Viator Travel Blog

Just because most of America is in a deep freeze (or at least not shorts weather), doesn’t mean the rest of the world is experiencing the same. Thankfully, there are plenty of places enjoying summer whilst we pack on the layers and bundle up to face winter’s wrath.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, many other places are enjoying some gorgeous weather, free from the rainy seasons, monsoons and sweltering heat, so now is the time to head to one of these exotic locales to enjoy some sun, blue skies and less clothes. A lot less clothes.

Whether it is the African Safari or the romance of the Middle Eastern desert, traveling through to these parts of the world carries and unparalleled allure compared to the rest of the world. In old Israel, Egypt, or South Africa, great cities endure time and a strong cultural backbone will surely impress. When visiting this spanning region, make sure to see what is most important. Here are Viator‘s Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East.

Meet Sunil Sathyan, one of Viator’s local experts in Dubai (and a highly rated licensed tour guide you’ll find at Viator Private Tour Guides).

The Private Half Day Jerash and Amman City Sightseeing Tour provides a dramatic insight into the extraordinary growth of two cities. Amman, the capital of Jordan, formerly known as Philadelphia, exploding from a small, sleepy town into a modern metropolis with 2.4 million people, almost half of the Kingdom’s population; and Jerash, a city of 30,000 at its zenith and one of the most important centres in the former Roman Empire.

I first visited Amman in the winter of 1980. It was cold, wet and windy and the capital’s 500,000 inhabitants retreated behind the stark concrete walls of their houses and apartments that stretched over the hills surrounding the city. It was relatively small compared with bustling Cairo or Damascus and appeared to have little of their charm, intimate architecture or extensive historical heritage. There were just two international hotels, the Intercontinental and the Holiday Inn, and these were packed with consultants, businessmen and the occasional traveller.

Need some help with your travel itinerary? Why not take inspiration from the world’s rich smorgasbord of festivals, and plan your next vacation around the dates and locations of some of the planet’s most exciting events. To get you started, here’s our top 12 far-flung festivities, one for every month of the year…

Think Aqaba. Think Lawrence of Arabia and that wonderful scene in David Lean’s iconic film with Peter O’Toole, in full Arab regalia, astride his camel, shouting ‘tut, tut, tut’ as the Arab tribesmen gallop across the desert toward the unsuspecting Turks, holed up in their impregnable fortress, overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba. Or Omar Sharif, making his screen debut, emerging from the shimmering mirage and shooting Lawrence’s manservant dead for daring to take water from his tribe’s well. Shooting a man dead for simply filling his satchel with water would appear abhorrent to the average Westerner, regardless of the time setting. But venture out into the desert around Aqaba at the height of summer when temperatures exceed 122°F (50°C), and you will understand that water is the life-blood of this region and its scarcity is a perennial problem, exacerbated by the increasing demands of Amman and its voracious consumers.

Amman  to the Dead Sea The first thing you notice when you drive down from Amman to the Dead Sea is that your ears suddenly pop. That’s hardly surprising when you consider that you are dropping from 780 metres to 423 metres (1118 feet) below sea level, the lowest point on the earth. The second [...]

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I had organised everything to perfection. The Petra Palace booked on the Internet and only a stone’s throw away from the main site entrance; the JETT bus times confirmed with the pretty Jordanian girl at reception; and the taxi booked with plenty of time to spare to catch the 9am bus south. I had even driven past the JETT office in Abdali to make sure that I knew where it was. I had packed the night before and my bags were ready at the door. Nothing could go wrong.