October 17, 2022 Tauck Small Group Tour: Jordan & Egypt: Petra to the Pyramids?
Any specific tips or discussions for an October 17, 2022 Tauck Tour departure date for "Jordan & Egypt: Petra to the Pyramids?"
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Any specific tips or discussions for an October 17, 2022 Tauck Tour departure date for "Jordan & Egypt: Petra to the Pyramids?"
Comments
Look at the forum category list at the right of this page. Click on category Egypt & Jordan, then Jordan & Egypt: Petra to the Pyramids. Or follow this link https://forums.tauck.com/categories/jordan-egypt:-petra-to-the-pyramids
Then read posts from last fall through the present. You'll find a lot of good info posted by AlanS, mil, Pureluxury and others.
Just a shout-out to Sept. J&E travelers, wishing you well in the heat. Today NHK out of Tokyo mentioned the 100°+ temps in Jordan (and also the mugginess in DC). I see 110° in Luxor. Being on a ship should help, no?
Check out temps in Aswan or Abu Simbel- Yikes!!
I was there in October 2018 - it was HOT. But it was a very interesting tour. Visiting the pyramids was something I always wanted to do. And the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were much more than I expected.
We're on this departure and will meet you at the Kempinski. We're arriving a day early (the 16th) to be able to unwind a bit from the flight.
maxpr1 (or anyone else on the 10/17/22 trip): did you see the thread I started about a pre-tour excursion to the Wadi Mujib Gorge the morning of the 17th? Here's the link: https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/15444/wadi-mujib-gorge-early-arrival-option-at-kempinski-dead-sea-especially-for-the-oct-17-2022-j-e#latest
We're likely to be doing this and, as you can see, it becomes a better deal with more people. This is arranged through the Kempinski and so should be solidly reliable. It needs to be arranged ahead of time so I'll probably confirm it around the 13th. Let me know if you are interested.
Are you doing the full immersion trek up to the falls or just the wading section?
Wading section.
I'll be interested to hear about your experience.
In a month...
Getting closer. Today we got our Jordan Entry documents via a quick and simple web site. Couldn't be done less than 10 days before arrival and must be (in our case) provided to United (or whichever carrier flies you into Jordan) within 72 hours of departure.
Boarding passes in hand for tomorrow night's United non-stop from Dulles to Amman. Anyone else on this flight. Only positive about the delay of years for this trip due to the pandemic is that United instituted this flight earlier this year.
You'll have a great trip. Both Jordan and Egypt are very interesting places to visit. We were in Egypt in early October (several years ago) and it was hot. I hope you have better weather.
Rock on! It is a fantastic tour and I hope you have a great time!!!!
K&T and B,SA,Z were my favorites like they are for many Taucktourians. I know others may disagree, call it an AT&T tour (Another Temple or Tomb tour), but because of all the extra time I had to study, plan, and anticipate, and study, plan, and anticipate some more, because of COVID, and all the extra things we squeezed into this tour, and how it lived up to and exceeded our expectations, J&E is now my favorite. I would do it all again in a heart beat!
Bring one of those little fans you wear around your neck to cool
Yourself or can put in your backpack. That little thing helped me tremendously. I even lent it to other ladies.
MarthaM
Oct 21
We'll be on the Jordan & Egypt Small Groups tour beginning Nov 14, 2022 - With the continual changes of the opening of the GEM in Cairo - Tauck can you clarify yet as to whether or not it will be part of our experience?
Tauck does not monitoring the forum very often. For this question, use google, but doubtful it will be open.
Martha_McGuire - I'm just back from the Egypt tour and there is no mention of a GEM opening. But there is also no mention of it being delayed, yet again, either. The locals just chuckle when asked about it.
It is more likely that you will be seeing the Old Egyptian Museum and not the new GEM.
Martha_McGuire...there is plenty to see in the Old Egyptian Museum. Tauck will do a quick drive-by of the GEM. It was really quick during my December 2021 tour...blink and you missed it. I guarantee you will be satisfied with everything in the current museum.
The problem with the old museum is that it's not air conditioned. If it's hot outside, it will be rather warm in the museum.
My tour was in December...weather was simply perfect! I wore cotton long sleeve blouses and carried a wrap. it's amazing how everything is relative. Most of us on the tour considered the weather perfect--not too cool and not too warm; however, our Cairo tour guide wore a jacket every day
By the style of her clothes, it looks like you may have had Rasha as your guide Cairo? I felt sorry for her- she had a lot of interesting info to pass along on the bus, but too many in our group were rude, and were talking at the same time.
Yes, we have had that happen, it’s disgusting.
AlanS. Yes, that is Rasha in the photo. She was very good. Thank goodness our tour was very small & everyone was polite and courteous. Sufian, our Jordan guide, was my absolute favorite!
We are on the tour beginning November 20th ( we arrive Nov 18 ). Beyond excited ! Hoping we get lucky, and GEM opens for 100th anniversary of Tut's tomb discovery and Tauck gets us inside. Glad to read Pure Luxury post that OEM still has plenty to see. Are there any places that will not allow shorts when touring ? Any other requirements on any of the tours ? On the tours, is there anywhere we have to pay extra to take pictures ? If so, will Tauck pay the fee ? appreciate any updates !
I saw no restrictions on shorts on men or women, with the possible exception of the Mosque(s) visited on Day 12.
Yes, there is still way more to see than you will have time at the Old Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square.
Unlike in the past, as of last March this year, when we were there, there were no official places (tombs, pyramids, museums, etc.) that required a special or separate photo ticket and that includes Tut's and Nefertari's tombs Valley Tombs. There were places where flash was not permitted, and at least one place where photos were not allowed at all (I believe the only place that prohibited photos was the special Tut exhibit at the OEM.) If you take photos of a local with or without their permission, you may be asked for compensation or baksheesh. It you refuse it can result in an embarrassing situation, so be careful.
There has been almost nothing in the International and Egyptian press with an official opening date for the GEM. It has been hinted in some of and newer articles that it would occur in Nov to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tut's tomb in 1922 or in 2023. Zahi Hawass, Indiana Jones of Egypt, has said on at least one occasion, it won't happen until sometime in 2023. Frankly, I think the best you can hope for is an unofficial opening in 2022.
In view of the spectacles Egypt put on for the opening of the avenue of sphinxes in Luxor, the transfer of the royal mummies to the new NMEC in Cairo, and movement of the solar boats from the pyramid of Khufu to a new GEM enclosure, the grand opening of the GEM should be a really grand spectacle. Leaders and dignitaries from around the world are expected to be invited- there has been nothing in the press about invitations and who will attend, so in view of the impending anniversary, I suspect the grand opening will likely occur sometime in 2023. General Atef Moftah, the general supervisor of construction has been saying for months and months that the GEM is 90%+ complete. This blog talks about who is saying what about the opening: https://www.egyptadventurestravel.com/blog/grand-egyptian-museum-opening-date-when-will-cairos-new-museum-open
cuzin GJ. My travels were in December 2021. The weather was very comfortable. I do not recall anyone wearing shorts.
Regarding the camera fees, If I remember correctly, someone who traveled after me indicated the camera fees had been eliminated - I'm not sure if Tauck picked up the tab or the Egyptian authorities stopped the practice. The fee wasn't much - I think $65 for all of the places we visited in Egypt. I exchanged money at the ATM at the Old Cataract Hotel. There were no camera fees in Jordan.
We were required to remove our shoes while touring a place in Egypt (can't remember which one)--so you may want to bring a pair of socks with you if you do not want to walk bare feet (something that I can't do - not even in my own home)
You will thoroughly enjoy this trip. Please do not fret over the GEM--we'll probably be discussing the impending opening at this time next year
Back in 2019 the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revised their guidance- No fees.
Here is the link to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities site and official guidance on cameras and photography.: www.egymonuments.gov.eg/en/news/egyptian-government-allows-egyptians-and-tourists-to-take-photographs-for-non-commercial-use
Those with very high end, professional-looking cameras and video equipment might get challenged.
It is interesting that the guidance also includes this statement: "Second, it is completely forbidden to take or share photographs of scenes that can, in one way or another, damage the country’s image. It is also prohibited to take pictures of children. Egyptian citizens can only be photographed after obtaining written permission from them."
The only place in the entire Egypt trip (just completed) where there were camera restrictions was in the the King Tut treasures room in the Old Egyptian Museum. No photography was allowed in that room and they policed it. I saw a guard come up to an Asian gentleman that was simply carrying his iPhone in his hand. He was asked to put the phone into his pocket.
The only other restriction was that in several places flash photography was prohibited, but photography without flash was allowed.
And as AlanS said, there were no camera fees anywhere.
Sam, in view of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities rules on photography, I wonder if your photo (below) of the parking lot food bazaar would pass muster?
