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Just returned
This was an amazing trip. Very busy, very very hot. But overall just wonderful. If you are taking this trip and have any questions, lmk.
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This was an amazing trip. Very busy, very very hot. But overall just wonderful. If you are taking this trip and have any questions, lmk.
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oh my, could you give us some of your highlights. I'm leaving on same journey in December
So many highlights! Dead Sea float so cool (do the mud!) Excellent spa at Kempinski Dead Sea (Kempinski itself VERY big so lots of walking and we had a horrible smell by our room so definitely ask for a room higher up and not a lower level villa). We had a great TD and great local guide in Jordan. Petra is amazing. Beyond what we thought it would be. It’s a long walk in but there’s lots to look at. Camel ride was great and definitely take the club car back to the start after. Wadi Rum was fine - more of a filler I think between trips. Charter flights all very easy too. Our night at the Cataract was wonderful. Amazing, beautiful room and a great dinner in 1902. And yes, men need a jacket. So pack it or borrow one. Abu Simbel so cool. Lots of walking there - esp the walk back (slight up hill) Vendors at all sights VERY pushy. Just have to not make eye contact and keep walking. Our 4 days on the boat down the Nile were incredible. Beautiful boat, amazing staff, amazing food. Felucca ride very nice. First night on the boat there’s entertainment after dinner - definitely stay up for that. Valley of Kings and Queens just blew us away. Tauck gets you “after hours” visit and that is so key. Only one other Tauck tour there, no lines, time to really see the tombs. Flight to Cairo was easy - no issues at the airport. Pyramids amazing - so nice to stay right in the shadow of Giza ones. Visit to a mosque in Cairo was very enlightening and we learned SO much. Afternoon at the market/bazaar was hectic and it was a day off for locals and also a holiday so extra hectic. Same goods that you see at every sight on the trip - nothing new or special. I could go on and on…….. you won’t have the insane heat we had - so you’ll enjoy the sights even more!
Thx so much for your comments
Thank you so much for this marvelous recap. you've got me all excited for the journey. Were the flights between locations small charters or more like regional jets using Egypt Air?
Only the one to Cairo was a large plane and Egypt air. Other two were small charters - just our group.
When we did J&E in March '22 the flights from Aqaba to Aswan and Aswan to/from Abu Simbel were charters on PAS (Petroleum Air Services). Frankly, I don't remember whether it was on one of their regional jets or a turbo-prop- I didn't take photos due to airport security!! The flight from Luxor to Cairo was on a regularly scheduled commercial Egypt Air flight and not a charter. Here is the link to the first page of my multi-page report:
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/15494/on-the-road-again/p1
Thank you to all.
Thank you everyone.
Any clothing, shoes, hats recommendations?
Anything we should definitely know to bring?
Thank you.
Check the weather (Weatherspark dot com) to see how hot it will be. We went in March and saw tempts in the 80's and 90's while others who have gone closer to each side of summer have seen temps in the 100's some as high as 112° F at Abu Simbel. However, it can be cool in the early mornings at Jerash and Petra, so be prepared for both extremes by layering. I wore my cool, wicking, safari clothes much of the time. Consider a cooling towel like they sell at Disney, etc. Wear shoes with soles that grip because in some areas you be walking on granite, marble, and other hard surfaces, especially if you decide to make the climb to Ad Deir (the Monastery) in Petra or plan to descend to a pyramid tomb, even tombs in VOK. Sunglasses and a hat.
Thank you
Thank you for the review! My wife and I are going in February, not on the small group though, so we have less nights on the boat. We've been looking forward to this for over a year now.
Just showing my ignorance…… we are going on this tour in February. Are the odds good that it will include the GEM or not? I just checked the itinerary and it says ‘ Egyptian Museum”. KBH- did your group go to the GEM? Also , I am perplexed about the plastic bag restrictions….. Are bags labelled “ biodegradable” ok? Thank you .
GEM is supposed to open in November…time will tell. I’m sure it will be a mad house when it does open. I went in Dec 22 and weather was lovely so Feb should be perfect.
We went to the GEM but just to walk around the lobby and enjoy the shops. For shopping - that was the best day if you wanted something of quality. As for the actual opening it has sort of become a joke over there as no one really knows. They still need to work on a better road to access it so my guess is maybe by February you may luck out. But truly no idea.
And as for weather you’ll probably have much cooler temps. It hit 106 when we were in Egypt. We came off the wait list so we were just happy to be going and didn’t pick our dates with the weather in mind. We had hats, sunglasses, neck fans and cooling towels. Some days we could wear good walking sandals and others (most) we wore sneakers. There is laundry available at most hotels and on the boat which helped us out. Only day we needed to dress modestly was for the mosque. I wore lightweight pants most days and longer linen or cotton skirts. Always lots of water on the bus and at the hotels.
There were no plastic bag restrictions in Jordan and Egypt. I think that might be for the safari tours in Kenya, Tanzania, etc….. I will say one of the most depressing things was the amount of garbage everywhere. It’s just awful. In the little rivers, the sides of the road, just everywhere.
The GEM has been on the next November schedule for many years now. The date keeps getting pushed back. No telling when or if it will actually open.
mañana
Inshallah- Arabic version of mañana.
There is no telling- as I have said in many previous posts it will happen when the President Al Sisi thinks it is ready and can get maximum attendance by the leadership of a most countries as possible. I understand there are still problems with the infrastructure (roads, subway, monorail or aeriall tram, etc. and money.
If you read through the Daily News Egypt article from 9 Sep 2023 at the link https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2023/09/09/prime-minister-inspects-grand-egyptian-museum/ you will there are still things left to complete.