If you provide us with your flight arrival details AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE DATE we can arrange for you to be met at the airport and transferred to our Cairo Hotel.
Please note that our itineraries are not set in stone and can be subject to change.
Oasis Overland D 1 Your trip begins at 8am from our Cairo Hotel. With an Egyptologist Guide we visit the world famous Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza and here we also include a camel ride. In the afternoon our guide takes us to the Egyptian History Museum before we catch an overnight sleeper train to Aswan.
Oasis Overland D 2 & 3 Arguably the most attractive city on the Nile, Aswan is imbued with the relaxed attitude of the Nubian people who live here. During the two days we are in Aswan we stay in a simple locally owned hotel. You will have the opportunity to visit Abu Simbel, the great stone monuments built by Ramses II, as well as a number of temples and tombs on the west bank of the Nile opposite Aswan which you can get to by ferry or felucca. Elephantine Island, is also well worth visiting with small ferry’s crossing to and fro all the time.
Oasis Overland D 4 & 5 From Aswan we take a traditional Egyptian sailboat or 'felucca' on the Nile River. We spend the next two days aboard watching Egypt glide by while sleeping under the stars. As well as the felucca captain we will also have a cook who will be preparing 3 meals a day for us while on board. We have the option of stopping off at Edfu and Kom Ombo and visiting the Temple of Horus, before continuing on to Luxor.
Oasis Overland D 6 & 8 Luxor is where we join our overland truck and we camp here for two nights. We visit Valley of the Kings on donkeys and your local guide will explain the 3000 year old history of the Pharaoh’s and their mummification and journey through the underworld. There is also the option to go to Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Workers, Queen Hatshepsuts Temple, Karnak Temple with its sound and light show, and Luxor Temple.
Oasis Overland D 9 From Luxor we drive via Hurghada to Dahab. We cross the Suez Canal, and enter the Sinai Desert before continuing on to St. Catherine's Monastery where it is possible to climb Mt Sinai. It is an amazing place to watch the sun rise over the Sinai desert.
Oasis Overland D 10 & 12 Dahab on the Red Sea coast is our base for the next three days. Here, you can snorkel or scuba dive to some of the best coral in the world, undertake various water sports such as windsurfing, wake boarding and waterskiing or go desert quad biking or just lie on the beach. Dahab also has many beach cafes and quirky restaurants serving great seafood as well as traditional Arabic cuisine. You can also take a one day camel safari and trek off-road down the desert coast line.
Oasis Overland D 13 & 14 This morning we depart Egypt by ferry across the Red Sea to Aquaba in Jordan. From here it is a short drive into the Wadi Rum desert where we camp overnight. The silent nights are unforgettable with their stunning blanket of stars. Wadi Rum has some of the most spectacular desert scenery anywhere in the world and it was here that Lawrence of Arabia and his Arab forces had their secret base. Here you have the option of taking a 4WD jeep safari deep into the desert with Bedouin guides.
Oasis Overland D 15 & 16 Climbing into the mountains we spend the next 2 nights in a locally owned hotel at Petra. Situated in a deep ravine with towering sandstone cliffs and hills, the ancient Rose Red City of Petra is carved out of the rock. The shear size and architecture of the rock hewn buildings is quite breathtaking. The Nabetaeans who built Petra over 2000 years ago grew to immense wealth by first plundering and then extorting ‘safe passage’ tolls from the spice and slave caravans that had to pass through their territory between Asia and Arabia. Eventually the Romans took Petra, and some of their influence can also be seen.
Oasis Overland D 17 & 18 A visit to the lowest point on Earth! The Dead Sea is over 1000ft below sea level, very hot throughout the year, and is claimed to have many therapeutic qualities. Situated in the northern most point of the Great Rift Valley of Africa it is formed by the River Jordan which flows into it. Here you can indulge in relaxing mud baths and an unusual swimming – or rather floating - experience in this highly buoyant salt sea. Leaving the Dead Sea we visit Mt. Nebo. Here there are dramatic views over Israel, the Dead Sea and if it’s not too hazy the walls of Jericho. Mt Nebo was Moses final resting place and the church in his name, built in 394 AD is still functioning and has some spectacular and entertaining mosaics over 1500 years old. We also have a chance to visit Madaba including visiting St. Georges Church (which has the oldest known map of the world),
Oasis Overland D 19 – 21 Syria is close by and our final destination is Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world is our final destination. Our groups always find Damascus a fascinating, friendly and safe place with very low levels of crime. It still contains much of the mystery of the orient with its busy bazaars, decaying charm, polite people and some of the Islamic world’s oldest monuments. From Damascus it is also possible to join a one day excursion into Lebanon which includes a guided visit to Baalbek Roman Temple, an ‘all you can eat’ Lebanese lunch, city tour of Beirut as well as free time in this quickly regenerating city which is fast rebuilding after the civil war of the 80’s and 90’s.
