Eilat and the Red Sea: Excursions and car hire

There’s plenty of scope for travel agents to sell excursions and car hire on top of Red Sea and Eilat packages. Janine Kelso looks at what’s on offer

Cairo

Cairo’s Great Pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence and one of Egypt’s must-see sights.

Holidaymakers staying in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada can visit the capital city’s ancient attractions by taking a one or two-day bus tour with an overnight in Cairo, or by flying there for the day. 

Sample product: Kosmar Holidays offers a two-day Treasures of Cairo bus trip departing from Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada for £180 per person. The one-day trip with flights costs £181 per person.

Contact: kosmar.co.uk, 0871 700 0777

Camel safari

Watch the sun setting over the atmospheric Egyptian desert while sitting on the back of a camel.

Sample product: Keith Prowse Attraction Tickets offers a half-day camel ride across the Egyptian desert and a dinner in a Bedouin camp for £34 per adult and £17 per child, aged from three to nine.

Contact: keithprowsetickets.com, 02890 232 425

Petra

Take a boat from Taba Heights to Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jordan. Gaze in awe at the Treasury – a monument carved into a rock face.

Peltours sales and marketing director Darren Panto said: “Think Petra, think Indiana Jones if you have to – but offer it and provide the full service.”

Sample product: Peltours offers a one-day tour to Petra, leaving from Taba Heights Marina, for £129 per adult and £115 per child.

Contact: peltours.com, 0844 225 0120

Diving

Divers flock to Sharm el-Sheikh for its underwater world, teeming with colourful fish and four sunken wrecks. Hurghada is ideal for divers looking for good nightlife.

Dahab features top sites including the Blue Hole and the Canyon. Water temperatures never fall below 21C and most centres are well run. Packages include beginner PADI courses and one-day dives.

Sample package: Goldenjoy Dive offers one day’s diving in Dahab for £35 per person.

Contact: goldenjoydive.com, 0871 226 8701

Snorkelling

If you don’t fancy scuba diving, but want to see the tropical fish and coral, then go snorkelling.

Sample package: Cadogan Holidays offers a one-day Red Sea snorkelling trip for £30 per adult and £15 per child, including lunch.

Contact: cadoganholidays.com, 08445 600 500