Need help selecting a time frame for travel
We are planning a Petra to the Pyramids journey, It appears the "better" time to travel is either the mid-April to early May as opposed to late October to early November.
Any comments on when to take this journey would be highly appreciated,
Thank you in advance for your reply
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I was in Egypt in early November 2016 and the weather was lovely.
Whenever I have been asked that question I reply, "at the end of March to Mid-April. Others have said fall-to-early winter is good. We were on the 17 March 2022 departure and the weather was perfect.
Due to the geography and climatology there will hardly ever be a time with the weather will be perfect in both areas. Jordan can be quite cool and downright cold (with snow in Petra!) in winter (Jan- early Feb) and Egypt is downright beastly in summer (May - Aug/Sept) which is why Tauck only runs a few or no tours at those times. But, depending on you own tolerance to heat or cold, the weather can be unacceptable in one or both place during the shoulder periods as well.
Before booking I made a little chart/spreadsheet of temps in Amman'Dead Sea, Petra, Aswan, Luxor, and Cairo for select tour dates using historical weather data from WeatherSpark (my go-to weather site for planning). It worked out very, very well this time. We only needed a light jacket or vest in Jordan and the temps were perfect in Egypt.
If you go in late Spring (April-May) or late Summer/early fall, the temps in Egypt, especially at Abu Simbel, can easily exceed 100° - 105° F or more, and it is not a dry heat!
I took this tour mid-December 2021. The weather was absolutely perfect in all locations...warm enough in Amman for a dip in the Dead Sea, cool enough in Petra to hike the Monastery and mild, sunny and pleasant in Aswan/Cairo for Abu Simbel the pyramids. It's a fabulous tour!
For me, it would be too hot in Egypt in April/May.
For example, here's the temp graph for Abu Simbel, which will be the hot spot of the tour:
And here's Cairo:
These come from https://weather-and-climate.com/
I always check this site to help me decide when to go on a trip. Not only temps, but frequency of rain, etc.
We have been in Egypt in early June years ago and last trip was December. Both were wonderful. June was a bit warm…..I would go for the fall time frame.
I agree with AlanS. must do a temperature check, as April may be rather warm. We just finished this tour, 11/20-12/02 and weather was perfect everywhere.
I was there the end of October and early November. The weather was perfect!
I was also there end Oct early November and weather was perfect also. Only wore a light jacket for Bedouin dinner evening in Petra
We were in Abu Simbel in October 2018 and it was HOT.
Mike
Last December the weather was perfect!
Go after Thanksgiving. It was perfect!
Can someone please enlighten me - on the Petra to the pyramids tour, there is a significant difference in cost between the small group and classic tours. It appears that classic only has 3 nights on the Nile cruise , but has an extra night in the old cataract. Does anyone know if there are 3 charter flights on both classic and small groups? Do you miss anything really important with the classic in lieu of the small group.
Thanks.
I was on the Egypt - Jewels of the Nile tour and had one night at the Old Cataract and 4 on the boat (with the final day/night on the boat simply docked). The Old Cataract is a fabulous hotel (take the tour) - one of the nicest among all my tours with Tauck (thought the 1902 restaurant was mediocre). I would have much preferred a second night there, rather than spending it in my closet, I mean cabin, on the boat..
MotherofPoodles I was on the December 2022 Jordan-Egypt tour. Though I didn't sign up for a small tour, this was still considered pandemic time, so our group size was only 12. I got small group tour at classic tour cost...#winning.
The Old Cataract hotel is FABULOUS. The 3 nights on the nile cruise was quite enough...I wouldn't trade another night on the boat for the hotel.
There were three charter flights on the classic tour: Day 5 - Jordan to Egypt; Day 6: Flights to and from Aswan. Note--the food on the charter flights is awful...eat a healthy breakfast and grab a snack from the dining area in the event you get hungry before returning
Unless, they have changed since March '22, there are three"on-tour flights", only two of which (Aqaba to Aswan and Aswan to Abu Simbel) were "true charter flights" (Tauck only).
The flight from Luxor to Cairo was a commercial flight on Egypt Air. That flight was problematic because though we were ticketed by Tauck we had to check in and check our own bags at the Egypt Air counters at the airport. All counters were mobbed and had long lines. We also had to go through security with a mob of people. That process took a lot of time. Our TD and Tauck expediters helped us switch to lines that moved more quickly- we were stuck in one that did not move for 30 minutes or more. If they hadn't done that and if our plane wasn't also late, a number of us might not have made the flight!!
In my critique, I recommended Tauck investigate making that flight a true charter, and also fly into the new Sphinx International Airport which is slightly closer to Giza than Cairo International.