Im first going to Vegas with some friends and from there want to see India, Israel & bethlahem. Im thinking i should go to egypt and a few other places while im in the area.. are there any places that are must see's or things that are must do's?? im interested in religion and culture but not so much history or 'thrill' seeking. Id be really keen to do a trek or long camel ride of some kind also. Whats the best order to do it in? best transport? tours? will metal detectors at airports cause trouble as i have plates in my foot? what places are safer than others? anyone else planning a trip to these places?
From there im planning to live and work in UK.. and spend a month in 'somewhere' to learn french.
Reply to this Hello Ebby 😊
Must dos and must sees are a matter of opinion. Pick and choose what you personally like. To help you see what is available in the various places, you could check out the Lonely Planet travel guides and blogs here on TravelBlog. If you are buying one or more Lonely Planet guides, get ones with more than one country in them. For example, the Middle East one covers a lot of countries. It has Israel and might also have Egypt.
Whats the best order to do it in?
Since you are going to Egypt, it might be worth going to Israel first so you wont have an Egyptian stamp in your passport when entering Israel. You can ask them in Israel to give you the tourist stamp separately, rather than in your passport to prevent any problems other countries see with your having been to Israel. It might not be a problem to have Egyptian stamps in your passport when entering Israel, but it also might be a problem. Well, you saw in the thread I made about Israel what was said about the security in the airports in Israel...
...what places are safer than others?...
How safe you will be, has a lot to do with how much effort you put into finding out exactly what the safety issues for each country are. Some will say, take the usual precautions that you would take any place. This is not enough, because some places have more and/or different risks than others do. I find the Lonely Planet guides to be very good and very accurate as regards what they say about health and safety in each country, so read everything they say about these topics before going to the countries. If you are not sure you want to splash out on the Lonely Planet books, just go into a bookshop and read those particular sections of the books.
...anyone else planning a trip to these places?
I was in Egypt around 15 years ago, and am going to Israel in a few months. I have been to India 3 times and will be going there again next May.
...tours?...
I would be selective about tours. You wont always need them, and you might enjoy independent travel. I personally would only go on a tour of something that I want to get very informed about. You mentioned you are interested in religion and culture. Maybe there are some tours worth taking that specialise in those. Otherwise, just do it yourself. Many of us do. 😊
Here are some blogs I made about some of my trips to India.
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Mel
Reply to this Ebby90: I was in Israel in April 2011. I traveled with my husband and 18 year old son. We chose not to use a tour group and rented a car in Tel Aviv and drove the country. We planned the itinerary for our trip by using the following guidebooks: Jerusalem, Israel, Petra & Sinai by Eyewitness Travel; Israel by Frommer's; Israel by Fodor's as well as the Israel Ministry of Tourism website at www.goisrael.com. The Israel Ministry of Tourism has wonderful information posted online as well as suggested itineraries to visit both Christian and Jewish sites. I also contacted a man who frequently posts information about his travels to Israel on tripadvisor.com. His name is Douglas Duckett and he offers his "35 page guide to Israel travel," free for the asking at Labatt@fuse.net. You should check out his posts on tripadvisor.com.
We didn't have any problems on the day we drove from Tiberias and crossed in to the West Bank. We even stopped at a gas station just out of Jericho so my son could take his first camel ride.
Since you are in the region I would not miss crossing the border in to Jordan and going to Petra. I loved Israel, but, Petra was definitely a highlight. If I had to do it again I would probably go with a tour group for my first visit to Petra. We just did what the guidebooks told us and it worked out fine -- but, it would have cost us about the same to go with a tour group and we probably would have been able to spend more time at Petra. Going by ourselves was a riot! It was just a one day trip for us and we crossed the border at Eilat -- 2 1/2 hours to get to Petra in the back of a Jordanian taxi cab; 3 1/2 hours at Petra (which wasn't nearly enough time) and 2 1/2 hours back to the Israel border at Eilat. I think we had to stop at the ATM machine 2 times and the Money Changer 2 times to get more Dinars -- we underestmated how much money we would need for the day. A tip: Don't exchange money at the border. Get across the border and have your taxi driver take you to an ATM machine.
Within Israel itself, the only time we used a guide because of safety concerns, was when we went for a day trip to Bethlehem and Jericho. We arranged the tour through a travel agent by the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Let's just say that we didn't feel like we got our money's worth and there were a couple "shady" things that happened. While we were in Bethlehem we met a man that ran a souvenir shop and if I were to go back to Bethlehem I would contact him and have him be my guide. He said if we knew of anyone coming to Israel to give them his name. He was a man that I felt like I could trust and he has sent me several souvenirs from Bethlehem during the last year -- olive wood carvings, clay lamps, etc. His name is Odeh Marcous and you can contact him at marcousodeh@yahoo.com.
In the Old City of Jerusalem we took advantage of the "Sandeman's Free Tours" for a general over view of the Old City and then we also paid to go on their "Holy City Tour." We felt their prices were reasonable. The guides we had were VERY knowledgeable and friendly. You can find out more about their tours in Jerusalem and other parts of the word at www.neweuropetours.eu
On the last day we were in Jerusalem we hired a taxi driver, who also worked with the Dan Boutique Hotel, to give us a tour of the parts of Jerusalem we hadn't seen and to take us to the airport. He was wonderful. His name is Yacov Mizrachi and his phone number is 050-5264614 or I am sure the Dan Boutique Hotel would know how to reach him. I am sure he could arrange any tours you wanted to take in Jerusalem. His business card read: "Welcome to Jerusalem. Have a Nice Time. See Israel for Fair Price."
Can you tell I loved Israel! I could go on and on about our many adventures there. If there are any specific questions I can answer for you just yell.
Reply to this Make sure not to get an Israeli stamp in your passport if you're going to be traveling around in the Middle East. Bethlehem is great and Jerusalem is a must if you're interested in culture and religion. I'm in the process of publishing my blogs from my trip there last week. Take a look if you want. I'll be publishing 3 more from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Bethlehem
The Star above Bethlehem
Behind the Walls - The Old City of Jerusalem Reply to this 
