In the first entry to this series I outlined some of the major items included in a guided tour, as well as those that are not. While that post covers some of the major points, I thought showing a sample itinerary would be a bit clearer in what you might expect if you choose to do a guided tour.
As I have mentioned numerous times in this blog, I will be going to Egypt and Jordan this August on a guided tour with GAP Adventures. I am going with a tour in this case because I am limited on time and want to see as much as possible in my short trip. The trip is 17 days and is fairly reflective of what is included on most budget minded itineraries.
The schedule is as follows (from GAP Adventures' Itinerary):
Day 1 Arrive Cairo
Arrive in Cairo at any time.
Day 2 Cairo (B,D)
Explore the Great Three Pyramids in Giza with a guided tour. Buzzing with activities, Cairo has a mix of modern and ancient wonders.
Day 3-5 Aswan (3B,L,2D)
Ride along the Nile in a felucca, stopping at Elephantine Island, Aga Khan Mausoleum and the botanical gardens on Kitchener's Island. Visit a Nubian village and spend the night under the stars.
Day 6-7 Luxor (2B,D)
Explore Luxor, the Karnak temple, Luxor Museum, or even take a hot air balloon trip and visit the Dendera and Abydos temples. The following day we trek by donkey to the West Bank and visit the Valley of the Kings, home to the tomb of Tutankhamun, Deir al Medina.
Day 8 Cairo (B)
Spend a day exploring Cairo, including the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and Egyptian Museum.
Day 9 Mt Sinai (B)
Climb to the top of the summit for a glorious sunset. Enter the walled monastery of St Catherine.
Day 10 Nuweiba (B)
Relax and enjoy the Red Sea, before crossing the Gulf of Aqaba to the biblical land of Jordan.
Day 11 Aqaba (B)
Once the main port for shipments to the Far East and now a thriving resort town, Aqaba offers delicious food and beautiful beaches to enjoy.
Day 12 Wadi Rum (B,D)
A vast, silent place that is timeless and starkly beautiful, Wadi Rum is likely the most stunning desertscape in the world.
Day 13-14 Petra (2B)
Visit Petra the most famous site in Jordan. Explore imposing facades, great buildings and tombs in this magnificent ancient city.
Day 15 Madaba (B)
Travel the King's highway stopping at Shobak Castle, one of the most significant sights in Jordan, and Al-Karak Castle, Jordan's ancient Crusader castle. Enjoy Madaba, famous for byzantine mosaics and Ottoman-style houses.
Day 16 Amman (B)
Day 17 Depart Amman (B) Check out the sights of this bustling capital of Jordan. Explore the Roman theater, Citadel and the Museums.
Note: (B) - breakfast, (L) - lunch, (D) - dinner
The base cost of this trip is $1350 USD plus a local payment of $300. Local payments typically are oriented for lodging and transportation costs to help the tour leader a bit easier. Other companies, mostly depending on their country of origin, may also have something called a "food kitty" which is a fund oriented for the food for the trip.
In the itinerary, you must be very selective when reading what is included. Typically, most sites will offer an in-depth page with more detailed listings. They like to use words like "see" or "visit" and can be misleading. Sometimes "see" means walking in front and not going inside [unless you want to on your own time, for extra cost], and visit may mean only a 10 minute tour.
This trip is a bit different than most in that majority of the sights have accompaning tours and the free time is oriented around the hot part of the day. What that means is that all included features and excursions will be early in the morning, leaving what you do during the desert heat up to your discretion.
Looking at the detailed entry on GAP Adventures' website they very clearly list what is included:
"Guided tour of the Pyramids and the Sphynx, Egyptian Museum, Citadel, Excursion to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and Nubian Village, Nubian traditional dinner, Elephantine Island guided tour, Camel ride to view the Monastery of St. Simeonen, Felucca sailing trip (with support boat), Valley of the Kings guided tour, Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari guided tour, Wadi Rum desert camping with traditional Wadi Rum dinner, 4X4 desert sunset ride, Petra guided tour by horse back, Madaba mosaics guided tour."
...and what costs extra:
"Camel rides at the Pyramids $15
Unfinished Obelisk, high dam and a boat ride to the Temple of Philae $35
Excursion to Abu Simbel temples from Aswan $80
Trip to sound and Light show at Karnak temple in Luxor $35
Hot-air-balloon flight over monuments and city of Luxor $80
Tutankhamen Tomb in the Valley of the Kings $ 20
Mummy Room in the Egyptian Museum $ 20
Dead Sea package including lunch, swimming pool, towels and other facilities $25 + mud bath $6
Trip to sound and Light show at the Great Pyramid in Cairo $ 50
Hotel in Nuweiba extra cost all inclusive $ 25"
From what I have found, planned excursions through the company are more expensive than if you were to pay it on your own. This again goes back to the convenience of having someone book it for you and all you have to do is show up with money.
In addition there are other costs that one must be aware of when on tour, as mentioned in the previous post. Some of those include airfare (about $1100 RT for me), extra food ($300 a listed estimated from the itinerary), other purchases ($200 estimated by me), mandatory trip insurance ($50-$80 depending on level), visa fees ($15 or so), tipping ($2+/day recommended).
As you can see, when these get added together (~$3600) the overall trip becomes very expensive. But the question becomes, could you manage an itinerary like that in only 17 days? In this case I think a tour is very fitting for those limited on time but fast paced. But for extended travel, not so much.
The next post in this series will illustrate the economic factor of doing extended travel with only guided tours vs purely independent travel.
2 comments:
Hi Jeremy,
Just found your site and love it. We're setting out on an RTW in 73 days (but whose counting?!). Your itinerary looks very similar to our, but the other way around. We're starting in S.America and heading east. Looking through all your posts I can see that you are considering all the same things we are. I'm especially glad to see your budget estimations are similar to ours - we're guessing $100/day for 2 of us. Good luck in your planning and I'll be following along!! You can check us out at www.One-Giant-Step.com
That is a nice trip you are planning. I also read you pass by Nuweiba. I'm now in Nuweiba for more then 2 months. I stay in Ghannah Lodge, an ecolodge near Nuweiba port. You can find the coordinates on there website www.ghannahlodge.net hopefully we can meet eachother here in nuweiba.
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