Abercrombie and Kent
After a successful first year in Iran in 1999, the operator is repeating two Pearls of Persia departures for 2000 in its Journeys of Adventure and Discovery brochure.
Including two nights in the capital, Tehran, the tours also take in Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz and Isfahan. Lead-in prices, including flights and all meals, are £1,745 in May, £1,770 in September.
Cox and Kings
Focusing on Egypt this year, Cox and Kings has introduced three new Nile cruises and a land-based itinerary.
A one-week break, with two nights at the Cairo Sheraton and four on board Sonesta’s Nile Goddess or Sun Goddess, costs from £1,095.
Six-day extensions to Lake Nasser are also available. The total 13-day package is priced at £1,670. The operator has also launched Journey to Jerusalem, St Catherine’s and Petra. The nine-day/eight-night deal leads in at £995.
TABLE: Cox and Kings: itinerary takes visitors to some of Egypt’s sights
Elite Vacations
Elite has expanded its United Arab Emirates programme with the introduction of the luxury Ajman Kempinski hotel which is 25mins by road from Dubai.
Three nights at the hotel, which is noted for its water sports facilities, start at £569, including flights, accommodation and breakfast.
The operator also features the increasingly popular Oman, where three nights at the new Grand Hyatt in Muscat cost from £685, including flights.
New product in the Middle East this year includes diving, four-wheel-drive tours, Nile cruises and city breaks in more off-beat capitals. Operators are also being more adventurous with their choice of destinations. Abercrombie and Kent offers Iran, The Imaginative Traveller features Libya for the first time and Kuoni is twinning Dubai with the Lebanon. Specialist operator Steppes East introduces Syria in a huge expansion of its touring programme.
Regal Holidays
Recently voted Best Dive Tour Operator by readers of Diver magazine for the third consecutive year, Regal has launched the Riviera two-centre package. This combines four nights at Eilat’s Red Sea Sports Club in Israel with three at the Beach Club Hotel, Aqaba in Jordan. Prices start at £579, including flights, departure taxes, half-board accommodation, transfers and diving facilities.
Also new this year are the Egyptian resorts of Kahramana and Shams Alam. Seven nights at the Shams Alam Beach Resort cost from £439 half-board, inclusive of flights and transfers.
Cresta Worldwide
Dubai was Cresta Worldwide’s third most popular Middle Eastern destination in 1999, its first year of operation in the emirate, when it featured four hotels.
For 2000, it will add the Burj Al Arab – The Arabian Tower – and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi. Three hotels – Le Meridien Dubai, the Radisson SAS Jumeirah Beach and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel – are also included in Cresta’s Cities and Short Breaks brochure. Three-nights inclusive breaks at the latter lead in at £739 in May, dipping to around £600 during the very hot summer months.
Superstar Holidays
The operator has teamed up with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel to create eco tours.
Aimed at introducing clients to the country’s varied terrain and wildlife, the new Western Galilee and Judean Desert Tour includes the oasis of Ein Gedi, the Dead Sea, Masada and Jerusalem.
Prices start at £788 for flights, five nights’ bed-and-breakfast accommodation, two nights’ half-board, intensive sightseeing, hiking, guides and entrance fees to nature reserves and sites.
Steppes East
In a massively expanded Middle East programme, Steppes East has introduced Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Libya and Syria for 2000.
Suggested tailor-made holidays include the 10-day Land of the Pharaohs, costing from £1,415; The Paris of the Orient to Lebanon, a five-day itinerary starting at £725; Highlights of Jordan, seven days leading in at £800; The Holy Land, highlighting Tel Aviv, Nazareth, the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, and the Sea of Galilee, priced from £1,445 for eight days; and Treasures of Syria, covering cities such as Damascus, Palmyra, Aleppo and a number ofCrusader castles, and starting at £1,970 for 14 days.
Prices are based on twin-share and include flights, upmarket bed-and-breakfast accommodation, transfers, sightseeing and entrance fees.
Bales Worldwide
Bales introduced Saudi Arabia to its wide-ranging Middle East programme in 1999 and continues to be the only UK operator featuring the country.
Its 10-day holiday is priced from £1,899 and covers the capital, Riyadh, and the dramatic mountain scenery, historic sites and ancient villages of an undiscovered destination.
Jordan Travel Service
The tailor-made specialist reports unprecedented demand for Jordan in 1999, sparked by the opening of the Movenpick Resort Petra.
The Jordan Travel Service lead-in price at what it describes as the country’s best hotel is £40 per person, per night, twin share, including breakfast. Access is via the capital, Amman, with Royal Jordanian return fares from the UK starting at £325, plus taxes.
The Imaginative Traveller
Libya is featured for the first time this year in The Imaginative Traveller’s North Africa and Middle East programme.
The 14-night escorted tour covers Tripoli, the area that once formed part of Ancient Phoenicia, Ghat, the Akakus Mountains and the Sahara Desert. The lead-in price is £1,295, which includes half-board accommodation (full board when camping) and travel by air-conditioned coach andfour-wheel-drive, but not air fares from the UK.
Distant Dreams
Two new packages to Egypt are included in Distant Dreams’ 2000 brochure. Five nights at the Ramses Hilton, Cairo, flying with Egyptair, cost from £499.
Also featured is a nine-day coach/boat tour to the pyramids, Aswan and Luxor, priced from £1,179, including flights and accommodation.
Kuoni
An innovation for 2000 is the pairing of Kuoni’s Lebanon Explorer tour with Dubai.
Following a journey around Lebanese sites such as Byblos, Sidon and Baalbeck, staying seven nights at a mix of first-class hotels, with some meals, clients then fly to Dubai. Here they spend five nights at the Radisson SAS Jumeirah Beach, with breakfast included. Lead-in price for the 12-night package is £1,149 with flights, accommodation and transfers.
TABLE: Libya: new destination