Jordan compresses beautifully: Petra demands a full day, and Jerash, the Dead Sea, Madaba and Mount Nebo arrange themselves into one or two more. That is why these trips work — Jordan's essentials fit into three or four days that bolt cleanly onto any Egypt itinerary. The real decision is on the Egyptian side: Cairo only, or Cairo plus the Nile.
| Tour | Days | Egypt gives you | Jordan gives you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt & Jordan in 7 Days | 7 | Cairo in depth — Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Old Cairo and the Citadel | Madaba, Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea and a full day in Petra |
| Egypt & Jordan with Nile Cruise | 10 | Cairo plus an Aswan-to-Luxor cruise — Kom Ombo, Edfu, both banks | Jerash, the Dead Sea and Petra |
| Trip to Egypt and Jordan | 12 | Cairo and a Luxor-to-Aswan cruise | The full circuit: Jerash, Ajloun, Umm Qais, Madaba, Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea and Petra |
| Egypt & Jordan Holiday | 14 | Cairo, Abu Simbel, the cruise, and a Red Sea pause in Sharm el-Sheikh | Madaba, the Dead Sea and Petra to finish |
The columns above come from each tour's actual day-by-day programme, not from brochure copy. If a place is not listed, that itinerary does not visit it.
How to choose
One honest rule decides most cases: if you have never seen the Nile, take a shape that includes the cruise. The seven-day trip is an excellent Cairo-plus-Petra sprint for travellers short on leave, but Egypt without the river is Egypt with its best chapter unread. The ten- and twelve-day versions solve that; the fourteen-day one adds Abu Simbel and a beach exhale on the way out.
For the wider decision of whether to combine the countries at all — or give each its own trip — our guide to doing Egypt and Jordan together weighs it honestly. And if you are already in Sinai, Petra is reachable as a long day trip — our Petra tour from Dahab — though it is a taste, not a visit.
The practical shape
Every combination crosses between the countries by air — three fly Cairo to Amman, the fourteen-day on from Sharm el-Sheikh — a short hop that replaces what would otherwise be a very long overland day through Sinai and the border. Inside Jordan the distances are mercifully small: Amman to Petra is a morning's drive, and the Dead Sea sits between them. Two countries, two currencies, one comfortable rhythm — and the Pyramids and the rock-cut city of Petra inside a single week of each other.