Compare with the 19 Day version

Here's our own version of the Grand Tour. We'll take you to the walled desert city of Marrakech, and across the sub-Saharan countryside of Morocco by train to fabled Casablanca. You'll journey alongside the Nile from Cairo in your private rail compartment to view the temples of the ancient Pharaohs at Luxor, and live an Indiana Jones adventure at the Nabatean stone city of Petra in Jordan. To conclude it all, you'll ascend to Damascus, the goal of merchants and Crusaders over the centuries. "Grand Tour" is an understatement for this incomparable feast of sights and experiences.

DAY 1 - DEPARTURE FOR MOROCCO - Weekly on Tuesday - Year Round
Take off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on an Air France or British Airways jet, bound for Casablanca via London or Paris . Air France or British Airways service is also available from the West Coast, for a supplement.

DAY 2 - CASABLANCA, MARRAKECH - Wednesday
You'll land at the international airport of fabled Casablanca . After the formalities, you'll board a southbound flight to the magical city of Marrakech. Our local staff will greet you and usher you directly to your accommodations. Welcome mint tea.

DAY 3 - MARRAKECH - Thursday (BLD)
This morning you'll take a private tour of ancient Marrakech by horse-drawn carriage. You'll see the Koutoubia, the landmark mosque of the city, and perhaps you'll note its similarity to its sister tower, the Giralda of Seville, in Spain. You'll continue to the Bahia palace, built in the nineteenth century, with room after stately oriental room of intricate plaster work and finely detailed columns, and sedate hidden gardens. Lunch will be served in a restaurant redolent with local color. In the afternoon, you'll take a walking tour through the labyrinthine souks, the bazaars where goods from near and far have changed hands for centuries. Of course, you'll want to try your hand at bargaining! After our eventful day, dinner will be served at our hotel.

DAY 4 - MARRAKECH - Friday (BD)
Now that you've been introduced to Marrakech, it's time to adventure out on your own! Head for the old city, and always-lively Djemaa El Fna Square, populated by water sellers, magicians, peddlers, politicians, and animal tamers, who carry on an endless flurry of activities straight out of the middle ages. If you have a spare moment, the souks of Marrakech will always keep you entertained. Return to bargain for that carpet or tea service that caught your eye yesterday. Or pass part of the day at a sidewalk café in the new city, where Paris and the Orient come together. Of course, there are many restaurants where you can enjoy the culinary adventure of Morocco's superb cuisine. We also offer optional tours, at an additional fee, to a Berber village, or through the souks. Evening Dinner & show at the famous "Chez Ali" in a small man made oases on the edge of the Sahara & the outskirts of Marrakech.

DAY 5 - BY TRAIN TO CASABLANCA - Saturday (BLD)
It's "all aboard" today as as our local personnel see you to the Marrakech railroad station. You'll roll in comfort toward Casablanca past green fields, fruit-laden orchards, and traditional villages, back dropped by the stunning Atlas Mountains. Our escort provides commentary and answers questions, filling us in on the daily life of Moroccans. Once you detrain, you'll visit the Hassan II Great Mosque, a monument to Moroccan artisanry and architecture, second in size after the Great Mosque of Mecca. Then we'll continue to see modern Casablanca, and on to the traditional souks. After dinner, we'll head for the airport, where we'll board the Royal Air Maroc flight that will take us across the Sahara to Egypt.

DAY 6 - CAIRO - Sunday (aBL)
We land at Cairo airport at dawn. Our local escorts see us through customs and immigration, for American , EU , Canadian & Japanese citizens, visa will be issued upon arrival at the Airport, your passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of arrival, and onward through the awakening city to our hotel. We'll have breakfast and take a break to refresh, then head out to see the wonders of this thriving metropolis. First, we'll explore the Egyptian Museum, with its treasures of the ancient pharaohs: mummies, statuary, and precious stones and metals. Travellers have long come to Cairo just to gaze on these sights.

DAY 7 - CAIRO - Monday (aBLD)
After breakfast, we'll motor to the edge of Cairo, where we'll view the mysterious, timeless Sphinx, the awesome Pyramids of Giza, and the Valley Temple. After lunch, we'll continue southward to Dahshour, where still more ancient wonders await. Among the monuments we'll visit is the Great Pyramid of Senfru, the father of Cheops. In the evening : You'll enjoy dinner on board the Hyatt Dinner Cruise

DAY 8 - LUXOR - Tuesday (aBLD)
Enjoyan early breakfast at your Cairo hotel before we head for the airport and fly to Luxor, air fare is included in business class . Upon arrival , proceed to enjoy coffe and breakfast ( again at your luxury hotel, morning at leisure.

Hotel choices : Al-Moudira- Le Meridien Heliopolis or add $75 per person to the deluxe rates for the Old Winter Palace.

After lunch at the hotel , then tour the imposing Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and the Great Temple of Amon Ra

DAY 9 - LUXOR Cairo - Wednesday (BD)
Breakfast at the hotel before crossing the Nile to view an array of ancient splendors: the tomb chambers of the Valley of the Kings; the imposing tomb-temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens; and the Colossi of Memnon. Fly back to Cairo and your hotel . Dinner is included at the hotel

DAY 10 - CAIRO -Thursday (BL)
Breakfast at the hotel. Late start to allow you a more leiusrly morning and breakfast.
We'll visit the Citadel of Saladin with its Alabaster Mosque, and view the panorama of Cairo. Then we'll set off for Khan el-Khalili, the labyrinthine bazaar district with its array of spice shops and clothing merchants and purveyors of baskets and brass ware and a thousand other specialties. After lunch at a charming local restaurant, we'll return to our hotel. The rest of the day is yours for exploring on your own. Venture out amid the shops, cafés, peddlers from bygone days, modern-day professionals, and an unforgettable array of sights, sounds, and aromas. Visit Cairo's museums, or try a restaurant frequented by locals.

DAY 11 - CAIRO / AMMAN - Friday
Our Cairo personnel will see you to the airport, where you'll board a flight for Amman. Upon landing, our Jordan hosts will greet you, assist you with the formalities, for American , Western European , Canadian & Japanese citizens, visa will be issued upon arrival at the Airport, your passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of arrival, our local rep will escort you to your hotel. You'll have time to get acquainted with this city built on hills, its cafés and shops, and its surprisingly cosmopolitan population of Bedouins, Palestinians, and the descendants of migrants from the Caucasus.

DAY 12 - MADABA, KERAK, PETRA - Saturday (BD)
From Amman, we drive south along an ancient caravan route to Madaba, site of a church containing the oldest known map of the Holy Land. At Mount Nebo, we will behold the panoramic view of the Promised Land as seen by Moses in his last moments. Further on, at Kerak, we walk among the ruins of the Crusader castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line that stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. At the end of the day, we reach fabled Petra.

DAY 13 - PETRA - Sunday (BD)
We'll spend the entire day at Petra, the stunning desert city hewn by the Nabateans from solid cliffs of pink and violet sandstone. Petra was known in the bible as Sela, and rediscovered only in 1812. You'll feel like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark as you penetrate into the city through a narrow sandstone gorge, the Siq, and wander among the Temple of the Winged Lion, tombs, Roman theater, and the imposing Treasury. Our discoveries complete, we'll savor another evening and overnight in Petra.

DAY 14 - WADI RUM, AMMAN - Monday (BD)
It's a day of desert adventure, as we board four-wheel-drive vehicles for an expedition to Wadi Rum, the "Valley of the Moon," where Lawrence of Arabia organized the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans during World War I. As you pass Bedouin encampments, you'll believe that nothing has changed in the intervening years. Our day of adventure concludes in Amman.

DAY 15 - JERASH, BOSRA & DAMASCUS -Tuesday (cBLD)
We travel overland today to Jerash, among the best-preserved cities of the Romans, and walk among its colonnaded temples and theaters. We then cross the border into Syria to visit Bosra, a Roman City with a 15,000- seat amphitheater, before continuing to our next destination: Damascus. Syrian visa will be provided on complimentary basis for limited number of nationalities such as Americans, EU , Japanese etc, as long as you mail, fax, scan and e.mail us a clear legible photocopy of the info page of your passport at least 30 days in advance. Or contact the Syrian Consulate nearest you

DAY 16 - DAMASCUS -Wednesday (cBLD)
Our tour of Damascus includes the National Museum, the Old Bazaar, Omayyad Mosque, Azem Palace, Via Recta, the House of Anania, the Eastern Gate (Bab ash-Sharqi) in the walls of the Roman City, and St. Paul's Window. If there's time left over, the merchants of the city will be pleased to welcome you with a cup of tea, to ask after your family, and to negotiate a purchase, if you're interested.

DAY 17 - PALMYRA Thursday (cBLD)
We leave Damascus today and visit Palmyra. The many sites of this ancient city include the museum, the temples of Bel, Baal Shamin and Nebo, the Roman baths, the Tetrapylon, Diocletian's Camp, and the Valley of the Tombs. It'll take us all day to see it all, so we spend the night here.

DAY 18 - KERAK, HAMA & ALEPPO -Friday (cBLD)
Today we reach Kerak, the Krak des Chevaliers, the most spectacular of the castles erected by the Crusaders in Holy Land. After an appreciation of this military outpost, we'll continue to Hama, known for its giant water wheels. By nightfall, we arrive in Aleppo.

DAY 19 - ALEPPO - Saturday (cBLD)
We see the sights of Aleppo today, including the museum, the Grand Mosque, the Citadel, and the old bazaar stretching fully eight kilometers in length. We'll also have a chance to see traditional caravansaries. In the afternoon, we visit St. Simeon's Cathedral, named for St. Simeon Stylites, a 5th-century Byzantine ascetic who lived atop a pillar for 40 years.

DAY 20 - SERGELLA, APAMEA & MAALOULA - Sunday (cBLD) Today we follow in the footsteps of Biblical peoples, visiting Sergella, one of the 500 Dead Cities of the North, which flourished between the fourth and seventh centuries but then was mysteriously deserted. Then it's on to Apamea, the Hellenistic City of a thousand columns established by Seleucus Nicator. Finally, we visit the village of Maaloula, where the inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the very language spoken by Jesus. We'll visit the St. Sergius chapel, then continue to Damascus.

DAY 21 - RETURN HOME Monday (cB)
Our staff escorts you to Damascus International Airport for your return flight.

RATES are per person in USD:

Holiday supplement:
For departures during the weeks of Easter, Christmas, and New Year's, please add a supplement of 15 percent to the above rates.

Airfare Supplement: $350 for traveling : May - Sep
(This supplement doesn't apply when you handle your own air fare.

West cost special add on (Subject to availability):
$350 for most west coast cities , on board Lufthansa , British Airways or Air France.

Prices include:

• International air fare from New York City , in economy class to Amman via Casablanca, and back to New York from Damascus , including tax. . Please contact us about add-on fares available from other cities.) .
  
  
  
• Domestic air fare Casablanca-Marrakech and return, in economy class tax included.
• Domestic air fare within Egypt as per itinerary in business class , including tax.
  
  
  
• All ground transportation as described in itinerary, including first-class seating on day train from Marrakech to Casablanca, and tax and service charges.
  
  
• Hotel accommodations including tax and service at fine deluxe ,first-class ,or tourist -class hotels as selected.
  
  
• Meals as specified from pre-set menu (B = continental breakfast, aB = full American or buffet breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner).
  
  
• Sightseeing with guide and entrance fees as indicated .
  
  
• Visa fee for Jordan & Egypt. (Valid only for : American, Western Europe , Canadian & Japanese citizens), your passports should be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival. Israel & Morocco do not require visa for these listed nationalities. For other nationalities, please contact the consulates or visa service in your home country.
  
  
• Jordanian departure tax.
  
  
• Syrian visa will be provided on complimentary basis for limited number of nationalities such as Americans, EU , Japanese etc, as long as you mail, fax, scan and e.mail us a clear legible photocopy of the info page of your passport at least 30 days in advance. Or contact the Syrian Consulate nearest you

Our hotels include the following, as available, similar hotels may be substituted:

Recommendations and conditions:

In some cases, groups in Syria will be guided in both English and French, though we try to arrange English-only coaches. Guide service in Jordan is in English. Of course, if you prefer another language, we will do our best to accommodate your wishes. Please inform us of them when you reserve your place(s) on the tour.

Every effort is made to adhere to the planned itinerary, however, for reasons beyond our control, it may be necessary to change routings, sequence of visits, and departure times.

Extend your stay and enjoy a spa or Turkish Hamam Package