1

Welcome, For the most part you have a well thought out and good itinerary. I just have a couple small contributions.

Most of the hotels you will stay in in Madaba can arrange a shared taxi between Madaba and Wadi Musa (Petra) along the scenic King's Highway. It's much better than the bus (which would require you to go to Amman) and not that much more money. As a part of that drive you'd spend a couple hours at Kerak anyway thereby freeing up day 12 to do something else; like seeing Amman.

You should consider (unless you already have and made a decision not to do it) spending a night in a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. It's only about an hour or so from Wadi Musa and could be a real highlight of your trip.

For more information about traveling throughout Jordan you can visit www.jordanjubilee.com.

Have fun.

2

Welcome to Thorn Tree.

With regard to the Israel portion of your trip, what date in October are you planning on arriving?

Are you aware that October 1 to 8 is the Jewish religious holiday of Succot, with no public transport on the 1st and 8th - and also on the late afternoons of September 30 and October 7 - and in addition to that, everything will be very crowded for the whole of that period? Accommodation will be hard to find, and expensive.

Are you also aware, that in addition to no public transport on the first and last days of Succot, there is no transport on Shabbat - the Sabbath - from Friday afternoon until after dark on Saturday?

Of course you may know this already, but we don't know whether you know it.

3

Thank you for your responses.

@laketraveller
I will take your remarks on Kerak and Wadi Rum. I only just realized that it would be quite easy to combine these as well with a diving trip to Aqaba instead of Sharm el Sheik, which was a very indirect route.

@Shuffaluff
Thanks for your remarks on the Jewish holidays. I kept these days in mind when planning: I will arrive in Israel on 14 October, so after the days of Succot. I have also planned things in such a way that I won't have to travel on Friday afternoons or Saturdays.
I wanted to edit the original post to include this info, but I no longer can.

Edited by: Ozymandiac

4

No, once somebody has posted after you, it's too late to amend your post.

Anyway, good you took the holidays into account!

5

1 - Make sure you book in advance for Masada - accommodations can be tricky in the youth hostel underneath the site.
2 - I'd definitely knock two days off Luxor and add them on somewhere else. 3 days in Luxor is enough to see the two main temples and the temples and the tombs on the other bank.
You can add a day in Aswan, which has a much nicer ambiance and you can also add a day to Tel Aviv which you barely have any time in.
3 - No need to fly from Sharm to Cairo - take a bus, it will be much cheaper and less of a hassle

6

For the Israel part:
Haifa, Jerusalem and then Masada would be easier logistically in that order.
Other than that, it looks like a fun trip.

7

@yarden
I usually book hostel ~3 days before, so I can stay relatively flexible where I want to go. I will book Masada earlier on though, thanks.
Regarding Luxor: we will stay there for 4 days (at least, that's the plan) so we can spend three days in Luxor proper, and 1 day to go visit Abydos.
I'm still not sure if I will go and dive - and if I do, whether I will go to Sharm or Aqaba (or maybe elsewhere?). The bus might be a good way to get around but I have to admit that (sitting behind my own desk at home at least) the bus seems like more of a hassle than the plane :)

@amirico
Yes, you're absolutely right. The weird logistics stem from the presence of a Saturday. Because I want to visit Masada at dawn, I would have to arrive the afternoon/night before. And because I want to get away that same day, I need 2 consecutive days that provide transport.
You have given me an idea though. The only thing is that I would need to travel Masada->Madaba after visiting Masada, but since I will start so early that day, I should think I will manage!
I have posted the new itinerary below, thank you!

Day Plan daytime
1 plane->Tel Aviv (14th October, Sunday)
2 train->Haifa + Haifa
3 daytrip Akko
4 bus->Jerusalem + Jerusalem
5 Jerusalem
6 Jerusalem
7 Jerusalem (*Saturday*)
8 bus->Dead Sea + bus->Masada
9 Masada + bus/taxi->Madaba
10 Madaba
11 daytrip Jerash
12 taxi->Petra + Kerak
13 Petra
14 Petra
15 taxi->Wadi Rum
16 taxi->Aqaba
17 Aqaba (diving)
18 Aqaba (diving)
19 Aqaba (diving)
20 Aqaba (diving)
21 plane->Cairo
22 Cairo
23 Cairo
24 Cairo
25 Cairo
26 train->Luxor
27 daytrip Abydos
28 Luxor
29 Luxor
30 Luxor
31 train->Aswan + Philae
32 daytrip Abu Simbel + night train->Cairo
33 Cairo
34 plane->Amsterdam

Edited by: Ozymandiac

Edited by: Ozymandiac

8

Depending on your personality and budget consider staying and scuba diving in Dahab on the Sinai (1.5 hours north of Sharm).

It has fantastic diving and you can always take a day to go down to Sharm (which is much more expensive and developed) to dive the HMS Thistlegorm shipwreck and Ras Muhammad park (as long as you have your advanced PADI) which are world renowned dive sites.

I stayed at Penguin hotel in Dahab which has one of the cheapest rates for PADI certifications and competitive prices on the room. The instructors Tamer, Moustafa and Massan (sp?) are the friendliest guys you'll ever meet.

Ozymandiac must never have scuba dived in the Middle East to have mentioned Aqaba as the place to dive.

I am currently traveling in the exact countries you mention (1 week Jordan, 2 weeks in Egypt and 1 week in Israel) so PM me if you have any additional questions.

Cheers,
Rob

9

Hi livelongdieyoung, thanks for your response!

I don't have any diving experience whatsoever. But I do think I would like it, and that's why I wanted to get my PADI somewhere during these holidays.

Dahab might be cheaper to dive and to get my PADI, but I also have to spend more on travelling. I will take it into consideration though, I still haven't made my mind up.

Thanks again for the info, if I come up with any questions on your trip I'll PM you.

10

Having dived numerous times in and around Sharm, Dahab, Eilat and Aqaba, they would all be great places to get you PADI license.
Sharm is the best all-around but it is more expensive and out of your way considering your current itinerary.
Dahab has spectacular dives (Bell, Blue Hole, Canyon, etc.) but these are dives better enjoyed with a bit more diving experience.
I would rate Eilat and Aqaba as both being very good diving resorts with Aqaba having the more spectacular underwater topography of the two and Eilat having more abundant fish life.
Eilat and Aqaba are already much more spectacular than where most people get their permit done (Mediterranean, North Atlantic, a lake…). In Aqaba you’ll be mainly spending your time in your hotel/resort while in Eilat you’ll usually be moving around the town a bit more. You can find qualified English speaking instructors on both.
I would recommend getting it done in Eilat or Aqaba (including a few fun dives when you’re done with your course), and coming back to dive the Sinai resorts on a different trip when you won’t be focusing mainly on your breathing and buoyancy and can truly enjoy these places.

11

I got my Advanced PADI cert in Dahab for 144 Euros (at Penguin Divers) which is much cheaper than Aqaba and Eliat and in my opinion offers better diving.

Also, as Amirico mentioned "In Aqaba you’ll be mainly spending your time in your hotel/resort". What kind of fun is that?! In Dahab you spend your evenings eating dinner on the beach and listening to live bands.

I cannot comment on Eliat because I didn't even stay there; after hearing about it from other tourists (both that dived and were there just on vacation) and Lonely Planet criticizing it in their guidebook.

Amirico definitely is familiar with the locations so lets just agree to disagree on this one.

Cheers!~
Rob

12

@amirico
If I go dive in Aqaba, it will be easy to include in my itinerary, so thanks for your help! I will go Masada -> Aqaba -> Wadi Rum -> etc., so I will invert my Jordan itinerary and travel north, after which I can fly Amman->Cairo.

@livelong
Dahab could be more fun and the diving cheaper, but the main problem with Dahab is that it's harder to travel to/from. So, I will spend some extra money just to get there/from, making it in the end as/more expensive as Aqaba.