Asia > Jordan > Aqaba (AQJ)
The Car or no Car advice for Aqaba can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Aqaba ; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Aqaba ?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Aqaba?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.
Aqaba without a car 🚶♂️🌊
Aqaba itself is a small, flat, and easily walkable city, especially compared with much of Jordan. The waterfront corniche, central hotels, restaurants, dive centres, and beaches all sit close together, which means that for a short stay focused on the Red Sea, you can manage perfectly well without a car. Taxis are inexpensive by regional standards and are widely used by both locals and visitors, often making them the default option for short hops across town.
In addition, Aqaba’s international airport is close to the city, so transfers are quick and simple. Many hotels also arrange airport pickups, further reducing the need for a rental car on arrival ✈️.
Diving, beaches, and local movement 🤿
Most visitors come to Aqaba for snorkelling and scuba diving, and this again favours a no-car approach. Dive operators usually include transfers as part of their packages, collecting guests directly from hotels and returning them afterwards. As a result, even trips to the better reefs south of the city rarely require independent transport.
Similarly, beach clubs and resort areas are often reached by hotel shuttles or short taxi rides, which keeps things easy and stress-free.
When a rental car becomes useful 🚗🏜️
However, the equation changes dramatically once you look beyond Aqaba itself. Aqaba is the natural southern gateway to some of Jordan’s most extraordinary landscapes. Wadi Rum, with its desert scenery and Bedouin camps, lies about an hour away by road. While tours operate, having a rental car gives you far more flexibility in timing and route choice.
More ambitiously, Aqaba can form part of a longer Jordan road trip, linking Petra, the Dead Sea, and even Amman. Public transport between these highlights exists but is slow and infrequent, whereas driving is straightforward and well-suited to Jordan’s long distances.
Conclusion: should you rent a car in Aqaba? 🤔
For a short Red Sea break focused on beaches and diving, you don’t need a car at all. On the other hand, if Aqaba is your starting point for exploring Jordan’s deserts, archaeological sites, and interior landscapes, renting a car quickly becomes one of the best decisions you can make.
