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.
My trip to Egypt later this year already cancelled the Old Cataract Hotel and flies us directly back to Cairo that day instead - I did some cursory research and the hotel will be undergoing some major renovations.
Thank you for so much information! One question--were there options on the boat that did not include Indian spices? My husband does not handle that well. Again, thank you for great information
No worries for your husband. The Indian food was just one of several choices on the menu.
Excellent trip report & thanks!
many thanks. One more question--regarding wine--we are able to purchase wine at the Amman airport and take into Egypt?
So looking forward to our trip that officially begins on February 22.
We took the Jordan and Egypt trip and frankly were unimpressed with the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract in Aswan. We stayed in the tall tower to the south. Our room was big but a bit dated and I would only give it a 3.5 - 4 at best. The main exception was the location and views from our room. It was not far from the quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk which we were able to visit on our own in the afternoon the day we arrived from Aqaba. The views of the River and feluccas, Elephantine Island ruins and Nilometer, hillside tombs of the nobles, and the Mausoleum of Aga Khan were priceless. The 1902 was nothing special other than being old. It was ornate but very dark, the service was slow, and the food, just so, so.
Alan - it was definitely an "out there" room with a fabulous view. The set up and decor were over the top (I really didn't feel too good about sleeping underneath a large, Murano glass chandelier), but it was certainly big. The thing about the hotel room itself was it had a strange layout and it was really big . It was the first time in my life I said " this room is too big" . My husband said " I know - this is a great set up for forgetting things." It was just a beautiful, old, historic hotel - that is the draw and that is what makes it special. I think the Movenpick will have beautiful views too. As for the 1902, we decided not to go there for dinner. We breakfast buffet was in the 1902 room, so we saw it anyway. We ate twice on the terrace restaurant and looked at the beautiful scenery instead. Everyone said the food in 1902 was good - no one particularly raved.
LJones - yes. You can buy wine at the airport in Aswan. That is where the group went. All you have to do is show them that you came in from Jordan within the last 48 hours and you can buy duty free alcohol. There is not a huge selection. They want American dollars. The airport in Aqaba, Jordan is a private airline hanger. There is no duty free shopping there. That is the airport that you use after Wadi Rum.
MoP - Regarding the chandelier, was there Phantom of the Opera music playing?
no, but there could have been.
There was also a large canopy. 
The room was really a bit ridiculous. There was a giant half glass wall/room divider. We had to put our backpacks in front of it so as not to walk into it. There was a huge hallway , the entire length of which was a giant closet . the bathroom was at the end of the closet corridor. Strange set up.
I believe when Mil was there, her group stayed in suites a bit down hill between the main building and the River. I believe her post about can be found in the archives.
Alan - I find it strange how we all get different rooms. The way it is advertised it really leads you to believe that Tauck gets a block of rooms that are consistent. Not so. For example.... I had been led to believe (maybe I was delusional) that at the Mena house we would all have views of the great pyramid. NOT SO!!!! Our tour director, Tony, told me - it depends on where they put us. That was not a comforting comment. I was pissed. I told him - the pyramid view is like a "where's waldo" page... "OH YEAH..... if I turn my head all the way to the left , off to the right you can see the top of a pyramid next to the chimney of the building across the square....." Not what I had in mind.
I got over it .
My room was a suite. As I recall, there were two entrances to the very large bathroom - one from the bedroom and one from the hallway. There were 4 rooms total, one of which was a small office with a desk off the bedroom.
At the Mena House, my original room didn't have a pyramid view, as advertised. I requested a change which they accomodated.
MotherOfPoodles - Here's our Mena House view evening and daytime.
Back when I was working, I used to go to Las Vegas for a big convention. When another company employee (male) and I checked into Caesar’s Palace the front desk guy told us that our rooms were not ready and asked if we would share a room for one night. We told him, “Sure, as long as there are two beds.”
We got to the room, and it was the strangest room I’ve ever been in. It had a round bed (and another bed that they might have just put there for us), red velvet wallpaper and mirrors on the ceiling. I don’t remember how we decided who was going to get the round bed, but I think I slept there. That was many years ago.
We spent the night there and, sure enough, they put us into separate (and normal) rooms for the rest of the week.
Mike - Sounds like you got the honeymoon suite
I had a few comped suites at Caesars on the top floor (36, I think), that were massive. It was the same suite that was featured in The Hangover with the tiger in the room and was about 7000 sq ft. This was a comp that was part of an advantage play, which also included mid 4 figures in free play each month, until they finally realized what happened and they cut me (and others) off. They lost millions to people who figured out the flaw in their player's card tracking system. As Forrest Gump said, "that's all I'll say about that." 
Has anyone seen signs of construction of an aerial tramway from the GEM to the Giza plateau? I believe that was part of the original plan.
Sam - so happy you had a nice view. You obviously got your beautiful pyramid view. We had a nice view from outside on the terrace, but not much of a view from in the room. The tour director told me he would ask them to change our room, but because this is where everyone from the group was, I did not want him to bother. What is noteworthy is what he said " It depends on where they put us."
If Tauck advertises a Pyramid view, you shouldn't have to ask for it.
Alan: I believe there was construction started on a monorail.
Hopefully, on all Tauck tours, all you should be doing is sleeping in the hotel rooms, if not then it’s a lot to pay just to be in a nice room that might be anywhere.