Before the Jordan pre-trip extension to Egypt & the Eternal Nile by Private, Classic River-Yacht, Pam arranged her own discoveries in the dramatic Wadi Rum desert.
By Pam Taylor, 15-time traveler from Houston, TX
We travel extensively throughout the year, and O.A.T. is our first source for adventure travel. We find the O.A.T. itineraries to be interesting and enjoyable. Depending on the destination and available activities, we arrive at the first destination one or more days in advance of the O.A.T. meeting date. Inevitably, there is something of interest for us to do while in the first destination area. Given the experienced travelers on O.A.T. adventures, the first destination might be a place that some guests have already visited or an activity that would not appeal to them.
A 4x4 vehicle explores the landscape of Wadi Rum.
Adding to the excitement
We like to mix independent travels with group travels. This allows us to customize our itinerary for the independent travel while having more cultural and organized group travel through O.A.T. We enjoy meeting other enthusiastic travelers during our O.A.T. group travels. But, we are fully committed to nothing larger than "small group travel." O.A.T.’s group size and itineraries work well for us. Then, the inclusion of some independent days allows us to more fully explore a city, area, or region.
Pam and her husband, Mark, cozied up to a fire—and a camel—during their private excursion.
Wadi Rum along with the overnight tent stay and especially the sunrise camel ride lent a mystique and enhanced sense of adventure. Stepping out on a self-identified adventure gets the creative juices flowing and causes me to research an area more than I typically would if I were limiting our travels to the O.A.T. itinerary. Simply put, it adds to the excitement of travel.
Since we had already gotten over jetlag during our Israel trip, we scheduled the Wadi Rum extension with a meet-and-greet at the Amman airport, where the person meeting us delivered our big bags to the O.A.T. hotel in Amman for overnight storage. Simultaneously, our driver took us straight from the Amman airport to Wadi Rum for our afternoon, evening, and morning activities. It was a perfect arrangement and worked flawlessly. We could not have been more pleased with how we spent our extra days and night in Jordan.
Illuminating Jordan from many dimensions
Clearly, Petra was our first priority for Jordan. Then, Jerash was another definite interest. Both of those were excellent O.A.T. inclusions. Our O.A.T. Trip Experience Leader, Mahmoud Tawaisi, was superb! The O.A.T. portion of the trip helped us understand the history, culture, and current events within Jordan. We also enjoyed the learning and discovery and home-hosted dinner of our O.A.T. adventure. Our Wadi Rum experience was more of experiencing natural beauty and adventure that comes with more self-reliance.
After beginning their tour in pitch darkness, the sunrise illuminated an equally bright smiling face.
Wadi Rum is an easy one-night and two-day side trip from Amman. It felt like we walked onto the set of Lawrence of Arabia. And, the sunrise camel ride was without a doubt one of the most exciting travel adventures we have ever taken. It was a private excursion with the Bedouin camel man along with my husband and myself. We were told to walk out into the field at a particular time in the dark of early morning. As we walked out, we noticed the Bedouin guide illuminate his flashlight. After beginning our camel journey, he guided us to a spot in the desert and set up a mat and proceeded to prepare tea over a makeshift fire while awaiting sunrise. We didn’t really know what this guy looked like since we had never seen him in daytime. Imagine my joy when sunrise illuminated this wonderful smiling face. It was an amazing experience.
Egypt: "For every adventurer"
There are so many highlights from Egypt. Visiting the camel market, staying at the Old Cataract Hotel, spending time navigating the Nile on a dahabeya (traditional river-yacht) and seeing iconic sights such as Abu Simbel, Karnak temples, and the pyramids of Giza are experiences for every adventurer.
Perhaps you’ll arrange your own private excursion to Wadi Rum—or anywhere else in the region you wish to explore—before Egypt & the Eternal Nile by Private, Classic River-Yacht.
