Jordan & Egypt Self-Launched: Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea & the Nile

Fly into Queen Alia International Airport and take the Airport Express shuttle bus (approx. 3.5 JOD, ~£4) or split a taxi (~20 JOD) into downtown Amman. Check into a hostel in the Al-Weibdeh or Downtown area and spend the afternoon walking Rainbow Street, sipping mint lemonade at a cafe and eating falafel and knafeh at Hashem's. Buy a Jordan Pass online before arrival (70+ JOD) — it covers your visa on arrival plus Jerash, Petra and Wadi Rum entry, which is a genuine money-saver.

🚌Airport Express shuttle ~£4 (or shared taxi ~£10 per person)

🛏Hostel dorm in Al-Weibdeh or Downtown Amman (£10-14)

• →Airport Express bus to downtown
• →Rainbow Street wander
• →Knafeh and falafel dinner

Morning self-guided loop of the Amman Citadel (Temple of Hercules, Umayyad Palace) and the Roman Amphitheatre below — both included with the Jordan Pass. Then take a service taxi or the local minibus to As-Salt (~30-40 mins, ~1 JOD), the honey-coloured hillside town. Rather than a paid food tour, do it yourself: work through the old souk for manakish, mutabbal, ma'amoul and sweet tea, and chat to the bakers. Buses back to Amman run until early evening.

🚌Service taxi/minibus Amman–As-Salt return ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm in Amman (£10-14)

• →Amman Citadel and Roman Amphitheatre (Jordan Pass)
• →Local minibus to As-Salt
• →DIY food crawl through As-Salt old souk

Take an early JETT or trusty local bus north to Jerash (~1 hr, ~2-3 JOD) and spend 2-3 hours wandering Hadrian's Arch, the colonnaded Cardo Maximus and the hippodrome — entry on your Jordan Pass. Back in Amman by mid-afternoon, catch the JETT bus south to Wadi Musa/Petra (3.5 hrs, ~10-12 JOD; the morning JETT also runs direct). Check into a guesthouse near the Petra gate and eat at a cheap local restaurant — Cave Bar is fun but pricey, the falafel shops on the main street are not.

🚌Local bus Amman–Jerash ~£3; JETT coach Jerash/Amman–Wadi Musa ~£12

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Wadi Musa (£14-20)

• →Jerash archaeological site
• →JETT coach to Wadi Musa

Take a taxi or local minibus to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid, ~15 mins, 5-8 JOD) and walk the ancient back-door trail across the mountains into Petra (~3-4 hrs, no guide needed, waymarking plus the odd Bedouin tea stall). You emerge right at the Monastery — the biggest facade in Petra — then walk down the 800 steps into the main basin and out through the Siq. Do a self-guided loop of the Treasury and Royal Tombs if your legs allow. Taxi or hitch back to town for a cheap dinner and an early night.

🚌Taxi to Little Petra ~£7 split; walk back into town

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Wadi Musa (£14-20)

• →Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)
• →Back-door trail hike to Petra
• →Petra Monastery and Treasury
• →Petra by entry on Jordan Pass

Get the Petra site ticket stamped for a multi-day visit (the Jordan Pass covers one day; a second day is ~55 JOD — worth it for sunrise on the Treasury with the crowds gone). Back for breakfast, then take a minibus or shared taxi to Wadi Rum village (1.5-2 hrs, ~5-8 JOD). Most camps include a 4x4 jeep tour in the price — arrange it directly with your camp when booking and ride out to the red dunes, Khazali Canyon inscriptions, Lawrence's Spring and the mushroom rock. Dinner at camp, then a torch-free night walk for stargazing.

🚌Shared minibus Wadi Musa–Wadi Rum ~£7; 4x4 included in camp package

🛏Bedouin desert camp, shared tent (£18-25 incl. jeep tour, dinner, breakfast)

• →Sunrise at the Treasury
• →Minibus to Wadi Rum
• →4x4 jeep tour of Wadi Rum
• →Desert camp dinner and night walk

Sunrise over the dunes, then a camp transfer or shared ride into Aqaba (~1.5 hrs, ~5 JOD). Drop your bag at a beach-side hostel and spend the afternoon swimming at the free public beaches or South Beach, with a snorkel rental for the Coral Garden reef (~8-10 JOD). Alternatively join a half-day boat trip with snorkelling and lunch from the harbour (~35-50 JOD, cheaper if you negotiate as a walk-up). Evening at the Marina or the local fish market for grilled hammour.

🚌Shared ride Wadi Rum–Aqaba ~£5

🛏Beach hostel in Aqaba (£14-20)

• →Sunrise in the desert
• →South Beach snorkelling
• →Optional Red Sea boat trip
• →Aqaba fish market dinner

A whole day to yourself on the Red Sea. Options: a day pass at a beach club with sunbeds and lunch (~15-25 JOD), a discover-scuba dive from a local dive centre (~45-60 JOD), or the free public beach by the fort plus a wander through Aqaba Castle and the old town. In the evening try a rooftop shisha spot with live music — far cheaper than the resort bars.

🚌Local taxi/minibus around town ~£3

🛏Beach hostel in Aqaba (£14-20)

• →Beach club day pass or free public beach
• →Optional discover scuba dive
• →Aqaba Castle and old town
• →Rooftop music and shisha

Take the early JETT or a shared taxi north up the Desert Highway to Madaba (~4 hrs, ~10-12 JOD) and drop your bag. Then a local bus or taxi to a public Dead Sea beach access (~3-5 JOD, or use a hotel day pass with towel and shower for ~15 JOD). Float, lather on the mud, rinse off in the showers. On the way back stop at St George's Church in Madaba for the 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land (1-2 JOD) and the Archaeological Park. Cheap mezze dinner in town.

🚌Coach Aqaba–Madaba ~£12; local bus/taxi to Dead Sea ~£5

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse in Madaba (£15-20)

• →Dead Sea float and mud
• →St George's Church mosaic map
• →Madaba Archaeological Park

Shared taxi or bus from Madaba to Queen Alia Airport (~15 mins, 10-15 JOD). Fly Amman to Cairo on a low-cost carrier such as Royal Jordanian, Air Arabia or flydubai (~£60-110 booked ahead). Get your Egypt visa on arrival in advance online via visaonarrival.gov.eg (US$36 / ~£28) — much faster than the bank queue. Check into a hostel in Downtown Cairo, then wander Khan el-Khalili after dark for shisha at El Fishawy and cheap koshari.

🚌Airport taxi Madaba ~£10 split; flight ~£85; airport bus to downtown ~£1

🛏Hostel dorm in Downtown Cairo (£8-12)

• →Flight Amman–Cairo
• →Egypt visa on arrival
• →Khan el-Khalili bazaar at night
• →Koshari dinner

Get to Giza for opening (~8am) by Uber or the metro to Giza plus a short taxi (~£4-5 total). Buy the Giza plateau ticket (~540 EGP / ~£9, card only) and walk between the pyramids and Sphinx — you can add entry inside one pyramid (extra). Optional: the Grand Egyptian Museum nearby. Back downtown for lunch, then board the overnight sleeper train from Cairo Ramses to Aswan (~13-14 hrs, ~£45-60 for a shared two-berth cabin; Watania Sleeping Trains book online). Book your 4x4 Abu Simbel trip for tomorrow while you have wifi.

🚌Uber to Giza ~£4; Cairo–Aswan sleeper train ~£50

🛏Overnight sleeper train, shared cabin (£45-60 included in transport)

• →Giza Pyramids and Sphinx
• →Optional pyramid interior
• →Optional Grand Egyptian Museum
• →Overnight sleeper train

If doing Abu Simbel, you'll be picked up around 4am by one of the shared 4x4/minibus convoys organised from Aswan hotels (~£35-45 return incl. entry if booked via a local agency, or book the big shared bus). Otherwise, a slow morning: Philae Temple by local boat (~£10 incl. boat), then the Nubian Museum. Afternoon: walk the Aswan souk for spices, scarves and baskets at local prices — no guide needed. Sunset at the Aswan Corniche with tea.

🚌Shared Abu Simbel convoy ~£40; local boat to Philae ~£10

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Aswan (£10-15)

• →Abu Simbel day trip (optional)
• →Philae Temple by boat
• →Nubian Museum
• →Aswan souk wander

Hire a felucca directly from the Corniche captains for an afternoon sail among the islands (~150-250 EGP / £3-5 per person for 2 hours if you share). Sail to a Nubian village on the west bank and, rather than a tour-arranged meal, arrange a home dinner with a family through a local guesthouse or simply ask at the village cafe (~10-15 per person). Back on the boat for sunset, then sleep in Aswan.

🚌Felucca from the Corniche ~£5 per person

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Aswan (£10-15)

• →Private/shared felucca sail
• →Nubian village walk
• →Home-cooked Nubian dinner

Take the daytime train or a shared minibus north (Aswan to Kom Ombo ~1 hr, then Edfu ~1 hr). Hop off for Kom Ombo's twin temple right on the riverbank (ticket ~£4) and Edfu's beautifully preserved Ptolemaic temple (horse carriage from the station is ~£3, or walk 20 mins). Continue to Luxor by train or minibus in the late afternoon, and check into a West Bank guesthouse for the cheaper, quieter side of town.

🚌Local trains/minibus Aswan–Kom Ombo–Edfu–Luxor ~£8 total

🛏West Bank guesthouse in Luxor (£10-15)

• →Kom Ombo Temple
• →Edfu Temple
• →Local train hop along the Nile

Cross the Nile by public ferry (~£0.30) and cycle or take a local microbus to the Valley of the Kings (ticket ~£11 for three tombs; Tutankhamun's tomb is extra). Add Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Afternoon: Karnak and Luxor Temples (combined ~£9-10). Optional early-evening hot-air balloon over the West Bank — book direct with a local operator for ~£55-70, well below agency mark-ups. Eat at a West Bank local spot rather than a hotel.

🚌Public ferry, bicycle hire ~£3, microbus ~£2

🛏West Bank guesthouse in Luxor (£10-15)

• →Valley of the Kings
• →Hatshepsut Temple and Colossi of Memnon
• →Karnak and Luxor Temples
• →Optional hot-air balloon

Slow morning on the West Bank — the local villages, a cafe by the Nile, or the cheaper Luxor Museum if you skipped it. Take the daytime train or overnight sleeper back to Cairo (day train ~£8-12 in 2nd class seated, sleeper ~£45). Arrive Cairo, check in near Downtown or Giza, and spend the evening at the Egyptian Museum (if still open on the schedule) or simply eating your last koshari and buying cheap souvenirs at Attaba market.

🚌Day train Luxor–Cairo ~£10 (or sleeper ~£45)

🛏Hostel dorm in Downtown Cairo (£8-12)

• →West Bank villages and Luxor Museum
• →Train Luxor–Cairo
• →Egyptian Museum or Attaba market

Final morning: pick up last-minute souvenirs, a proper Egyptian breakfast of ful and ta'ameya, and head to Cairo International Airport by Uber (~£5-8) or the airport bus (~£1). If your flight is late, a cheap day pass at a Downtown cafe or a revisit to the Nile corniche is a good way to kill time.

🚌Uber or airport bus to Cairo International ~£5

• →Ful and ta'ameya breakfast
• →Airport transfer