Petra is a must see. The tour is very clear that a 1 day tour is not enough time to see Petra and they recommend a longer duration. Due to time constraints, we opted for a 1 day tour to be better than nothing. While this is true because of the area scope of Petra, it’s also due to delays which we encountered.
The guide we picked up at the Jordan border was very kind, considerate, and knowledgeable. He provided a lot of information about the country and people as we journeyed north toward Petra. Once in Petra, he offered a guided explanation tour or we could venture on our own, followed by meeting for lunch at 4pm at the Sandstone Restaurant. Great buffet!
We opted to venture on our own because what was supposed to be 4 hours to explore Petra turned into 2.5 hours.
The bus pickup in Tel Aviv left 25 minutes late. There was no traffic, yet the journey seemed to take an hour extra to the Jordan border, likely due to an extra rest stop or two and the late departure. It was not clear what to do when arriving to the bus parked beside the office tower at 1:45am. There was a sign, but no check in process or ability to ask questions. Good thing for the sign in the bus window.
The border crossing seemed excessively dramatic. Perhaps the repetitive instruction about laying low is prudent, but this could be taken care of on the bus prior to arrival rather than an extra 20 minute exercise. There was also a 20 minute period of waiting after clearing immigration with unknown reasons why. Poor communication.
While I realize vendor stops are not the responsibility of the tour operator, we had a fraudulent experience at the rest stop about 20 minutes before Petra. The card processor suddenly went “down” due to internet. It was a chaotic experience and in hindsight this was proclaimed to at least 3 transactions I saw. We didn’t get to see the screen or get a receipt. Turns out the terminal was operational and the charge went through along with $25 cash gone. Note to others to pay by cash and avoid fraud.
Overall if you just do a 1 day trip I highly recommend it but be very aware that you will likely not get the time to spend in Petra that you are expecting.