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Jordan & Israel Explorer


Explore the vast beauty of Wadi Rum, marvel at the imposing and fascinating city of Petra and discover the highlights of Israel




To explore the ancient lands of Jordan and Israel is to come face to face with the various epochs of history that have made us who we are. The Jordanian capital, Amman, was previously known as Philadelphia and its Roman theatre reminds us of the glories of that great empire. Mysterious Petra appears out of nowhere – a remarkable rose-coloured city hewn from the sandstone cliffs by the Nabataean people and now regarded as one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’. The desert at Wadi Rum resonates to the exploits of T.E. Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia. Then, there is Jerusalem – one of history’s great cities and a holy site for many of the world’s religions. From the Wailing Wall to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and from the Temple Mount to the narrow streets of the Old City, there are few cities in the world that are more evocative, exciting and still have meaning to so many people. Our adventure ends in Tel Aviv after a visit to Nazareth and the beautiful Sea of Galilee.



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Tour Highlights

  • UNESCO World Heritage-listed Petra
  • Wadi Rum's red earth desertscapes
  • Desert camping with the Bedouin
  • Jordan's capital Amman
  • Red Sea resort of Aqaba
  • Crusader castle at Shobak
  • UNESCO World Heritage-listed Jerusalem
  • 2000 year-old ruins of Jerash
  • Bethlehem's Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity
  • The Sea of Galilee

Inclusions

  • • The services of Peregrine’s expert English-speaking local tour leader in both countries, and professional local guides at some sites.

    • Sightseeing (including entrance fees where applicable): Aqaba; Shobak Castle; Dana ancient village; Madaba; Roman city of Jerash; Bethlehem; the Shepherds' Field; Jerusalem; Garden of Gethsemane; Beit Shean; Yardenit - commemorative site of Jesus' baptism; Nazareth; Tabgha; ancient settlement site of Capernaum; Golan Heights and a Druze village; ancient crusader port of Acre; and Caesara.

    • Full day exploring Petra’s old Roman road, amphitheatre, tombs and the ‘Monastery’.

    • Exploration of the Wadi Rum including a camel ride to a traditional Bedouin tented camp for an overnight stay (mattresses and blankets provided).

    • Sailing excursion on the Sea of Galilee.

    • Overnight stay in a hotel on a Kibbutz in Tiberias.

    • Time to relax at the Dead Sea.

    • Free time to explore Amman, Aqaba, Petra and Tel Aviv.

    • Arrival transfer.

  • 4WD vehicle
  • Boat
  • Bus
  • Camel
  • Jeep
  • Private aircon bus
  • 11 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 4 dinners

Jordan & Israel Explorer

Day 1
Amman
Meals Privided:
On arrival at Amman's Queen Alia International Airport, you are met by our representative and transferred to your hotel. This is simply an arrival day so you may arrive in Amman at any time. Note that hotel rooms are generally only available after midday. The balance of the day is free to explore your surroundings, but normally a Welcome Meeting is held in the evening where you meet your tour leader and fellow travellers.
Day 2
Aqaba
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
After breakfast you are transferred to the bus station for the JETT bus direct to Aqaba. This is a very efficient service and the journey takes around four hours. On arrival you are met and transferred to your hotel and the rest of the day is free for you to explore the town and port. In the evening you meet your tour leader along with any group members arriving from Egypt.
Day 3
Aqaba - Wadi Rum
Meals Privided:
Breakfast, Dinner
With our guide we enjoy a brief orientation of Aqaba. We can visit the old castle (time permitting) before driving to Wadi Rum. After time for lunch we head into the protected area in rather rickety old jeeps, operated by the local Bedouin community. This is an attempt by the Jordanian Government to bring much-needed income into this region - an initiative we also support. We visit several interesting rock formations and enjoy the spectacular desert landscapes for which Wadi Rum is deservedly renowned. We then continue our journey to Petra and check in to our hotel.
Day 4
Wadi Rum - Petra
Meals Privided:
Breakfast, Dinner
For most people the image of Petra is a narrow chasm with glimpses of the famous Treasury in the distance. We are sure to be surprised by the size of this ancient city, built by the Nabataean people. With our guide we explore the old Roman road, amphitheatre and several old tombs. We also climb up to the Monastery for a fine view of the entire site. It is a memorable day and sure to be one of the main highlights of our trip. There is a cafeteria on the site where we can enjoy a light lunch. In the mid-afternoon we return to our hotel and our tour leader will try hard to persuade us to take a Turkish bath! This is a great experience and Petra is an excellent – and safe - place to try one. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Day 5
Petra
Meals Privided:
Breakfast, Dinner
A regular and fully justified contender for the '8th Wonder of the World' title, the iconic Petra view – the Treasury's glorious façade, glimpsed from the narrow cleft known as the Siq – is arguably the single most striking sight of the entire region. The first sight of the exquisite craftsmanship among such stark scenery is a moment that both manage to be eagerly anticipated and also be still an unlikely and almost surreal surprise. Petra's greatest surprise, however, is its size. With our guide we explore the old Roman road, amphitheatre and several old tombs. We also climb up to the Monastery – the site's second beautiful façade – from where we have a magnificent view of the entire site. This is a memorable day exploring a truly extraordinary destination and sure to be one of the highlights of our trip. There is a cafeteria on the site, where we can enjoy a light lunch. In the mid-afternoon we return to our hotel and our tour leader will try hard to persuade us to take a Turkish bath! It's perfect timing after a day exploring Petra, as well as being his a great experience - Petra is an excellent – and safe - place to try this tradition of the region. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Day 6
Shobak - Dana - Madaba - Amman
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
This morning we drive along the King's Highway, a road that dates back to beyond the time of the Old Testament. We reach Shobak Castle, originally built to protect the eastern flank of the Latin Kingdom and its trade routes to the sea before it fell to Saladin in 1189. We enjoy a walk through the site and continue to the ancient village at Dana, where local artisans sell attractive silver jewellery and charms. We then reach Madaba, where we visit the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George that houses an ancient mosaic map. This is of particular interest as it clearly depicts Palestine and Lower Egypt around 550 AD. We expect to arrive in Amman in the late afternoon, where in the evening we can try one of its several fine restaurants. (Please note that Kerak Castle is not included in your tour, as it is often very congested and busy. However, if there is sufficient interest among members of the group, your leader can also arrange an optional visit to Kerak Castle. Many travellers however prefer to spend extra time in Amman.)
Day 7
Jerash - Dead Sea - Amman
Meals Privided:
Breakfast, Lunch
The Roman city of Jerash is in a fine state of preservation. Founded in the time of Alexander the Great, it had become a centre of considerable importance by the 3rd century AD. Today it is one of the grandest ancient cities in the world with an imposing collection of archways, theatres, baths, public buildings and colonnaded streets. We visit the site in the morning and later drive down to the Dead Sea. The afternoon is at leisure to experience the warm waters, which have an unusually high saline content, or to relax on the shore. We return to Amman for the night.
Day 8
Bethlehem - Jerusalem
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
Today is an early start as we leave Amman and head for Israel, crossing into the country over the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge some 40 kilometres from Amman. It is important that you read the notes below regarding this border crossing. Once we have cleared immigration and customs, we are met by our driver and transferred to Jerusalem. In the afternoon we make the short journey south to Bethlehem, where we make our pilgrimage to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity, built over the site that marks as the traditionally-accepted birthplace of Jesus Christ and a sacred place for both Christians and Muslims. From the impressive Constantine mosaics to the colonnaded ancient basilica and the small grotto that marks Jesus' birthplace, visiting the church is a humbling, powerful experience. Afterwards we drive to Beit Sahour to visit one of the most sacred places for Christians, the Shepherds' Field, identified in the New Testament as the site where the Angel of the Lord visited the shepherds and informed them of Jesus' impending birth. At the end of a long day we return to Jerusalem.
Day 9
Jerusalem
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
Jerusalem has one of the great urban skylines – the serried buildings and ancient ramparts of the Old City, the churches adorning the Mount of Olives and the iconic gold of the Dome of the Rock. We start the day taking in the city's extraordinary ensemble before driving via the Garden of Gethsemane to a gate through which we enter the Old City. We walk to the 'Cardo' in the recently restored Jewish Quarter, which was the old north-south axis in Roman times. We visit the Western (Wailing) Wall, Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After lunch (not included) our tour continues with a visit to Yad Vashem (Israel's memorial to the Holocaust). Please note that Yad Vashem is closed on public holidays, so on those days we visit Mount Zion, the Cenacle and the Dormition Abbey instead.
Day 10
Beit Shean - Nazareth - Sea of Galilee - Tiberias
Meals Privided:
Breakfast, Dinner
This morning we drive through the Jordan Valley, whose fertile lands were chronicled in the Bible, stopping en route at Beit Shean to view a well-preserved Roman theatre and a unique Byzantine mosaic floor. Passing through Tiberias, one of Judaism's four holy cities, we stop at Yardenit - the new commemorative site of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. At Nazareth we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, which incorporates, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the cave in which Mary received the news from Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus. Afterwards we return to Tiberias to sail across the Sea of Galilee to Tabgha, where Jesus performed the Miracle of the Multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We stop off at the ancient settlement site of Capernaum situated on the banks of the Kinneret, where Jesus once lived and Peter's house still stands, before returning to Tiberias for our overnight stay in a hotel on a kibbutz.
Day 11
Tiberias - Haifa - Caesarea - Tel Aviv
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
We leave Tiberias and head north to the ancient crusader port of Acre, a World Heritage-listed site and a place alive with an eventful history from the crusades and through the Napoleonic battles to the present day. We visit the massive complex of buildings occupied by the Knights of St John as well as the Knight Templars' secret tunnel. We then head down the coast to Haifa where we visit the spectacular Baha'I Gardens. The perfectly manicured gardens are one of the holy places for the Baha'i faith, one of the world's youngest religions. After lunch, we arrive at Caesarea which served as the capital of Israel during the Roman and Byzantine eras and which nowadays holds some of the country's finest classical remains, including an aqueduct and a graceful theatre which overlooks the Mediterranean. Afterwards, we arrive in Tel Aviv where we spend our last night in Israel's liveliest city. With its lively cafe culture and relaxed beach scene, Tel Aviv makes for the perfect end point to our adventure.
Day 12
Tel Aviv
Meals Privided:
Breakfast
Your trip ends today after breakfast. Check-out time is usually around 12 noon and you are free to leave at any time. If you have arranged a private airport transfer you will be advised of the pick-up time. Additional accommodation can be pre-booked if you wish to spend more time exploring Tel Aviv.

IN A NUTSHELL

12 days
from $3,695
15

TOUR INFORMATION

Start End Price
14/07/201325/07/2013 $3,695
27/01/201307/02/2013 $3,695
13/01/201324/01/2013 $3,695
30/12/201210/01/2013 $3,695
16/12/201227/12/2012 $3,695
02/12/201213/12/2012 $3,695
18/11/201229/11/2012 $3,695
04/11/201215/11/2012 $3,695
21/10/201201/11/2012 $3,695
10/02/201321/02/2013 $3,695
24/02/201307/03/2013 $3,695
10/03/201321/03/2013 $3,695
30/06/201311/07/2013 $3,695
16/06/201327/06/2013 $3,695
02/06/201313/06/2013 $3,695
19/05/201330/05/2013 $3,695
05/05/201316/05/2013 $3,695
21/04/201302/05/2013 $3,695
07/04/201318/04/2013 $3,695
24/03/201304/04/2013 $3,695
07/10/201218/10/2012 $3,695
23/09/201204/10/2012 $3,695
08/04/201219/04/2012 $3,695
25/03/201205/04/2012 $3,695
11/03/201222/03/2012 $3,695
26/02/201208/03/2012 $3,695
12/02/201223/02/2012 $3,695
01/01/201212/01/2012 $3,695
18/12/201129/12/2011 $3,695
20/11/201101/12/2011 $3,695
22/04/201203/05/2012 $3,695
06/05/201217/05/2012 $3,695
20/05/201231/05/2012 $3,695
09/09/201220/09/2012 $3,695
26/08/201206/09/2012 $3,695
12/08/201223/08/2012 $3,695
29/07/201209/08/2012 $3,695
15/07/201226/07/2012 $3,695
01/07/201212/07/2012 $3,695
17/06/201228/06/2012 $3,695
03/06/201214/06/2012 $3,695
23/10/201103/11/2011 $3,790
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