Best of Egypt, Jordan and Israel — Self-Launched

Land at Cairo International and take an Uber or Careem into downtown (approx £5-7, cheaper than the airport taxi desk). Check into a downtown hostel or budget hotel near Talaat Harb or Talat Harb Square, where doubles with private bathroom run £15-22 a night. Spend the evening acclimatising: walk the Corniche, grab koshari from a street canteen (£1.50) and sort out a local SIM from Vodafone or Orange (approx £6 for 20GB). Confirm your Egypt visa situation — most nationalities get a £20-25 e-visa in advance or visa on arrival.

🚌Airport Uber/Careem ~£6

🛏Downtown Cairo hostel/hotel (private twin ~£18/night)

• →Sunset walk along the Nile Corniche
• →Koshari dinner downtown
• →Local SIM setup

Start early to beat the touts — an Uber to Giza costs about £4. Site entry for the Pyramids and Sphinx plateau is around £12 (pay by card at the gate; on-site add-ons like going inside a pyramid are extra and easily skipped). Book a GetYourGuide or Emo Tours half-day with an Egyptologist guide for £20-30 if you want context, otherwise self-guide. Afternoon at the Grand Egyptian Museum (£12-15; book a timed slot online). Eat before 8pm, then head to Ramses Station for the Watania overnight sleeper to Aswan — a single berth is roughly £55-65 including dinner and breakfast, booked direct on the Watania website. Alternatively take a daytime flight for £45-70.

🚌Uber to Giza ~£4; Watania sleeper Cairo-Aswan ~£60

🛏Watania overnight sleeper train

• →Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx
• →Grand Egyptian Museum
• →Optional Egyptologist half-day guide (£20-30)

Arrive mid-morning and walk to a guesthouse in the Nubian quarter on Elephantine Island or the west bank (£14-20). In the afternoon take a local motorboat to Philae Temple (boat share £3-5, entry £9) — afternoon light is lovely and it's calmer than mornings. In the evening, hire a felucca or motorboat to a Nubian village (shared boat £5-8), walk the palm-lined lanes and eat a home-cooked Nubian dinner in a family guesthouse (£8-10). The Aswan souk back on the mainland is free to wander and best around sunset.

🚌Shared boats to Philae and Nubian village ~£10

🛏Nubian guesthouse, Elephantine Island/west bank (~£17/night)

• →Philae Temple
• →Aswan Souk
• →Nubian village walk and home dinner

The big optional: Abu Simbel. Join a shared minibus tour departing around 4am (£25-35 with entry included via GetYourGuide or your guesthouse) — three hours each way with a police convoy, two hours at the temples. Worth every penny. Alternatively sleep in and take a felucca sailing afternoon (£8). Back in Aswan, stock up on snacks at the market and book tomorrow's transport to Kom Ombo.

🚌Shared minibus to Abu Simbel ~£30

🛏Nubian guesthouse, Aswan (~£17/night)

• →Abu Simbel temples (optional, ~£30)
• →Felucca sail on the Nile

Skip the private van: take a local train or minibus from Aswan to Kom Ombo (about 1hr, £2-3), leaving bags in Aswan and travelling light or using the station lockers. Kom Ombo temple is a 10-minute walk from the station (£6 entry), beautifully sited on the river bend. Continue by train to Luxor (Kom Ombo-Luxor, 1st class, £4-6). Check into a guesthouse on the west bank or near Luxor Temple (£14-20). Dinner from the local market street near the station — grilled chicken, ta'amiya and fresh juice for about £5.

🚌Local train Aswan-Kom Ombo-Luxor ~£8

🛏Luxor guesthouse (~£16/night)

• →Kom Ombo Temple
• →Luxor market street food

Cross the Nile by public ferry (£1) and hire a bicycle (£3-4) or a shared microbus to the west bank sites. Valley of the Kings ticket covers three tombs (£13) — Tutankhamun's tomb is an extra £10, usually skipped unless you're a devotee. Add Hatshepsut Temple (£7) and the free Colossi of Memnon. A local guide at the gate costs £15-25 for half a day if you want the stories. Lunch at a west bank family restaurant (£4-5). Late afternoon: Luxor Temple (£8) lit up at dusk, and the mummification museum if you have energy.

🚌Public ferry and bike/microbus ~£5

🛏Luxor guesthouse (~£16/night)

• →Valley of the Kings
• →Temple of Hatshepsut
• →Colossi of Memnon
• →Luxor Temple

Be at Karnak when gates open at 6am — the hypostyle hall to yourself is the trip's best moment (£10 entry). Walk or take a microbus back via the Avenue of Sphinxes. Afternoon options: Luxor Museum (£8), a bike ride through west bank villages, or a visit to a local community project such as the Funtasia/Action in Education centre (donation-based, arrange via your guesthouse) — the equivalent of the tour's Planeterra visit. Evening: shisha and tea by the Nile (£3).

🚌Microbus and walking ~£3

🛏Luxor guesthouse (~£16/night)

• →Karnak Temple at opening
• →Luxor Museum
• →Community project visit

Book your own flight: Luxor-Cairo (Egyptair/Nile Air, £40-60) then Cairo-Amman (Royal Jordanian, Egyptair or Air Arabia, £110-160). Long layovers are common — use the time for a Saqqara/Memphis day tour from the airport if the gap is 6+ hours (£40-50 with returns). On arrival in Amman, buy a Jordan Pass online before you fly (£60-75) which covers your visa fee and entry to Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and more. Take the airport express bus to Abdali/7th Circle (£4) or an Uber (£15) and check into a hostel in downtown Amman near Rainbow Street or Hashemite Plaza (£18-25/night).

🚌Flights Luxor-Cairo-Amman ~£140; airport bus £4

🛏Downtown Amman hostel (~£22/night)

• →Optional Saqqara day tour during layover
• →Rainbow Street evening walk

Join a shared GetYourGuide day tour from Amman covering Jerash and the Dead Sea (about £40-55 per person including entry). Jerash is one of the best-preserved Roman cities outside Italy — the colonnaded cardo and Hadrian's Arch are superb, and the Jordan Pass covers the £10 entry. Afternoon: float in the Dead Sea at Amman Beach or a public beach; mud is a few dinars extra and renting a towel/locker is £3-5. Say yes to the mud — it's the photo. Back to Amman for a cheap falafel dinner at Hashem (£4).

🚌Shared day-tour minibus included in tour price

🛏Downtown Amman hostel (~£22/night)

• →Jerash Roman ruins
• →Dead Sea float and mud

Take a local minibus from Amman's Wadala bus station to Madaba (£1.50, 45min), see St George's Church and its 6th-century mosaic map (£2), then a shared taxi to Mt Nebo (£3-5) for the Moses-view panorama over the Jordan Valley. Continue south: minibus to Karak (£4) for the crusader castle (£3, or covered by Jordan Pass), then minibus to Wadi Musa (£6-8, ~2hrs). Check into a Wadi Musa guesthouse (£16-22). Buy water and fruit for tomorrow's Petra day and confirm Petra's opening time (6am in summer).

🚌Local minibuses Amman-Madaba-Karak-Wadi Musa ~£15

🛏Wadi Musa guesthouse (~£18/night)

• →Madaba mosaics
• →Mt Nebo viewpoint
• →Karak Castle

Be at the gate for 6am and walk the Siq alone — the first sight of the Treasury is worth the early alarm. Jordan Pass covers the £40ish entry. Do the classic route independently (the Siq, Treasury, Street of Facades, Royal Tombs, Colonnaded Street, Qasr al-Bint), then hike the 800 steps to the Monastery for the best view in Jordan. A local Bedouin guide at the gate is £25-40 for half a day if you want the history. Skip the horses. Eat a late lunch in the village (£6). Tonight, Petra by Night runs Monday/Wednesday/Thursday (£14) — buy tickets at the visitor centre.

🚌Walking; local taxi back up the hill ~£2

🛏Wadi Musa guesthouse (~£18/night)

• →Full Petra day: Siq, Treasury, Monastery
• →Optional Petra by Night (£14)

Morning at Little Petra (Siq al-Barid) — free-ish with the Pass and quiet at opening. Then a shared minibus or taxi to Wadi Rum Visitor Centre (£8-10, 1.5hrs). Book a jeep tour + overnight camp package directly with a Bedouin camp via Booking.com or GetYourGuide (£45-65 including dinner, breakfast, jeep tour and pick-up) — this is the tour's private 4x4 replaced by a shared camp jeep. Sunset over the dunes, zarb dinner cooked underground, and stargazing from the camp fire. Bring warm layers; desert nights are cold.

🚌Minibus Wadi Musa-Wadi Rum ~£10; jeep tour included

🛏Bedouin desert camp, Wadi Rum (~£45-55/night incl. meals)

• →Little Petra
• →Wadi Rum jeep tour
• →Bedouin camp dinner and stargazing

Camp transfer to the highway, then minibus to Aqaba (£5, 1hr). If you have time, snorkel the Red Sea from the public beach or a £20 boat trip. Cross the Wadi Araba/Aqaba-Eilat border (open to tourists, about £8-10 exit tax plus taxi to the crossing and onward into Eilat). Israeli entry is free for most passports and stamped on a separate slip. Take an Egged bus from Eilat north to Tel Aviv (£15, 5hrs) or stop overnight in Eilat at a hostel (£25).

🚌Minibus + border crossing + Egged bus Eilat-Tel Aviv ~£35

🛏Tel Aviv hostel dorm/private (~£25/night)

• →Aqaba Red Sea swim
• →Wadi Araba border crossing

Slow morning in Tel Aviv — Carmel Market for breakfast (£6), then walk the beach promenade to Jaffa. The old port and St Peter's Church are free; a Jaffa walking tour on GetYourGuide costs £15-20 if you want the history. Swim at Gordon or Frishman beach. Renting a city bike is £5/hour. Food tip: hummus and sabich plates run £8-12 in Tel Aviv, so mix street food with one nice dinner. Evening in Florentin for bars (£6 a beer).

🚌Walking and public bus ~£4

🛏Tel Aviv hostel (~£25/night)

• →Jaffa Old Port and old town
• →Carmel Market
• →Beach time

Train north to Akko (£8, 1h15), wander the UNESCO-listed old town and the sea walls, and dip into the Hospitaller fortress (£10). Eat hummus at a local spot in the souk (£6). Late afternoon train to Haifa (£3), then bus up to the Bahá'í Gardens terraces — free guided tours run at noon, otherwise view the golden dome from the German Colony. Overnight in a Haifa hostel (£22-28).

🚌Train Tel Aviv-Akko-Haifa ~£11

🛏Haifa hostel (~£25/night)

• →Akko old town and sea walls
• →Bahá'í Gardens

Bus to Nazareth (£4, 45min) for the Basilica of the Annunciation and Mary's Well, then a shared taxi or local bus to the Sea of Galilee (£4). Walk or cycle between Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes (£3-6 entries), and take a short boat ride on the lake (£10). Stay in Tiberias (£22-28) or return to Nazareth. For a Druze village experience like the tour's Isfiya lunch, detour to Daliyat al-Karmel on the Carmel (£15 taxi) for a home-style Druze lunch (£12).

🚌Local buses and shared taxis ~£14

🛏Tiberias or Nazareth guesthouse (~£25/night)

• →Basilica of the Annunciation
• →Sea of Galilee and Capernaum
• →Optional Druze village lunch

Bus to Jerusalem (Nazareth-Hadera or Afula transfer, then bus/train; about £12, 3hrs). Check into a hostel in the Old City or near Jaffa Gate — Abraham Hostel has dorms from £20 and private rooms from £55. Afternoon free walk around the Old City walls. Evening: Jaffa Street and Mahane Yehuda market for dinner (£8-10), and note Friday-Saturday sabbath closures when planning.

🚌Buses Nazareth-Jerusalem ~£12

🛏Jerusalem hostel (~£22/night dorm)

• →Old City walls walk
• →Mahane Yehuda market

Do a free/fee-based Old City walking tour (£15-20 via GetYourGuide or the free Sandemans model) or self-walk the four quarters: Western Wall, Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif (check opening hours, non-Muslim entry restricted), Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Via Dolorosa and the Mount of Olives viewpoint. The Israel Museum (£12) has the Dead Sea Scrolls. For the tour's Domari Society visit, contact the Domari Gypsy Center in East Jerusalem for a community visit or cooking session (donation ~£10-15).

🚌Walking; occasional tram ~£2

🛏Jerusalem hostel (~£22/night)

• →Old City four quarters
• →Western Wall and Holy Sepulchre
• →Mount of Olives
• →Optional community project visit

Bus 231 from Damascus Gate to Bethlehem (£2). Visit the Church of the Nativity, Manger Square and Banksy's Walled Off Hotel gallery, and take a local Palestinian guide walking tour (£15-20) for context on the wall and the camps. Optional: the Herodium or a Bethlehem-area community project lunch. Return to Jerusalem by late afternoon.

🚌Bus 231 return ~£4

🛏Jerusalem hostel (~£22/night)

• →Church of the Nativity
• →Separation wall and Banksy gallery
• →Local guided walk

Take the early bus to Masada (£8, 1h30) and either hike the Snake Path at sunrise (free, 45-60min) or take the cable car (£12). Masada entry is £9-12. Then bus to Ein Gedi for a Dead Sea swim at a free/public beach area (£3-5) — much calmer budget option than the paid spa. Return to Jerusalem by evening bus (£8). Pack for tomorrow's move to Tel Aviv.

🚌Buses Jerusalem-Masada-Ein Gedi-Jerusalem ~£16

🛏Jerusalem hostel (~£22/night)

• →Masada sunrise hike or cable car
• →Ein Gedi Dead Sea float

Morning bus to Tel Aviv (£6, 1hr). Dump bags at a hostel near the beach (£25). Last-day agenda: Neve Tzedek lanes, the art market at Nachalat Binyamin (Tuesdays and Fridays), sunset at the beach, and a proper final dinner in Jaffa's flea market area (£15-20). Optional extra: the Israel Museum or a Yehuda market beer walk if you're still in Jerusalem. Book your airport transfer for tomorrow — the train from Tel Aviv Hahagana to Ben Gurion is £3 and 20min.

🚌Bus Jerusalem-Tel Aviv ~£6

🛏Tel Aviv hostel (~£25/night)

• →Neve Tzedek
• →Nachalat Binyamin market
• →Beach sunset

Final breakfast at a café (£6), then train to Ben Gurion Airport (£3). Leave at least 3 hours for check-in and security (Israeli security interviews can be lengthy). If you have a late flight, leave your bag at the hostel and take one more beach morning.

🚌Train Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion ~£3

🛏None — departure day

• →Beach morning
• →Departure