Money & Payments in Jordan

Cards (Visa and Mastercard) are accepted in hotels, larger restaurants, bigger shops and the Dead Sea resorts. Cash rules everywhere else: taxis, small cafes, street food, markets, tips, and the Bedouin stalls and cafes inside Petra. Assume you need cash for any transaction under about 10 JOD.

ATMs are reliable in towns; carry enough cash for two days whenever you leave Amman, Aqaba or the Dead Sea. Inside Wadi Rum there is effectively nowhere to spend or draw money — settle your camp before you go in.

Tipping is expected and appreciated, and it is not large by Western standards. Restaurants: 10% if service is not already added (check the bill). Hotel portage: 1–2 JOD per bag. Drivers and guides: 10–15% of a day’s fee for a guide, a few dinar for a driver who helps you. Toilet attendants: 0.25–0.50 JOD. Petra donkey or carriage handlers: agree the fare first, then a small tip if the service was good.

Keep a pocket of small notes (1 and 5 JOD) for exactly this — handing over a 50 for a 1-dinar tip means waiting for change, and sometimes not getting it.

Exchange offices in Amman and Aqaba give better rates than the airport; hotels are usually worst. The rate is stable because of the dollar peg, so there is little to gain by shopping around — just avoid changing large sums at hotels. ATMs are fine for everyday withdrawals.

The word baksheesh gets used loosely. In Jordan it mostly means a small tip for a small service, not a demand. Genuine demands for baksheesh are rare at tourist sites today; if someone is pushy, a polite “no, thank you” and walking on is the right response.