What's on in Aqaba, Jordan through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  18 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Dive centres run as normal, but restaurants in town shut until sunset and the beaches fill after dark instead. The free-zone hotels carry on serving through the day. Source ↗

Still on: Wadi flash-flood season (15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Wadi flash-flood season (15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidCrowdedBook early

  Half of Amman drives down for the holiday. Public beaches are full, hotels are booked out and the desert highway is slow in both directions for the best part of a week. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Wadi flash-flood season (15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  1 May – 30 Nov · usually

  The gulf holds its warmth far longer than the Mediterranean does: from May a rash vest is enough, and the reef starts a five-minute walk off the shore hotels.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The unusable afternoon

  15 Jun – 10 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Diving and the water are fine; walking around town at two in the afternoon is not. Everything shifts to early morning and late evening, and the town feels shut in between.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The unusable afternoon (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The unusable afternoon (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The unusable afternoon (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Wadi flash-flood season

  15 Oct – 31 Mar · usuallyClosures

  Rain over the mountains behind town runs off bare rock and crosses the roads out to Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea. It is a day's disruption at most, but it closes canyon trips outright. Source ↗

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), Wadi flash-flood season (15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Ayla Red Sea Half Marathon, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Ayla Red Sea Half Marathon

  1–12 Dec · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Run Jordan's road race along the shore in the first week of December, which is roughly the point the winter season starts here. The north-beach hotels fill for the weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Wadi flash-flood season (15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))