Jordan and Egypt- specifics on Tauck provided security
Hi all. Need some guidance. We are trying to assess specifics on the security ( ie an armed guard) while in Egypt and Jordan. Is there always an armed guard with the group on the bus? At the sites? On the Nile cruise? Airport, etc? Does the same guard travel with the group? Trying to decide between 2 tour operators for this itinerary, with one being more extensive (28 days), and it will really come down to security provided . Does anyone think, with this in mind, is there an advantage traveling with a small group in lieu of a classic Tauck tour?
Thank you all in advance. I know this topic has come up before, but aside from people saying that they feel safe and there is a guard with a pistol, and metal detectors at many sites, we wondered specifically how this is handled.
Comments
I didn't do this specific tour with Tauck, but did both their Jordan/Israel and Egypt tours separately. In both Jordan and Egypt there was an armed "tourist police" member with the group on the bus and at all sites. I don't specifically recall him being on the Nile cruise, but since he was with us at the sites, he must have been there.
In Jordan and Egypt, just about every public place you enter, and sometimes at exit, too (eg., restaurants, hotels, shopping centers), your stuff gets scanned and you walk through a metal detector.
With all due respect to Alan S., after a while, all the Egyptian stuff starts to look the same and blend together. In my op0inion, a 28 day tour would be too long.
We did the Israel Jordan tour with Tauck and there were no guards with us.
When I went to Egypt, there was a cop with a handgun with us at all times. That's not going to protect you from terrorists but will help against crime.
When we did Israel/Jordan in 2022, there was an armed guard with us in Jordan on the day we left the Dead Sea until we reached Petra, and then again on the day we traveled from Petra to Amman.
During J&E in 2022 we had a young man (former military or on leave of absence, assigned by the husbanding agent or ministry of tourism) for our entire time in Jordan, he even walked through Petra with us. He was packing some serious heat under his suit jacket- it was some sort of large automatic pistol that looked like a small Uzi. We had a similarly armed escort in Egypt, too.
I’m so surprised to read this, we had no guards in Jordan and 2923 just before the war.
We did the small group Jordan/Egypt tour in October 2024. It was amazing! Our group had 13 people plus our tour director. We did have security with us in Jordan and Egypt on the bus and while touring. We did not have guards while in the airport once we made it through security, The only weapon I saw was the guard who was with us on the boat , and he did have an automatic weapon that I saw when we were docked and he was standing guard outside. The other guards probably had weapons but I did not notice because they must have kept them hidden. All the hotels had metal detectors and scanners. At Kempinski they did use mirrors to look under the vehicles that came through the gates. Our guard did keep a close eye on us while in Cairo at the market. He was especially worried about one of our ladies who was alone, and he was never very far out of our sight. He followed me and my husband when we went down a hallway to a back room to look at t-shirts., He also warned me that I should carry my backpack in front instead of on my back. Having said all this, I never felt at all threatened. Another time our guard helped out one of the ladies who didn't realize she had to tip the guy with the donkey who offered a photo op. So they were always there to watch our back.
We were in Jordan at the time that Israel was planning to send missiles to Iran. Our tour director was a bit nervous when we had to fly out of Jordan because he knew they would close the air space if there was a missile launch. He told us there was a back up plan B if we couldn't fly out of Aqaba. We made it out without any issues and I think we were all relieved! At our farewell dinner we finally asked him what the plan B was and he told us. I would definitely trust Tauck to keep me safe without a doubt!
We did this tour in 2021 and were the first tour back to the countries after Covid. As Alan said, the bus security wearing black suits, had serious "heat" under their jackets and additional clips on their belt. In Cairo, we also had a police car lead, and another one follow the bus to each site. People were so excited to see tourists back they waved whenever they saw the bus!
We were not permitted to go to the market because Tauck didn't want to take a chance with covid. (We had multiple covid tests throughout the trip.) I chose Tauck because with their global rapid response team they can quickly react to an unforeseen issue. If Tauck goes on the trip, they consider it safe. It is an absolute wonderful trip, and I loved the food!
Thank you all so much for your prompt and detailed responses. You have helped us tremendously.
I would also agree that for me, 28 days would be far too much. The two week tour was overwhelming at times and half of that was in Jordan! (Not that you asked Ha!)
Also, I’d recommend against the small group trip for Jordan and Egypt as you have only one night in the beautiful Old Cataract hotel located at a very picturesque point of the Nile. The regular tour has two nights there. And my regular tour had only 11 people in January, but that’s not something to plan on of course.
Have a wonderful trip, whatever you decide!
Armed guards are required by the Egyptian government for tour groups. We always felt quite safe.