Middle East Dream Escape: Petra & the Pyramids — Self-Launched

Fly into Queen Alia International Airport and take the Airport Express shuttle bus (about 3.5 JOD, ~£4) or a shared taxi to downtown Amman. Check into a hostel in the Jabal Amman or Downtown area, get a Jordanian SIM from a kiosk at the airport, and spend the evening wandering the Rainbow Street cafes. Change some cash to JOD — Jordan is still fairly cash-heavy.

🚌Airport Express bus ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm or private room in Downtown Amman (£10-18)

• →Rainbow Street evening stroll
• →Buy local SIM & Jordan Pass online (covers visa + Petra entry)

Walk the downtown sights yourself: the Citadel (2 JOD) and the Roman Amphitheatre (2 JOD) are a short taxi ride apart — or grab a Careem/SIM-based ride-hailing app for ~£2. In the afternoon take a shared taxi or minibus to As-Salt (about 1 JOD, 40 mins) and do a self-guided food crawl of the old hillside town: falafel, knafeh, and sweet tea from the vendors around Hammam Street (budget £6-8). Return to Amman by minibus for the evening.

🚌Shared taxi/minibus to As-Salt ~£2-3 return

🛏Hostel in Downtown Amman (£10-18)

• →Amman Citadel
• →Roman Amphitheatre
• →As-Salt self-guided food walk

Catch an early minibus from Amman's Tabarbour bus station to Jerash (~1 JOD). The ruins are a 10-minute walk from the bus stop. You can either explore with a site map and audio info yourself (entry covered by the Jordan Pass) or hire a licensed local guide at the gate for ~20 JOD split between a few travellers. In the afternoon, minibus back to Amman, then take the 3.5-hour JETT bus or a shared taxi down the Desert Highway to Wadi Musa/Petra (~10 JOD). Book accommodation near the Petra visitor centre.

🚌Minibuses + JETT coach Amman-Wadi Musa ~£15

🛏Guesthouse in Wadi Musa (£12-20)

• →Jerash archaeological site
• →Optional local guide at Jerash

Take a taxi or local minibus to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid, ~5 JOD each way) and hike the back-door trail to the Monastery — roughly 2-3 hours, spectacular, and you arrive at Petra's most impressive monument from above. Buy the two-day Jordan Pass so entry is covered. Bring water and snacks. Walk out via the Treasury and the Siq in the late afternoon when crowds thin, then back to town for dinner.

🚌Shared taxi to Little Petra ~£10 return

🛏Guesthouse in Wadi Musa (£12-20)

• →Little Petra
• →Back-door trail hike to the Monastery
• →Petra main site & the Treasury

Enter Petra at opening time (6am in most seasons) to see the Treasury in soft morning light with almost no one around — a two-day pass lets you back in. Head back for breakfast, then take a minibus or shared taxi from Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum Village (~7-10 JOD, 1.5 hrs). Book a Bedouin camp online in advance (most bundle a jeep tour, dinner and breakfast). Afternoon 4x4 tour through the red dunes and rock bridges, camp dinner, then a night walk for stargazing — Wadi Rum is a Dark Sky Reserve.

🚌Shared minibus Wadi Musa-Wadi Rum ~£10

🛏Bedouin desert camp, shared bathroom (£18-30 incl. dinner & 4x4)

• →Sunrise at Petra
• →4x4 jeep tour of Wadi Rum
• →Guided night walk & stargazing

Sunrise over the dunes, breakfast at camp, then a shared 4x4/taxi to the village and a minibus or taxi south to Aqaba (~5-8 JOD, 1 hr). Check into a budget hotel or hostel near the beach. Spend the afternoon at the public beach or the South Beach snorkelling spots — free entry and decent reef straight off the shore — and eat at a local fish restaurant downtown.

🚌Shared taxi/minibus Wadi Rum-Aqaba ~£8

🛏Budget hotel/hostel in Aqaba (£15-25)

• →South Beach snorkelling from shore
• →Aqaba Marina & local market

Book a half-day snorkel or dive boat trip directly with one of the dive shops on the corniche (book direct to skip agency markups; ~25-35 JOD including gear, or skip it and snorkel from shore for free). Alternatively pay a day rate at a beach club (~15 JOD) or hike the Aqaba Marine Park trail. Dinner near the marina with the local crowd.

🚌Walking / local taxi ~£4

🛏Budget hotel/hostel in Aqaba (£15-25)

• →Optional dive or snorkel boat trip
• →Beach club day
• →Marina evening

Take a JETT bus or shared taxi north to the Dead Sea (~8-10 JOD). Use a public/beach access point rather than a resort day pass, or pay ~15-20 JOD for a day pass at a hotel beach if you want showers and towels. Float, mud up, then continue to Madaba. Around the Dead Sea, community-run kitchens like Al Safi (the project G Adventures supports) offer set lunches — email or phone a day ahead. In Madaba see St George's Church and its 6th-century mosaic map (1-2 JOD).

🚌Bus/shared taxi via Dead Sea ~£12

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in Madaba (£12-20)

• →Dead Sea float & mud
• →Community kitchen lunch
• →St George's Church mosaic map

A slow day. Explore Madaba's mosaic workshops and the Archaeological Park, or take a local taxi to Ma'in Hot Springs (~10-15 JOD return) for the waterfall pools and warm mineral water — book entry direct at the gate (~15 JOD). Eat dinner in Madaba's Christian quarter and stock up on snacks for the desert crossing tomorrow.

🚌Local taxi to Ma'in ~£12

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in Madaba (£12-20)

• →Ma'in Hot Springs (optional)
• →Madaba mosaic workshops

Head south with a shared taxi, arranging a local Bedouin guide/camp in Wadi Araba in advance — this is a low-traffic area, so book through a small local operator (ask your Madaba or Wadi Rum guesthouse for a contact, or search for Wadi Araba eco-camps). Afternoon 4x4 into the wadi, tea stop, a short hike to a desert pond and a swim, sunset over the escarpment, then a simple camp dinner and a night under the stars.

🚌Shared taxi + 4x4 ~£20

🛏Bedouin camp, shared facilities (£20-30 incl. 4x4 & meals)

• →Wadi Araba 4x4
• →Desert pond hike & swim
• →Sunset & stargazing

Back to Aqaba, then cross to Egypt either by the fast hydrofoil/ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba (~£35-45, ~1 hr) or the cheaper slow ferry, then a shared minibus from Nuweiba down the coast to Dahab (~£5, 1.5 hrs). Have your Egyptian visa sorted before arrival (e-visa online, ~£28 / USD 36 — the Sinai-only stamp doesn't cover onward travel to Cairo). Check into a beach guesthouse in Assalah and eat at a seafront grill.

🚌Aqaba-Nuweiba ferry + minibus ~£45

🛏Beach guesthouse in Dahab (£10-18)

• →Gulf of Aqaba crossing
• →Dahab seafront evening

Take a local pickup taxi to the Blue Hole (~£5 each way) and snorkel the reef wall — gear hire ~£6, entry small fee. Or book a shore dive with a Dahab dive centre (~£30 with equipment). Alternatives: windsurfing lesson (~£25), a Bedouin-guided hike to Ain Khudra oasis (~£20 with a local guide), or a lazy beach day. Everything here can be booked directly on the seafront the day before.

🚌Pickup taxi to Blue Hole ~£10 return

🛏Beach guesthouse in Dahab (£10-18)

• →Snorkelling the Blue Hole
• →Optional dive / windsurf / Ain Khudra hike

Book a shared minibus night transfer from Dahab to the Mount Sinai trailhead (~£10-12 return, most guesthouses arrange it). Start hiking around 1-2am with a headtorch to reach the summit for sunrise — 2-3 hours up, entry ~£4. Come down to St Catherine's Monastery, which opens around 9am (you may need to wait outside; entry is free/low-cost). Back to Dahab by midday for a long nap and a late lunch.

🚌Shared minibus night transfer ~£12 return

🛏Beach guesthouse in Dahab (£10-18)

• →Mount Sinai sunrise hike
• →St Catherine's Monastery

Take the morning East Delta bus from Dahab to Cairo (~£10-14, 9-10 hrs, book in advance at the bus office or online) or a shared microbus. Arrive Cairo in the evening, check into a hostel downtown near Talaat Harb, and get your first taste of koshari from a street shop (~£1.50).

🚌Coach Dahab-Cairo ~£12

🛏Hostel dorm/private in Downtown Cairo (£10-18)

• →Koshari dinner downtown

Take the Metro to Giza then a short taxi or microbus to the pyramid complex — entry ~£5, plus extra if you want to go inside a pyramid. Hire a licensed guide at the gate for 2-3 hours (~£20) or explore solo with a good audio guide. Catch the Great Sphinx from the panorama viewpoint, then head to Saqqara and Memphis by shared taxi if you have energy. Finish with a walk through Khan el-Khalili bazaar and a mint tea at El Fishawy.

🚌Metro + microbus + shared taxi ~£6

🛏Hostel in Downtown Cairo (£10-18)

• →Pyramids of Giza
• →The Sphinx
• →Khan el-Khalili bazaar orientation

Spend the morning at the Egyptian Museum or the newer Grand Egyptian Museum (~£25) — see Tutankhamun's collection. Afternoon free, then board the overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan (~£45-60 in a shared two-berth cabin, book direct with Watania Sleeping Trains online well ahead; the daytime train is cheaper). Bring snacks and earplugs. This replaces one of the two sleeper trains in the original tour.

🚌Cairo-Aswan sleeper train ~£50

🛏Overnight sleeper train, shared cabin (~£50)

• →Egyptian Museum / Grand Egyptian Museum

Arrive mid-morning, check into a Nubian-run guesthouse on Elephantine Island or in the Nubian village (many have rooftop views and are great value). Book a felucca sunset sail directly at the corniche (~£10-15 for two hours — haggle in a group). Wander the Aswan Souk in the evening for spices, scarves and baskets — completely free to browse.

🚌Walking + local ferry to Elephantine ~£1

🛏Nubian guesthouse, Aswan (£10-18)

• →Felucca sunset sail
• →Aswan Souk

Either join the shared early-morning convoy minibus to Abu Simbel (~£25-35 with entry, book at any Aswan tour office the day before) or skip it and have a slower day at Philae Temple. In the afternoon take a local boat across the Nile to a Nubian village (Sofitel/Kitchener's Island end of the river), wander the painted houses, and eat a home-cooked dinner with a local family — most Nubian guesthouses or the village guesthouse association can arrange this for ~£10-15 per person.

🚌Shared minibus to Abu Simbel / local boat ~£30

🛏Nubian guesthouse, Aswan (£10-18)

• →Abu Simbel (optional)
• →Boat to Nubian village
• →Traditional Nubian dinner at a local home

Take a train or a shared minibus north; stop at Kom Ombo and visit the unusual double temple on the riverbank (entry ~£5, guidebooks of the site are sold at the gate). Continue to Luxor by train (~£5-10) or shared microbus. Book a guesthouse on the West Bank for the cheapest and quietest stay, and watch the sunset over the Nile from a rooftop.

🚌Train/minibus Aswan-Luxor with Kom Ombo stop ~£10

🛏West Bank guesthouse, Luxor (£10-18)

• →Kom Ombo Temple

Cycle across to the West Bank sites (bike hire ~£4/day) — Valley of the Kings (entry ~£7 plus extra for Tutankhamun's tomb), Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Consider dropping into the Funtasia project, a local community tourism initiative in Luxor that G Adventures supports — you can visit independently and support it directly. Afternoon at the Mummification Museum or Luxor Museum (~£3-4).

🚌Bike hire ~£4

🛏West Bank guesthouse, Luxor (£10-18)

• →Valley of the Kings
• →Hatshepsut's Temple
• →Funtasia community project visit

Morning at Karnak (entry ~£7) — go early to beat the heat and the tour buses, and hire a guide at the gate if you want the history (~£15 split). Walk or take a local ferry to Luxor Temple (entry ~£5) in the late afternoon when it's lit. Evening in the bazaar and a rooftop dinner on the East Bank. Optional: hot air balloon over the West Bank at sunrise (~£65-80, book direct with a local operator).

🚌Local ferry + walking ~£2

🛏West Bank guesthouse, Luxor (£10-18)

• →Karnak Temple
• →Luxor Temple
• →Optional sunrise hot air balloon

Take the daytime train back to Cairo (~£12-20 in second class, 9-10 hrs, buy at the station or online) or the overnight sleeper if you'd rather save a hotel night. Arrive Cairo, check into a hostel, and head out for a final dinner — try a proper Egyptian mezze spread at a local restaurant in Downtown or Zamalek.

🚌Train Luxor-Cairo ~£15

🛏Hostel in Downtown Cairo (£10-18)

• →Final evening in Downtown Cairo

Depending on your flight time, squeeze in an early walk through Islamic Cairo or a final felafel breakfast. Take the Metro plus the Airport Shuttle bus or a ride-hailing car to Cairo International (~£4-8). Book flights departing after 14:00 to keep things relaxed.

🚌Metro + airport shuttle ~£6

🛏-

• →Morning walk in Islamic Cairo (optional)