TravelTrio

Next month our family of four will be traveling to Egypt and Jordan. I have worked out a tentative itinerary with our travel agent, but since it is our first time to the area, I would appreciate comments and suggestions. So far, we are considering:

Friday/Saturday 3/26-27 -- Fly Chicago to Istanbul to Cairo

Sunday 3/28 -- Arrive very early morning, sleep at hotel (Novotel, 2 nts). Afternoon tour to pyramids and sphinx of Giza. Nile cruise/belly-dancing show in evening.

Monday 3/29 -- Egyptian Museum in morning, felucca ride on Nile, Islamic areas (Citadel of Saladdin, Khan Hahili Bazaar) in afternoon. OVERNIGHT TRAIN SLEEPER TRAIN TO LUXOR

Tuesday 3/30 -- East Bank of Luxor (Steigenberger Hotel 2 nts)

Wednesday 3/31 -- West Bank of Luxor

Thursay 4/1 -- Fly to Cairo, then to Amman. Afternoon tour of Amman (hotel?)

Friday 4/2 -- Drive to Jerash (Triple Arched Gate, Hippodrome, Theatre, Forum), then to the Dead Sea (swimming) (hotel?)

Saturday 4/3 -- Drive King's Hwy to Great Crusaders Castles of Kerak, then on to Petra

Sunday 4/4 -- Patra, then back to Amman for the night. Flight departs at midnight.

Our flights to Cairo and home from Jordan are unchangeable (and free). I recognize that it would be better to have more time, but due to work and school schedules, this is all the days that we have. (The alternative would be to not go, and we want to go.) So, putting aside the rigorous schedule (we can handle it, we are experienced travelers used to an intense pace) does it look like we are maximizing our time? Any better way to get over to Jordan than by flying back through Cairo? Our big regret going in is that we aren't getting to Wadi Rum or the Red Sea, but just can't see how to make that work. Any thoughts?

Thank you all, in advance, for your suggestions.

sandi

As transiting between countries, have to fly into international airports, Amman for Immigration. So unless someone knows otherwise, it's CAI/AMM.

No need to see the Red Sea, it's just a big boat channel. Nor, Wadi Rum.... you'll see plenty desert. When you have just so many days, you can't get it all in. You're hitting the highlights for the short stay.

sf7307

I can't quite figure out your flight schedule. When do you arrive in Cairo (what day, and what time of day?) I ask because we flew San Francisco-Portland-Frankfurt-Cairo, and were so exhausted when we arrived that we pretty much spent all of the next day catching up on sleep (we did have an unexpected 7 hour layover in Frankfurt because we missed our connection -- it would have been much better had that not occurred).

Other than that, we spent one day in Cairo just going around by ourselves before our tour started (not much to see that wasn't on the tour, honestly), and our two tour-days were similar to yours. We also took the overnight train, in our case to Aswan, where we spent one day and night (we enjoyed it, but it's not a "necessary" stop in my opinion). We then drove to Luxor, and had two days of touring planned, but ended up combining it into one very long day (Hatsepshut, Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens in the morning, Luxor Temple and Temple of Karnak in the afternoon/evening), so we could have a free day at the Steigenberger pool, which was lovely.

So, yes, it's busy, but it's definitely doable, as long as you don't expect to spend many hours at each temple/site. If you really like to do these things in depth, it might be a little short -- we're more like "3-minute Louvre" people, so it was perfect for us.

TravelTrio

So glad to see your post, sandi! Appreciate your advice again. We will stick with the flights then.

sf7307, we do get in just after mid-night (very early morning) and will go to a hotel to sleep. In the past,we've usually been able to handle a fair amount the first deal despite these long horrible connections to Asia or wherever. We all pass up movies and sleep, sleep, sleep on the plane. While we are out of sorts the first couple of days, we do have energy. We find that our appetite is the hardest to get on schedule, but oh well. Glad to read here that you think our schedule is at least "doable" and we will update this post as we refine the details.

As for the amount of time for the temples, we are compromising. My husband would be fine with the 3 minute version, but we will have to drag my kids away. I tell them that they are young and can return if they want someday. I am somewhere in the middle -- always leave wanting more. But we don't want the DH to throw a tantrum or anything, so we're just doing the overview, hitting the highlights.

Thanks all!

pasqualino

Hi again,

Did you consider staying in a Bedouin camp while in Petra?

TravelTrio

Okay, there is a possible change to the itinerary, as follows:

First few days stay the same (Cairo, Giza) but we take the overnight train to ASWAN instead of Luxor.

Tuesday 3/30 Aswan High Dam, ferry to Philae Temple

Wednesday 3/31 Drive to Abu Simbel, then back to Aswan. Evening train to Luxor (Luxor hotel)

Thursday 4/1 Luxor West Bank a.m., then East Bank p.m, then to Sharm El Sheikh by plane.

Friday 4/2 Sharm El Sheikh, snorkeling (mostly free day)

Saturday 4/3 To Taba border and travel overland through Israel to Wadi Rum (jeep ride and lunch), then to Petra Hotel.

Sunday 4/4 Petra all day, then to Amman for midnight departure to Chicago.

So, we are giving up Jerash and Amman, in order to add Aswan, Abu Simbel, Sharm El Sheikh and Wadi Rum. Is that a good trade?

sf7307

Will you visit Luxor Temple and Karnak? Those were the very best antiquities we saw. Aswan is a nice little town, but I would skip it in favor of Luxor and Karnak (the High Dam is a drive-to and spend 5 minutes at kind of place -- there's nothing to see really, except the fact that they built it, and Philae is very interesting, but NOT Luxor/Karnak).

TravelTrio

sf7307, here is what she has us down for on Day 5:

Day 5 - Thursday 1st April: Luxor - Sharm El Sheikh (B)
After an early morning start you cross over to the West Bank of Luxor where the Valley of the Kings & Queens, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon awaits you. Your afternoon tour to the East Bank of Luxor. Entry is down the avenue of Ram Headed Sphinx to reach the Monumental Temple of Karnak and then continue onto Luxor Temple. Later this evening you will transfer to the airport for your flight to Sharm el Sheikh. Arrive to Sharm where you will be met and transferred to your Hotel. Overnight at your Hotel.

What do you think -- does this cover it?

pasqualino, what about the Bedouin camp? Have you done that? Should we try to fit it in and, if so, do you see a place on our draft itinerary that might work?

sf7307

I think you're good -- while most people do those on consecutive days, as I think I've mentioned, we did it all in one [full] day and it was great.

cwn

Definitely do the second version or at least the Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh and Petra part. We were there this last spring for one day at each place and had a ball. Even with one day we saw a lot, well worth it. You will love the Red Sea, be sure to snorkel or dive if you are diviers. Beautiful.

Plus flying into Cario and out of Amman makes more sence for your trip.

In Luxor we had a four plus hour roundtrip drive from the port city so that ate up some of the day, but we did all we wanted to. We got to Luxor about 10AM went to the West Bank -saw the Valley of the Kings, Queens and workers; visited three tombs in the Valley of Kings, very interesting took about an hour all told: went to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. OK, but didn't take much time: the Colossi of Memnon for 15 mins max. Lastly we visited the best of the West Bank ruins, IMO, the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III, now known as Medinet Habu. It was the best. We then took a boat ride on the Nile over to the East Bank. Nice, I would recommend this as you get some nice views of the Temples. Had a fast picnic lunch as we went. The we went to Karnak and spent a while, then went to Luxor Temple and then headed out of town at 4PM.

In Sharm. we went to Ras Mohamed National Park and did a great snorkel about an hour drifting along with the current for several km. The coral is stunning and pristine!!! The fish are very colorful and the water is crystal clear! Do not miss it. it is a nice resort area, different from what we had see.

We also had a day in Petra and were happy with the time we had there.

For more detail on those stops with pictures go to our trip report:

www.aroundtheworldin132days.blogspot.com

Click on April on the righthand side then scroll down to April 24 for Luxor; April 26 for Petra; April 27 for Sharm and April 28 for our day in Cairo. This may give you some more ideas on what is important to you.

Hope this helps. Your trip sounds great. Have a good time!

pasqualino

No, we postponed our Egypt /Jordan trip. But when I was researching it, bedouin camp was something I bookmarked. It looks like a great travel experience. However, I must admit, it may be outside my comfort zone. Just search bedouin camp on TripAdvisor. Three camps come up in Wadi Rum, (but not many reviews.) You may be able to stay there on Saturday night.

TravelTrio

Thank you, I will do that.