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Jordan and Israel tours

country:Israel, Jordan
trip type: A small group adventure
departures:Departs 1 - 5 Sundays a month throughout the year
price:From £1740 (12 days) excluding flights. We can arrange flights from the UK
vouchers:Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
 
the amazing things you'll be doing
To explore the ancient lands of Jordan and Israel is to come face-to-face with the various epochs of history that have made us who we are. The Jordanian capital, Amman, was previously known as Philadelphia and its Roman theatre reminds us of the glories of that great empire. Mysterious Petra appears out of nowhere - a remarkable rose-coloured city hewn from the sandstone cliffs by the Nabataean people and now regarded as one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World'. The desert at Wadi Rum resonates to the exploits of T.E. Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia. Then there is Jerusalem - one of the history's great cities and holy site for many of the world's religions. From the Wailing Wall to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and from the Temple Mount to the narrows streets of the Old City, there are few cities in the world that are more evocative, exciting and still mean so much to so many people.
day-by-day itinerary
Day 1:(Sun) Arrive in Amman and transfer to hotel.
Day 2:Drive south to Aqaba.
Day 3:Ride camels to Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum.
Day 4:Morning walk in Wadi Rum. Drive to Petra.
Day 5:Full day exploring Petra.
Day 6:Drive to Amman via Shobak Castle. Orientation tour of Amman.
Day 7:Visit Jerash and the Dead Sea.
Day 8:Transfer to Jerusalem.
Day 9:Full-day tour visiting the Garden of Gethsemane, the old city and Bethlehem.
Day 10:Full-day tour to Masada and the Dead Sea.
Day 11:Full-day tour to Nazareth, Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.
Day 12:Tour ends this morning after breakfast (Thu).
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.

Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
We are involved in assisting a number of projects that have a positive contribution to the welfare of communities, wildlife or environment around the globe. One of these causes is Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, devoted to conserving the natural environment. The society aims to conserve the biodiversity of Jordan and integrate its conservation programs with socio-economic development. It manages seven reserves, including Wadi Rum and Dana Nature Reserve, both of which are featured in our itineraries. In addition, it manages income-generating programs for several local communities. Among the small businesses created to date are handcrafted silver jewellery, organic jams and fruit, leathers, painted ostrich eggs, sandblasted frames, environmental board games and goat leather nature boxes. You will have the chance to purchase some of these while on tour.

When you travel with us, you support our Community Trust, which provides funds for local community projects and initiatives that promote responsible and sustainable tourism development in the destinations in which we operate. First and foremost, but not exclusively, the Trust supports projects and initiatives that advance education and employment within the tourism and hospitality industry. The Trust operates on a not-for-profit basis, with every cent of funds donated by us, our staff and our travellers, going to the nominated projects.

As part of our responsible travel policy we also employ local leaders and actively avoid international hotel chains, preferring to give our patronage to authentic, centrally-located and owner-managed establishments whenever possible. Our locally born and raised leaders are highly qualified and will be a great part of your holiday because of their intimate knowledge of the sights, culture and customs, history and language of their homeland.

The maximum group size on all of our adventures is 16 passengers. Travelling in small groups ensures we make significantly less impact on the natural environment, as well as breaking down many of the communication barriers presented by a larger group.

In 2009, we aim to neutralise all major emissions created by most of our trips, so they can be offered as the best green alternative available. We have conducted detailed analysis to assess the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the ground component of our adventure holidays. This means that the greenhouse gases emitted by transport and accommodation during most of our trips will be balanced and reinvested in projects that offer Gold Standard (or similar) Carbon Credits, and are aimed at ‘neutralising’ your contribution to greenhouse gases.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

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