Mediterranean tour to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt 17 days

14 Reviews

Excellent

43%

Good

36%

Average

21%

Rather Poor

0%

Bad

0%

• CJ

  Christina
  Written on July 1, 2018

  4.0 - Good

  We absolutely loved Israel and Jordan. Hotels were good and the tours were great! The company picked us up every morning and then we would switch buses to go to whatever day tour we were scheduled. The day we went to the Dead Sea was a little rough. It was extremely hot and gross after being in the sea and then we went straight to a bus ride and flight that the tour company wasn’t aware of! Our guide waited on the side of the road with us in the middle of the desert, got us on another tour bus to Tel Aviv and then paid for a taxi to get us to the airport - I’m not sure what we would’ve done if it weren’t for him! We didn’t have time to eat dinner and once we got to the airport, we found that the flight was at a different time than the information booking-tours had given us, but thankfully we got to the airport while the flight was boarding so we were able to board! Our taxi wasn’t there to pick us up in Eilat because of the flight time change, but the hotel was walking distance. The hotel was very run down and noisy. A guide walked us through the border transfer to Jordan which was nice! In Jordan, we did the first day in Petra with a tour and had the next day to go back by ourselves. The hotel told us about the back way to get to the Monastery so we were able to hike up to the monastery early morning and then time to come back and do a camel ride - definitely recommended! But we did not have a shower between hiking that day and the ten hour drive into Egypt, so prepare to feel pretty gross on that drive! We then crossed back to Israel where we were supposed to have an hour to grab dinner, but when we asked, we were told we would get dinner once we crossed into Egypt, but as soon as we were across, there was absolutely nothing to eat. So make sure to bring snacks if you plan on doing this trip. The Nile River Cruise had no WiFi and had A LOT of down time. We would do a tour of a temple from 6:30-11am and the rest of the time was on the boat with no tv or WiFi, so make sure to bring games or books to keep you entertained - we didn’t have anything so were pretty bored! The tours in Egypt were nice and guides were great, but we felt we had too many free days in Cairo - per the itinerary the last day on the cruise we were supposed to have tours but because they booked our flight so early that morning the combined the two days in one which gave us two free days in Cairo! We couldn’t find much to do on our own after the tours in Cairo, so lots of down time at hotels. Also, expect to tip a lot in Egypt - even though everything is included in the tour, they will still ask you to tip, and even tell you when you didn’t tip enough!! For example, the tour paid for us to have a camel ride at the pyramids, but then we both had to tip on top of that (and they asked for quite a bit). The guides also pushed a lot to book extra excursions on our free days, like a hot air balloon ride or driving to different sites, but we were pretty tired of tours and sitting in cars that we didn’t book one. They also wanted over $100 a person for every extra tour. Overall, the tour was fun but we would have rearranged it with more free days in Israel instead of Egypt, time for dinner every night, and doing the Dead Sea and Masada a different day than the flight to Eilat!

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• D

  Doris
  Written on June 23, 2018

  4.0 - Good

  Great time in Israel and Jordan. Tour guides were very informed and knowledgeable. Not so much in Egypt.

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• S

  sergey
  Written on June 21, 2018

  5.0 - Excellent

  This tour was well organized, and a tour guide, Omer was very good. Transportation between the airport and a hotel was our own and comfortable car. We had a nice group during a tour and enjoyed a trip very much. Optional tour, Dead Sea was excellent.

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• K

  kelly
  Written on April 27, 2018

  4.5 - Excellent

  It was one of the only tours we found that did Israel, Jordan and Egypt and none of the countries disappointed

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• K

  kelly
  Written on April 27, 2018

  4.0 - Good

  Tour was great, highly recommend

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• PB

  Priscilla
  Written on April 20, 2018

  4.0 - Good

  The itinerary was good however we were rushed through many of the sites that most people would have preferred spending time at.

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• 

  Craig
  Written on April 13, 2018

  3.0 - Average

  ITINERARY I booked this tour for my parents and myself. The three of us enjoyed the sites we were taken to as part of the tour, but it can be quite the journey - be prepared to walk and do some manual labor crossing the borders and going through rampant security checks! Please note that this tour package consolidates tours run by separate tour operators in each country, and have no relation to another. This tour package is acceptable for young people and adventurers with patience and thick skin. Know what to expect. We were initially drawn to the price tag - a good deal on the outset - but be keenly aware that outside expenditures quickly stack up: dinners are not included (Israel is particularly expensive), mandatory fees for border crossing and visas are marked up, the guides on most tours will talk about tipping even if they did a half-decent job, and lastly, the tour operator in Egypt will offer you optional “extras” that are egregiously marked up. Unless you read all the details carefully, are very patient, and agree to everything you're getting yourself into, do not book this tour. Instead, look to another company for a rewarding, consummate experience. ACCOMMODATION We were not given a scrupulous or discerning selection of hotels. From our experience, if you live in a first-world country, be sure to mentally discount the hotel star rating by one star. For example, "3-star" options are more like 2-star options, and "4-star" options are more like 3-star. We only had one good hotel experience and that was in Jerusalem. The one in Petra was decent for Jordan, and offered a Turkish bath for a fee. A majority of the hotels booked for us were aged, poorly maintained, not conveniently located, dimly lit, smelled stale or of smoke, and had terrible customer service when we ran into issues (extra bed not set up, no towels, BUGS in the room, wi-fi or air conditioner not working). This made our trip uncomfortable and unnecessarily stressful, as it impacted our ability and quality of sleep amid shorter night turnarounds. MEALS Breakfast at our hotels were decent, but unimpressive. Though (a very average) lunch is included on most tour days, drinks will be extra charge. Only one day were the meals good, and that was at a buffet near Petra, Jordan. Otherwise, the meals are simply edible. TRANSPORT The transportation is excellent in Israel and Egypt, comfortable with air conditioning and large windows. But be prepared for an older van in Jordan with dirty windows. Sometimes in Egypt (cruise days) and Jordan, the van may smell musty or of cigarette smoke. ISRAEL You will be part of a group tour. Every tour day, you will be ferried from your hotel and taken to a meeting point by a contracted tour operator. Then you will switch to an assigned bus for your tour. Sometimes you stay on the same bus, but most times you will switch. This process takes one to two hours, depending on delays and traffic from other buses ferrying people to the meeting point. A similar process is employed to drop off tourists at their hotels in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or anywhere else they may be staying. The tour guides are multilingual. Most of our guides had thicker accents and were less intelligible for my parents, with broken English or German/French/Hebrew accent. Compare this to other tour guides at the same touristic sites and you’ll (unfortunately) hear a difference in English language articulation. Because the guides are handling a proper group of tourists, they will be less individually attentive. However in Jerusalem, where my father is harder of walking with the hilly terrain, our guide was kind enough to make sure we were set. We particularly enjoyed adventuring through Old Jerusalem City, and Haifa and Acre, with the grottoes and Bahai gardens. And Tel Aviv is also worth experiencing, but you can get yourself around to the hotspots quite easily by taxi or public transit. No need for a formal day tour, like we did. For dinner and snacks, the food (seafood in particular) is great in Tel Aviv by the way! JORDAN You will likely be part of a group tour. Petra and Wadi Rum are excellent, must-see experiences. I wish we had a bit more time in Petra. Our guide was great and ensured we were always safe, secure, and happy. Just be prepared to walk with your luggage for about 200 meters, encounter a bit of bureaucracy, and some disorganization when entering to the Jordan border side from Israel. The food was quite tasty and the people were particularly wonderful to (try to) talk to. EGYPT To our surprise, we got a private tour with a driver and guide. Both were great. Our guide was friendly and quite articulate in English and was a seasoned Egyptologist with 20+ years of experience. The individual attention for my parents and I made it more of a consummate experience. Know that the security situation has improved over the past few years, but naturally at the expense of your time and convenience. Your passport will be checked an innumerable number of times, and have pictures and copies taken of it. In the Sinai Peninsula, be prepared to wait anywhere from half an hour to an hour to get security clearance to travel, usually by caravan - a group of vehicles escorted by a police unit at the rear. When departing for another destination, the guide or driver will notify the tourist police of your traveller details, and to expect your transit and arrival at the intended destination. There will be police and military checkpoints along the way. The included foods are sometimes good, in particular kebabs, potato soup, and eggplant (aubergine) stew. For our Nile cruise, we had average guides. Again, the accents were pretty thick for my parents, but most guides had thick accents here. One of them even forgot to show us the main highlight at Karnak temple. And as previously mentioned the tour operator (via the guides) in Egypt will offer you “extras” that are egregiously marked up and are usually included in other tour packages for a humane price. This includes: hot air balloon over Valley of Kings, trip to Nubian Village, morning trip to Abu Simbel, etc. For the price of Abu Simbel with the tour company, we simply flew there ourselves, got a free shuttle from the airport, and saved seven hours of driving round-trip. But - aside from this, the Egyptian tour operator attempted to give a consummate experience. The guides would help us ward off unwanted vendors, give us tips on how to bargain, help us check in to our hotels and our flights, and make sure our airport security and immigration experience were seamless. Another benefit of private touring, we can modify our areas of interest and the time we spend at each place - one of the sites we even had to ourselves!

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• 

  Mason
  Written on April 11, 2018

  5.0 - Excellent

  It was a fantastic experience! The best trip i ever experienced. I would like to express my absolute satisfaction with every single experience and every site that we visited on this trip. Fantastic people, great planing, phenomenal places visited and all in a super priced package! Thank you to Booking tours, all of your staff for unforgettable trip!

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• LV

  Lalit
  Written on April 5, 2018

  3.0 - Average

  Actual tour details didn't match the planned itinerary information provided. Some meals which were shown included in the tour were not provided and we had to pay additional money. One night accommodation was not included and we had to pay additionally for it.

  

  Booking Tours commented on this review

  Hey Lalit, first we checked regarding the transfer from Ben Gurion airport, please note that you wasn't charged for this, it was reduced from your total amount that left for visas and taxes. The left amount that left for visas and taxes was 450$ total, and you paid 396$ at 15/03 to our representative in the border ( less 54$ - price for transfer from Ben Gurion to Tel Aviv ) . Please inform what lunches was not include? We checked with our Egypt office about the lunches in Cairo, as i was informed , you make the one of the tours for 2 days as per your request, touring program of 1 day was divided for 2 days , so lunch include only for 1 day, not for 2. Thank you.

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• SL

  Shannan
  Written on April 2, 2018

  4.5 - Excellent

  Because I was picked up at the hotel and then transferred to a bus in Jerusalem and then went to Tel Aviv to wait to pick up other people I had Ravi first. Then he went off on his Spanish speaking tour. I ended up with him at the end of the day. I really liked him. He did a great job.

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