ellen75005

yestravel,

We spent 2 weeks in Egypt in February 2020, returning in the nick of time just as the world shut down. It was a trip of a lifetime. Have you been there? If not, you'll love it. I wrote several article for our blog about it. Your proposed itinerary sounds amazing. We will visit Madaba, but I don't think we'll be able to see all the mosaics, unfortunately.

Actually, if we had to choose between say, a half-day trip to Jerash and a half-day trip to Madaba, what would you Fodorites recommend? Definitely tough decisions when time is limited!

yestravel

[QUOTE=ellen75005;17373722]yestravel,

We spent 2 weeks in Egypt in February 2020, returning in the nick of time just as the world shut down. It was a trip of a lifetime. Have you been there? If not, you'll love it. I wrote several article for our blog about it. Your proposed itinerary sounds amazing. We will visit Madaba, but I don't think we'll be able to see all the mosaics, unfortunately.

First time to Egypt. I think that is where I first saw your blog. Like you and so many other travelers we returned from a trip in March 2020 days before the borders were closed.

thursdaysd

Depends entirely on your interests, and on what else you have seen. I am a big fan of mosaics, and I have seen a fair number of Roman remains, so I would choose Madaba, but if you are not especially interested in mosaics, or haven't seen many Roman sites, Jerash would be an easy win.

ellen75005

thrusdaysd, I've seen enough Roman sites for a lifetime. They're amazing for the most part, but I adore mosaics, so that would be my choice. There will be five of us, however, so I'll get the consensus of the group and we can plan accordingly. Yestravel, as I said, you'll have a wonderful time in Egypt. The people are friendly and the history and artwork are almost overwhelming. I imagine you'll go to the new Egyptian Museum. Please let us know how that visit goes; it's on my list for when we (hopefully) return.

odie1

It is so funny as we returned from Jordan (via two nights in Budapest) on March 2, just as the world was shutting down. Jordan was our first time in the Middle East and we loved it. We loved the people, the culture, the sights and the food.

We used Marriottt points for four of our stays (Amman, Petra, Aqaba and Dead Sea) and then stayed in Wadi Rum at a more comfortable bedouin tent camp called Arabian Nights. We were very pleased with this small camp and their two "luxurious" en-suite with hot water rooms. The Petra Marriott was wonderful as far as the people that worked there, the food was quite good, the hotel was a bit tired but it is not walking distance to the entrance however a taxi was easily arranged. We did Little Petra and then the back door hike to the monastery, which was great.

We also hired a driver (though it turned about to be three different drivers for the five/six different legs we had) and that worked well for us. Depending on where we are sometimes we will drive, sometimes we hire a driver.

We tried to stop in Madaba but the church was closed. We did do Jerash and that was incredible. We had had some exposure to ruins before such as in Greece however we still found it fascinating.


I have two blog posts covering the trip if you are interested, I really only write them for us to remember and for friends and family to follow along but there are lots of pictures and outlines what we did and our itinerary etc.

https://totravelistolive678431148.wo...b&preview=true

https://totravelistolive678431148.wo...5&preview=true

yestravel

Hi odie! Thanks for your blogs.i guess we are following in your footsteps once again. How were the temps? We’ll be there in Feb. cant believe how old your daughter is!

odie1

yestravel- I think we follow each other!!! Our daughter is just finishing up her second year of university in the Netherlands - crazy!

The temps were great! We do not love hot weather so we were very pleased with it, and when it did "heat up" it was nothing that wasn't easily handled by just finding a bit of shade for a few minutes; Wadi Rum was chilly at night but the blankets kept us warm! We also stopped in Istanbul for a few nights on our way there and had perfect weather there as well.

yestravel

Thanks! I was actually worried about the cold around Petra -- so glad to see that wasnt an issue. Where are you off to next?

odie1

yestravel- We all were in Mexico City and Isla Holbox in May and my daughter and I just got back from 10 days in Iceland, circumnavigating the whole Island plus lots of the fringe areas. It was wonderful! She will be home for the summer and we will road trip from CT out to our cabin in the mountains of AZ. The only plans as of now for the rest of the year are over to NL again twice to see her. We were supposed to go to Africa next month but I cancelled that. I have tickets booked to Santiago in February so we can finally do Northern Chilean Patagonia but they were super low prices and it looks like the airlines are not going to honor them so really not too sure where we are headed after the first of the year...

ellen75005

odie1,

I LOVED reading both your blog articles! Your photos were beautiful and portrayed the country so well. And I couldn't believe that your path crossed that man's again - what are the chances? SO slim! I'm going to forward the blog links to my husband and daughters who will be joining us on the trip.

One question, how did you find your drivers? We have a driver from the airport to the Marriott in Amman, but I still need to find one to drive us from Amman to Petra, making a couple of stops along the King's Highway, then from Petra directly back to the Amman airport. Did you arrange one in advance of your trip or find one through the hotel? We'll be staying at the Amman Marriott which is where I think you stayed also (we're also at the Petra Marriott).

I also think I've found a way to see both Jerash and Madaba and fortunately we'll be visiting on a Monday so hopefully the church will be accessible.

Ellen

odie1

Hi Ellen,

Thanks for the compliments.

I found the driver through Petra Bed and Breakfast. They are regular contributors over on the TA forums and I messaged her for a recommendation. The drivers were for the most part fine (one car reeked of cigarettes so next time I would be sure to tell them no cigarette smokers). One wanted to skip some of the places I had set up with the head guy to stop and had us stop at a shop that we did not want to stop at but otherwise they were fine. I just wanted to make sure I worked with someone reputable. Just make sure that you keep your emails from whomever you hire showing what price you agreed on and what that includes so if there are any questions at the end of the ride you can show it to the driver, There are LOTS of drivers out there in Jordan!

The people at the Amman Marriott were all wonderful and while it does not get nearly the attention that the fancier hotels get; we were very happy there.

Happy to answer any other questions.

ellen75005

Hi Odie, I just posted on the TA forum for a driver. There will be five of us plus luggage so we'll need a minivan. It does seem like there are a lot of people/companies providing that service and you just have to land on a reputable one. I did also see the Petra Bed & Breakfast site you refer to. Once this is done, I just have to make reservations to fly from AMM to IST and the planning for both Israel and Jordan will be DONE!

odie1

One or maybe two of our drivers showed up in a minivan so they are easily around.

Watch out as you might start to get a lot of PMs from People claiming to be drivers and offering their service. Do make sure you follow up on any recs; using the TA search is usually a good way to see who else has used them. I went back through all my files and found the contact info that I received from Petra B&B. I remember his rates were very competitive but he did outsource all the trips as I think he has become quite popular.Driver for Jordan: Hamza Fdool
Contact: WhatsApp number is :00962 797 013 154 / email : [email protected]


We stopped in Istanbul for a few nights on our way to Jordan and absolutely loved it! You can probably access that blog too if you want.