Aqaba Dive Tours
Jordan’s only port is located in Aqaba, which can be reached from Amman by road or air. The road trip (360 km long) takes around 4 hours, whereas the flight takes roughly 40 minutes. It has grown considerably over the past few years, both as a port and as a tourist centre, due in part to its excellent beach and water sports facilities and its low humidity and hot climate. The town has a variety of small shops and several good restaurants. You can enjoy many beach activities including windsurfing, scuba diving, sailing and fishing. Aqaba’s unique water holds many secrets and will astonish you with the world’s most fascinating views ever. It’s simply an underwater spectacular world that catches your breath and leaves you in the wonder of its beauty and charm. Most hotels have swimming pools and offer continental and traditional cuisine. Some provide business and conference facilities and excursions to Amman, Petra and Wadi Rum. Aqaba’s Church, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 363 AD, was recently dug out and is one of the oldest purpose-built churches in the world. Aqaba offers wonderful sea life that embraces sea turtles, dolphins, nocturnal sea creatures, crabs, shrimp, lobsters and countless types of marine life.
Several new tourist developments have been completed in the past few years, while others are still in progress. Most notable of the new developments is the Ayla Oasis which was built around an artificial lagoon, reminiscent of Dubai’s waterside developments. There are numerous residential, commercial and resort facilities within Ayla including several international 5* resorts. Although many areas still look relatively bare, the Ayla Golf Course is Jordan’s first golf course built to international standards. You would not expect a golf course in one of the world’s poorest countries in terms of potable water, but incredibly, it relies entirely on desalinated seawater which is processed using solar power. Upcoming resort areas are Saraya Aqaba, which is partially completed, and many other resorts like Marsa Zayed, which are still to be launched.