Prices for - Middle East Overland

Egypt & Jordan

20 days (Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, Dahab, Petra, Wadi Rum, Amman)

Using two and three star hotels and a variety of transport from trains, coaches, mini- buses to feluccas, this adventure tour will show you the main attractions of Egypt & Jordan as well as places off the beaten track.


Day 1 Cairo - Free Day. Your Egypt travel adventure begins with you being met at Cairo airport and transferred to your hotel. Your  Tour leader will meet those of you who have arrived at our Hotel for an informal get together. (No meals provided today)

Day 2 Cairo - Famous for the pyramids and all things concerning Egyptology; trips to Cairo are educational and awe inspiring. The tour starts in the bustling metropolis that is Cairo, with our own Egyptologist guide for the day. We spend the morning at the Egyptian History Museum and after lunch we explore the world-famous Pyramids - inside and out - and the Sphinx at Giza. Trips to Cairo aren't complete without a camel ride which is also included and is guaranteed to be a good laugh. In the evening we catch an overnight train to Aswan. (Two meals)

Days 3-4 Aswan - Our train arrives in the morning and we are transferred to our Hotel. Tours to Egypt are not complete without a visit to Aswan and its beautiful setting on the Nile - feluccas, desert sand, sparkling water, palm trees, tropical plants, granite rock outcrops, islands and the Nile's first cataracts. The culture of Aswan's darker Nubian inhabitants is palpably African and more laid back than the rest of Egypt. Here you can walk along the Corniche with its riverside restaurants and attractive boulevards, or mix with locals in the narrow market alleys and stop in small cafes. We also include a visit to the great stone monuments of the Sun Temple built by Ramses II deep in the southern desert at Abu Simbel. (included in the cost of the tour). We also organise a trip to the Temple at Philae and you can also go by felucca to visit Elephantine Island. Your Tour Leader will advise and inform you of the various things you can do and places to visit in and around Aswan, including an evening visit to a Nubian village. (Three Meals)

Days 5-6 River Nile, Felucca - In the morning we transfer to our feluccas, the perfect relaxing antidote to a busy Egypt adventure trip. We spend the next two days and nights aboard watching Egypt glide by and sleeping under the stars. Originally introduced by the Romans, these traditional sailing boats use only wind power and occasionally oars. We will sleep on board over night as well as stop off at villages and sandy beaches. A canopy can be erected as protection from the sun during the day, and wind or dew at night. (Three meals each day)

Day 7 Luxor - Our Felucca trip will end this morning, but our Egypt adventure continues. After the felucca trip you will have the opportunity to visit Kom Ombo temple and the Temple of Horus at Edfu. We transfer by mini bus to our Luxor hotel from where you have the afternoon to explore Luxor's sights. The vast Karnak Temple complex beats every other monument in Egypt except perhaps the Pyramids of Giza and is a must on any Egypt tour. Built on an awesome scale (it does house the gods after all!) its Levithian size will astound you! We include a visit to Karnak Temple reached by our own horse-drawn carriages. There is also the option of the Sound and Light Show in the evening. Luxor Temple is in the centre of town within easy walking distance of our hotel. (Two Meals)

Day 8 Luxor - Today we have a sturdy donkey each to visit the Valley of the Kings, where our guide shows us around a number of tombs. (In the summer months we may use an air-conditioned mini-bus instead of donkeys.) Intended by the Pharaohs who built them to be the ultimate insurance policy on eternal life, the tombs are very well hidden and we have to scramble down long dark underground shafts to discover their dramatic and quite amazing funerary glory. We will also visit the Colossi of Memnon as well as the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of Workers. (Two meals)

Day 9 Luxor to Hurghada. We have a free morning in Luxor, where it is possible to visit a local orphanage. In the afternoon we travel for four hours by road to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada where we overnight in a local hotel. (Two meals)

Day 10 Hurghada to Dahab - We catch the morning hydrofoil ferry for the short hop across the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula. We now transfer you to the most relaxed and, for many, the most enjoyable place in Egypt. We arrive in Dahab in time for a seafood lunch and a cold beer on the beach! (One Meal)
(please note: we are one of the very few companies operating tours in Egypt that uses the hydrofoil across the Red Sea, thus doing away with the very long and tedious 18hr bus journey and allowing an extra day in Dahab).

Days 11 to 14 Dahab - With year-round sunshine, warm sea temperatures and a laid-back atmosphere, it is no wonder Dahab has become so popular with travellers - especially those on our Egypt Encompassed trips.
Here almost 'anything goes' and our stay in Dahab can become quite hedonistic! Here also there are no big tourist hotels nearby and we stay in a small air-conditioned hotel 5 minutes walk from the beach.
This part of the Red Sea is also known as one of the world's top diving locations, with spectacular coral gardens and marine life you can snorkel to within metres of the beach. There is the opportunity to scuba dive, desert trek by camel or quad bike, visit St Catherine's Monastery and climb Mt Sinai or simply relax on the beach. (One Meal each day)

Please note - On the Jordan section of this trip you will not be accompanied by a Tour Leader. Our local English speaking rep in Jordan will be your point of contact.

Day 15 - Transfer from Dahab to Neuweiba and catch the fast ferry for a 90 minute crossing of the Red Sea to Aqaba in Jordan where you will be met by our agent. From both the ferry and Aqaba you will have the unique experience of clearly seeing four different countries from, the same standpoint; Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. From Aqaba you are transferred by minibus to your desert camp in Wadi Rum in time for sunset. Tonight you will be sleeping in a traditional Bedouin goats hair tent in the middle of the desert. Bedding, towels and evening meal are included. Thankfully there are no hotels in Wadi Rum, the area has been declared a national park and only the Bedouin are allowed to live here. In many ways not much has changed since the times of Lawrence of Arabia almost 100 years ago.
(Dinner, O/night Wadi Rum.)

Day 16 - This morning is an early start. Your Bedouin Guides will be ready to take you off in 4 wheel drive jeeps to not only observe the sunrise over some of the bizarre rock formations that rise out of the desert floor but also visit some of Lawrence of Arabia's desert haunts such as the spring that supplied him and his desert army with water - here there are also Nabataean inscriptions. After a late breakfast back at the Bedouin camp it is a 2 hour drive to Petra. Our Hotel here is near the top of the valley with some incredible views. You will have a free afternoon in which time you can wander around the small town or relax by the Hotel pool. There is also the option of Petra by night this evening of a 2 hour candle lit guided visit through the ancient city with music and stories to help you experience it the way travel weary traders of old must have known it.
(B/fast & Dinner, O/n Petra)

Day 17 - After breakfast we visit one of the single greatest attractions in the entire Middle East region - The Rose Red city of Petra. We include a local guide for the first 2 hours who will take you through the Siq, the long narrow corridor between sheer sandstone cliffs, which brings you out at the treasury. Your guide will explain about the various tombs, and the history of the Nabataeans and later the Romans, as well as the significance of the various rock hewn structures. You will have the rest of the day to explore this amazing site at your own pace. On your return to the hotel there will be a 3 course buffet meal awaiting you.
(B/fast & Dinner & O/n Petra)

Day 18 - After breakfast we drive to the lowest point on earth - the Dead Sea. It is is extremely buoyant, in fact it is almost impossible to swim. So just take your favourite magazine, lie back and read while you float along, or, view Israel just a few kilometres away on the opposite bank. We leave the Dead Sea late afternoon and visit Mt. Nebo about 1 hours' steep drive away. Here there are dramatic views over Israel, the Dead Sea and if it's not too hazy the walls of Jericho. Mt Nebo was Moses final resting place and the church in his name, built in 394 Ad is still functioning. A few minutes away is our final destination, the small, friendly town of Madaba, just outside Amman.
(B/fast & Dinner, O/n in Madaba)

Day 19 - Toady is a free day to go exploring, there is St George Church (which has the oldest known map in the world), various Roman ruins & Byzantine Churches in the Archeological Park - complete with old mosaic floors all with in easy walking distance of the hotel. (B/fast, O/nite in Madaba)

Day 20 - After breakfast at our hotel the trip ends. Airport transfers to Amman airport will be included at any time on Wednesday night from 6 pm until 10 am on Thursday morning. (B/fast)

We can reserve extra nights at our Madaba hotel if you wish.

Please note - If you wish to fly from Cairo instead of Amman there is the option, on arrival in Madaba to return to Aqaba and overnight there to allow you to catch the ferry back to Neuweiba in Egypt the following morning and transfer by coach to Cairo. We can organise the transport and all transfers for you. The transfer to Cairo will cost an extra £60 and you will not arrive into Cairo until the morning, so flights can only be booked to depart Cairo after midday. This option will necessitate you purchasing two single entry visas for Egypt, one when you first arrive into Cairo and another upon your return from Jordan (£10 each approx).