Camel Scams
Petra is one of the world’s most amazing world heritage sites. To the credit of local authorities, it’s a fairly safe site to visit. That doesn’t mean we can let our guard completely. The unfortunate truth is that there are some unsavory local Bedouin looking to rip you off. There are plenty of touts pushing overprices postcards and other junk, but the most common scams people get hit with are the horse and camel ride scams.
How Camel Scams Work
After passing through the ticket gates at Petra, it’s a 30 to 40 minute walk down the canyon to the first site. As you get just out of sight of the ticket gates, you might encounter some ‘friendly’ Bedouins coachmen. They will pitch an unforgettable ride down to the Treasury by horse drawn carriages down to the Treasury.
They will tell you that ride is included in your ticket to the site, which it is. However, once you finish they will ask for a tip of 20 to 50JD ($30-70US). They might start by telling you they don’t get much money for providing the carriage rides. If that fails, they will get more aggressive and demand payment. If you refuse to pay things can get nasty and quick.
On one of my trips up the road I tried to warn a couple that their ride wouldn’t be free before they got into the carriage. Two Bedouin coachmen got incredibly confrontational with the threat of violence clearly implied. I took their photo and reported to them to Petra tourist police. Long story short, the police will do little quell the situation.
Additional Information
Addition; there are also camel drivers that will try to sell rides up to the Monastery. The ruse here is that camels cannot traverse the path up there. It’s way too steep for them. At the base of the mountain trail they will tell you need to change to a donkey and try to extort an additional fee for that. If you refuse to pay, you’ve just gotten a very short, expensive, and worthless camel ride. You could pony up and pay again, but you’ll be getting royally ripped off. If you get cause in this scam, it’s best to cut your losses and get away from these crooks. You’ve just learned a valuable lesson of life in Bedouin country. The walk up to the Monastery can be a little taxing, but it’s quite nice.
How to Avoid
To state the obvious, you could just walk. There are a lot of interesting things to see along the way, especially as you the approach the treasury. It’s quite a magical moment when you’re on foot. It’s probably more tempting to catch a ride back up, as you’ll surly hot and tired. Again, I would highly recommend not using these scammers. If you are hell bent on doing getting on a camel or donkey, then make sure you work out a price ahead of time. Make sure you are very clear about the total price, as them might to hoodwink you by saying that the price was per person. Remember these are very shady people.
If you fall for this scam, it is a good idea to report the incident to the police. It is doubtful that it will change much, but at least there will some sort of record of the event.
The tourist police have an office near the ticket gate. They speak English fairly well, so communication shouldn’t be an issue.
Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it is.
Want more information about Petra? Check out our full write up HERE.
