Jordan & Egypt: Desert Sands & Ancient Wonders — Self-Launched

Fly into Queen Alia International Airport and take the Airport Express bus (JOD 3.30, ~45 min) or a shared taxi (JOD 15-20 split) into downtown Amman. Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the Jabal Amman / Downtown area (Art Hotel, Jordan Tower Hotel and similar run £20-30 for a private twin; dorms from £8). Change money on arrival — ATMs are plentiful. Buy a Jordan Pass online before you fly: the Jordan Wanderer tier (JOD 70) covers your visa fee plus entry to Jerash, Petra and Wadi Rum, saving real money. Evening: walk to Hashem Restaurant for falafel and hummus (under £3), then coffee at one of the Rainbow Street cafes. Sort your bus tickets for tomorrow at the Abdali bus station or via the JETT app.

🚌Airport Express bus JOD 3.30 (~£3.70)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Downtown Amman — £22 private twin (or £9 dorm)

• →Jordan Pass purchase
• →Rainbow Street evening wander
• →Hashem falafel dinner

Take a local minibus or service taxi from Amman's Tabarbour bus station north to Jerash (JOD 1-2, ~1 hour). Jerash is one of the best-preserved Roman provincial cities anywhere — colonnaded streets, two theatres, the Oval Plaza and Hadrian's Arch. Entry is covered by your Jordan Pass. A licensed local guide at the gate costs around JOD 25 for a group; if you're solo, join others at the ticket office or use the free audio guide app. Continue by taxi (JOD 8-10) to Ajloun Castle on its hilltop, then walk the short Mari Elias trail through olive groves below it. Return to Amman by late afternoon. Dinner at a local restaurant — mansaf or mixed grill for £6-8.

🚌Local minibus Amman–Jerash JOD 1.5 return; taxi to Ajloun JOD 10

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Downtown Amman — £22

• →Jerash Roman ruins
• →Ajloun Castle
• →Mari Elias olive-grove walk

Spend the morning at the Amman Citadel (Temple of Hercules, Umayyad Palace, small Archaeological Museum) and the Roman Theatre downtown — both included on the Jordan Pass. For lunch, do a DIY food crawl in the downtown souk: falafel, knafeh from Habiba Sweets (about £1.50), and fresh juice. In the afternoon, book a home-cooking session or shared meal with a local family through Airbnb Experiences or Withlocals (roughly £20-25), which replaces the group tour's hosted lunch. This evening pack light for the south — you'll leave most luggage at the hotel or carry it all.

🚌Walking and local taxis (JOD 3-5 total)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Downtown Amman — £22

• →Amman Citadel
• →Roman Theatre
• →Downtown souk food crawl
• →Local family cooking/meal experience

Take a minibus from Amman's Muhajireen station to Madaba (JOD 1, 45 min). Visit St George's Church to see the famous 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land (JOD 1-2), plus the Madaba Archaeological Park. Grab a shared taxi or local bus up to Mount Nebo (JOD 3-5) for the view over the Jordan Valley. Then head south: take a bus to Karak or Qatraneh and switch to a service taxi bound for Dana village (roughly JOD 12-18 total, 3-4 hours) — or, more comfortably, book a shared transfer through your accommodation. Sleep in Dana village at a simple guesthouse or the Al-Nawatef Eco-Camp; the famous Feynan Ecolodge is a splurge (around £85-110 per night) if you want the equivalent of the group stay. Sunset over Wadi Dana from the village rim is free and spectacular.

🚌Minibus + service taxi Amman–Madaba–Dana ~JOD 18 (£19)

🛏Dana village guesthouse or eco-camp — £25

• →St George's mosaic map, Madaba
• →Mount Nebo viewpoint
• →Wadi Dana sunset

Hike the Wadi Dana trail or the shorter Nawatef/White Dome trail self-guided — trail maps are sold at the reserve visitor centre and the paths are well marked (entry around JOD 8 for the reserve). If you want the guided shepherd-with-his-flock or Bedouin family cooking experience, arrange it directly through your guesthouse the night before; local guides charge about JOD 35-50 for a half day, which you can split with other guests. In the afternoon, transfer on to Wadi Musa/Petra (service taxi JOD 12-15, ~1.5 hours) and check in to a guesthouse near the entrance.

🚌Service taxi Dana–Wadi Musa JOD 13

🛏Guesthouse, Wadi Musa — £20

• →Wadi Dana self-guided hike
• →Bedouin guide / cooking experience (optional)
• →Reserve visitor centre

Get an early taxi to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid, JOD 8-10, 20 min) and walk the ancient back route into Petra via the Wadi Ghurab / Al-Ma'aysra trail — roughly 3-4 hours of mostly downhill walking, entering the site behind the crowds. Bring 2-3 litres of water and sun protection. Petra entry is covered by your Jordan Pass (one-day entry included, so use it wisely). Take your time among the Monastery, the Royal Tombs and the Treasury, and don't miss the Siq al-Barrah sunset tea with the local Bedouin stands (around £5). Walk back to Wadi Musa or take the Petra shuttle/taxi (JOD 5).

🚌Taxi to Little Petra JOD 9; return taxi JOD 5

🛏Guesthouse, Wadi Musa — £20

• →Little Petra
• →Back-trail hike into Petra
• →Monastery & Royal Tombs
• →Treasury

Enter Petra at opening (6am in low season) from the main Siq to see the Treasury in morning light without the day-trip crowds — you'll need a second-day Petra ticket (JOD 5 with Jordan Pass proof, otherwise JOD 55), so ask at the ticket office. Mid-morning, take a bus or shared taxi to Wadi Rum Visitor Centre (JOD 10-15, ~2 hours; buses leave Wadi Musa around 11am). Pay the JOD 5 reserve fee and arrange a shared 4x4 tour with your camp (typically JOD 35-45 per person for a 4-hour sunset tour including the Lawrence's Spring, Khazali Canyon and the sand dunes). Sleep in a Bedouin desert camp — bubble tents around £25-35 per person including dinner and breakfast.

🚌Minibus to Wadi Rum ~JOD 12; shared 4x4 JOD 40

🛏Wadi Rum Bedouin desert camp — £30 incl. dinner & breakfast

• →Petra sunrise entry
• →Wadi Rum 4x4 tour
• →Sand dune sunset
• →Bedouin camp overnight

Sunrise in the desert, then head north. Take a shared taxi from Wadi Rum to Aqaba (JOD 5) or straight up the Desert Highway in a service taxi to the Dead Sea area (long haul, ~4-5 hours, JOD 25-35 total if shared). Alternatively, grab a JETT bus from Aqaba to Amman and get off at the Dead Sea junction. Book a budget hotel or guesthouse near the Dead Sea (around £30-40); if you're using a hotel beach, day-use is usually included for guests — public Amman Beach charges JOD 20-25 for day access. Float in the salt water, mud up, and rinse off properly after 15 minutes. If you have energy, walk the short Wadi Himara trail to the waterfall (access from the Dead Sea Highway, no permit needed).

🚌Shared service taxi Wadi Rum–Dead Sea ~£28

🛏Budget hotel near Dead Sea — £35

• →Sunrise in Wadi Rum
• →Dead Sea float & mud
• →Wadi Himara short hike

Morning minibus back to Amman (JOD 3-5, ~1 hour) with time for a last shawarma. Fly Amman to Cairo — Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir and Air Arabia run this route daily; budget one-way fares booked ahead land around £90-140. On arrival at Cairo International, buy your Egypt visa on arrival (USD 36 / ~£28, card payment at the bank window or QR code online in advance). Take the airport bus or Uber to your hotel in Downtown Cairo (Uber roughly EGP 250-350, ~£5). Evening stroll along the Nile corniche or through Khan el-Khalili if you have energy.

🚌Minibus to Amman JOD 4; Amman–Cairo flight ~£115; airport transfer £5

🛏Budget hotel, Downtown Cairo — £25

• →Flight to Cairo
• →Egypt visa on arrival
• →Nile corniche walk

Take the Metro to Giza then a short taxi or microbus to the pyramid complex, or pre-book a half-day guided tour on GetYourGuide (around £25-35 including transport, which is worthwhile for context and hassle-free entry). Site entry is EGP 700 (~£11) for the plateau plus extra for going inside a pyramid. Don't miss the panoramic viewpoint for the classic three-pyramid shot and a camel or horse ride if you want one (agree the price firmly first, ~£15). Afternoon: the Grand Egyptian Museum or the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir (EGP 550-1,200 depending on which — check current opening status), where Tutankhamun's golden mask lives. Dinner in Downtown — koshari from Abou Tarek for about £2.

🚌Metro + taxi ~£4

🛏Budget hotel, Downtown Cairo — £25

• →Giza Pyramids & Sphinx
• →Panoramic viewpoint
• →Egyptian Museum / GEM
• →Koshari dinner

Today replaces the dahabiya with the budget equivalent: book a half- or full-day felucca sail from Aswan's Corniche (EGP 400-800 for a boat, so £10-20 per person if shared; a sunset sail is cheap and beautiful). Visit a Nubian village on the west bank by felucca and take tea with a family (small tip expected). Alternatively, take a public motor launch to Kitchener's Island and the Aga Khan Mausoleum viewpoint. For a true overnight-on-the-water feel, a two-day felucca with meals and a Nubian village stop runs around £70-100 per person when shared with 4-6 others — book directly with captains at the Corniche or via your guesthouse. Note: Aswan–Kom Ombo by felucca isn't practical in a day, so most independent travellers sail locally at Aswan and then take the train to Kom Ombo (EGP 40-100, ~45 min) for the temple.

🚌Fel ucca sail £15; train to Kom Ombo ~£3

🛏Budget guesthouse, Aswan — £20 (or overnight on felucca)

• →Felucca sail on the Nile
• →Nubian village visit
• →Kom Ombo temple

Morning: Kom Ombo temple (EGP 240, ~£4), dramatically set on the riverbank and best before 9am. Take a local train or shared microbus south to Edfu (30-40 min), then a tuk-tuk to the Temple of Horus (EGP 240), one of Egypt's best-preserved temples. Return to Aswan or continue north by train to Luxor (EGP 60-150 second class, 2-3 hours). If you'd rather do the overnight-train experience, take the Aswan–Luxor sleeper instead of a hotel (around £45-60 one way) — but for 15 days it's usually simpler to just ride daytime and sleep in Luxor. Check into a guesthouse on the West Bank or in central Luxor (£18-25).

🚌Train and microbus hops Aswan–Kom Ombo–Edfu–Luxor ~£10

🛏Guesthouse, Luxor — £22

• →Kom Ombo temple
• →Temple of Horus, Edfu
• →Luxor Temple at night (free to walk past)

Start at 6am and cross the Nile by public ferry (EGP 10) to the West Bank, then hire a bicycle (EGP 100/day) or a shared taxi with other travellers. Valley of the Kings ticket (EGP 750, ~£12) covers three tombs — pay extra for Tutankhamun or Seti I if you're keen. Continue to the Temple of Hatshepsut (EGP 360) and the Colossi of Memnon (free). Afternoon: cross back and visit Karnak Temple (EGP 600, ~£10) — go late afternoon for cooler air and better light. In the evening, book a home-hosted Nubian or Luxor family dinner through a local operator or your guesthouse (about £15-20), replacing the group tour's hosted lunch. Optionally add a hot-air balloon at dawn the next morning (~£70-90 booked locally).

🚌Ferry, bike and shared taxi ~£8

🛏Guesthouse, Luxor — £22

• →Valley of the Kings
• →Hatshepsut Temple
• →Colossi of Memnon
• →Karnak Temple
• →Hosted family dinner

Optional sunrise hot-air balloon over the West Bank if you booked it — one of the cheapest big-ticket thrills in Egypt. Otherwise, a slow morning at the Luxor Museum (EGP 400) or a final walk through the souk. Take a taxi to Luxor International Airport (EGP 150-250, ~£3-5) for your onward flight, or the train to Cairo (EGP 200-400, 9-10 hours) if you're continuing independently. Keep a bit of cash for departure — Egypt's departure tax is normally included in air tickets.

🚌Airport taxi ~£4

🛏—

• →Optional hot-air balloon
• →Luxor Museum
• →Souk shopping