Hooray! It's time for the Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East!
Editor’s Note: This post is part of the Viator Travel Awards, an annual awards competition where we let our travelers select the top things to do and see in each of the major regions we serve, as well as the top things to do in our most popular tour categories. The awards culminate in the Viator Top Travel Destinations and our annual list of the world’s most travel-inspiring attractions.
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Welcome to the 2011 Viator Travel Awards: Africa & the Middle East Edition! We’ve combined input from traveler reviews and photos, data from the millions of travelers who visit Viator.com each year, plus data on which tours generated the most bookings in 2011, in order to crown the Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East in 2011!
Whether it’s an African safari or the romance of the Middle Eastern desert, traveling through to these parts of the world carries an unparalleled allure compared to the rest of the world. In old Israel, Egypt, or South Africa, their great cities have endured time and a strong cultural backbone will surely impress travelers. Here are Viator’s Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East.
#25. Explore Cape Point
Kick off your vacation with a wine tour of South Africa and dive into the spectacular coastal drives through to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve with the Cape Point Highlights Tour and Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch.
#24. Immerse yourself in Egyptian history
See Alabaster Mosque in Egypt
There is certainly more to Egypt than the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids. With the Private Tour: Egyptian Museum, Alabaster Mosque, Khan el-Khalili, you go to three of central Cairo’s most famous sites — the Egyptian Museum, Alabaster Mosque and Khan el-Khalili for a full-flavored Egyptian experience.
#23. Experience Moroccan food and culture
Get down on some Moroccan belly dancing and enjoy the fun and excitement of Morocco with the Fantasia Moroccan Dinner and Cultural Show, complete with a meal in traditional settings.
#22. Go on an overnight safari
The Arabian night is an alluring adventure exemplified in folklore and fairy tales alike. Create one of your own on the Private Overnight Safari – 1001 Arabian Stars – Camel Farm, Sandboarding, Camel Rock and BBQ Dinner, where you get all the aforementioned benefits in a safari package sure to leave you satisfied.
21. Tour Alexandria
See Alexandria on a day trip from Cairo!
The road to the historic city of Alexandria is journey worth pursuing. With all-important sights such as the Kom ash-Shuqqafa Roman burial site, Pompey’s Pillar and Roman amphitheater and the Alexandria Library, Viator’s Private Tour: Alexandria Day Trip from Cairo takes you there.
#20. Explore the Berber Trails
Going to Morocco has always epitomized the essence of a romantic getaway from the trails of everyday life–a dream for most. Well, it doesn’t have to be with the Berber Trails 4WD Day Trip from Marrakech, where you can explore the valleys on your way to the pristine summits of Atlas Mountain.
#19. Sightsee in Abu Dhabi
Explore the capital of the United Arab Emirates with the Abu Dhabi City Sightseeing Tour – The Arabian Jewel and see the lush greenery, beautiful parks, and rows of trees in the city on your way to Abu Dhabi’s oldest building and the 18th century Al Husn Palace.
#18. Go quad biking through the desert
See the desert from Sharm el Sheikh
Go Quad Biking in the Egyptian Desert from Sharm el Sheikh and scope out the Sinai desert with the whole family in an exciting and fantastic way. Includes pick-up and drop-off from central Sharm el Sheikh hotels.
#17. Dine on the Nile
Treat yourself and take a cruise down the Nile River with the Nile River Dinner Cruise in Cairo aboard one of the most elegant cruising restaurants sailing the world’s longest waterway. With music, food, and an after-dinner belly-dancing show and folklore band, you will surely have a great time.
#16. Enjoy the scenery of Cape Peninsula
For some of the regions most impressive nature tourism, Cape Peninsula and its very impressive Cape Peninsula Tour from Cape Town Hout Bay, you have the option of taking a boat trip to Duiker Island to see Cape fur seals. You will also get to visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.
#15. Sightsee in Israel
Visit the Wailing Wall in Israel
Israel is one impressive country. For those who do not have enough time to see it all, take the Day Tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv and cover your bases, seeing the modern and up and coming city of Tel Aviv, the historic and all important city of Jerusalem, and the religious town of Bethlehem.
#14. Search for Africa’s “Big Five”
With the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve Safari and Sun City Day Trip you are in proximate of over 7,000 animals and put right in the hunt to spot for Africa’s “Big Five”: elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards and African buffalo.
#13. Tour the Abu Simbel temples
On Viator’s Private Tour: Abu Simbel Flight and Tour from Aswan, you are whisked by air to Abu Simbel for an unforgettable adventure. You will visit the Great Temple of Ramses II and smaller Temple of Hathor surrounded by ancient statues and most impressive structures.
#12. Float in the Dead Sea
Read a book while floating in the Dead Sea? Why not!
The Dead Sea is so salty that it is said no sea life can possibly live in it. It is also so salty that you will float right to the top if you lie in it. With the Masada and the Dead Sea Day Trip from Tel Aviv you get to see only just the famous Dead Sea, but also visit the long abandoned city of Masada, conquered in one of the most tragic tales by the Romans.
#11. Fly over Dubai
One of the safest and most interesting towns in the Middle East, Dubai is more than just a major regional business hub with lots of financial support and modern cityscape. It is all the more reasons to get into the air with the Dubai Seaplane Flight and see it from above.
#10. Travel to Petra
The city of stone, and certainly one of the worlds most majestic and important historical sight, Petra in Jordan is a true wonder. With the Private Tour: Petra Day Trip from Amman or the Petra Day Trip from Tel Aviv – UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can see it all for yourself.
#9. See animals on a safari
Quite simply, when you are in South Africa, going on the safari has to be done. With the Aquila Game Reserve Wildlife Safari from Cape Town, you are only a 90-minute drive away from the most exotic wildlife–from lions to leopards, springboks to zebras, or the black and blue wildebeests.
African Elephant
#8. Save time at the airport: Dubai Private Arrival Airport Transfer
Convenience is the key to good travel and the Dubai Private Departure Airport Transfer is one way of making sure that happens. Travel from your Dubai city, Jumairah, Palm Jumairah, Sharjah, Jebel Ali hotel or Dubai Port to the Dubai International Airport effortlessly.
#7. Travel down the Nile
With private tours of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo and Philae Temple in Aswan, the 4-Day Nile River Cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Optional Private Guide gives you the complete experience of famous Nile.
#6. Float over Dubai in a balloon
Dubai is beautiful on its own when just walking around, but there is no better way to experience it than soaring high above its romantically rocky and dry terrain in a balloon. With the Dubai Hot Air Balloon Flight, you do just that.
#5. Visit the Great Pyramids
When in Egypt, there is truly only one sight that reigns over all, the pyramids. Do it in style with the Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara, and get a detailed history lesson of one of the world’s truly great civilizations.
#4. Tour Jordan’s famous landmarks
Petra, Jordan
Containing some of the world’s greatest wonders, Jordan is not only one of the most historically significant destinations, but a natural one as well. With the Private 4-Day Jordan Special Tour: Petra, Wadi Rum and The Dead Sea, you can see the city of stone in Petra, and perhaps the saltiest body of water on the planet, the Dead Sea.
#3. Explore Kruger National Park
Taking a safari in the famous Kruger National Park in Africa is what traveling is all about. On the 3-Day Classic Kruger Breakaway Tour from Johannesburg, you will see just what all the hubbub is about with the African safari–lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhinoceros, you see it all.
#2. Sight-see in Dubai
From the Dubai Museum to an Arabian Dhow Cruise, there are many Middle Eastern delights to be discovered in the UAE. With the Dubai Hop-on Hop-off Tour or Dubai City Half-Day Sightseeing Tour or you can check out the glamor of one of the regions most developed and fascinating towns.
#1. Go on a desert safari
Take to the sands of Dubai with the 4×4 Dubai Desert Safari, or alternatively the Private Tour: 4×4 Desert Adventure Safari from Dubai and you will not only get to explore the vast horizons of the Middle East’s famed desert land, but you’ll smoke a shisha water pipe and enjoy traditional belly dancing over a BBQ dinner. Not bad.
We hope you enjoyed Viator’s list of the Top 25 Things to Do in Africa & the Middle East in 2011. Stay tuned for more lists in the coming days, to help you plan your next trip across the globe. Let us know what you think, tell us about your own travel experiences, and most important of all – happy travels in 2012!
Posted on December 29, 2011 by Viator in Middle East & Africa, Press & Publicity, Things to Do, Top Travel Destinations, Viator Travel Awards.