As the Director of Operations for One World Tours, I often get asked about Egypt as a destination and for people who have extra time available, they ask me, should we just do Egypt, or should we take in other neighbouring countries too? Here is my advice
If you have about 7 days, then you are probably looking at just Egypt. A typical tour of this length will allow you to take in the major sites of Cairo such as the Pyramids at Giza, The Sphinx, The Egyptian Museum, Coptic Cairo and the Khan Al Kallili Bazaar. It would then be on to Aswan to see the like of the High Dam and Philae Temple. Many clients would also do a morning excursion out to Abu Simbel at thins point to. Its then just a short train ride to Luxor where you will get to sample amazing sites like The Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens, Luxor and Karnak Temples and of course it is also a brilliant place to take a felucca sailing on the Nile. In my opinion until you have watched the sun setting over the Nile as you sail along in a traditional fishing boast, you have not lived!
If you are in the situation where you have say 10 days, then you could look the above, plus a short trip into Jordan to take in the sites at Petra. Petra is stunning and well worth the 48 to 72 hours you will need to invest to add it to your trip to Egypt.
Once you start talking about 14 days plus, then a whole set of options open up for you.
You will certainly be able to do everything that's listed above with regards to Egypt and you can probably also do much of Luxor and Aswan via a Nile Cruise if you wish and on your way to either Jordan or Israel you would also be able to include a day or two at the Red Sea coast in somewhere like, Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh or Dahab.
So now you have more time available Starting in Egypt and finishing in Jordan becomes a definite possibility. For Jordan you can cross from Sinai (in Egypt) either overland or, as most people do, by ferry to Aqaba. From here it is pretty much a south to north journey and you should certainly look at including a jeep safari in Wadi Rum, a day in Petra, a visit to the Dead Sea plus some time in Amman of course.
Of course, there is an excellent chance that you may well have international return flights coming in and out of Cairo, but this is not a problem. You can start your trip on arrival in Cairo, finish off in Amman and then take a short flight between Amman and Cairo to get you back and enable you to fly back home.
Israel can also easily be added to an Egypt itin and again, you can get in to Israel from Sinai (in Egypt) at Taba and make your way to the Israeli resort of Eilat. This is a great place to start the Israel portion of you Egypt / Israel adventure. Once you have relaxed you will be ready to venture north and take in the likes of the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Finally, just like Jordan, if you finish your tour in Tel Aviv, it's just a short hop back to Cairo to catch your flight home.
