Eilat Day Trips: Petra, Ramon, Timna

Day Trips from Eilat

Eilat sits at a genuine tri-border crossroads: Egypt’s Sinai is minutes south, Jordan is a few kilometers north, and the rest of Israel’s Negev Desert stretches out toward the center of the country. Few resort towns anywhere let you choose between a UNESCO site in another country and a desert crater the size of a small city, both reachable before dinner.

Crossing borders: what’s actually true right now

Israel is at US State Department Level 3, “Reconsider Travel” (last reissued 26 Aug 2026), though Eilat itself carries no Level 4 designation, unlike the narrow strip right against the Egyptian border. The UK lifted its blanket warning against travel to Eilat around June 2026 but still notes Houthi drone and missile risk; Eilat and Ramon Airport were both hit by drones in September 2025, and the Israel-Iran ceasefire running since April 2026 is holding, if fragile by both governments’ own description. None of this has closed the border crossings that these day trips depend on, but check current advisories close to your travel date, especially before a cross-border trip.

Petra, Jordan (about 2 hours each way)

Cross at the Yitzhak Rabin / Wadi Araba terminal, 3km north of Eilat, open Sunday to Thursday 06:30-20:00 and Friday-Saturday 08:00-20:00, closed on Yom Kippur and the Muslim New Year. It briefly suspended private-vehicle crossings (pedestrians still went through) around Eid al-Fitr in March 2026, so a self-driver should check the live notice board rather than assume the car will get across on any given day. On the Jordanian side, the 1.2km Siq canyon opens onto the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), the Street of Facades, and the Royal Tombs of the Nabataean capital. A guided Petra day trip from Eilat handles the border paperwork and transfers for you.

Wadi Rum, Jordan (about 1 hour from the border)

A 4x4 Bedouin truck route through Lawrence of Arabia’s red dunes, rock arches, and canyon gorges, usually paired with a Petra trip given the shared border crossing.

Timna Park (25km / about 25 minutes north)

The closest big day trip: a 15,000-acre geological park with King Solomon’s Pillars, the wind-carved Mushroom rock, an Egyptian temple to Hathor, and copper mining shafts worked more than 6,000 years ago. A Timna Park jeep tour covers it without a rental car.

Makhtesh Ramon / Mitzpe Ramon (about 1.5 hours north on Route 40)

The world’s largest erosion crater, 40km long and 500 meters deep. The visitor center sits on the northern cliffs and covers both the geology and the memorial to astronaut Ilan Ramon. Watch for wild Nubian ibex along the rim.

Masada and the Dead Sea (about 2.5 hours north via Route 90)

A cable car up to Herod’s mountaintop fortress, followed by floating in the Dead Sea’s hypersaline water at Ein Bokek.

Tips

  • Border fees: Taba into Egypt is a flat 60 USD cash exit fee (skip it only if you’re staying at a hotel adjoining the crossing and returning the same day); Jordan’s crossing has its own separate exit taxes, so bring cash for both directions.
  • Start early. Petra and Masada both reward an early border crossing over a late one, and desert heat from June to August makes any midday outdoor stop miserable by 11am.
  • A rental car covers Timna, Ramon Crater, and Masada comfortably; Petra and Wadi Rum are better done with a guide who knows the crossing paperwork.

Check crossing hours directly with the Yitzhak Rabin crossing schedule before a Petra trip, and the Makhtesh Ramon visitor center if the crater is on your route instead.

If you only have one day to spare, Timna beats a rushed Petra trip: you’ll actually get to walk the whole park instead of racing a border curfew home.

For an itinerary that strings several of these together instead of picking one, see multi-day trips from Eilat .