Highlights

The Pyramids might be hyped, but when you see them you’ll soon be saying oh mummy, I see the point (sorry).

Set sail on a felucca cruise along the Nile. Back in the day, these wooden boats had zero facilities, but our new pimped-out boat has western-style toilets on board.

Our guides are local and know all the best secret and hidden places to check out after a day of sightseeing

Only Petra’s Treasury is stunning enough to be the temple of the Holy Grail (well, according to Indiana Jones at least), and you’ll be blown away on a full day exploring the majesty and mystery of this world wonder.

Kick back in your own central hostel in Jerusalem, complete with movie room and rooftop .

Sample tasty local eats at the very cool Machane Yehuda Market where you can use your your bite card at any of the vendors.

Graffiti has filled the walls in Bethlehem by many artists over the years, including British Artist Banksy. Check it out on a walking tour with your leader.

Discover for yourself the town that everyone knows from the Christmas carols – Bethlehem – and find out about daily life in the epic city of Jerusalem as you chat with locals on the way to the Western Wall.

Float in the Salty waters of the Dead Sea.

Hike the iconic Masada Snake Path for some epic views across the Dead Sea and Jordan.

You will visit the following places:

Amman

Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was named one of the area's best cities according to economic, labour, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. Amman is one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East and Eurasia. It is also one of the most "westernised" cities in the region, ahead of places like Cairo or Damascus. The city is generally reasonably well-organized, enjoys great weather for much of the year and the people are very friendly.

Cairo

Cairo, literally The Vanquisher or The Conqueror, is the capital of Egypt, the largest city in Africa and the 16th most populous metropolitan area in the world. Cairo is also ranked as one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Nicknamed The City of a Thousand Minarets for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th Century, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the [Great Sphinx] and the pyramids of "Giza"

Aswān

Aswan, formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. It is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dams on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine. Aswan is the smallest of the three major tourist cities on the Nile. Being the furthest south of the three, it has a large population of Nubian people, mostly resettled from their homeland in the area flooded by Lake Nasser. Aswan is the home of many granite quarries from which most of the Obelisks seen in Luxor were sourced. Aswan was the ancient Egyptians' gateway to Africa.

Petra

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die".

Luxor

Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 (2010 estimate), with an area of approximately 416 square kilometres (161 sq mi). As the site of the Ancient Egyptian City of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple complexes at Kamak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Thousands of international tourists arrive annually to visit these monuments, contributing a large part towards the economy for the modern city.

Wadi Rum