Food Tips for Petra

Seriously the only sit-down restaurant inside petra (basin restaurant, its that big buffet place in the middle of the site) charges 15 jod for a pathetic buffet with cold food and flies everywhere trust me you do not want this. Its designed to trap exhausted tourists who didnt plan ahead and have no other options.

Heres what to do instead: bring your own snacks and water from wadi musa town where a bottle costs 0.50-1 jod not 3 jod inside the site. Theres a good supermarket called cozmo express on tourism street in wadi musa where you can stock up on water, fruit, nuts, chocolate bars, whatever you need. Load up your daypack before entering petra.

The bedouin tea stalls inside petra are fine for a break and theyre only 1-2 jod for sweet mint tea or sage tea. Honestly the tea is good and the guys running them are usually nice and will let you sit in the shade. Theres one near the royal tombs and another near the monastery that both have decent views. Just tea and rest, nothing more.

If youre staying multiple days in wadi musa theres a spot called al wadi restaurant on main tourist street (al-wadi al-mousa street, near the movenpick) that does proper mansaf and maqluba for 7-9 jod. The lamb mansaf there is genuinely good, comes with the whole yogurt sauce situation and rice and almonds. Way better than any tourist buffet.

Also al qantarah restaurant does excellent falafel sandwiches for 2 jod if youre on a budget. Get like three of them, stuff them in your bag, boom you have lunch at petra.

Just whatever you do dont get suckered into basin restaurant honestly save your money for literally anything else. Even overpriced water inside petra is a better deal than that buffet.