Top 10 places to book a hotel in Petra in 2026
Booking.com is our pick for Petra, with the widest spread of Wadi Musa options, from the Mövenpick Resort Petra beside the Visitor Centre to Bedouin-run guesthouses in Umm Sayhoun, and most listings carry free cancellation. Run the same property through Google Hotels to see whether a cheaper rate exists elsewhere, and make sure the final total includes Jordan's sales tax and service charge.
Every bed near Petra sits in Wadi Musa, the town above the Siq entrance, or in Umm Sayhoun and Al-Beidha just to the north, so the real questions are which platform shows you the most Wadi Musa options, what the total comes to once Jordan's sales tax and service charge are added, and whether you can cancel. On the first count, Booking.com wins: it covers everything from the Mövenpick Resort Petra by the Visitor Centre to the family guesthouses in Umm Sayhoun. Google Hotels is the quickest way to check whether Agoda, Expedia, or the hotel's own site is cheaper for that same room.
The most common mistake is treating Petra as a day trip from Amman or Aqaba. The drive from Amman is around 3 hours each way on the Desert Highway, and the JETT bus from Abdali runs once each morning. From Aqaba the trip is about 2 hours, also mostly on the Desert Highway. Staying the night pays off at the gate too: a one-day ticket costs 50 JOD, while the 2-day and 3-day tickets cost 55 and 60 JOD, and the Jordan Pass covers entry and waives the tourist visa fee if you spend at least 3 nights in Jordan.
Booking.com suits most visitors to Petra, but not all of them. If you're after a dorm bed in Wadi Musa, Hostelworld is the better starting point, since Booking.com buries its handful of hostels among mid-range hotels. Travellers who want a whole apartment in residential Wadi Musa will find more on Airbnb. Some guesthouses in Umm Sayhoun skip the platforms entirely and take bookings by WhatsApp, often with a transfer to the Visitor Centre included. If you find yourself comparing 5 or 6 sites at once, Google Hotels or Trivago cuts out the tab-switching.
Peak season in Petra runs March to May and October to November, and the hotels nearest the Siq entrance on Tourism Street go first, so book 6 to 8 weeks ahead on a rate with free cancellation. Plans for Petra really do change: Petra by Night runs on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, so you may need to shift your dates to catch it. Winter flash floods have also closed the Siq, most seriously in November 2018 when about 3,700 visitors were evacuated. Most people stay 2 to 3 nights, enough to walk to the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at dawn and still have a full day for the 800-step climb to the Monastery (Ad-Deir).
The full list
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Booking.com
The widest spread of Wadi Musa stays on any platform, from the Mövenpick Resort Petra beside the Visitor Centre to Bedouin family guesthouses in Umm Sayhoun, and most listings carry free cancellation. Before you confirm, check that the final total includes Jordan's sales tax and service charge.
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Trip.com
Lists a good share of the newer mid-range hotels on Tourism Street, a short walk from the Petra Visitor Centre, and often prices them close to Booking.com. Cancellation terms vary by property, so read the rate rules on each Wadi Musa listing before paying.
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Hotels.com
Runs on Expedia Group's One Key programme, so OneKeyCash earned on a Wadi Musa night carries over to stays in Amman, Wadi Rum and Aqaba on the same Jordan trip. Wadi Musa listings show the total with taxes before checkout.
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Expedia
Worth a look if you are flying into King Hussein International Airport (AQJ) in Aqaba or Queen Alia (AMM) and want the flight and a Wadi Musa hotel on one booking. Standalone hotel choice in Wadi Musa is thinner than on Booking.com.
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Google Hotels
Meta-search that sets Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia and the hotel's own site side by side for the same Wadi Musa property, with no booking fee. Cancellation terms follow whichever provider you click through to, so check them on that site.
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Agoda
Covers many mid-range Wadi Musa hotels and sometimes undercuts Booking.com on the same room in the Petra area. On some listings a service fee or tax line doesn't appear until the final checkout step, so compare totals, not headline rates.
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Direct Hotel Websites
Properties such as the Mövenpick Resort Petra and the Old Village Resort in Wadi Musa sell rooms on their own sites, sometimes with breakfast or late checkout included. Many small Umm Sayhoun guesthouses take bookings by WhatsApp. Best once you know the property you want.
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Kayak
A meta-search that scans several platforms for Wadi Musa rates and sends price alerts for your Petra dates. It does not take bookings itself, so cancellation terms follow whichever provider you end up on.
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Airbnb
This is where you find whole homes and apartments in the residential parts of Wadi Musa, as well as a few stays out toward Al-Beidha (Little Petra), about 9 km north, that hotel platforms do not list. Cancellation depends on each host's setting, and Airbnb's service fee is shown before you pay.
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Trivago
This meta-search compares Petra hotel rates across several booking sites and highlights the cheapest offer per property. Run it especially in March to May and October to November, when Wadi Musa rates for the same room can differ between platforms.
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