Travel Adventures Wadi Rum to Madaba by Bus

I am visiting Jordan for the first time and have decided to take public transport instead of hiring a driver. This next leg of my journey is the most questionable, as there is no direct transportation between these two places. Here is how I ‘trust the process’, travel adventures Wadi rum to Madaba by bus.

Rum Bus

Readers will remember the Rum Bus that I took from Wadi Musa (Petra) to Wadi Rum. During that ride, the ‘guide’ Waheeb had mentioned that he would be able to arrange transport for me from Wadi Rum to Madaba.

I was completely grateful for this information, skeptical, hopeful and curious. If this indeed did come to fruition, it would alleviate the biggest headache of the trip.

Waheeb has said that he would charge me 35DR ($70 CAD) and that he would pick me up on the morning of departure in Wadi Rum village. This is going to be a ‘trust the process’ travel day. 😁

Morning of Departure

I was taken in the trusty Toyota, from my camp in the Wadi Rum Protective Area to the village. Hussain made sure I arrived on time for 9:30, when the bus was getting ready to depart for its return trip back to Petra.

After greeting Mohammad and Waheeb like long lost friends, I hopped on board and we proceeded to drive around picking up a few other passengers. Waheeb asked for the 40DR that we had discussed and I politely reminded him that it was 35DR that was agreed upon. Handing over the payment, I noticed him tuck a tenner into an envelope and write on the front.

We hit the highway in quick fashion, and after about 45 minutes, pulled over into a gas station.

Big Bus

Here I was told to hop off and take all of my belongings. Shortly thereafter a large unmarked white bus pulled up at the edge of the highway. The driver disembarked and I loaded my suitcase underneath.

After thanking Waheeb, I climbed up and looked for a seat on the almost full bus. I would hazard to guess that 98% or more of the passengers were male with no empty rows in sight. The only females I could see were at the front. I asked the two local ladies in each of the front rows if I could sit beside them and they both said no. 😥

The second row had one single younger female on one side. It was she who was gracious enough to move her bag so I could sit beside her. I was so grateful in my heart for her kindness. 🥹

Longest Leg

This ride turned out to be a four-hour journey. About 10 minutes in, the male seated behind me, lit up a cigarette and proceeded to chain smoke the entire time. The bus driver was quick to light up his too. Before I knew it, I was in a hot box of cigarette smoke and finding it difficult to breath.

Pulling my scarf up over my nose and mouth was the only thing I could do to alleviate some of the discomfort.

There was one stop part way, at a rest area. I decided not to disembark, it didn’t feel quite right. I was concerned I wouldn’t know when the bus was leaving and secondly there were only males outside, no females. Even though it would have been amazing to breath in some fresh air, my anxiety kept me seated.

At the four hour and one minute mark, this large bus pulled over on the side of the highway and I was told to hop off.

Car to Madaba

A car was waiting for me, the driver of which was handed an envelope by my driver. It was this same envelope I had seen Waheeb put a 10DR note inside on the Rum Bus.

Away I went in this car, across a desolate mountain landscape. Not a long journey, for in 10 minutes I was able to see the city emerging in the distance. My driver persisted in trying to get my phone number to contact me for future rides. I politely refused each and every time. While I’m sure his intentions were completely fine, as a solo female traveller I’ll never give out my personal information to a stranger.

I arrived at my hotel and by 3pm I was check-in and had all of my clothing in the bathroom sink, soaking away the smell of cigarette smoke.

I’m in Madaba! The cultural heritage centre of Jordan and dubbed the ‘City of Mosaics’. I’m forever grateful for Waheeb for arranging this travel day for me, and I’m proud of myself for being brave through it all. In hindsight, I should have taken a series of three buses and an expensive taxi ride. It would have cost more, but I would have been in cleaner buses and avoided that ride with the smokers.