Beaches in Jordan

Twenty-seven kilometres of coast, all of it on the Gulf of Aqaba, and one of the shortest coastlines of any country with a sea — a single town's frontage, wedged between Israel and Saudi Arabia at the head of a deep rift valley. The reef along it is northern Red Sea coral in unusually good condition for water this heavily used by shipping, protected by a marine park with moorings, zoning and an anchoring ban, and several wrecks have been sunk deliberately as dive sites, among them a C-130 aircraft and a tank. The corals here are of particular scientific interest because they tolerate higher temperatures than most and are studied as a possible refuge as oceans warm, which makes this short coast a research site as much as a resort. The water is comfortable year-round, the gulf is deep close to shore, and the sand is narrow because the mountains come down to it. Practically: summer air temperatures are severe and the season most visitors use runs October to April; the public beaches in town are busy and conservative in dress while the hotel and park beaches are not; and Wadi Rum is an hour inland and Petra two, which is why Aqaba is usually the last stop rather than the first.