Petra after Egypt?

[DrRoy]

We are planning to take a Viking cruise on the Nile, which visits the ancient Egyptian sites. Also, we fly business class east over the Atlantic to be better able to sleep on the plane. This will total ~$20K. There is an extension that visits the Dead Sea, Petra, and Amman Jordan for an extra $4800. We are wondering if we should do the add on. I spoke to someone that had been to Petra and Egypt. He said Petra was impressive, but not as good as the Egyptian temples. What say those who have been?

 

[Marc]

Definitely Petra and hopefully tour includes Wadi Rum, Jerash, and Madaba. We did four days private land trip extension to a trip to Israel around ten years ago and absolutely fantastic.

 

[Gumby]

Just this past October, we went to Egypt followed by Jordan. I would by all means see Jordan while you are in the vicinity. It is an attractive and impressive place. Petra, Little Petra, the Amman Citadel, Mount Nebo, Jerash, and Aljoun Castle are all beautiful locations. The Jordan Museum is first rate (far better than the Cairo Museum in my opinion) and the Dead Sea is something to be experienced at least once in life.

As far as pricing, we paid $4k per person extra for the Jordan tour extension, which included the flight from Cairo to Amman, 5-1/2 nights in hotels (only 1/2 because the flights home leave at around 2 am), a guide and a driver. It was just us and one other couple.

 

[MBAustin]

Just this past October, we went to Egypt followed by Jordan. I would by all means see Jordan while you are in the vicinity. It is an attractive and impressive place. Petra, Little Petra, the Amman Citadel, Mount Nebo, Jerash, and Aljoun Castle are all beautiful locations. The Jordan Museum is first rate (far better than the Cairo Museum in my opinion) and the Dead Sea is something to be experienced at least once in life.

Although I can't compare it to Egypt, Gumby is spot on with his comments based on my trip to Israel and Jordan last spring. Petra is simply amazing.

 

[savory]

It’s been w while and many other trips have been done but Petra was amazing. Our time in Jordan was impressive. If the Dead Sea means rubbing mud on your body, it could be missed. If there is exploration of the area, it would be very interesting.

Can’t speak to cost/value since we do much of the arrangements ourselves and hire local guides.

 

[bigreader]

YMMV but I preferred Petra and Jerash to our trip down the Nile. I thought Petra and Jerash were magical. BR

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

My DH and I are scheduled for an Israel trip in the spring of 2024, and we were just offered an extension of the trip to include Jordan (Petra and other locations mentioned above in this thread). The extension will cost us about $2500 more than the Israel portion of the trip. It took us about 10 seconds to say "yes" because there's just no way to know if the opportunity will ever present itself again for many reasons including potential pandemics, political climates or our physical infirmities.


The extension has a requisite participation in order to be viable, so we're hoping five other people take advantage of the opportunity too!

 

[2017ish]

DW and I agree with the consensus. Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash, the dead sea, and Mt. Nebo were amazing. We did a self-drive trip through the country in April/May 2021 just before diving the Red Sea and doing a Nile cruise followed by the attractions of Cairo.

Apart from the diving, we'd put Jordan higher than Egypt, I think. At a minimum, they are so close that we'd highly recommend doing both while you were there. (Disclosure, we had Petra, including the temple, to ourselves for 30-45 minutes--but the egyptian sites are also pretty deserted due to people's pandemic fears.)

 

[OldShooter]

Yes, of course go. But the Viking price looks high and, in the end, it is a group tour with all the negatives. We did Jordan with a private guide maybe 5 years ago. I suggest that you shop the internet for local tour companies who will provide you with a car and a private guide/driver. You may even save money!