This 11-day trip through Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories along with Jordan is the perfect tour for faithful travellers and it is also an incredible adventure for travellers who are here for the exploration of these fascinating countries. The tour has time to explore the buzz of the city and beaches of Tel Aviv before touring Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth and visiting many important religious and historical sites and monuments. The tour also includes a visit to the Dead Sea where you can bob on top of this remarkably salty Sea, the lowest place on Earth. The tour also visits the famous Sea of Galilee, Tiberias and Masada. Leaving Israel behind we cross the border into Jordan where we visit some of Jordan's tourist highlights including the Roman Ruins in Jerash, the 'lost city' of Petra, Biblical Mount Nebo and the famous mosaic map of the Holyland in Madaba.
On this tour you get to see most of the highlights of these amazing countries and relate the important religious sites to the relevant important passages in scripture. Our Classic Israel tour also follows a similar itinerary in Israel and a Jordan extension can be booked seperately on request but has less of a focus on connecting sites to biblical writings and features some more general non-religious sites.
A good mid-range hotel in the vibrant city of Tel Aviv, located just a 3 minute walk to the beach. The hotel has an on-site restaurant, bar and coffee shop.
The 70 air-conditioned rooms have mini-bar and safe and the in-room TV's have cable channels as standard. Bathrooms include a bath or shower and hair dryer and complimentary wifi is available throughout the hotel.
Located in the centre of Tiberias, the Prima Hotel offers comfortable accommodation with great views over Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
Guests can enjoy clean, spacious rooms and larger family suites are also available.
The hotel is great base for exploring the city and the historial monuments around the Sea of Galilee. The hotel features an outdoor terrace, gardens, bar and restaurant. Rooms at the hotel feature free toileteries, bathrobe and en-suite facilities, flat screen TV, radio, air conditioning and mini bar.
The Jerusalem Gold is an elegant hotel in the heart of the new city, next to the Central Bus Station and a 20-minute walk from the historic centre.
Rooms at the Jerusalem Gold come with extra-long beds, Mahogany furniture, black-out curtains, and double glazed windows for extra quiet. You can choose your pillow from a menu. Modern facilities include air conditioning, fridge, video games, and a laptop-sized safe.
The hotel is a stone throw away from the Jerusalem Congress Centre, while the colourful Mahne Yehuda Market is within walking distance. The city's major attractions, such as the Biblical Zoo, Time Elevator and Science Museum, are easily accessible by public transport.
There are numerous restaurants, shops and entertainment venues within short walking distance from the Gold Hotel.
Larsa Hotel is characterised by its special location and panoramic view. It is close to the tourism and commercial sites in the Capital Amman. Free WiFi is available throughout the entire property.
The Hotel provides modern rooms of elegant design in different sizes. Each room contains a built in flat-screen TV with satellite channels, free mineral water and tea/coffee making facilities.
Larsa Hotel provides various catering options, including the original and traditional foods, in addition to the buffet of international cuisine in Sinbad Restaurant. Guests can take Shisha in the terrace of Arab-style Shumu Cafe whenever the weather is warm.
The Hotel provides a taxi services with driver to all tourism sites with attractive prices. The hotel also provides free-of-charge services such as transportation to Mecca Mall, City Mall/Carrefour, and Sweifieh by the newest cars of the Hotel. Guests can enjoy the use of the hotel's health club.
Located in Petra next to the Wadi Musa Souk, this hotel offers panoramic views of the Petra Mountains. It has a spa with indoor heated pool surrounded by loungers. The Hotel is within a walking distance from the Petra Gate.
All rooms at the Amra Palace International Hotel are decorated in warm colours. They offer flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, a minibar and a private bathroom with a hairdryer.
Guests of the Amra Palace can enjoy a relaxing massage at the spa. Guests can enjoy a drink and admire the sunset on the terrace overlooking the hotel's garden.
Each morning a breakfast buffet is served in Hotel Amra’s dining room. In the evening, the à la carte restaurant serves a wide variety of Arabic and international cuisine. In the summertime, the hotel offers an outdoor Bedouin Restaurant, which serves a traditional barbecue.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination you're visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
This option books a single room in all the accommodation throughout the tour. If you are a single traveller and would be happy to share a room, let us know and we will see if we can pair you up with another single traveller of the same sex. If a room share is not available when you book then we will add the single room supplement to your booking and it will be payable with your balance payment unless we have arranged a room share for you by then. If a room share is arranged after you have paid the supplement then we will refund it to you. Room shares are arranged in order of booking.
This option adds an extra day to the start of your tour in Israel, staying in the same hotel as the main tour itself (subject to availability at the time of booking). Your airport arrival transfer is NOT included. Prices shown are per person and based on two people sharing.
Note: Single room and peak season supplements apply.
This option adds an day to the end of your tour in Israel, staying in the same hotel as the main tour itself (subject to availability at the time of booking). Your airport departure transfer is NOT included. Prices shown are per person and based on two people sharing.
Note: Single room and peak season supplements apply.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
We use good quality hotels rated at the Israeli 4-star and Jordanian 3-star level on this tour, together with a night in a Kibbutz hotel. Options are available to upgrade the accommodation to a better 4-star, or standard 5-star level. Please contact us for prices to match your dates. The normal hotels we use for these upgrades are shown below, though these may changes to alternate hotels of a similar standard on some dates:
Comfort (good 4-star): Amman - Grand Palace | Petra - Nabatean Castle | Tel Aviv - Grand Beach | Jerusalem - Grand Court | Kibbutz Lavi - Superior room
Superior (4/5 star): Amman - Regency Palace | Petra - Mariott | Tel Aviv - Dan Panorama | Jerusalem - Dan Panorama | Kibbutz Lavi - Superior room
As different hotel levels are available, this does mean that if some people take up the upgrades there will be more than one hotel pick-up and drop-off each day, though we do aim to plan these to minimise any extra travelling time.
Accommodation is based on twin or double en-suite rooms with air conditioning. All couples will be given a private double room. Single travellers will need to pay a single room supplement to guarantee themselves a single room throughout the tour. We aim to keep this cost as low as possible. As we may share this tour with other operators, we do not offer a room-share option for solo travellers.
Our trips feature a mix of different transport options. We want you to feel like you’re really experiencing the country you’re travelling through, but at the same time we want you to finish journeys refreshed enough to enjoy the next stage of the tour. Our routes in Israel and the small distances involved mean that we use private vehicles throughout this tour.
This tour includes an arrival airport transfer from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to your hotel at anytime on Day 1 of the tour, and a transfer back from your hotel to the airport on Day 11. If you would like to add extra time in Israel and arrive before Day 1 of the tour or leave after Day 11, we can provide you with a quotation for your extra nights and airport transfer.
For legal reasons when crossing from Israel into Jordan, it's not possible for us to use the same vehicle so you'll be escorted to the immigration point on the Israel side of the border before taking a shuttle bus to the Jordanian side where our Jordanian team will greet you. Once in Jordan you'll have a Jordanian guide and driver who will continue with you for this part of the tour. You should budget approximately $107.00 for border fees which are not included in the tour price. These fees will be paid locally, in cash, when crossing the border. We have many passengers each year crossing this border and our local team are very experienced - full assistance will be given at each side.
We want to give you as much flexibility as possible when it comes to booking your holiday with us. So, to take account of people with varying travel plans, we don’t include your international flights in the main tour price. We are however very provide suggestions for flights to go with your tour. Please contact us with your preferred dates and departure airport and we’ll give you a selection of airlines, times and fares to choose from.
Your airport arrival & departure transfers are included on the first and last days of the tour. All our group tours in Israel start and finish at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv (TLV).
This tour includes two crossings of the Israel/Jordan border. We ask for your patience when crossing borders, as this process can sometimes take more than an hour. Please be assured that our local team is working daily with the authorities and is doing whatever they can at all times to expedite this. We also suggest that you try to travel as light as possible, as the Israeli security is tight and it can take a while for them to search through and check large cases.
Crossing at Beit Shean (Sheikh Hussein) from Israel to Jordan.
Our border assistant will explain the procedure to you at the entrance to the terminal. First, you enter the terminal and visit the exit tax kiosk and pay your exit tax (100 ILS plus 5 ILS surcharge in USD, EUR or Israeli Shekels). Take your exit tax to the immigration counter and hand it over with your passport. After processing your passport you walk through the duty free and outside across the road there is a waiting area. Here you can wait till called to board your shuttle bus to the Jordan Terminal. Note: Our staff cannot accompany you during this process, so you should follow the instructions of the assistant and border staff to ensure your crossing is smooth. You pay the shuttle bus fee of JOD 1.6 (approx. $2.3 US or 10 NIS) on arrival at the Jordan terminal and then head to Jordanian immigration to arrange your Jordan visa and enter the country. Once on the Jordanian guide, your guide/assistant (sometimes the same person), will handle the taxes and if appropriate, visa payments.
Returning to Israel from Jordan.
Our assistant team on both sides can take you right up to the border fence and will explain to you the procedure throughout.
On average the group departures on this tour tend to have a minimum of around 10 passengers and an average of 14-18, though we only need 2 passengers to book for a departure to be guaranteed. The maximum capacity of this tour is 45 which is a lot more than our normal 'small-group tours'. We allow this higher number to ensure affordability in what is a very expensive country to arrange tours like this. We also share this tour with a small number of other operators and offer upgrades to higher hotel levels so you may join with travellers booking with different companies and staying in different hotels.
At Egypt Uncovered we aim to only ever use local Israeli guides and reps. We feel this gives you the best experience of the country and the sites you are seeing. A different guide may be used for the Occupied Palestinian Territory sites to the rest of the tour, and a Jordanian guide will be used for the Jordan section.
You should ensure you are fully insured for medical emergencies including emergency evacuation and repatriation.
Recommended vaccinations and other health protection measures vary according to the country you are visiting and where you are travelling from. We recommend you contact your GP/medical practitioner or a travel clinic for current information on vaccinations needed for your destination. You should ensure that you are up to date with vaccines and boosters recommended for your normal life at home, including for example, vaccines required for occupational risk of exposure, lifestyle risks and underlying medical conditions.
In addition, additional courses or boosters normally recommended for the countries in this region are:
Egypt: Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A
Jordan: Tetanus, Hepatitis A
Israel: Hepatitis A, Poliomyelitis
Lebanon: Dipheria, Hepatitis A
Malaria is not generally present unless it has been contracted abroad; you do not need to take malaria prophylactics.
More information is available here: Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon
Note: We are aware of some places in Egypt using ‘black henna’ instead of pure brown henna. Black henna contains a chemical dye PPD (paraphenylenediamine) which can result in severe allergic reactions and resultant scarring. To be safe we recommend avoiding any henna tattoos while in Egypt unless you are certain they are using pure brown henna.
Passports should be valid for at least six months after your departure from the country. Please do not bring an almost full or almost expired passport. Visa arrangements are the responsibility of the traveller, and requirements are subject to change by the local authorities.
Many nationalities (including UK, European, USA, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African) do not need to obtain a visa to enter Israel as a period as long as your stay is for less than 3 months. Other nationalities should check with their local consulate.
Most of our tours visiting Israel also enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). No special visas are required but check points and border posts are operated by the Israeli authorities and access is sometimes limited or restricted.
Passports should be valid for at least six months after your departure from the country. Please do not bring an almost full or almost expired passport. Visa arrangements are the responsibility of the traveller, and requirements are subject to change by the local authorities.
To promote tourism to the country, the Jordanian government has designed the Jordan Pass. This provides most nationalities with a free single entry Jordan visa (for stays of 3 nights or more), a discounted package of entrance fees, and free digital brochures for the various sites in Jordan. Please check the Jordan Pass tour note for more information.
Double or multi entry visas for Jordan are no longer available and you will need to arrange two visas if you are doing a combination tour (eg. with Egypt and/or Israel) that visits Jordan more than once. Exceptions may occur if you are crossing to and from Israel via the King Hussein Bridge - please contact us for details.
If you wish to arrange your visa separately in advance, or if your stay will be shorter than four days/3 nights, then a visa fee of 40JD (approx. USD 57) will be due.
Other nationalities may require a visa prior to arrival and to obtain this in advance, please contact your local Jordanian embassy or consulate or a visa agency for details. In addition, if you plan to enter Jordan via the southern Wadi Araba crossing (Eilat-Aqaba) or the Allenby Bridge/King Hussein border with Israel in the north, you will need to obtain your Jordan visa in advance as these are not available on arrival at the border.
The time in Egypt, Jordan and Israel is GMT plus 2 hours. Daylight saving adjustments have historically been applied in some years but not others. At present it appears that there will be no daylight saving changes in Egypt 2016 and beyond, though this may change at short notice (with a resulting impact on flight times and schedules). In Jordan and Israel, daylight saving of one hour is generally applied between the end of March and the end of October, making it GMT plus 3 hours. Exact dates vary from year to year and sometimes the changes may be scrapped altogether.
Sockets are two round pronged and 220 volts (Type C). Universal adaptors are available in most airport shops if you don’t have one already. Standard European adapters will work fine, though sometimes they may feel a little loose in the sockets. All hotel rooms have electrical sockets where you can re-charge cameras, phones etc. Hair dryers are normally available on request from the hotel reception if not in your room already.
If you have US appliances (110 volts) you will need a voltage converter as well as a plug adapter.
The local currency in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is the Israeli Shekel (ILS). You do not need to arrange to bring any Shekels with you as exchange facilities are available in the international airports and in most hotels, banks and bureau de changes in major towns. You should try to obtain and keep hold of small denomination notes or coins on you during the tour as these are useful for toilets, tips and small purchases. ATMs are readily available in major towns and many local shops will accept VISA/Mastercard or Amex, but may charge fees of up to 10% - check before you pay. Travellers cheques are not recommended as they can not be changed in many places now, and can incur high fees.
While in Israel and the OPT you will need sufficient funds to cover meals not included in the itinerary, drinks, snacks, souvenirs and personal expenses such as laundry. These should generally all be paid for in local currency, though tips for guides and drivers may be paid in hard currency (GBP, USD, EUR).
It is difficult to recommend a level of personal spending money which will suit everyone as this can differ greatly, but as a guideline, we would suggest allowing USD 25-35 per person per day as a minimum. Allow more if you plan on doing lots of shopping, or buying many alcoholic drinks.
The local currency in Jordan is the Jordanian Dinar (JD). You do not need to arrange to bring any Jordanian Dinar with you to Jordan as exchange facilities are available in the international airports and in most hotels, banks and bureau de changes in major towns. You should try to obtain and keep hold of small denomination notes or coins on you during the tour as these are useful for toilets, tips and small purchases. ATMs are readily available in major towns and many local shops will accept VISA/Mastercard or Amex, but may charge fees of up to 10% - check before you pay. Travellers cheques are not recommended as they can not be changed in many places now, and can incur high fees.
While in Jordan you will need sufficient funds to cover meals not included in the itinerary, drinks, snacks, souvenirs and personal expenses such as laundry. These should generally all be paid for in Jordanian Dinar, though tips for guides and drivers may be paid in hard currency (GBP, USD, EUR).
It is difficult to recommend a level of personal spending money which will suit everyone as this can differ greatly, but as a guideline, we would suggest allowing USD 15-25 per person per day as a minimum. Allow more if you plan on doing lots of shopping, or buying many alcoholic drinks.
Luggage: Suitcases, rucksacks or fabric holdalls are all fine to bring with you to Israel and Jordan. You should also bring a small daypack/bag to take out during the day. Your main luggage will normally be left in the hotel during your sightseeing trips – you will not need to carry it far, and there are nearly always hotel porters to assist.
Luggage limits: There is no luggage limit for this tour. However, most airlines restrict you to between 20kg and 25kg for your hold luggage and between 5kg and 10kg for hand luggage. Please check with your airline before travelling to the airport.
Clothing: The climate in Israel and Jordan varies widely from hot days in the summer to cool and sometimes wet days in the winter months. At night, especially in the deserts, the temperatures can drop quite dramatically. So you must pack for cool conditions. Formal dress (eg. suits & ties) is not required. Modesty rates highly in Jordan (and parts of Israel), especially for women, so to respect the local culture & people, please ensure all clothes are loose fitting and not revealing. Shorts (not hot-pants) are OK in tourist sites, as are T-shirts, but these should not show too much bare flesh (we suggest that your shoulders should remain covered). When visiting any mosques, legs and arms should be covered.
Other items: At the Bedouin camp bedding is provided but we recommend bringing a light sleeping sheet or sleeping bag liner for comfort all year round (even with the best efforts, sand does find its way pretty much everywhere). In the winter months, or if you think you would like to sleep under the stars instead of in your tent, then we recommend you bring a sleeping bag with you as it can get very cold at night. We also recommend you bring a sun hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, a basic first aid kit, toiletries, money belt, small torch, camera & charger.
We run regular small-group departures on this tour starting on Sundays throughout the year. All departures are guaranteed to run with a minimum of 2 people. Departure dates and prices are listed on our website and on a separate dates & prices sheet available on request.
If you would like to book a place on this tour, please complete the online reservation form on our website (via the Dates & Prices tab on the tour page). You can pay your deposit or full balance online, or just hold a reservation if you prefer. We will then contact you with more details about how to complete your booking. Payments may be made by debit or credit card (subject to a card processing fee), or by making a bank transfer or posting us a cheque/bank draft. Full details will be provided in your booking confirmation email. Please contact us if you would like any more information or have any questions before making a booking.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our tours and needs to cover personal accident & liability, medical expenses and repatriation, travel delay & abandonment. We also strongly recommend that you take out cover against cancellation and lost/stolen baggage. Personal medical insurance does not normally provide sufficient cover and is generally not suitable for travel on our tours. You will not be able to join your tour if you have not provided us with details of your insurance or if you arrive without cover in place (no refunds will be due in this event). More information...
You may arrange your own insurance, or you can take advantage of a comprehensive policy that we can arrange for you through Endsleigh Insurance which has been designed to be suitable for our tours. The policy is available to travellers of all nationalities and you do not need to live in the UK to take out the policy. For full details of cover provided, prices and to apply for one of our policies, please complete travel insurance application form.
Note: Any country that borders the Mediterranean is considered as 'Europe' for the purposes of travel insurance (including Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Morocco). If you are doing a tour that visits one country in 'Europe' and one that is 'Worldwide' (for example, an Egypt and Jordan tour), then you need a 'Worldwide' policy. When completing the form you should enter your travel dates including any extra days involved in overnight flights or connecting travel between your home and the tour. Our policies are not able to cover any extra time or activities other than your tour and options booked with us and your travel to & from home.
If you plan to arrange a hot air balloon flight locally, or do some scuba diving during your tour, you should check the small print in your policy to make sure these are covered (these are covered in our policy). Please also check the maximum altitude that you will be reaching and that full cover including emergency evacuation is provided up to this altitude.
IMPORTANT: We must have your travel insurance details (policy number and type of insurance) before you depart or you may not be allowed to join the tour. If you haven't told us already, please let us know the details when you can. You should take a paper copy of your insurance policy with you as you may be asked to show this at the start of the tour.
We are a UK registered company and an ABTA Member (Y4447) and you can be confident when booking with us that your money is safe and protected. Financial failure insurance is provided through Affirma to protect all customers for the land portion of their tour.
Please see our website or booking conditions for more information.
It is impossible not to have an impact on the local environment, cultures and eco-systems when you travel. However, it is very possible to try and ensure that these impacts are as limited, or positive as possible. We are committed to ensuring that we try to leave our host countries in a better state than we found them and encourage and assist our travellers to help us with this.
The following are a few simple tips that require very little effort on your part but which will help ensure that any effect you have on the locations you visit is positive rather than negative.
All porters are employed and equipped following guidelines set by the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG).
You can stay in touch with us online by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We post updates on relevant travel news in our destination countries, special offers and discounts and other interesting travel related news and information.
www.facebook.com/EgyptUncovered
www.twitter.com/encounterstravl (yes, without the 'e')
It is important when considering and preparing to travel anywhere in the world that you have a good understanding of the country you are visiting, its laws and customs, and the possible risks and situations that may occur. This includes specific risks related to your itinerary (eg. does it involve water & can you swim, are you fit enough for the activities included), as well as more general risks such as terrorism and natural disasters.
General details and links to more information about health risks, visa requirements, money, and travel insurance are given in these tour notes. We recommend that you re-read all these before your departure as well as the small print of your travel insurance policy so you know exactly what is covered and what is not.
You should take copies of your important travel documents with you and ideally also store them online securely as a backup. Make sure that you have given us your emergency contact details and told that person where and when you are travelling. Ensure you take enough money with you and that you have access to emergency funds.
Finally, you should read through and stay updated with the current official government travel advice for your destination. We are registered partners with the UK Foreign Office's 'Travel Aware' campaign which provides further useful and invaluable information.
Start Date | End Date | Price (P/P) | Offer Price | Note | |
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17 Nov, 2024 | 27 Nov, 2024 | A$5010 | - | - | Book now |
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