If you realize what has happened in more recent years due to the effects of global warming (I'd like to see a similar chart just based on data from 2017 - 2021), you look at the conversions, i.e from "cool" to °F? , and realize we won't be in Petra until 20 March, you'll see the temps should be just perfect for hiking in Petra! It should be 'cool' to 'comfortable.'
I'll take the end of March over Nov - Feb or May - Oct any day, most especially when you consider the temps in Egypt!
Living in Tucson, temperatures in the 50’s are cold.
It appears that most of your days in Jordan except for late afternoon hours will be in the 50’s. Not bad if you are on a ‘mission’ hike, like to the Monastery, but at the stroll pace of the tour through the Siq, where it is mostly in the shade you may want some warmer clothes.
I wasn't so successful with my second step #2W (my wife's application). When I tried to submit it, unlike when I submitted my application, when I hit send, the Jordan Gov't website took me to a payment page so I could pay for the required arrival PCR COVID test. I had been led to believe payment could be made later. I could find no way to decline so eventually bailed out. The second time I tried to apply, I was also taken to a payment page. I attempted to make a payment, but after I hit submit, a verification was required, which I was unable to accomplish so my bank automatically and immediately declined the transaction before I could intervene, and I was bumped off. Now I need to contact my bank and see if I can pre-arrange verification so the application is approved.
Interesting experience- my application went through immediately. I got my entry certificate with QR, and wasn't required to pay for an arrival PCR test.
After alerting my bank, I resubmitted my wife's entry application. Again the process diverted to a payment page for the PCR test. I paid the $20 JOD which was accepted and hit submit. Just 1 or 2 min. later she got her confirmation email and certificate with QR code.
Our certificates are different. The header/banner on her certificate was a red tinted photo of the Treasury at Petra containing two red circles- one with a white check, the other with white "PCR." It acknowledged she paid, and said she could board with "confirmation of PCR test from country of departure." Upon arrival she must go to the "PCR lane" where I assume she will need to get tested, though it doesn't spell that out.
My certificate on the other hand was a bit different- it had a blue/green tinted photo of the Treasury and a single green circle containing a white check. It said "the holder of this document is allowed to board the flight with evidence of a negative PCR test from country of departure." It mentions nothing about a PCR test on arrival.
Is this like TSA Pre-check, where sometimes you are on the fast track while at other times you gotta do the whole rigamarole?? Or did we just go through a transition from old to new application process?
Dang!! I think I just discovered what might have happened. First, the form presented on the Jordan website was different than Tauck's sample. Unlike Tauck's sample the one I was presented did not have a place to attach vaccination documentation just a place to attach "A copy of the negative PCR test" My certificate says, "This ticket is valid for Amman Civil Airport only" not Queen Alia International Airport I know I clicked the box for Queen Alia!! Arggghhh, I guess I will submit another application.
AlanS - Even with all of your preparation you may still have to do something different upon arrival.
For our recent trip to Mexico, being diligent, we filled out all of the entry forms that were required, per the American Airlines website. Upon arrival we presented the forms to the Mexican officials only to find out that they were the old forms and no longer accepted. We had to get out of line and fill out the new forms. As you know, when going through customs, that's just what you want to have to do - step out of line - NOT!!
Do your best and hope for the best. Hopefully it all goes without any hiccups.
I had similar thoughts when considering whether to complete some of the other forms like the "Combined Passenger Disclosure and Attestation to the United States of America" I found on the OMB site or somewhere. What I found was a document containing both the instructions and form. I suspect what the airline will hand out is much simpler. Also, most of it is just check boxes, so I think I'll wait. It is not like we won't have hours to complete it during the flight home.
AlanS...To avoid last minute changes, I didn't complete my Jordan entry & Qatar airline forms until a week before travel. Of course, there was still the possibility of changes to occur. The easy thing about getting thru customs/immigration in Jordan is that the Tauck representative takes care of everything. I handed him my paperwork and he did all of the talking.
Had no trouble getting my husband's entry forms completed and paid for into Jordan but when I enter my info onto the form, it is rejected because it doesn't like my "active mobile number". Any suggestions for possible success? Have tried entering info from my computer, ipad, and phone--all with the same result.
You might try abandoning the form and clearing your computer cache and trying again from scratch. I had a similar problem, the Jordan website wouldn't recognize the change. Make sure you select US (it will respond by showing "001") then, in the next box enter the 10 digit cell number (area code + 7 digit number). Do not add a leading "1" or "+".
Looks like most if not all of you are on the Small Group tour that begins on 3/17 on the Dead Sea. We arrive on 3/16 at AMM via Lufthansa from FRA. We haven't done our Jordan entry work yet, but will try to learn from your experiences. This is the first of our 3 int'l trips this year and are looking forward to seeing the world again.
Wanting to make sure about the right kind of PCR test for entry to Jordan, I finally talked with a Tauck rep who said that it needs to be a molecular live/active virus PCR test. It did take days to get to this discovery and have found a local lab that does onsite tests since most pharmacies and urgent care places ship the specimen off and it takes multiple days to get results back, not necessarily in the 3 day window we need.
bhinvb
1:13PM
Wanting to make sure about the right kind of PCR test for entry to Jordan, I finally talked with a Tauck rep who said that it needs to be a molecular live/active virus PCR test. It did take days to get to this discovery and have found a local lab that does onsite tests since most pharmacies and urgent care places ship the specimen off and it takes multiple days to get results back, not necessarily in the 3 day window we need.
I found the same thing. Flying out on a Tuesday, didn't help either. The outfit I finally found charges $$$$!!!
So, it will be more than just my wife and I.
I believe too many countries and other entities, etc. are using the term PCR test to mean almost any COVID test without knowing what it is, what it will and will not tell you, and the impact it has on us travelers trying to go somewhere! PCR means Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and is a specific kind of viral test.
There are two main types of tests: viral tests and antibody tests. A viral test tells you if you have a current infection and it includes PCR and antigen tests. An antibody or serology test might tell you if you had a past infection and should not be used to diagnose a current infection.
Among the viral tests are:
PCR also called a molecular test, is a genomic test, that looks for part of the virus—the RNA. It is very, very sensitive and typically is done in a hospital laboratory, however, it is now also available on smaller platforms that can be at your local doctor's office, etc.
An antigen test, often referred to as a rapid test, detects proteins in the virus. It can produce results in minutes. It functions a lot like a home pregnancy test whether you have one line or two lines on a test strip. However, antigen test results are less accurate than PCR test results. Antigen tests are available as an internet proctored official test (Abbott Labs' BINAXNow Home Test) that give results needed to enter the US. Until I learned Tauck will arrange testing for those staying later, I had planned to use a BINAXNow test.
The antibody tests look for the presence of the N protein antibody (nucleocapsid antibody)" and the spike protein antibody . When vaccinated, our bodies make the antibody to the spike protein but with a natural infection our bodies make both antibodies.
The issue- while the PCR can be quickest to detect whether you have COVID, it might say you're positive for coronavirus for three or four weeks after you've recovered, well past the "infectious stage," because it's still picking up past infection and the small fragments of the virus are still being amplified. So, if you test positive in the period leading up to your tour, you need to make note of the date of symptoms or date of first positive test and hope your follow-up PCR test comes out negative.
Argentina required a DDJJ form that originally required an upload of certain documents. We went to an airport hotel a day early because of the GG bridge (where we spent an hour and a half yesterday) being between us and the airport. By the time we got to our hotel the ‘upload’ was no longer required. American wanted to see the DDJJ in order to get our boarding passes, but no one in Argentina ever looked at them either going or returning. We completed filling out the forms on my iPad in the hotel.
Although we didn't have to jump through the kind of paperwork and testing hoops as you and cathyandsteve endured, I agree that much of the paperwork, CDC cards and testing results were either never asked for or only requested by the airlines. Given that our Nov 2021 Spain/Portugal tour was our first since 2019, we were extremely anxious and had visions of having to go through multiple checkpoints throughout our tour. That did not come to fruition, but it is best to be overly prepared just in case. My husband even insisted on taking copies of his WWII discharge papers (bless his heart; I told him I had them but, of course, I did not.)
I had a dream last night that we had to pass a written test to get off of the ship we were on. When we went to grade the test, we discovered that ‘they’ had changed all of the questions.
As mentioned, we've got our PCR tests scheduled, and paid for, within 72 hours of first United departure. Results are fast so if we don't like 'em, we can retest elsewhere. Anyway we had our doc look at the CDC recommendations for vaccines and are getting an array of immunizations over the next week or so. Most of these will be helpful when we head to S Africa in August. Indeed they are not inexpensive! We fly 4 weeks from today. ORF-IAD-FRA-AMM.
Hooray!! My husband and I just. tested negative for COVID so we are off to Egypt tomorrow. All we have to worry about now is the weather- thunderstorms coming through Louisiana may prevent us from getting to Atlanta for the flight overseas.
leedvd Praying the weather genies are on your side. The bad weather is suppose to hit later tomorrow evening - hopefully, you're settled in a nice Atlanta lounge by that time. Safe Travels and Enjoy your tour!
leedvid
12:57PM
Hooray!! My husband and I just. tested negative for COVID so we are off to Egypt tomorrow. All we have to worry about now is the weather- thunderstorms coming through Louisiana may prevent us from getting to Atlanta for the flight overseas.
PureLuxury, AlanS, AustinGirl- thanks so much!! Can’t believe we are finally getting to go to Egypt. Sitting in airport hoping to beat the passage of the cold front….
We just saw the movie, “Murder on the Nile”. Those of you going on this tour might enjoy it. Actually, at one point in the beginning of the movie Eloise said, “This is a Tauck tour!”
Comments
AlanS - Perhaps Sealord will lend you his Antarctica wardrobe for your trip in March. Petra is much colder than Amman. 😂
If you realize what has happened in more recent years due to the effects of global warming (I'd like to see a similar chart just based on data from 2017 - 2021), you look at the conversions, i.e from "cool" to °F? , and realize we won't be in Petra until 20 March, you'll see the temps should be just perfect for hiking in Petra!
It should be 'cool' to 'comfortable.' 
I'll take the end of March over Nov - Feb or May - Oct any day, most especially when you consider the temps in Egypt!
Exactly why we picked March to go to Petra, history now of course.
Living in Tucson, temperatures in the 50’s are cold.
It appears that most of your days in Jordan except for late afternoon hours will be in the 50’s. Not bad if you are on a ‘mission’ hike, like to the Monastery, but at the stroll pace of the tour through the Siq, where it is mostly in the shade you may want some warmer clothes.
I wasn't so successful with my second step #2W (my wife's application). When I tried to submit it, unlike when I submitted my application, when I hit send, the Jordan Gov't website took me to a payment page so I could pay for the required arrival PCR COVID test. I had been led to believe payment could be made later. I could find no way to decline so eventually bailed out. The second time I tried to apply, I was also taken to a payment page. I attempted to make a payment, but after I hit submit, a verification was required, which I was unable to accomplish so my bank automatically and immediately declined the transaction before I could intervene, and I was bumped off. Now I need to contact my bank and see if I can pre-arrange verification so the application is approved.
Interesting experience- my application went through immediately. I got my entry certificate with QR, and wasn't required to pay for an arrival PCR test.
After alerting my bank, I resubmitted my wife's entry application. Again the process diverted to a payment page for the PCR test. I paid the $20 JOD which was accepted and hit submit. Just 1 or 2 min. later she got her confirmation email and certificate with QR code.
Our certificates are different. The header/banner on her certificate was a red tinted photo of the Treasury at Petra containing two red circles- one with a white check, the other with white "PCR." It acknowledged she paid, and said she could board with "confirmation of PCR test from country of departure." Upon arrival she must go to the "PCR lane" where I assume she will need to get tested, though it doesn't spell that out.
My certificate on the other hand was a bit different- it had a blue/green tinted photo of the Treasury and a single green circle containing a white check. It said "the holder of this document is allowed to board the flight with evidence of a negative PCR test from country of departure." It mentions nothing about a PCR test on arrival.
Is this like TSA Pre-check, where sometimes you are on the fast track while at other times you gotta do the whole rigamarole?? Or did we just go through a transition from old to new application process?
Dang!! I think I just discovered what might have happened. First, the form presented on the Jordan website was different than Tauck's sample. Unlike Tauck's sample the one I was presented did not have a place to attach vaccination documentation just a place to attach "A copy of the negative PCR test" My certificate says, "This ticket is valid for Amman Civil Airport only" not Queen Alia International Airport I know I clicked the box for Queen Alia!! Arggghhh, I guess I will submit another application.
AlanS - Even with all of your preparation you may still have to do something different upon arrival.
For our recent trip to Mexico, being diligent, we filled out all of the entry forms that were required, per the American Airlines website. Upon arrival we presented the forms to the Mexican officials only to find out that they were the old forms and no longer accepted. We had to get out of line and fill out the new forms. As you know, when going through customs, that's just what you want to have to do - step out of line - NOT!!
Do your best and hope for the best. Hopefully it all goes without any hiccups.
I had similar thoughts when considering whether to complete some of the other forms like the "Combined Passenger Disclosure and Attestation to the United States of America" I found on the OMB site or somewhere. What I found was a document containing both the instructions and form. I suspect what the airline will hand out is much simpler. Also, most of it is just check boxes, so I think I'll wait. It is not like we won't have hours to complete it during the flight home.
AlanS...To avoid last minute changes, I didn't complete my Jordan entry & Qatar airline forms until a week before travel. Of course, there was still the possibility of changes to occur. The easy thing about getting thru customs/immigration in Jordan is that the Tauck representative takes care of everything. I handed him my paperwork and he did all of the talking.
Six-week countdown--I can feel your excitement!
Had no trouble getting my husband's entry forms completed and paid for into Jordan but when I enter my info onto the form, it is rejected because it doesn't like my "active mobile number". Any suggestions for possible success? Have tried entering info from my computer, ipad, and phone--all with the same result.
You might try abandoning the form and clearing your computer cache and trying again from scratch. I had a similar problem, the Jordan website wouldn't recognize the change. Make sure you select US (it will respond by showing "001") then, in the next box enter the 10 digit cell number (area code + 7 digit number). Do not add a leading "1" or "+".
Looks like most if not all of you are on the Small Group tour that begins on 3/17 on the Dead Sea. We arrive on 3/16 at AMM via Lufthansa from FRA. We haven't done our Jordan entry work yet, but will try to learn from your experiences. This is the first of our 3 int'l trips this year and are looking forward to seeing the world again.
Wanting to make sure about the right kind of PCR test for entry to Jordan, I finally talked with a Tauck rep who said that it needs to be a molecular live/active virus PCR test. It did take days to get to this discovery and have found a local lab that does onsite tests since most pharmacies and urgent care places ship the specimen off and it takes multiple days to get results back, not necessarily in the 3 day window we need.
I found the same thing. Flying out on a Tuesday, didn't help either. The outfit I finally found charges $$$$!!!
So, it will be more than just my wife and I.
I believe too many countries and other entities, etc. are using the term PCR test to mean almost any COVID test without knowing what it is, what it will and will not tell you, and the impact it has on us travelers trying to go somewhere! PCR means Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and is a specific kind of viral test.
There are two main types of tests: viral tests and antibody tests. A viral test tells you if you have a current infection and it includes PCR and antigen tests. An antibody or serology test might tell you if you had a past infection and should not be used to diagnose a current infection.
Among the viral tests are:
PCR also called a molecular test, is a genomic test, that looks for part of the virus—the RNA. It is very, very sensitive and typically is done in a hospital laboratory, however, it is now also available on smaller platforms that can be at your local doctor's office, etc.
An antigen test, often referred to as a rapid test, detects proteins in the virus. It can produce results in minutes. It functions a lot like a home pregnancy test whether you have one line or two lines on a test strip. However, antigen test results are less accurate than PCR test results. Antigen tests are available as an internet proctored official test (Abbott Labs' BINAXNow Home Test) that give results needed to enter the US. Until I learned Tauck will arrange testing for those staying later, I had planned to use a BINAXNow test.
The antibody tests look for the presence of the N protein antibody (nucleocapsid antibody)" and the spike protein antibody . When vaccinated, our bodies make the antibody to the spike protein but with a natural infection our bodies make both antibodies.
The issue- while the PCR can be quickest to detect whether you have COVID, it might say you're positive for coronavirus for three or four weeks after you've recovered, well past the "infectious stage," because it's still picking up past infection and the small fragments of the virus are still being amplified. So, if you test positive in the period leading up to your tour, you need to make note of the date of symptoms or date of first positive test and hope your follow-up PCR test comes out negative.
Argentina required a DDJJ form that originally required an upload of certain documents. We went to an airport hotel a day early because of the GG bridge (where we spent an hour and a half yesterday) being between us and the airport. By the time we got to our hotel the ‘upload’ was no longer required. American wanted to see the DDJJ in order to get our boarding passes, but no one in Argentina ever looked at them either going or returning. We completed filling out the forms on my iPad in the hotel.
Sealord,
Although we didn't have to jump through the kind of paperwork and testing hoops as you and cathyandsteve endured, I agree that much of the paperwork, CDC cards and testing results were either never asked for or only requested by the airlines. Given that our Nov 2021 Spain/Portugal tour was our first since 2019, we were extremely anxious and had visions of having to go through multiple checkpoints throughout our tour. That did not come to fruition, but it is best to be overly prepared just in case. My husband even insisted on taking copies of his WWII discharge papers (bless his heart; I told him I had them but, of course, I did not.)
WWII discharge papers? Wow! That’s impressive!
I had a dream last night that we had to pass a written test to get off of the ship we were on. When we went to grade the test, we discovered that ‘they’ had changed all of the questions.
As mentioned, we've got our PCR tests scheduled, and paid for, within 72 hours of first United departure. Results are fast so if we don't like 'em, we can retest elsewhere. Anyway we had our doc look at the CDC recommendations for vaccines and are getting an array of immunizations over the next week or so. Most of these will be helpful when we head to S Africa in August. Indeed they are not inexpensive! We fly 4 weeks from today. ORF-IAD-FRA-AMM.
Some of your vaccines should be covered by insurance if you check
Hooray!! My husband and I just. tested negative for COVID so we are off to Egypt tomorrow. All we have to worry about now is the weather- thunderstorms coming through Louisiana may prevent us from getting to Atlanta for the flight overseas.
leedvd Praying the weather genies are on your side. The bad weather is suppose to hit later tomorrow evening - hopefully, you're settled in a nice Atlanta lounge by that time. Safe Travels and Enjoy your tour!
Great news! Tell them I'll see them in a month!!
leedvid Safe travels. Enjoy your tour. We all anxiously await a thorough report when you get home!!
PureLuxury, AlanS, AustinGirl- thanks so much!! Can’t believe we are finally getting to go to Egypt. Sitting in airport hoping to beat the passage of the cold front….
We just saw the movie, “Murder on the Nile”. Those of you going on this tour might enjoy it. Actually, at one point in the beginning of the movie Eloise said, “This is a Tauck tour!”