Help me with international travel: Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan

[Russ]

Going on my free propaganda trip to the Holy Land (Birthright) this winter. Extending my return ticket so I'll have a month or 2 to kick it in the Middle East / North Africa. Get me into Egypt / Israel / Palestine / Jordan / surrounding area? Current loose itinerary includes:

Israel
Whatever the Birthright itinerary is (10 days)
Dada museum, wherever that is (one day)
hike the Israel National Trail (probably a month or so)

Jordan
2-3 days in Amman, take the bus to Petra (1 day), walk from there to Wadi Rum (4 days), then bus from Wadi Rum to Aqaba (1 day). From Aqaba we should be able to just walk across a bridge back into Eilat?

Egypt
Leaving from Aqaba or Eilat
Dahab: beach on the Red Sea. Transit junction to St. Katherine. Probably only one day
St. Katherine: desert camping on Sinai Peninsula. Climb Mt. Katherine, highest point in Egypt, and/or Mt. Sinai. Two or three days.
Cairo: Government stuff, museums, pyramids. Couple of days, depends on when the buses run.
Western Oases (Bahariya, Farafra, Dahkla, al-Kharga): camping and hiking, White and Black Deserts, hopefully at least 3 days of exploring in here somewhere. Look up pictures of the White Desert, it's really neat.
Luxor: Ancient palaces and such. 2 days
Back to Israel via Cairo, along the Nile

anything missing? especially into wild camping (ideally fo' free), hiking, climbing, canyoning, outdoorsy stuff, plus art

also please don't tell me not to go, 'cause I'm not gonna listen <3

[deborah]

Sounds AMAZING!

[rae]

anything missing? especially into wild camping (ideally fo' free), hiking, climbing, canyoning, outdoorsy stuff, plus art

Spend some time in Tel Aviv. It is an amazing city and has a great arts culture. I recommend the art market, Nachalat Benyamin, which is open on Tues. and Fridays. Also the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Hanging around on the beach is also amazing.
My favourite place to hike was anywhere in the Negev. The area of Mitzpe Ramon is beautiful for hiking. Sleep one night on the beach of the Dead Sea. Keep in mind, night time in the dessert winter is cold.
Petra is beautiful. You may want two days to soak it all in.
It's been a while, but from what I remember, the border crossing is about 30 minutes north of Eilat. Google that, because I wouldn't trust my memory.

Have fun and stay safe!

[former player]

There are jihadi terrorists in the Sinai and the Western Desert -

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/egypt.html

I'm not saying don't go, I'm saying be aware and own the choices you make.

[Russ]

Sleep one night on the beach of the Dead Sea

Is this the kind of thing where I can just show up with a tent, or are there permits and all that?

[Rylito]

In Tel-Aviv, check out: http://www.bauhaus-center.com/.  Depending on your interest in architecture, you might want to take a tour with them.  I love the older sections of Tel-Aviv where the bauhaus-style buildings are located.  If the Birthright trip doesn't take you to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, I'd recommend a visit there as well. 

There are several artist's colonies like Ein Hod and Safed that might be of interest to you.

As for camping info and recent safety recommendations, have you posted on the Lonely Planet forum?

N'see'a tova!

[swick]

This is going to be an AMAZING trip!!

A few thoughts: I went in 2008, so my info might be a little outdated, but look VERY CLOSELY into the order in which you are visiting the countries. There use to be (and probably more now?) tensions between Israel and neighboring countries. We were told in no uncertain terms that we would have problems if there were Israeli stamps in our passports with some of the other countries barring entry and vice versa. Some people got around this my having two passports and using their old (about to expire passport) for their Israeli stamps. I do know a few people who have had trouble over the years, so figuring out a strategy and travel plans as a work around might be a good idea. Rest of my thoughts are in Red :)

Going on my free propaganda trip to the Holy Land (Birthright) this winter. Extending my return ticket so I'll have a month or 2 to kick it in the Middle East / North Africa. Get me into Egypt / Israel / Palestine / Jordan / surrounding area? Current loose itinerary includes:

Israel
Whatever the Birthright itinerary is (10 days)
Dada museum, wherever that is (one day)
hike the Israel National Trail (probably a month or so)

Jordan
2-3 days in Amman, take the bus to Petra (1 day), I would recommend at least two days in Petra. There are two different highpoints on each end of the canyon and you'll probably want to go to both. Don't miss the hike up to El Deir ("The Monastery") And if you walk up past it, you'll have an AMAZING view that looks over most of the Jordanian landscape and into Isreal. The complex is quite a bit bigger than you'd first expect and there is a ton to explore, I felt kind of rushed trying to go from one end to the other and would have loved another day or 10.  Also, if you are planning on doing a lot of hiking in the area, make sure you know where you are going and where flash floods are likely to happen. It's pretty common.walk from there to Wadi Rum (4 days), then bus from Wadi Rum to Aqaba (1 day). From Aqaba we should be able to just walk across a bridge back into Eilat?

Egypt
Leaving from Aqaba or Eilat
Dahab: beach on the Red Sea. Transit junction to St. Katherine. Probably only one day Dahab - Taking a diving lesson and doing a Red Sea dive is highly recommended! So much going on right under the surface, lots of lion fish, lots of cool coral and colours I have never seen before on lots of the fish. If you go from Diving in the morning to Climbing Mt Sanai in the evening you will probably feel like shit. I think you are in better shape than I am though ;)
St. Katherine: desert camping on Sinai Peninsula. Climb Mt. Katherine, highest point in Egypt, and/or Mt. Sinai. Climbing Mt Sinai at night and seeing the sun rise from the top of the mountains is one my all time FAVORITE experiences. Keys: Start your climb early, it gets really crowded as the night goes on. This will allow you to stake out a good spot on the Mountain top and allow you to see the parade of lights snaking up the mountain as others make their way up. It gets REALLY REALLY COLD. They do have mattress pads and blankets you can purchase to borrow for the night, and it is worth it if you don't have your own gear. The sunrise is AMAZING! The Stars are AMAZING! But it is crowded any time of the Year I was there in January. In the morning, you probably don't want to dilly-dally as everyone who is upto on the mountain will try and leave at the same time and it can suck being stuck on the switchbacks behind slow people, Or you can do what I did and Mountain goat it down the side of the mountain. It's fun and everyone things you are crazy. Two or three days.
Cairo: Government stuff, museums, pyramids. Couple of days, depends on when the buses run.
Western Oases (Bahariya, Farafra, Dahkla, al-Kharga): camping and hiking, White and Black Deserts, hopefully at least 3 days of exploring in here somewhere. Look up pictures of the White Desert, it's really neat.
Luxor: Ancient palaces and such. 2 days
Back to Israel via Cairo, along the Nile

anything missing? especially into wild camping (ideally fo' free), hiking, climbing, canyoning, outdoorsy stuff, plus art Jordan -
Jerash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash Is definitely worth a visit, it's about 30 miles North of Amman. As far as Roman ruins in the Middle East it is one of the best examples. If you're lucky you'll see the Arab Bagpipers play one of the best renditions ever of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

Also, something else to consider, if you are doing a lot of hiking, there are old Landmines everywhere, some places do have signs in Arabic so make sure you are up on your Arabic enough to read the warnings.
also please don't tell me not to go, 'cause I'm not gonna listen <3

[rae]

Sleep one night on the beach of the Dead Sea

Is this the kind of thing where I can just show up with a tent, or are there permits and all that?

I don't know. I'm sure you can find out that information by contacting their tourist office or see if they have some sort of national parks organization.

[kiwigirls]

Sounds great.  I did a similar trip many years ago and it was fabulous.  Dahab is great place to relax - we did four days diving there and the sealife is amazing.  Also recommend a falluca boat trip on the nile - it was great to drift along the nile taking in the sites in a relaxing way.

It was dangerous back then and its slightly more dangerous now. So long as you are smart and stay safe you will be fine.  Good luck.

[Leisured]

Swick rightly pointed out that the order you visit these countries matters. In 1989 I visited Egypt, then took a bus from Cairo to Tel Aviv. I do not know if that is still possible. Visit Israel last so the no Arab nation sees the Israel stamp in your passport.

Do not stop at Luxor. Move south to Aswan, where you can see the Aswan High Dam, built by the Russians in the sixties, It holds back a gigantic lake, and may be the largest man made lake in the world. While in Aswan see the delightful temple of Phylae, now surrounded by water, and take a minibus grip to the magnificent Abu Simbel, three hours each way.

Terrorism was not a serious problem in 1989.

[arebelspy]

Terrorism was not a serious problem in 1989.

Please don't let FUD spread.  You hear about more because of the media. That does not mean our world is more dangerous.

Attached is a chart from Pinker, 2011, showing data from 1970-2007 (except Afghanistan since 2001 and Iraq since 2003 -- since we had "conflicts" going on there, the "terrorism" attacking US soldiers as part of those wars skew the numbers upward. Assuming you aren't going into a war zone makes excluding these make sense). This chart shows the rate of deaths from terrorism worldwide.

Scroll down and take a look.

As you can see, approximately 0.15 people per 100k died in 1989, the year you reference.  In the mid-2000s (and to today, as far as I can find), the rate is half of that or less.  In other words, you were approximately twice as likely to be killed in a terrorist incident going in 1989 than you would be going today. 

There was a huge spike in 2006, but other than that single year, it's been trending down since the mid-90s.

I mean, your comment about terrorism not being as much of a problem in 1989, I think people in Ireland would disagree with you.

People believe terrorism is a huge danger, because the media tells them it is so.  It is extremely unlikely you will die from terrorism, almost no matter where you travel (again, aside from a direct war-zone).  There's plenty of funny stats on this (more likely to win the lottery twice, etc.).  But don't believe the media, believe the data. 

I don't mean to come down on you at all--the disinformation about our safety is one of my pet peeves, and wanted to put this out there.  No offense was intended.   Cheers! :)

[deborah]

I really like this picture of The Hexagon Pool in the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve in northern Israel.

[choppingwood]

I spent a month in Egypt, in the Western Desert and along the Nile.  An amazing trip.

I went with a very small group (4 people) to the desert. Did some camping. (Bring your own coffee, because the local people drink tea.) Don't miss any chance to go to hot springs in the oases there. Some are developed (an experience), others very rustic, sitting in the water, looking out over the desert to the mountains. The people were generally very warm, though there are some towns that are not keen on westerners.

And don't miss a chance to take a felucca along the Nile. I sailed for a few days, sleeping on the boat at night.

In Cairo, I'd suggest going to the Museum of Islamic Art. It isn't in any western guidebook (they are all focused on ancient Egypt) and noone spoke English there, but it is simply one of the best museums I've ever been to. That's not putting down any of the great museums I've had the chance to see. Have lots of small money for tips.

[SwordGuy]

Go to Israel last.

That way there won't be an Israeli stamp on your passport as you go thru customs in the other countries.   It's just safer that way.

[Leisured]

Thank you for the graph, arebelspy. President Sadat was assassinated in 1981, but there was little or no terrorism against foreign tourists in Egypt until the massacre of 62 tourists in the Valley of the Queens near Luxor in 1997. I see a distinction between rebels assassinating a president, and Muslim  fanatics attacking infidels.

[choppingwood]

... but there was little or no terrorism against foreign tourists in Egypt until the massacre of 62 tourists in the Valley of the Queens near Luxor in 1997.

There were a number of attacks on tourists in Egypt in the years before the massacre.  It dropped non-Arab tourism to a minimum, which had only begun to increase again at the time of this major attack.

I don't say this to spread the fear, but to remember those who lost their lives.

This doesn't mean Russ or anyone else shouldn't travel there. A friend of mine had a perfectly grand trip there, even though the Arab Spring started there the day she arrived.  They needed to limit some activities, but spent more time doing other things.

[Russ]

Thanks everybody!

The hexagon pool I assume is names after those basalt columns? Saw a similar thing at Devil's Postpile Nat'l Monument in California this summer. Would be even cooler with water

Israel has been stamping a removable passport sheet for a few years now. Should be no problem going there first, which I am 'cause that's where the free flight is to

[deborah]

From the commentary, I think the pool is actually a hexagon as well

[sisto]

I definitely recommend the Bahai Gardens in Haifa, Caesarea, Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Acco, and Rosh Honikra. Tiberius and the Sea of Gallilea is also pretty cool to visit. I would imagine your tour will take you to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

[itchyfeet]

The Dead Sea is AWESOME. Feels so weird to be floating on top on the water.

We were fine with 1 day in Petra, but it was a very long day. We walked miles and miles. We started early and finished late. You will need 2 nights even if it is only 1 day.

I don't know that I would recommend walking to Wadi Rum from Petra. We drove, and the drive was not that interesting. A fast, fairly boring drive through flat desert.

Wadi Rum is really beautiful. We only camped 1 night, but more would have been great. We did a camel safari in Wadi Rum and that was a great way to plod along taking in the scenery. I think our time in Wadi Rum was my favourite part of Jordan.

Aqaba.... meh. Didn't think much of this place. But after the Dead Sea, Petra and Wadi Rum anywhere would have seemed meh!

[arebelspy]

The Dead Sea is AWESOME. Feels so weird to be floating on top on the water.

Do you normally not float?

I don't have enough body fat to float, I just sink. If you're able to float there, and it's novel to you, I may need to go there.  Floating sounds nice.

[kiwigirls]

The Dead Sea is AWESOME. Feels so weird to be floating on top on the water.

Do you normally not float?

I don't have enough body fat to float, I just sink. If you're able to float there, and it's novel to you, I may need to go there.  Floating sounds nice.

you won't sink in the dead sea -  its like thick grainy water; very hard to imagine until you have been there.  Its definately a jump in, feel how odd it is, take the photo reading a newspaper or a book and then get out type of place.  Its not refreshing like swimming in a normal ocean.  But totally cool and a must do.

[kiwigirls]

... but there was little or no terrorism against foreign tourists in Egypt until the massacre of 62 tourists in the Valley of the Queens near Luxor in 1997.

There were a number of attacks on tourists in Egypt in the years before the massacre.  It dropped non-Arab tourism to a minimum, which had only begun to increase again at the time of this major attack.

I don't say this to spread the fear, but to remember those who lost their lives.

This doesn't mean Russ or anyone else shouldn't travel there. A friend of mine had a perfectly grand trip there, even though the Arab Spring started there the day she arrived.  They needed to limit some activities, but spent more time doing other things.

Agreed.  We were at Valley of the Queens two weeks before this massacre. Luckily we were safely back in England when we saw the news.  When we were travelling there in 1997 we were aware of attacks on tourists and the need to take precautions.  When travelling, we were on an organised tour, and we travelled with an armed patrol at the front and the back of us.  The world has always been a dangerous place...

[arebelspy]

The Dead Sea is AWESOME. Feels so weird to be floating on top on the water.

Do you normally not float?

I don't have enough body fat to float, I just sink. If you're able to float there, and it's novel to you, I may need to go there.  Floating sounds nice.

you won't sink in the dead sea -  its like thick grainy water; very hard to imagine until you have been there.  Its definately a jump in, feel how odd it is, take the photo reading a newspaper or a book and then get out type of place.  Its not refreshing like swimming in a normal ocean.  But totally cool and a must do.

Oh, too bad, I liked the idea of hanging out floating.  Good to know!

[swick]

The Dead Sea is AWESOME. Feels so weird to be floating on top on the water.

Do you normally not float?

I don't have enough body fat to float, I just sink. If you're able to float there, and it's novel to you, I may need to go there.  Floating sounds nice.

you won't sink in the dead sea -  its like thick grainy water; very hard to imagine until you have been there.  Its definately a jump in, feel how odd it is, take the photo reading a newspaper or a book and then get out type of place.  Its not refreshing like swimming in a normal ocean.  But totally cool and a must do.

Oh, too bad, I liked the idea of hanging out floating.  Good to know!

Side track: They are building a float tank business literally down the street from my house! Should be open in January. I know we've talked about  it at CM...another reason to come visit! You do get to float and just hang out!

On track: I loved the Dead Sea but it is almost too buoyant, it actually takes a lot of effort to stay on your back and not splash around. Which you don't want to do. Getting ANY water in your eyes hurts a ton. Also, the place we went to only had outdoor showers, really just spigots of cold water to rinse under and it was like an icicle pick to the brain - but I was there in January.

The really neat (and potentially ouchie) part of it is the sand isn't so much sand by the water's edge but waves of sharp crystalized salt, so you have to tread rather carefully so you don't cut yourself. Makes for awesome pictures though! And you can scoop up the mud and give yourself a mineral mud bath!

If I was going to do any time around the dead Sea, I might splurge and go to one of the resorts, I think there are some? To make it more of a relaxing instead of the travel experience - which was awesome, but by that point, I'd been on the road a while :)

[JoJo]

I just did Israel, Palestine & Jordan in May-June.  We did Palestine on a full day tour from Jerusalem but it would have been really easy to do on your own if you have more time.
Someone mentioned camping on the dead sea - I'm not sure if that's possible in Israel - nearly all of the beaches are now closed due to dangerous sink holes.  You can't just walk around many parts of the dead sea.  We did the swimming at Ein Bokek (probably your birthright trip will go there) and there's some super cool salt formations south of the city you can access by jetty.
I liked Tiberas & sea of Galilee alot.  Do the Lido party boat (it will be you and a couple hundred Muslims dancing to techno music!)
I also liked Rosh Hanikra (blue grotto) up on the Lebanon border, but hard to get to unless you have a car.  There were some amazing sunsets and beaches in the north.  I thought Caesarea was really overrated.
Movement from Israel to Jordan - there is limited ability to do this - most of the borders are now closed unless you have a visa in advance.  We took the bus from Nazareth to Amman -  super cheap and easy and could still do the visa on arrival there.
For Jordan, look into the "Jordan Pass" - it's the visa & entrance to 40 sites in Jordan that you buy in advance and includes Petra - we got our money's worth on this.  Jordan's tourism is down 80% so they're really trying to keep people coming but it's great for tourist because the popular sites aren't overrun.
If you like Roman ruins, check out Jerash in the north - amazing ruins we nearly had to ourselves
Petra is worth at least 2 days - do the farther out trails.  The ticket for the first day at Petra is crazy expensive, but it's only like $7 for additional days.
Unless you're doing some serious hiking, I'm not sure if Wadi Rum is worth 4 days.  We did 1 full day plus a night in the desert - loved it!
Aqaba had decent snorkeling, but I'd imagine similar in Egypt & Israel.
I traveled in Egypt many years ago.  I did a tour + a few days on my own.  It might be worth doing a tour here, as a woman I got quite a bit of harassment.  There are probably some really good deals on tour - with transportation it might even work out cheaper.  At the sale prices, these trips are less than $800 for 15 days
 Make sure you do a felucca (sailboat) trip. 

[itchyfeet]

Actually we went to one of the resorts on the Dead Sea, the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort no less.

We didn't stay the night, we just paid for a day pass to use their beach, pools and shower and then headed off to cheaper digs.

The shower is a necessity after swimming in the Dead Sea as you need to wash the minerals off and clean your bathers so they don't disintegrate haha....

The Movempick had a hose and tap to wash off down on the beach, and then the resort facilities for a proper demineralisation.

I have no idea what we paid to use their facilities but I don't remember it being so much.

I would choose a multi day camel safari over multi day hiking in Wadi Rum.