Middle East
15 destinations — from budget backpacking to luxury escapes
15 destinations — from budget backpacking to luxury escapes
Birthplace of three world religions and home to cities continuously inhabited for millennia. From Petra's Nabataean rock-cut tombs to the ancient ruins of Babylon, the Middle East offers extraordinary history alongside rapidly modernising hubs.
15 destinations — tap any card for full travel guide
Two continents, one long breakfast
Rose-red Petra and the sands of Wadi Rum
Desert glamour meets futuristic skylines
Ancient holy lands meet modern Tel Aviv
Frankincense trails and pristine mountain deserts
Futuristic skylines rise from the Arabian desert
Ancient deserts, Nabataean tombs & the Red Sea
Persia: poets, palaces & Persian carpets
Beirut, Baalbek & the best food in the Middle East
Pearl-diving heritage & Gulf hospitality
Pearl island between ancient Dilmun & the F1 circuit
Cradle of civilisation — Babylon, Ur, Erbil & the Mesopotamian marshes
Bethlehem, Jericho & Nabulsi knafeh — the world’s most storied land
Dragon Blood Trees of Socotra, Sana’a tower houses & Yemeni honey
Damascus, Palmyra, Krak des Chevaliers — the cradle of civilisation awakening
Quick picks from our 15 Middle East guides. Budgets are typical mid-range daily costs per person from each guide, in US dollars.
There is no single best season for a whole region. These are the destinations whose best travel window, per our guides, falls in each season.
Among our 15 Middle East guides, the most read are Turkey, Jordan, UAE, Israel and Oman.
Based on the typical mid-range daily budgets in our guides, the most affordable are Jordan (~$127/day), Turkey (~$160/day), Bahrain (~$166/day). Actual costs depend heavily on travel style and season.
It depends on where you go. Across our Middle East guides, December to February is the best window for the most destinations (6 of 15). Destinations at their best in each period: Dec – Feb: 6, Mar – May: 4, Jun – Aug: 1, Sep – Nov: 2. Check each guide for its specific best months.
Destinations whose best season includes December to February include UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait.