Israel, Egypt, Jordan - July, August, Sept: - Which order??

Hello.

Planning to visit these countries in July, Aug & Sept of this year. Unsure how long in each at this stage but right now I'm thinking 1 month in Egypt and 2-3 weeks in each of Israel and Jordan.

Considering the months I have to travel in, which would be the best order to move through these countries in? Flight in will be out of Bangkok.

Looking for the best weather conditions and trying to avoid huge crowds & inflated prices (if this is at all possible)

I'd like some nice beach time, plus taking in all the wonderful cultural and historical sites these countries have to offer.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions offered.

Cheers.

Hello,

You are probably already aware, but July - September are extremely hot in all three of those countries. Drink lots of water!

From Bangkok, I would think Amman would be the most economical city to fly into.

Ramadan is July 21-Aug 19 in 2012, so maybe that would be a slightly better time to visit Israel rather than predominately Muslim countries. Ramadan doesn't mess things up too bad for travelers, especially in tourist areas, but it can be hard to buy and eat food while the sun is up!

So if you are coming in early July, maybe spend the first 2-3 weeks in Jordan, then pop over to Israel for a few weeks, and finish in Egypt.

Hi, I know also that there are cheap flights from Kuala Lumpor to Cairo so you could also check that out if flight prices are quite different than you could always start in Egypt... If they're not that different than I'd start North and go South, it only gets hotter in August and September and in Egypt you'll probably be closer to water if you go to places like Dahab, Sharm, Nuweiba etc... so it's obviously nicer to be somewhere like that than in Petra!

Ramazan doesn't make it too much harder to travel but it does make some (ie taxi drivers) crankier, so if you have the choice Israel would be good during that time but not manditory.

I travelled Egypt last July / August and it was okay. The only time I was quite miserable was after a very long train / bus to Aswan where temperatures are very high. Electrolites would be a good thing to bring with you to put in water!

Have fun!

Yallah mentioned Ramadan, but not Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), which starts on September 16 this year and is the first of a long string of religious holidays lasting on and off for the best part of a month. You want to be out of Israel before then if you are hoping to avoid crowds and inflated prices.

The weather will be more or less equally awful in all the countries you plan to visit. Just make sure you get up early, take a nap and do things smoothly. The positive thing is thriving nightlife as soon as temperatures cool down.

I'd say that your first consideration should be budget issues. Egypt is very cheap, while Jordan is more expensive and Israel is extremely expensive. I'd spend as much time as possible in Egypt and spend beachtime there (Sinai's Dahab is a must and so are the hippy Bedouin beaches between taba and Nuweiba). In Jordan I'd focus on Petra and forget about the Dead sea due to the heat. In Israel I'd focus on major highlights such as Jerusalem to avoid spending it all; be aware that most budget hotels and youth hostels will be fully booked, sometimes weeks in advance. A solution can be to stay in Palestine, which is cheaper (Ramallah or Bethleem for instance).

I agree with the above recommendations that since you do have a lot of flexibility it's better to avoid visiting Israel during the September holidays and Egypt and Jordan during Ramadan.
The hot summer weather is something to consider when you make plans but don't let it deter you. You CAN and should visit all of the sites (including the Dead Sea) but you shouldn't plan to walk around too much around mid day.
That said, you can actually go out for some great hikes that are especially attractive during the summer:
http://www.tiuli.com/track_info.asp?lng=eng&track_id=85
http://www.tiuli.com/track_info.asp?lng=eng&track_id=124
http://www.tiuli.com/track_info.asp?lng=eng&track_id=98
http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~989817747

As for beach time, I would recommend 2 places: Mediterranean beach time in Tel Aviv and Red Sea beach time in Sinai.
In Tel Aviv you'll get white sandy beaches packed with both locals and tourists out to have a good time. In the afternoon you can enjoy the city and later on- the nightlife.
In the Red Sea, I second catw's recommendation for either Dahab (small town, many places to eat, rocky beach, great diving) or the small camps north of Nuweiba (isolated,usually sandy beach, QUIET). The only issue is the deteriorating security situation in Sinai so just check out the situation before you go. Eilat, Aqaba, and Hurgada are all fun as well but not as good as Sinai.
As where to base yourself, during 2 weeks in Israel, I'd spend 3-4 nights in Tel Aviv, 4-5 in Jerusalem, 2-3 in the north, and 1-2 either in Ein Gedi or in Mitzpe Ramon.

Wherever you go in this period its going to be very hot and some places like Dead Sea/Red Sea are even hotter and sometimes reach up to the high 40's. Luxor / Aswan also very high temps. Cities like Amman, Jerusalem etc will be in the mid 30's but may feel hotter.

This period is quiet because many of the locals flee to cooler climates or go out after sunset. The secret is get up
early 0630 and finish by 11.30am and then rest until 4pm and continue...

As mentioned above bear in mind the religious holiday and work around them.

Regarding Catw's recommendation for "hippy Beduin beaches" in Sinai -
on another thread she recommended that I read Ha'aretz. So I did - and this is one of today's stories:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/bedouin-take-control-of-egypt-holiday-resort-demand-660-000-ransom-1.408875
As usual, Catw is on top of the situation .....

And for more words of wisdom from catw, read this thread in its entirety. Old, but still worth it!

Thanks for the wonderful replies - I appreciate the effort.

Yes, I realize that it will be hot, but I was not asking to avoid the Heat, juts the best weather conditions :)
Before traveling to this area, I will have just spent 6 months in SEA and then 2 weeks in the Desert in the USA (Las Vegas) so my ability to handle the heat should be ok. I have also traveled extensively in Northern Colombia, Cuba and Mexico where the heat was oppressive, but did not stop me enjoying my experience. Thanks for the tips though.

OK, so I should look to avoid Israel in September and Egypt and Jordan during Ramadan then.

I'll keep working on a Plan / Schedule and post back up when I have more info.

Thanks once again, you've all been a great help :)

#7 and #8 stop being childish. You know that Sinai up until recently was more favoured than Eilat by Israeli tourists but anyway Sinai in my view is one of those place where people should watch and visit after checking out as the heady hippy days may become history - which is sad because its a special and different kind of place.

It was interesting to read ...." An Israeli source well aware of the situation and with ties to the Egyptian owners of the resort" - hmmmmmmm seems like he might have had an Israeli partner who admitted the place used to be popular with Israeli visitors.

Mesha:

#7 and #8 stop being childish.

But you then agree with the gist of what we posted:

Sinai in my view is one of those place where people should watch and visit after checking out as the heady hippy days may become history - which is sad ...

so you also disagree with Catw's irresponsible and unqualified recommendation of Sinai !

#11 Sinai has had inumerous problems recently but hitherto was the playground of Israelis, who enjoyed spending their vacation there.

I believe you and CATW have a clash of views - but she always posts very accurate and informative answers and is very knowledgable on the area in general. People are still going to Sinai and it doesn't seem to bother some people but then a lot of people are not as well informed as some of us who live in the area regarding events over the past 11 months. Package tours are still going there from all over Europe, so . . . in a way she is right :))

Sinai is perfectly safe to this day, it's South Israel which is not as it was targeted by terrorists coming from the Gaza Strip, according to the Government of Israel. As we speak, there are still Israelis vacationing on the beach in Sinai, especially in Taba.

Haaretz' article explains that Bedouins are occupying a resort in Sinai and asking compensation because they consider the land on which it was built belongs to their tribe. They are on strike and do not threaten anyone. Such strikes are common and also happen in Israel since Bedouins also live on the Israeli side of the border. This has nothing to do with tourism or the Bedouin-run beaches in Sinai - they will not go on strike in their own beaches!

Mbgg and Shufaluff are known Egypt bashers, not a reliable source of information on the Middle-East.

#13 (catw)

Sinai is perfectly safe to this day, it's South Israel which is not

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Nonsense. South Israel is perfectly safe.

Mbgg and Shufaluff are known Egypt bashers, not a reliable source of information on the Middle-East.

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More nonsense. I too would like to see a link to a post by either wherein they "bash Egypt". Also both are very reliable sources of information on the Middle East - certainly more reliable than most of what you post.

South Israel is not safe, there were major terrorist attacks which caused a lot of casualties near Eilat at the end of last year.

#16 (catw)

Then by the same logic the Sinai is not safe, since there were terrorist attacks in the past as well (e.g., the blowing up of part of the Hilton Taba hotel).

And for the record, the attack "near Eilat" to which you are referring was on a relatively little-used border road, not anywhere near the main highway to Eilat - and certainly far away from the usual tourist routes. Implying all of southern Israel is not safe is sheer nonsense.

Nobody bashed Egypt.
I personally think Egypt is amazing, Sinai is one of my favorite places in the entire world and I even recommended Sinai as an option to the OP but if you're knowledgeable about the ME (as I assume most of the posters here consider themselves) and you recommend going to Sinai right now without even mentioning the security situation, you are simply irresponsible!
Nowhere in the ME is 100% safe but comparing a single terrorist attack near Eilat in which the terrorists actually came from Sinai (!) to an area in which the local government has lost almost all control and has suffered dozens of fatalities in the last decade in suicide bombings directed specifically against tourists in places like Sharm, Dahab, Ras al-Shitan, Taba (one of which I was unfortunate enough to personally witness), is demagoguery and simply ridiculous (and oh so predictable considering the author).
To the OP, like I wrote, you can go to Sinai, just be well informed and updated as to the situation.

Sinai is perfectly safe right now. The Egyptian authorities control the area as usual. The bombings that occured took place many years ago and, sadly, targeted Israeli tourists.

South Israel is considered by foreign embassies as an unstable area since it was recently targeted by terrorists coming from the Gaza Strip (and not from Sinai, amirico - Netanyahu himself said they were from Gaza and had entered Israel though a tunnel, and the Israeli army retaliated by bombing the Gaza Strip a few hours after the attack near Eilat).

The Israeli governement is currently trying to change the newtwork of roads around Eilat precisely because they think it's no secure, and they want it to be safer. There is a controversy in Israel right now as environmentalists complain this rushed change will harm the environment, while government officials plead that security must come first.

The "weakening of Egypt's control over Sinai" has no reality; it's just one of the numerous politicals argument used by right wing parties in Israel to try and convince the Governement of the USA to back up a military regime in Egypt.

#22 If by "South Israel" you mean the area close to the Gaza Strip, Sderot and so on, these places are not on the itinerary of most tourists so I am most likely safe in saying it is irrelevant to the OP's question.

As for "roads around Eilat" see what I wrote in #18.

Mesha:

Just because you guys are at different ends of the political spectrum

No - we are at the opposite ends of the stupidity and bigotry spectrum.

CATW is a very valuable poster on this thread and her factual answers and opinions are respected by many

Valued and respected only by Israel-bashers.

mbgg - chill for Pete's sake - you are still decrying people because they don't share the same political view. Accept there is diversity- condemning people and using the same old tired hackneyed phrases because they don't share your party line could also be described as bigoted. But then this is a typical reaction when you consider that scholars like Finkelstein and Chomsky have been slagged off and even banned from entering Israel because they don't agree with the Party Line.

Anyway, enough - I'm outa here, you're not gonna drag me further into the quag !! Better for all to agree to disagree and leave it at that.