In my recent travels I have been asked a few times what countries were my favorite. It is easy to say that Egypt, Jordan, and Israel really shook me all over the place. The Middle East is nothing like I had ever seen before. This region in the world has such rich history, religion, and has gone through the rise and fall of many empires. The conflicts and wars that this region still faces to-date is what makes it so eye-opening. I have split a recommended itinerary you can follow for a total of fifteen days. It can be easily adjusted as you can do this itinerary backwards as well. More or less this is the route I took.
Egypt
Day 1- Pyramids of Giza, etc.
I arrived late at night to Cairo so once arriving at my hostel I booked a tour that would take me early in the morning the next day to the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Memphis and to a Museum of Papyrus. I wrote a more detailed blog post of each of these places I visited on day one here.
Day 2 & 3- Cairo
You can spend one or two days exploring Cairo, it all depends on your time frame. Many people find Cairo too chaotic and don't enjoy spending too much there, I personally loved the chaos. To really get to know a country I really like to explore the capital, this city is worth immersing yourself in (with the right precautions). Here is the blog post where I write the places I visited around the city and recommendations on how to move around.
Day 4 & 5 The Red Sea
If you are like me and enjoy spending time at the beach or at sea, visiting the Red Sea is a must! I am a certified scuba diver so whenever I get a chance to go underwater I take it. I was recommended scuba diving in Marsa Alam which I enjoyed very much. Other places you can look into which were also recommended to me is Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.
Day 6 & 7- Luxor
Luxor was my favorite place in Egypt. Luxor was the capital of Egypt for around 2,000 years. The city has been named as the "world's greatest open-air museum", and there is no surprise in that as the city is filled with ruins on both sides of the Nile. On the West Bank I recommend visiting Medinet Habu, Colossi of Memnon, Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Valley of Queens (there is also the Valley of Kings that is too recommended). On the East Bank the Luxor Temple is also a must and there are also a few museums on this side. There are many ruins to see in Luxor, so I highly recommend spending no less than two days here, one is not enough. I hired a local guide that took me to all of the places on the West Bank and I just walked around on the East Bank.
Day 8- An Extra Day
If you have an extra day in the country there are other three cities that I was told were also worth visiting which is Aswan, Abu Simbel, and Alexandria. I was short in time and didn't get to visit these cities (next time). Aswan and Abu Simbel are south of Luxor and Alexandria is north of Cairo so it also depends on the route you are interested in taking. If you fly from Cairo back home or to your next destination you can also plan having Cairo as your last stop instead of your first.
As for transportation in Egypt: there are cheap flights if you book on time, there is also a train that can take you from Cairo to Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel. There are also buses, taxis, shared shuttles and private transportations. It all depends on your time frame and budget.
Jordan
Day 9- Amman & Jerash
I arrived early in the morning to Amman, after a few hours of arrival we took an Uber to Jerash which is about one hour to get there (51.9 km). I recommend spending a whole day here, it has ruins of the walled Greco-Roman settlement of Gerasa. The ruins are very well taken care of and open everywhere making it so fun to explore all over the old city. We also took a shared taxi back to Amman, there are also buses, and drivers that offer you a ride back at a cheap price (make sure to bargain). At night we went for dinner and to a Hookah Lounge which is very popular in the city.
Day 10- Petra
Petra is 230.2 km south from Amman, it mind sound like a short distance but it took us a few hours to get there by a bus tour we booked in Amman. The bust took around five hours to get to Petra and only let us be there for five hours (it really isn't enough). I would recommend going to Petra by bus and spending the night there so you can enjoy your time there at a slower pace. You walk A LOT inside Petra, so spending a night around there will be a lot more relaxing. The next day you can plan to drive back to Amman or head to the Dead Sea.
Day 11- Dead Sea
We took another bus tour from Amman to the Dead Sea. We arrived to a resort that cost around $20 USD to be there the whole day, it included a pool, showers, a little convenient store and a restaurant. The food there is very expensive so I would suggest taking plenty of water and snacks. You don't need to spend that much time inside the Dead Sea as it's actually very warm and obviously very salty. We spent about fifteen-minutes inside the water and did a mud spa which you can do right on the beach for an extra cost. After showering down the mud and salt we spent time in the pool. It was an amazing experience but you don't really need to spend so many hours here as it is very hot and there are a lot of flies (like A LOT). Brotip: don't shave before getting there as the water can sting after the shave.
Israel
Day 12- Jerusalem
To get to Israel we took a taxi from Amman to the border called King Hussein. Crossing the border to Israel we took a shared minivan to Jerusalem. It probably took us about three hours and the border crossing wasn't as bad as I would have thought. The first day we walked around the old town. At night we went for a few drinks at Mahane Yehuda Market, during the day it a normal market selling local fruits, vegetables and products and at night bars open up with shisha/hookah and drinks. It was our first time having a drink after a few days of being in Islamic countries so that first beer tasted oh so good.
Day 13- Jerusalem & Bethlehem
The second day in Jerusalem, we did a walking tour in the Old Town and afterwards took a bus to Bethlehem which takes less than an hour to get there. Bethlehem is known as the birthplace of Jesus which is now the location of the Church of Nativity. Since Bethlehem is located in Palestine there is a great border wall that you can see in the city where there are murals done. We took a bus back to Jerusalem, don't forget your passport when coming here.
Day 14- Ramallah
If you really want to see a Palestinian city Ramallah is the place to go. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. It is only 10 km north of Jerusalem and you can also get there by bus. Crossing in and out of the borders is very interesting to see, as well as seeing the change in culture just by being a few kilometers distance from each city. Here we just walked around the local market, had lunch, and went back by bus to Jerusalem.
Day 15- Tel-Aviv
I wish I had spend a few more days here, the city is amazing! Since I only spent a day here there isn't much I can say. We spent a day at the beach, walked around the local shops, and had lunch at the market. If you have more time, I would highly recommend spending it here .
