Very! While you pass through “remote” desert areas in places, you’re never too far from people. The longest distances between resupply points are around 40km (with major climbs) before the last day (70km from Wadi Rum to Aqaba). You can end every day with food, water, accommodation, and most days you’ll have one or more resupply points throughout the day.

Stores are frequent, but supplies are generally very basic and don’t necessarily include fresh produce. Be ready for canned meat and packaged hummus and cheese!
You can check our About Jordan page for more information.

Parts of the route feel remote and are out of cell reception—notably the deep canyons/wadis in Central Jordan and the desert after Wadi Rum. If you’re traveling alone, carry a satellite communication device in case of emergency. If you’re in a group, it’s likely not necessary. You’re never extremely far from people/help. Most places on the route are accessible by truck or near points accessible by truck.

Nothing is impossible, but we do not recommend this. The route was intentionally designed as a North to South route, with more manageable climbs in that direction.

While incidents can occur anywhere, Jordan is, for the most part, safe! Jordan has the same terrorism travel advisory threat as France or Germany, and petty crime is quite rare in the Middle East (you’re more likely to be pickpocketed on the metro in Barcelona than in Jordan). Jordanians, on the whole, are wonderfully hospitable people. In some remoter areas, where communities are less exposed to foreign tourists, cyclists may however experience harassment from local youth. Please let our team know of any occurrences (info@jordanbiketrail.com), so we can monitor them, and – if necessary – report them to the police.
For more information, check our Safety page!

NO! The only bike shops are in Amman.
See Shops & Supplies for more information.

No, but knowing some Arabic is a huge benefit. In many places along the trail, you’ll encounter Jordanians who speak English very well (generally closer to urban centers and tourist sites); in other (more rural) areas you won’t.

We recommend a mountain bike, with wide tires (definitely wider than 2”). Suspension is not necessary, but you may feel more comfortable on some descents with front suspension.

See Packing (Bike Setup) for more information.

The Jordan Bike Trail is physically very demanding (20,000m of elevation gain over 730km), but not technically challenging. You should be very fit, but there’s no need to be an experience technical mountain biker to ride this route.
You can find a physical challenge rating on each stage’s page, and more information in Difficulty and Terrain.

We generally recommend to do the trail completely unsupported only if you are an experienced bikepacker!

You can, but it sometimes gets culturally awkward, so we recommend staying in accommodations if you have the budget. It benefits the local economy, and you can travel with a much lighter luggage. For each stage there is usually a wide choice of accommodation, ranging from simple home stays to more luxurious five-star hotels.
See Accommodation for more info.

Since camping is a relatively uncommon thing to do in Jordan, and it would be culturally completely unusually for a group of women to camp out all by themselves, we strongly advice female-only groups against camping! It would most likely attract the attention and curiosity of shepherds or other people passing by, and may lead to uncomfortable situations.

Jordan has a dry, arid climate, with quite comfortable temperatures for most of the year. Precipitation is more likely in the North in the winter, and temperatures in the winter at high elevations in the South can be below freezing. The sun is strong and heat exhaustion from sun exposure is a risk. Best not to ride in the summer months.
See Weather for more information.

In general, for women or men, we recommend riding in a group of two or more. We further recommend that women do not ride alone.
See Local Interactions for more information.

In Jordan, 911 is the number to call for emergency services.

Yes!
See our About Jordan page, as well as the Safety page.

It’s possible, but not always easy. JETT Buses can accommodate bikes. Most taxis and minibuses can manage a bike if you remove all bags and both wheels.

Move slowly, steadily and away from the property/livestock that the dogs are guarding (…they’re just doing their job!) If necessary, dismount and walk with your bike between yourself and the dogs. Try to make visual/verbal contact with the local shepherd (if present) — they’ll call off the dogs. In rare cases, you may need to stoop to pick up a rock — most dogs recognize this motion and move back. You usually don’t need to throw the rock!

Some Jordanians drink tap water, and in most cases you can according to international health regulations. It is, however, not guaranteed to be potable (depends on location, condition of the pipes,…). It is therefore safest to treat the water before drinking or rely on bottled water.
See Food & Water.

The Jordan Bike Trail follows close to the Jordan Trail, but diverges from the hiking route (sometimes significantly) to make the biking route more accessible to cyclists. At times, the two routes overlap.

You can bike the Jordan Trail. It would be a much more intense bikepacking experience, with a significant amount of walking/hiking (steep technical climbs and descents). You’d also be best served by a fat bike, as significant sections of the route (especially in the south) are quite sandy.