Hi,
I'm looking for some help, I tend to get massively overwhelmed by all the information on the tin'tanet and end up feeling more lost than when I started.
My partner and I are planning a two week holiday from London to Egypt and Jordan next year. We're not sure how we should split our time. We're keen to go to go hiking in Petra, dive theRed Sea, sail on the nile and through the Valley of the Kings etc. We've never really done tours before and not sure if we should this time?? We tend to wing it and have a great time rather than being sheparded through sites etc. We also don't know where we shoud start, Jordan or Egypt, and how best to travel between the two - the not so fast ferry or fly.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
thanks
Merenia
i am in same boat and hve to say tin ternet was alocal sayin from yorkshire so maybe u from ther????... i am goin december so will fill u in on our trip.. myself and my son Thomas 12 are headin fpr a fast track 12 days then meetin family fpr two weeks... iemail me and i will include u in my wat we doin thing for the trip... Tina
you'll be in a rush. Jordan is doable in a week, Egypt is pushing it a bit. Get yourself to Cairo, fly to Luxor, fly from there to Sharm, take the fast boat or fly again to Jordan. Flying internally in Egypt is pretty cheap, but flying internationally (even if it's quite a short trip) tends to be quite expensive. I don't know how it'd work from Sharm, maybe it's cheaper, but flying from cairo to amman (or beirut, damascus, etc.) you're looking at about 1000 egyptian pounds for a one-way ticket.
if i were you..
pay for a nile cruise to see egypt, it is the best way to see the sites of egypt. any tour should include a trip to the pyramids make sure you actually tell the tour operator that actually want to go into the pyramids (assuming that you do of course) or they will just rush you round and spit you out and tell you that nothing else is planned for the day. i spent 2 months travelling from istanbul to cairo and the nile cruise was the highlight.
try using the travco tour agency but book from overseas if you can ( if you go to their office in cairo they ignore you for half an hour then tell you that they don't know much and there is only one person who can help you but they are going home).
failing that try going through the tour agencies recommended by lonely planet.
you can wing it by all means but you have to realise that the transport system and culture of egypt doesn't include any organisation and will leave you withered, especially if you are on a tight schedule. things don't really improve on the jordanian side.
What you could do is fly into Amman and out of Cairo - I did this this with Tarom via Bucharest from the UK a couple of years ago. The tricky bit is getting from Aqaba to Luxor - I'd take the overland route through Israel to Sharm which will probably be quicker than the fast ferry and would allow you to reach Hurghada (yes it is a dump) from where you can get to Luxor. Then you can take the sleeper to Cairo for the trip home (and see the Pyramids). Egyptair used to do a flight from Luxor to UK but that would probably make your trip costs higher
- From your other posts, it seems you didn't really like Egypt. That's OK, we don't need to be in agreeement about everything and neither do I say that Egypt is only amazing.
But I'd just like to say that a very big number of independent travellers visit Egypt on a huge variety of budgets every year and get by without the use of travel agencies. Some might even be tempted to say that they leave home even happier than those who let a travel agency fix everything for them, but I won't say that. Just let me say that experiences on these issues tend to differ a bit.
To say that the transport system in Egypt is only crappy is neither true, first of all, Egypt air does a pretty good job and is inexpensive, compared to many other national carriers. Secondly, between Upper and Lower Egypt, in the delta, the canal cities and to Sinai infrastructure works pretty well. Of course, if you expect Western standards and no delays, well... But then again, if that's what you wanted, you should maybe pack your bags for somewhere else than the Middle East next time.
My last comment to #3 is that on the Thorn Tree travelers give quite mixed reports about Nile cruises. You should only board a ship like that knowing that you're entering the world of package tourism, no escapes...
#4 is on the spot. You could do it the opposite way as well. But, as I said before, if you really wanna do this, I'd try to fly as much as possible. And the sleeper ain't neccesarily cheaper than planes, often not.
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