Aqaba diving vacation in Jordan, with Petra

Planet

Most of the diving off Aqaba is based in the Aqaba Marine Park which is about 7 km in length and located south of the city of Aqaba. This is a protected area and was created to conserve and manage the natural near-shore marine environment with its rich biodiversity. It allows for certain touristic uses at sustainable levels for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations of Jordanians and the global community.

Our chosen dive center, Dive Aqaba, has been awarded a PADI Green Star Award. PADI recently introduced this new programme to assist dive centers and resorts in identifying their environmental footprint and offers them a range of actions they can take to lessen any negative effects. Those centers who have the Green Star Award demonstrate a dedication to conservation across a wide range of business functions including (but not limited to) water conservation; energy use; environmentally friendly transportation practices; optimized waste management; use of sustainable materials; conservation leadership; paperless interactions with their PADI Regional Headquarters and donations to Project AWARE .

People

One of the resorts we can offer is the Eco Resort, Petra which is located 10 kilometres from Petra in the village of Taybet. This 5 star resort has been converted with the support of the local community. The old village was almost derelict as the community had moved away during the 1960s. In the early 1990s the mayor proposed turning the old village houses into a tourist resort totally rebuilt and owned by the local community. The end result was a recycled village owned, rebuilt and run by the locals thus keeping the community and its heritage alive and encouraging growth.

We can offer our client The Petra Kitchen experience which is an evening of education and fun enabling you to re-create some authentic Jordanian dishes with the help of some of the local women. Great care has been taken to make The Petra Kitchen a truly Jordanian experience - right down to the furnishings which are all crafted in Jordan, the tableware which is all produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative and the aprons and table linens which are all hand-embroidered by the Jordan River Foundation.