I think that Carol said that she had already been to Egypt and wants to visit Israel this time. You can take a bus direct from Jerusalem/Tel Aviv to Cairo. You can also cross the land border into Jordan in 5 places (not by direct bus). There is one tour company, Masada that will provide direct transportation via the Sheik Hussein bridge. (Private tours) http://www.mazada.co.il Email: mazada@ mazada.co.il (close space after @) To visit Petra, the Eilat-Aqaba crossing is probably easiest. Debby-Israel