Egypt & Jordan a la Indiana Jones

17 days In- Depth touring of Egypt and Jordan
We have even included all the tipping

Indiana Jones himself couldn't squeeze more adventure into this journey:Alexandria Cairo , Memphis, Sakkara and the Pyramids, a cruise on the Nile, the fabled temples and tombs of Luxor and Thebes, diving in the Red Sea, the mountains of Sinai, and a trek to the mysterious ruins of Petra in Jordan.
Departure : weekly in Cairo , year round

DAY 1 - CAIRO - Wednesday
( click here if your prefer to start in Amman Jordan)
Our Egypt-based staff greets you in bustling Cairo airport and escorts you to your hotel . Complimentary Egyptian visa fee (valid for American, Australian, NZ, EU & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival).

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with the name you prefer to use for the sign .

Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

DAY 2 - Alexandria Thursday (cBL)
Breakfast at the hotel. We leave Cairo : private air conditioned car/driver/guide). We drive across northern Egypt & the Nile Delta heading northwest for Alexandria: Full day tour of : the National Museum, the Catacombs, the Roman Amphitheater, Qayet Bey Fortress housing recovered items from the French Fleet & Napoleons Flag Ship " L'Orient", sunk by the British & Admiral Nelson, east of Alexandria. Qayet Bey Fort was built on the same site of the ancient wonder of the world : the famous Alexandria Light House.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before we head for your hotel. Remainder of the day at leisure. Overnight in Alexandria

DAY 3 - Alexandria Friday (cBL)
Breakfast at leisure at the hotel. A brief stop at " El Selsela" the site of the Underwater reserve where Cleopatra Place was discovered, as well as Caesar Kiosk , then its off to the new site for the Alexandria Library.
Lunch at a local restaurant. before heading to Wadi El Natroun monastery almost midway to Cairo , where early Coptic Christians retreated here to escape the Roman persecution in the 4th century AD. The Egyptian Pope of Alexandria is always chosen from the Monks of wadi El Natroun. Reach Cairo early evening and your hotel.

DAY 4 - CAIRO- Dahshour, Memphis, Sakkara- Saturday (cBL)
A morning tour takes us to the time capsule treasure of Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo: DAHSOUR - we'll motor to the edge of Cairo, to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:

The "Discovery" of Dahshour:
For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. Senfru's pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son built Giza's Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru's--miraculously--is still in place.

After lunch at a local restaurant : The afternoon is for Memphis and Sakkara, including the Step Pyramid of Zoser & Nobles tombs/Mastabas.

DAY 5 - CAIRO- Giza Pyramids Sound & Light Show - Sunday (BL)
Morning tour of Giza and the mysteries of the Pyramids and Sphinx. Entrance to the King Chamber of the Cheops Pyramid is included with our compliment ( you must be in excellent shape to be able to climb, it is not for everybody, very tight corners, a lot of pending , not enough air inside the pyramid :-)
Lunch is included at the Mena House. In the evening, we return to the Pyramids for an awe-inspiring sound-and-light show.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town): This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo l! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 6 - CAIRO -Monday (BL)
Your exploration of the ancient world begins today! First stop is the Egyptian Museum, with its treasures of the ancient pharaohs: mummies, statuary, precious stones and metals. We'll also stop at the Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque. Before lunch at Naguib Mahfouz restaurant or similar charming local restaurants.

DAY 7 - ASWAN ABU SIMBEL Tuesday (Breakfast box. Lunch. Dinner)
Your hotel will prepare breakfast box . Very early morning flight to Aswan, where we connect to Abu Simble and settle you into your Private car /Driver and guide . In the larger Ramses the Great temple, we see colossal figures of Ramses are seated with the gods and attended by his queen and daughters. The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, who appears as Hathor, the goddess of love, joy and fertility, symbolized by the benevolent cow. We explore these fine temple , after which retire to a comfortable hotel for refreshments. Just as planeloads of visitors arrive to throng the temples we fly to Aswan, and t your hotel. Dinner is also included at the hotel

DAY 8 - ASWAN Wednesday (BLD)
After breakfast at your hotel, enjoy your morning at leisure , before we head to your Nile Cruise around noon time , where we settle you into your cabin on your Nile steamer. We'll visit the enormous dams at Aswan, then board a launch on to visit the Temples island of Philae, dedicated to the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Isis, that was later worshiped in Rome as well as Ancient Greece, the temple was rescued from rising waters and reassembled on this island.

Luxury Nile Cruises

DAY 9 - KOM OMBO Thursday (BLD)
We cruise northward down the Nile today, at a stately pace, disembarking for a visit to Kom Ombo, the twin temple dedicated to the crocodile river god, Sobek. We'll also see Haroeris, the solar disk.

DAY 10 - EDFU and LUXOR Friday (BLD)
Horse-drawn carriages or vans meet us at riverside to take us through Edfu to the Temple of Horus, best-preserved in all of Egypt. Then we'll continue beside the Nile to take in an array of ancient splendors: the Valley of the Kings; the imposing tomb-temple of Queen Hatshepsut ; and, back in Luxor's East Bank : tour the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and Luxor Temple . Add an extra night in Luxor ?

DAY 11- SHARM EL SHEIK - RED SEA Saturday (B)
Now that you've seen the best of the Egypt of the Pharaohs, our guides escort you to the airport. You'll fly over the Sinai Peninsula and land at historic Sharm El Sheik on the Red Sea. You're at the beach and free to swim, or explore under the waters.

DAY 12 - SHARM EL SHEIK Sunday (B)
Relax! Today is set aside as a strategic mid-journey break. Spend some time in the sun, but don't miss your chance to snorkel or dive under Red Sea waters for an array of coral and glittering tropical fish.

DAY 13 - MOUNT SINAI Monday (BL)
Our knowledgeable guides arrange a pre-dawn departure into the still-cool wilderness of Sinai, through which Moses led the Children of Israel to the Promised Land. Our goal is the Monastery of St. Catherine, built of rock at the base of Mount Sinai, at the site of the Burning Bush. We tour the monastery, rich in history, icons and sacred paintings, then return to Sharm El Sheik.

Sharm El Sheik St. Catherine Monastery

DAY 14 - AQABA, PETRA Tuesday (B)
We'll drive to the port of Nuweiba, where we'll board the Red Sea ferry. Across the water in Aqaba, with Israel and Saudi Arabia in sight, our Jordan-based representative waits to greet you. You'll drive north under a towering ridge of mountains, and arrive at your hotel in Petra for the night. Complimentary Jordanian visa fee (valid only for American & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival).

DAY 15- PETRA- Wednesday (B)
We'll spend the entire day at Petra, the stunning desert city hewn by the Nabateans from solid cliffs of pink and violet sandstone. Petra was known in the bible as Sela, and rediscovered only in 1812. You'll feel like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark as you penetrate into the city through a narrow sandstone gorge, the Siq, and wander among the Temple of the Winged Lion, tombs, Roman theater, and the imposing Treasury.

DAY 16 - PETRA/ WADI RUM / JERASH - Thursday (BL)
After breakfast at the hotel, we board four-wheel-drive vehicles for an expedition to Wadi Rum, the "Valley of the Moon" where T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") organized Arab resistance to Ottoman rule during World War I. After our visit, we enjoy lunch at a local restaurant then on to to Jerash, among the best-preserved Roman cities in the world, to tour its temples, theaters, churches and colonnaded streets. From Jerash, we will escort you back to Amman and your hotel.

DAY 17 - Amman . The Dead Sea and DEPARTURE FOR HOME - Friday (B)
After an early breakfast we enjoy a brief tour of Amman before we head for the Dead Sea ,the lowest spot on Earth and experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea, a complimentary "Day use" room is included at one of the deluxe Dead Sea resorts for your convenience, this will work out only for guests that are leaving on an evening flight out of Amman. Day use room check -out is around 5-6 PM depending on the hotel.

Our staff escorts you to the airport of Amman for your flight home. Bon Voyage and Salam.

RATES per person in USD

For Easter, Christmas, New Year's ( Dec 20 - Jan 3 ) : 15 % supplement will apply

Sample 5-stars Deluxe Nile Cruises:
MS Monaco , MS Monte Carlo , Ms Mojito , Ms Diamond , Ms Queen of Hansa , Ms Solitaire
MS Beau Soleil , MS Adonis , MS Renaissance

Inclusions:

Not included:

• Personal expenses and beverages

• Gratuities

• Additional meals and services

• Trip interruption and cancellation insurance (please see our insurance brochure)

• Air fare from /to your home country
  
  

General Hotel Listing