Tour type: Small Group
Group size: Min: 2 | Max: 18
Accommodation: 3 to 5-star hotels, sleeper train, felucca sailboat & Bedouin camp
Meals:
Transport: A/C car/minibus/coach, sleeper train, felucca sailboat, Bedouin jeeps
Highlights: Jordan's desert castles, Jerash Roman ruins, Ajloun & Shobak castles, Dead Sea swim, Dana Nature Reserve, Petra tour, Wadi Rum safari & camp, Pyramids & Sphinx, Philae temple, Felucca cruise, Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Red Sea.
With a newly designed Egypt and Jordan tour itinerary, this two-week adventure is packed full of iconic highlights mixed in with some different activities and experiences to bring these fascinating countries to life.
Our Egypt and Jordan tour kicks off in the Jordanian capital of Amman before wehead into the desert to discover some of Jordan's famous Umayyad 'Desert Castles'. We'll explore Downtown Amman on foot, trying local food, walking through the markets and learning some simple Arabic phrases for the tour ahead.
Next, we head north to visit of the best-preserved Roman cities in the region at Jerash, and then seeing the imposing Ajloun castle and taking a short hike through the surrounding hills and forests to some Bronze Age dolmens. A night in a friendly local village homestay follows before we descend to the Dead Sea for a swim and float in its incredibly salty waters.
Another beautiful walk follows as we explore the surroundings of the restored Dana village amidst the hills and canyons of the Dana Nature Reserve on a stop en-route to Jordan's biggest highlight, the hidden city of Petra.
We have a full day to explore the site and then head into the desert sands and towering cliffs of Wadi Rum where we'll camp with the Bedouins and learn about their nomadic desert lifestyle.
We then fly to Egypt to start our exploration of the country's Pharaonic history, Nile valley and beautiful Red Sea coast. - here we'll tour the Pyramids, Sphinx and Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and take a boat trip to the beautiful Philae temple in Aswan.
Then we take to the Nile on a traditional felucca sailboat for a relaxing overnight cruise down the river, watching rural Egyptian life pass us by as we chat with the friendly Nubian crew. We'll sleep on the deck of the boat, with a hotel upgrade available for those who want some more comfort.
Next on our adventure is Luxor - home to one of the largest concentrations of ancient monuments in the world. We'll see the huge columned temples and halls at Karnak, delve into the Pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings, see the imposing temple of Queen Hatchepsut and walk around Luxor temple as it is beautifully lit up at night.
Finally, we head to the Red Sea for some well-earned relaxation and down-time in a five-star resort on the coast - the perfect end to this Egypt and Jordan tour.
Options for snorkelling, scuba-diving and other water sports are available before we return to Cairo to finish the tour with an exploratory guided walking tour through the back lanes of the Khan-el-Khalili bazaar and Islamic Cairo.
If you'd like more information on our Ancient Encounters tour or any of our Egypt and Jordan tours, contact us here.
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Safer Encounters changes:
As well as our enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols, the following changes are being made to this tour during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Maximum group sizes are reduced to 10.
- The Amman city tour and Desert Castles visit have been moved from Day 2 and will now be done when you return to Amman. This will ensure we have enough time in Amman to take a PCR test and obtain the results before you return home.
Hotel Gala Dinners:
Many of Egypt's hotels and Nile cruise boats arrange a very special gala dinner with entertainment in the evening on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Payment for these is often optional on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) but normally compulsory on New Year's Eve (31 Dec), whether you attend or not. Prices can range from around US$50 to over US$180 per person in 5-star hotels. Final decisions on prices and whether dinners are compulsory are made relatively close to the time. We aim to always select hotels that make their Gala Dinners optional, though this is not always possible, especially for New Year's Eve. Gala dinner prices are therefore not included in our prices above, but will be added to your booking if they become required. Please budget accordingly. More information is available on request.
Small-group departure dates are listed below. The tour is also available as a customisable private departure on any other dates. Please contact us for more information and prices for your preferred date and number of travellers.
The hotels and accommodations listed below are the ones we most often on this tour. From time to time we may exchange these for similar properties at the same level. In general, specific hotels cannot be guaranteed on our group tours, but you may select your preferred options if you are booking a tailor-made trip.
Rum Art Hotel
Amman
The Rum Art Hotel is rare in Amman in that it is a decent mid-range hotel located within easy walking distance of lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. This is ideal if you have any free time before or after the main tour, and also in the evenings.
Rasoun Homestay
Rasoun
This is a friendly local homestay in Rasoun village near Ajloun Castle. Accommodation is in shared rooms holding up to 4 people. Bathrooms are separate and shared. Overall you can expect a simple but comfortable and very welcoming experience.
Dead Sea Spa Resort
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea Spa hotel is a comfortable resort style hotel located on the banks of the Red Sea. Access to the Dead Sea itself is directly from the hotel, with spa treatments and Dead Sea mud to lather yourselves with before swimming also available.
La Maison
Petra
La Maison is a comfortable, mid-range hotel in Petra with an excellent location less than ten minutes walk from the Visitor Centre and entrance into Petra.
Rahayeb Camp
Wadi Rum
This Wadi Rum desert camp has a fantastic location on the desert sands against the cliffs in the Wadi Rum Protected Area. Accommodation is in permanent goat hair tents with proper beds and all bedding provided. The food is generally excellent.
Steigenberger Cairo Pyramids Hotel
Cairo
It features two pools, several restaurants and bars, free WiFi, a spa and fitness centre, and both classic and family rooms. The rooms overlook the gardens and feature air-conditioning, TVs, safes, and minibars. The hotel offers an airport shuttle.
Sleeper train
Cairo, Luxor & Aswan
On the sleeper train you have a private twin-berthed cabin, which features two large seats; fold down beds with mattress, sheets, pillow, blanket; storage locker and wash basin. An airline style evening meal and breakfast are included.
Tolip Aswan Hotel
Aswan
Tolip Aswan Hotel overlooks the Nile and sits close to several tourist sites. Rooms have en-suite bathrooms, TVs, minibars, WiFi, and balconies with river views. Facilities include a pool, bar, gym, and sauna.
Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel
Luxor
This hotel, formerly Le Meridien Luxor, is a modern hotel built in 2001. It is ideally situated right on the banks of the Nile and is within easy reach of all the major sites of Luxor.
Felucca Sailboat
Aswan
Feluccas are very basic traditional Nile sailboats and make for an extremely relaxing and enjoyable way to travel down the river.
Sunrise Royal Makadi Aqua Resort
Hurghada
The Sunrise Royal Makadi Resort is an excellent Red Sea resort option with a great beachfront location and lots of different activities and facilities available on site. The hotel is located near Makadi Bay, around 30km from the centre of Hurghada.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination youre visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
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Ancient Encounters & Country Reviews
Product Review
Posted 3rd of Jan 2019
Just amazing affordable price.
Product Review
Posted 14th of Aug 2018
Overall good. Need better transportation. Tour guide good but needs to be more respectful of the female guests less touchy feely
Product Review
Posted 21st of Nov 2017
A fabulous trip. Wonderful experience being part of a small group touring a truly amazing country. Sami, our guide, was fantastic - superb knowledge, delivered in a fun and relaxed style. A really outstanding, memorable trip.