
Read all about the ferry ride to Egypt. It’s another adventure for sure!
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