Final thoughts on this tour.
Jordan and Egypt -Final thoughts about this trip
If you’re going to fly to this part of the world, it is worth it to combine Jordan with Egypt. Obviously there are time and cost considerations, but all things being equal, it was definitely worth the extra time and money to go to Jordan. The Kempinski resort is lovely on the scale of the Four Seasons resorts with a zen- like vibe. People seem to really enjoy swimming in the dead sea, and covering themselves up with mud. It seemed quite therapeutic for some. Getting in a day early and taking an independent tour to go into Amman was an excellent expenditure of time since Tauck doesn’t include it as part of the tour. The baptismal site on the Jordan River was worth seeing even if just for viewing how narrow the distance is from Israel at that site. If you are a John the Baptist fan, you can see the cave where he supposedly lived that has become an altar of a church.
Petra was definitely one of the highlights of this trip. The long walk through the slot canyon gave it the feel of hiking in a national park . The size and extent of the ruins was totally unexpected. What a beautiful and interesting place. The 4 x 4 experience in Wadi Rum , which was actually sitting on fixed upholstered benches on the back of Toyota pick up trucks, was fun, but I guess due to the size/ width of the actual valley, it was not as impressive as I expected it to be. (That’s just my personal impression…..) Petra, on the other hand, definitely made it worthwhile.
It was very cold in Petra so we all bundled up . If you come here in January or February, you definitely need winter clothes. The day we were in Petra it was in the 40s with 17 to 23 mph winds and a windchill in the low 30s. When I tell you, it was cold, it was cold. Our Bedouin evening that same day was moved into the hotel and it was just as well. Everyone was happy. The show was good. People were dancing, and no one had to be cold. The day at Mount Nebo we experienced a Noah’s Ark- type deluge complete with floods which closed some of the roads in the direction of Petra. When we finally ended up on the appropriate highway, the sun came out and then we found ourselves in the middle of a dust storm. There certainly is a lot of weather.
The flights in Jordan and Egypt were charters, except for the flight from Aswan to Cairo . On the charters No one weighed our bags. On the commercial flight they weighed our large bags but did not weigh our carry-ons. Our local tour guide in Jordan, Aziz, was fabulous. We were very sad to leave him behind. The tour guides in Egypt, though highly informative, lacked his pizzazz and gave excruciating details. People’s eyes were glazed over…….
In Egypt, tour members uniformly loved the time that they spent at the Old Cataract hotel. The rooms were beautiful, the views are spectacular, and the food is really good. The Nile River boat cruise covers a distance of what could be done in four hours in a car over three days on the boat. Most of the time the boat is docked. The boat is beautiful, and comfortable (aside from the rock hard mattress we had). The service is excellent, and the food is good, although there is a definite Indian lilt to it.
The antiquities in Egypt are breathtaking in size and scope. The surrounding squalor, garbage, air pollution, and abject poverty are very difficult to take. The Marriott Mena house is in Giza, which is 45 minutes from downtown Cairo. After spending the day in downtown Cairo yesterday, I would question the safety of going down there unescorted to be doing any sightseeing.
The Mena House is very close to the grand Egyptian museum . One person in our group did not go to downtown Cairo with the rest of us yesterday, but stayed back and took an Uber to go back to the Grand Egyptian museum. The Uber driver he had on the way back to the hotel tried to force him to give him an additional $50 to let him out of his car. Thus, when we planned an extra day at the end of the tour to go again to the grand Egyptian Museum, we took a hotel car for the outrageous sum of $75round trip. At least we felt safe, and the transfers were seamless. We bought our tickets for the GEM online. They were $31 each. The concierge arranged the car. We were very happy that we went back to the GEM because our visit with Tauck there was quite rushed, and was actually not a complete viewing of the King Tut exhibit. Additionally, there is a secondary building with
King Khufu's solar boat , a 4,500-year-old vessel now housed in the dedicated Khufu exhibit.
As for practical considerations, you really don’t need walking sticks for this tour. If you have no trouble ambulating on regular sidewalks and steps, you won’t need walking sticks. We brought them and never once used them. They were a waste of weight and space in our suitcases. Do NOT bother bringing water bottles. Bottled water is always available.
Food is generally good, however, it is heavily weighted towards Middle Eastern food. (big shock) If you don’t like Middle Eastern food, you probably won’t be happy.
Alcohol is ridiculously expensive in Egypt. A mixed cocktail at the old cataract hotel is $40. Because we had just flown in from Jordan we were able to buy duty-free liquor at the airport in Aswan. The line of travelers from Tauck in that shop was quite extensive and quite giddy . 😂
While staying at the Kempinski outside of Amman, one realizes how eerily close one is to Israel. Despite the conflicts that are going on there, we did not feel affected by it . In Jordan, as well as Egypt, the so-called tourist police are conspicuous. In addition, in Egypt, there was a very conspicuous police presence wherever we went and very extensive security screening which included metal detectors and cursory bag searches wherever we went . Also, during the time we were away, particularly during the first week , it looked as though the United States might be attacking Iran. Although it didn’t come to pass, we weren’t particularly concerned. When you look at the map, you realize that Jordan and Egypt are nowhere near Iran. (Duh..). Egypt is very dependent on tourism and it really seems as though they are doing everything they can to prevent terrorist incidents. In addition, we had our own Vin Diesel packing automatic weapons under their cashmere coats watching over us. No one seemed at all concerned and there were no incidents ( aside from the cab ride of the person who went out on his own). When you leqve Egypt, the Tauck fixer will meet you at the airport and fast track you all the way to passport control.
In our list of favorite Tauck tours, this is in the top tier with Antarctica, Australia/ New Zealand, Morocco and Vietnam/ Cambodia and Thailand. It was awe- inspiring in terms of grandeur, and shockingly sobering in terms of seeing how residents of the Cairo metro area live.
Edit add on: I just received the Tauck global journeys book for 2027 in the mail. This tour no longer stays at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. Instead they use the Movenpick. That is too bad. It was a highlight.
Comments
Nice report!
If you think Egypt is rife with squalor, garbage, air pollution, and abject poverty, India is 10x worse!
BTW, I had a negative Uber experience in Cairo, too. In my case it was coming back from Mall of Cairo (very nice, like any American upscale mall), where I went to buy replacement clothes as my suitcase was lost. The Uber I got was a real jalopy with no seat belts, and the driver didn't know how to follow directions in his app. He got lost a few times, stopping in slums, asking for directions. I wound up directing him to the pyramids entrance and I walked back to the Mena House from there.