City guide

Aqaba

JordanRegion

Aqaba is a city in Jordan — browse events, places and travel essentials. It's home to around 148,398 people.

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Photo: Sana Janakat / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

About Aqaba

Aqaba is a city in Jordan — browse events, places and travel essentials. It's home to around 148,398 people.

Country: JordanPopulation: 148,398Time zone: UTC+3

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Top things to do in Aqaba

The most popular sights, with 2026 entrance fees. Prices are adult admission — cheapest at the gate. Many of the best things are free.

Attraction	Entrance	Time	Why go
Aqaba Marine Park (Red Sea Marine Reserve)	Varies	Half day to full day	A protected roughly 7km stretch of Red Sea coastline south of Aqaba city containing coral reef, wreck and seagrass dive/snorkel sites; the base for most of the city's diving and snorkelling activity.
Japanese Garden & Cedar Pride Wreck (dive sites)	Varies	Half day (2-3 hour dive/snorkel trip)	Two of the Red Sea's best-known Aqaba dive/snorkel sites - a coral-covered artificial reef garden in shallow water, and the deliberately sunk Cedar Pride cargo ship wreck lying on its side at depth - both reachable by boat or shore entry.
Aqaba Fort (Mamluk Castle)	JOD 3	30-45 minutes	A 14th-century Mamluk-era fortress on the Aqaba waterfront, expanded by the Ottomans and famously stormed during the 1917 Arab Revolt led by Sharif Hussein bin Ali; the one entry ticket also covers the adjacent Aqaba Archaeological Museum.
Ayla Ancient City (Islamic Ayla Ruins)	Free	15-30 minutes	Excavated remains of the early Islamic port city founded around 650 CE - regarded as the first Islamic settlement built outside the Arabian Peninsula - with visible city walls, gates, a mosque, market street and Caliph's house, sited in central Aqaba near the marina.
Aqaba Archaeological Museum	Included	20-30 minutes	A compact museum next to Aqaba Fort displaying artefacts recovered from the Ayla excavations and other local sites - ceramics, coins, glassware and inscriptions spanning Aqaba's role as an Islamic-era trading port.
South Beach (Marine Park public beach)	Free	1-3 hours	The main public beach along Aqaba's southern coastline within the Marine Park stretch, popular for shore snorkelling and swimming, with basic shower and toilet facilities available on site.
Glass-Bottom Boat Trips	Varies	45-90 minutes	Short boat excursions over Aqaba's coral reefs in glass-bottomed vessels, departing from the marina/South Beach area, letting non-divers view reef fish and coral without entering the water.
Tala Bay	Varies	Half day to full day	A purpose-built resort bay a short drive south of central Aqaba, with a sheltered swimming beach and nearby coral reef, anchored by a cluster of resort hotels - a quieter alternative to the city's public beaches.