This is a comprehensive tour of Jordan and Egypt, taking in the most famous and important sites but also getting off the beaten track to some less visited places. Starting in Amman, Jordan, we explore the well preserved Roman remains at Jerash and then tour the city centre with its Roman amphitheatre. We'll also take a day trip to the hilltop town of As-Salt and head into the Jordan Valley to the Baptism site at Bethany. Heading south we then follow the scenic Kings Highway stopping at Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the crumbling remains the crusader castle at Kerak, before arriving at Jordan's most popular attraction, the hidden city of Petra. We set aside a full day to explore the sprawling "Rose Red City" of Petra. Enter through the Siq and gaze upon the rock hewn Treasury built more than 2,000 years ago. Next we head into the desert at Wadi Rum, famous for its links with Lawrence of Arabia. We spend a night in a Bedouin camp here and take a 4x4 jeep ride through the stunning desert scenery before returning via a swim in the Dead Sea to Amman for our flight to Cairo (not included - you can book this as part of your main international flight ticket or we can book the flight for you separately). Arriving into Cairo we start with a visit to the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx before travelling down to Aswan, with an optional extra early morning tour to the impressive temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We'll spend the night here in a friendly Nubian village guesthouse. Back in Aswan we hop on board our traditional Nile felucca sailboat and wend our way down the River Nile, with support en-route from our facilities boat with on board toilet, showers and massage deck. Arriving into Luxor we take time to visit some of the many temples in this amazing open air museum, and of course we take time to explore the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. We finally head back to Cairo via the less visited temples of Abydos and Dendara where the tour ends with a tour of the city and the winding streets of the Khan-ek-Khalili bazaar. If you'd like to add some time by the Red Sea to this trip, it's easy to add on a few extra days at the beach resort of Hurghada. 3 to 4-star hotels Bedouin camp Nubian guesthouse Felucca sailboat