16-Night Israel Jordan and Egypt Tour

The most remarkable thing about this 16-night Israel, Jordan, and Egypt tour is how much ground it covers without asking you to arrange every hotel, flight, driver, and border crossing yourself. In just over two weeks, you move from the Mediterranean coast to Jerusalem, Petra, Mount Sinai, Cairo, and the temples of the Nile.

I like two things right away: the route is packed with major sights, and domestic flights plus a Nile cruise keep the long distances manageable. I also like the mix of famous places and smaller stops, from Acre and Rosh Hanikra to the Nubian show in Aswan. The main concern is the Jordan-to-Egypt transfer, which can be exhausting and poorly timed for some people.

Key points to know before booking

• Three countries in one continuous route: Start at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and finish at Cairo International Airport.
• A demanding schedule: Most touring days begin around 7:20 a.m. and last eight to twelve hours.
• Petra and Mount Sinai come back to back: You may visit Petra one day, cross into Egypt that night, then climb Sinai before sunrise.
• A Nile cruise is included: Sail from Aswan through Kom Ombo and Edfu to Luxor, with major temples included.
• Several costs are extra: Budget for the $130 departure tax, a $60 Egypt visa, a $75 Jordan visa, and about $15 for Petra by Night.
• The package suits fit sightseers: You need a moderate fitness level and must manage heat, walking, stairs, early starts, and long road transfers.

From Ben Gurion Airport to Galilee

Your first night is simple. A transfer takes you from Ben Gurion Airport to Tel Aviv, where you spend the night. The tour then begins in earnest with a full day in northern Israel.

You drive through the Plain of Armageddon, with a view toward Megiddo, then continue to Nazareth. The Mount of Precipitation gives you a broad outlook before you visit the Church of the Annunciation and the nearby Church of St. Joseph.

The day continues to the Sea of Galilee. You pass Cana, associated with the biblical story of water turned into wine, then visit Capernaum and the Benedictine church commemorating the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish. Yardenit offers an opportunity for baptism in the Jordan River waters.

This is a strong introduction to the tour because it joins religious sites with open countryside and lake views. It is also a long day, with the same Tel Aviv hotel serving as your base. You will spend much of the day in the vehicle, so this works best if you prefer a broad overview to slow, place-based travel.

Caesarea, Haifa, Rosh Hanikra, and Acre

The third day follows Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Caesarea gives you Roman remains, including a theater and hippodrome. The site helps explain the scale of the ancient port city, and it is a welcome change from the church visits of the previous day.

In Haifa, you visit the Bahá’í gardens and shrine. The tour then moves north to Rosh Hanikra, where a cable car carries you down to the grottoes. The final stop is Acre, a major Crusader city with a Turkish prison tied to the British Mandate period.

I like this day for its variety. You get Roman archaeology, a major religious center, sea caves, and Crusader history without repeating the same kind of stop. The drawback is the pace. Eight hours can sound reasonable, but coastal traffic and the number of stops leave little time to wander on your own.

Jerusalem’s Old City and Yad Vashem

Jerusalem is the emotional center of the Israel portion. You begin with views from the Mount of Olives, then see the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Inside the Old City, the route passes through the Zion Gate, the Armenian Quarter, the Byzantine Cardo, and the Jewish Quarter. At the Western Wall, you have a direct connection to one of Judaism’s most important places. The walk along the Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of Christianity’s central pilgrimage sites.

You also walk through the Old City markets before visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial. This is a serious, affecting stop, and it gives historical weight to the day beyond the ancient stones and religious landmarks.

The schedule is full, and Jerusalem’s uneven paving makes comfortable shoes important. Yad Vashem is closed on Fridays and Saturdays, so the order of the day may change. The tour includes admission to the listed sites, which helps keep this expensive sightseeing day from adding more surprise costs.

Bethlehem, Jericho, and the Dead Sea

The next day combines biblical places with a striking natural setting. You pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan and stop at the Sea Level marker before reaching Jericho, described in the tour as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

Above Jericho, Mount Temptation is associated with the story of Jesus fasting for forty days. You then continue to Bethlehem, walk across Manger Square, and enter the Church of the Nativity. The fourth-century mosaic floor is one of the details worth watching for, along with the star marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

The Church of St. Catherine and its grotto follow, with views or passage near the Milk Grotto and Shepherd’s Fields. This day has strong value for anyone interested in Christian history, but it is not a relaxed Bethlehem visit. You are fitting several sacred places into one morning and afternoon.

Masada, Qumran, and the flight to Eilat

Day six is one of the longest. You drive through the Judean Desert to Masada, Herod’s mountaintop palace complex above the Dead Sea. The cable car saves you from climbing the Snake Path, though you will still walk across the summit to see the palaces, bathhouse, synagogue, Roman barracks, and other remains.

The story of Masada is closely tied to the Roman siege and the final resistance of Jewish rebels. Even without spending hours at the site, the height and isolation make the setting memorable.

After Masada, the route passes Ein Gedi and Qumran, associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. You then stop at the Dead Sea for a swim or float in its mineral-rich water.

The day ends with a transfer to Ben Gurion Airport and a flight to Ramon Airport near Eilat. A driver meets you there and takes you to your hotel. If the schedule falls on a Friday, there are no domestic flights, so you stay in Tel Aviv and fly to Eilat the next day. That exception matters because it can change the timing of the entire Jordan section.

Petra and the Jordan border

A morning pickup around 8:30 or 8:45 takes you to the Arava border. Local drivers assist with border procedures, then a Jordanian driver takes you on the roughly two-hour drive to Petra.

Petra is the great prize of the Jordan portion. The Treasury is the first famous sight, but do not stop there. The route continues to temples, caves, tombs, a Roman Theater, and other carved structures. Petra is large, uneven, and exposed, so the included tour is useful for orienting you before you spend any free time exploring.

You spend the night in Petra. Petra by Night is an optional extra, priced at about $15. Ask the guide about it, since it is not part of the package price.

The following day is unusually open in Petra. You can return to the site on your own, walk through the market, or rest at the hotel until the late afternoon departure. That free time is a real plus, especially after the previous day’s border crossing and long drive.

The Jordan-to-Egypt transfer and Mount Sinai

This is the hardest part of the trip. Around 5 p.m., a driver takes you back toward the border and Eilat. You then arrange a meeting point for a later pickup, with roughly two hours available in Eilat to eat or swim before continuing toward the Taba border.

After border procedures, an Egyptian driver takes you toward Mount Sinai. The schedule calls for a nighttime climb so you can reach the summit for sunrise. The experience described by the itinerary involves a long day at Petra, an evening border crossing, a road transfer, and a night hike with little normal sleep in between.

You should treat this as a serious physical challenge, not a routine transfer. The tour requires moderate fitness, and this section is especially demanding because the climb comes after a full sightseeing day. Anyone who needs regular sleep, has mobility limits, or dislikes uncertain border timing should think carefully before choosing this route.

St. Catherine’s Monastery and the road to Cairo

After the Sinai climb, the program includes St. Catherine’s Monastery, a sixth-century church and one of the oldest working monasteries in the world. You see the Burning Bush, Jethro’s Well, and the monastery’s historic library.

The itinerary describes the Sinai portion across two days, but the timing is close together. In practical terms, you should expect a night climb, early-morning sightseeing, and then a long drive to Cairo. The hotel in Cairo comes as a welcome reset after this stretch.

Giza, Saqqara, Memphis, and lunch

Cairo’s first full sightseeing day covers the pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mycerinos at Giza, plus the Sphinx. A short camel ride is included, adding a small but memorable touch to the visit.

The tour then moves to Saqqara for the Step Pyramid of Djoser and the pyramids of King Titi. Lunch at a local restaurant is included before you continue to Memphis and its open-air museum, where you see the statue of Ramses II.

Admission to the mummy room is not included, so do not assume every museum add-on is covered. This day is a good value for first-time visitors to Cairo because it combines the headline monuments with older sites that many short city tours leave out.

Aswan and the Nile cruise

On day eleven, a driver takes you to Cairo Airport for the flight to Aswan. You board the ship, eat lunch, then visit the Aswan High Dam and Philae Temple.

Philae is especially rewarding because its island setting makes the visit feel different from the desert monuments and city museums. Dinner and a Nubian show take place on board, giving the cruise a cultural program as well as transportation.

The Nile cruise helps solve one of the tour’s biggest practical problems: the distance between southern Egypt’s major temples. Instead of changing hotels every night, you sleep on the ship while moving north.

Kom Ombo, Edfu, and Luxor

The ship continues to Kom Ombo, where you visit the temple dedicated to Sobek and Haroeris. The paired dedication gives the site an unusual layout and makes it different from the single-god temples elsewhere along the Nile.

You then sail to Edfu and tour the Temple of Horus before continuing to Luxor. The next morning focuses on the West Bank, including the Theban Necropolis, the Valley of the Kings, and three royal tombs.

Three tomb entrances are included, but the exact choices are not specified. The heat, steps, and enclosed spaces can make this visit tiring, even with the ship available for lunch and a free afternoon afterward.

Karnak, Luxor Temple, and Cairo again

After checking out of the ship, you visit Karnak and Luxor temples on the East Bank. Lunch at a local restaurant follows, then you fly from Luxor back to Cairo and transfer to your hotel.

This arrangement is efficient, but not leisurely. Your final day on the cruise includes checkout, two major temples, lunch, an airport transfer, a flight, and another hotel arrival. Keep your expectations realistic: this is a moving tour, not a slow Nile holiday.

Cairo’s museum, churches, and Citadel

The Cairo city tour includes the Egyptian Museum, the city center churches, the Citadel of Salah El Dien, and the Mosque of Mohamed Ali. Optional tours, cruises, and shows may be offered through the guide, but they are not part of the stated package.

The Egyptian Museum gives you a needed indoor change after the pyramids and temple visits. The Citadel and mosque add Islamic Cairo to a route otherwise dominated by ancient and Christian sites.

Day sixteen is free. You can walk around independently or rest at the hotel before the airport transfer on day seventeen. That quiet day is well placed, since the preceding schedule is intense.

What the $3,478 price really covers

The advertised price is $3,478 per person. It includes 15 nights of accommodation, 15 breakfasts, six lunches, three dinners, ground transport, domestic flights, border assistance, sightseeing, and the Nile cruise.

The price does not include the $130 departure tax, a $60 Egypt visa, or a $75 Jordan visa. Those listed extras bring the known total to at least $3,743 per person, before Petra by Night and any optional Cairo entertainment.

That is still a reasonable package value for a route involving three countries, several internal flights, multiple drivers, border coordination, hotels, and a cruise. The tradeoff is control. You pay for convenience, but the fixed schedule leaves little room to skip a stop or linger in a place that catches your interest.

The maximum group size is 50 people. That can make the price accessible, but it also means transfers and site visits may feel less personal than a small private tour.

Who should book this tour?

I would recommend it to a first-time visitor who wants the major sights of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in one trip and values having drivers and border assistance arranged. It is also a good fit if you like active sightseeing, early starts, and a clear route with little planning work.

I would be cautious if you want quiet mornings, long museum visits, or flexible meal and hotel choices. The Petra-to-Sinai section is the key decision point. The combination of Petra, borders, overnight driving, and a sunrise climb can be the difference between an exciting adventure and an exhausting ordeal.

The mobile ticket is convenient, but bring the passport details required at booking and carry a current valid passport on tour days. The activity operates in all weather, so dress for sun, heat, cooler early hours, and long walks.

FAQ

How long is the Israel, Jordan, and Egypt tour?

The tour lasts approximately 17 days and includes 15 nights of accommodation. It is marketed as a 16-night tour, so check the final schedule and hotel-night details before booking.

Where does the tour start?

The tour starts at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. The listed meeting point is Ben Gurion Airport, with a stated start time of 7:30 a.m.

Where does the tour end?

The tour ends with a transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight home.

Which countries does the tour visit?

The route covers Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Main stops include Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Petra, Mount Sinai, Cairo, Aswan, and Luxor.

Are flights included?

Airport-to-airport transportation is included, including flights between Israel and Eilat, Cairo and Aswan, and Luxor and Cairo. The tour also includes transport by climate-controlled van.

Are meals included?

The package includes 15 breakfasts, six lunches, and three dinners. Other meals are not listed as included.

What extra fees should I budget for?

The listed extra costs are a $130 per person departure tax, a $60 Egypt visa, and a $75 Jordan visa. Petra by Night costs about $15 and is not included.

Is the Mount Sinai climb included?

The Mount Sinai climb and related visits around St. Catherine’s are included in the itinerary. The climb is scheduled overnight so you can see the sunrise, and a moderate level of physical fitness is required.

Is the tour suitable for children?

Children must be accompanied by an adult. The itinerary also requires long touring days and moderate physical fitness, so consider those demands when deciding if it suits your child.