Israel and Jordan tour for spring/early summer 2017

A great source of information is the Israel Government Tourist Office.

Contact the nearest one to you.

http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Planning%20your%20trip/Pages/Offices-Around-the-World.aspx#Paragraph1

In addition to any replies you get here, be sure to look at the TripAdvisor Israel Forum, which seems to be the busiest one online: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293977-i1733-Israel.html

Hi,
I was in Jordan to see Petra and Wadi Rum plus a few other areas in May 2015. I can't speak to hiring one tour company as my wife and I just hired a driver to take us from place to place. Doing so was reasonably economical there and allowed us to chat up the local driver about his country.

I would highly recommend seeing Petra at night. They light up the Siq and the Treasury with luminaries and it is one of the true highlights of all trips I've ever taken. They only do it a few days a week, though, and you need to purchase your ticket in advance during the daytime, so plan accordingly. Seeing Petra during the day is worth two full days to me. It's a lot of walking in hot temperatures, so plan on taking it slowly. We planned to arrive mid-day at Wadi Musa (the town outside of the Petra grounds) to settle into our hotel and got our Petra-at-Night tickets for later that day. After seeing it at night, we then saw the rest of Petra over the next two days. That worked well for us.

Wadi Rum - if you're not part of a larger tour, you'll need your own local guide/off-road driver here. We were only there for a few hours in one day. It was fun, but I regret not trying the "camping" experience in one of the tents as offered by various outfits there. As competition is high among locals due to low tourist numbers, I would advise having your experience here set up in advance. That way you'll know exactly what you are getting for a reasonable price when you arrive. There are lots of groups advertising their services online. While this wasn't our experience, be aware that there may be enough desire for your business that someone may falsely claim to be your guide when you arrive in Wadi Rum (or I've heard how a taxi driver may take you to their buddy and not your intended guide). I don't find anything to be dangerous there, but you wouldn't be getting what you intended. Be sure you know exactly where to go and how to find your guide in advance just to be certain.

This company goes to Israel and Jordan: http://egyptandbeyondtravel.com. We're using them for a trip to Egypt in January so I can't report on the trip but I can say that they have been extremely nice to deal with in terms of trip planning. I used this company because it's the company RS used when he spent some time in Egypt and filmed a few programs there.

Hi. I have traveled with Dr Delancey last year and I highly recommend his tours. You can email him directly and he'll answer any questions you may have.

http://biblicalisraeltours.com/march-2017/

I just looked at the itinerary in the above link. It seems to be a comprehensive and intensive tour. While it definitely has a religious perspective, it covers many popular sights that are very loosely connected with Christianity that other "more religious" tours do not include.

If you decide on this company (I know nothing about them), the only tours that include Jordan are in March and July. Choose March. July will be very hot and you'll be out in the sun for long periods with little or no shade. Late March is generally pleasantly cool and sunny - you'll want mostly short sleeves but some days may be too chilly to be comfortable in sandals and shorts.

Hi Chani,

I love Israel. I wish I had more vacation time because I'd go home to Israel every year.

I should have mentioned that Dr Delancey's tours are biblically based. So if you aren't looking for a religious tour then you should look for another tour company. Dr Delancey is a pastor but recently resigned from his church to do his tours full time. He has led tours of Israel for over 20 years now. He's also an archaeologist, studied in Israel for a year and has been involved in many archaeology digs in Israel, most recently this past summer. His tours are religiously based focusing on the physical settings in the bible and bringing scripture to life. But he also tours with a Jewish historian so you also get the Jewish perspective. For instance we got a passionate lesson after we climbed the Roman Ramp at Masada. Still makes the hairs on my arm stand up. Dr Delancey, like RS tours, are very active. Walking about 7 to 10 miles per day. But unlike RS tours we didn't have free time. We toured with most mornings starting at 7:30am and arriving at our hotel by 6pm. Full, active days but I wouldn't have had it any other way. His tours are also small, like RS tours around 25 travelers.

Anyway thought I add that info. I usually don't give this much praise but as you can see this tour left a very good impression. To add one last thing. This tour was the only time my luggage was delayed and I was without clothes for 5 days. The Jewish historian was on his phone and I knew it was about my luggage because his voice got louder and louder in Hebrew. I had no idea what he was saying but I knew he wasn't very happy. By the end of that day our bus made a detour back to the airport and he walked out of the airport with my luggage. :)

Hi Highland (and Jethro too).

Based on Jethro's must-sees, it sounds like he's interested in a tour with a Christian slant. I was indeed very impressed with the itinerary for the March tour, especially because it is comprehensive while many religious tours I see seem to be put together by people with tunnel vision (whatever the religion).

I'm glad you enjoyed your time here and I hope you get many opportunities to come back!

Hello, Chani. Still remember our lovely day together in April.

I want to recommend the OAT tour to Jordan and Israel. They offered a post-trip to Palestinian territories too (I didn't go on that one).

Not specifically religious, but very complete and hit a lot of the places you mention. We had a terrific guide for Israel - and heard from several different people with very differing views of the situation (an Arab Christian Israeli, an Arab Muslim resident of the West Bank, a member of a Kibbutz, etc.). Guide for Jordan not quite so good, but I strongly recommend the trip, as the itinerary was very good and Petra is as amazing as you might think. Also, while both Israel and Jordan need tourism, Jordan is particularly suffering from the loss of tourism thanks to the war in Syria....I think it's worthwhile to support them and it's a welcoming country (as is Israel, like my new friend Chani who showed me around for a day in Jerusalem!)

You might want to take a look at Rent a Guide.

I've only taken one day tours with them but they do offer longer ones.

Laura - I also have good memories of our short day together. When are you coming back?

We just got back from a trip in Jordon. I cannot say enough good things about this place. It is progressive and safe. We hired a private car that picked up from the airport and dropped us 7 days later and that is the best way to experience this country. I would recommend spending two nights in Petra to get the most out of t doing Petra by night on your arrival day and then doing it by day. Taking the night to recover and then move on. I would also highly recommend a night in wadi rum in a bedouin camp an amazing experience. Dead sea though nice is over crowded and good for a brief visit. On the way to Petra check out to Shobak and Kerak castle and of course Jaresh. The city of Amman is fun too ( royal automobile museums , check out the dead sea scrolls an the dead sea , do not forget to eat at habit delicious Kanafe dessert) all in all 2 full days in city of amman and atlas 2 nights in Petra and a night in wadi rum should sum it up. If you through in an extra night in amman it will be perfect.

If you're interested in Petra and Wadi Rum then I'd suggest skipping Eilat and visiting Acaba instead. We just got back from Acaba and it was less expensive, less crowded and more enjoyable than Eilat. Eilat is always crowded with Israelis (as well as many others) but few Israelis come to Jordan. Our hotel was very quiet! We snorkeled over very accessible and excellent reefs. Visibility was phenomenal. We loved Petra, and were ok with the day tour, although we skipped Wadi Rum because we're very familiar with the red deserts of Arizona (hometown). Good luck with your travels.