ive traveled mostly in southeast asia and have gotten good advice from those on the asia discussion board. I figure maybe its time for a change of scenery and culture. Im thinking of either of the ones mentioned. Im a single traveler who usually hires a driver and guide but would be ok with just an english speaking driver. looking to travel late dec and early jan for about 17 days total. ill start with the following questions and i will get my lonely planet books shortly but figure ill start here. I like the excitment of going to iran and syria. how to go about it when i live in New york and how to get there ? do i travel thru another country first etc..?Would it be as exciting as egypt and jordan ? Now with either of these choices if someone has a driver that they have used that speaks english or if they know of a tour company that is fair and reliable please pass along the info. Also i usually book my hotels before i travel especially around the holidays of dec and jan , is this still a good idea for these areas ? thanks for your input and im sure there will be more to ask.

Hi stephenmat - we traveled to Egypt and Jordan in January of this year - had a terrific time.....here is a link to our blog - have a look and am happy to answer questions. We were delighted with our guide/drivers in Egypt and Jordan and would highly recommend them

(follow the links on the right hand margin for Cairo, Nile Cruise and Jordan)

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...ards_2008_adv/

Can't help re Iran and Syria......

Egypt is more spectucular, I think, but I like the idea of going to Syria & Iran. They get very few American travelers.

Stephenmat -

See the other thread that has recent activity today on Iran - there are some tour companies recommended on that thread through which you can arrange for a driver/guide. Another poster on here used www.irangashttour.com/ for their Iran trip and were happy with them - I haven't been yet, but am arranging my fall trip to Iran through them and so far they've been good in the planning stage (they were also recommended in a recent NYT piece on Iran tourism and were much less expensive than the non-Iranian tour operators I contacted.)
I found Syria much more "exciting" than Jordan, but of course Syria doesn't have Petra. Everyone seems to really enjoy Egypt (except for me, but unless you are a female backpacking alone my problems aren't relevant to you and I'd like to give it another chance some day when I have other people with me since there is so much to see there).

You really don't need a guide in Syria at all unless you just feel more comfortable with one - there are plenty of English speakers there, it's quite easy to get around, and people are exceptionally helpful. I'm sure LP has some companies recommended that you could contact though if you felt more comfortable with a guide. also, when I looked into going back to Syria with my family and was checking accommodations, I noticed that most of the more upscale places have websites, so it'd be easy to book your hotels in advance.

As for flights, it's not like you need to sneak into Syria or Iran by traveling through another country but there aren't any direct flights through the states. Tickets to Iran were surprisingly reasonable. (they always seem to hover right around 1,000USD.)

have fun researching - whatever combo you choose I'm sure you'll enjoy!

ok , i know what places to see in egypt and jordan but what are the must see's in iran and syria ? i will have 16 days to split between them !

actually i just looked at someones iran pics and saw snow on the ground.forgot that it gets cold there. i think i may need warmer weather which i guess would mean egypt / jordan. right ?

If your passport has a stamp showing that you've been to Israel you probably will have a problem getting into Syria and Iran. They may, in fact, flatly refuse to let you in. So take that into account.

As for being cold, fina a site on the web for average temps. Egypt is not hot all year round. We had an unseasonably cold winter this past winter. You'll need to bring some warm things for the nights & maybe during the days. Although the first year I was here I don't think I wore them at all.