Holiday deals in the Middle East and north Africa

There are fantastic bargains to be had on holidays to Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and the UAE, as tour operators try to tempt tourists back

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To fly to Cairo, Egypt Air (egyptair.com) has flights departing Heathrow 17 June , returning 27 June for around £375, or on Saturday 9 July, returning Saturday 16 July, for £458; a long weekend in September is around £350pp. EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies to Sharm el-Sheikh from Manchester, Luton and Gatwick (from around £300 return in summer); also from Gatwick to Hurghada (from around £280 return in summer) and Gatwick to Luxor (from around £230 return in summer). BMI (flybmi.com) flies to Cairo from Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester.
• Cairo's loveliest small hotels include the Talisman (i-escape.com/egypt/boutique-hotels), a downtown place in an apartment block, which has 24 rooms, doubles from €82 B&B. For real wow factor, you can't beat the Mena House Oberoi (oberoihotels.com/oberoi_menahouse), right next to the pyramids. From 30 September kids under 12 can stay free in their own room when you book a double for €230 a night, for a minimum of three nights.
• Alongside expert-led trips to Bosnia and North Korea, niche operator Political Tours (0843 289 2349, politicaltours.com) – founded by former Guardian journalist Nicholas Wood – will run an Egypt trip this November to explore the political landscape, with ministers, academics and revolutionaries, from about £2,200pp, excluding flights.
• In Luxor, entrepreneur Basem Salah, who runs Gateway to Egypt (gatewaytoegypt.com, email info@gatewaytoegypt.com to book) and was involved in the Tahrir Square protests, offers a week mixing temple tours with volunteering at a local orphanage. It costs from £398pp without flights, including seven nights' B&B, transfers and guide.
• Holiday firms are slashing prices to encourage visitors – luxury specialist Abercrombie and Kent (0845 618 2213, abercrombiekent.co.uk) has £500 off per couple on trips in July. Its seven-day trip combining Cairo with a Nile cruise costs from £1,795pp, including flights. On The Go (020-7371 1113, onthegotours.com) is offering 20% off its 10-day Jewel of the Nile tour for departures on 24 June and 8 July, with prices from £779pp, including five-star accommodation, transfers and meals.
EasyJet Holidays (0843 104 1000, holidays.easyjet.com), which launched this month, has deals for between £300-£600pp per week, including flights and B&B, in Luxor, Hurghada, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh.
• There are big discounts on Red Sea fly-and-flops, with some resorts cutting room rates by 50%. Longwood (020-8418 2515, longwoodholidays.co.uk) has seven nights' half-board at the Hyatt Regency in Taba Heights from £459pp, including flights, departing 4 July. Monarch Holidays (0871 423 8568, monarch.co.uk) has a week's B&B at the Savoy Hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh, departing 23 June, from £449pp (Gatwick) or £459 (Manchester), including flights.
• The Makhad Trust (01242 544546, makhad.org) works with Bedouin communities in the Sinai, bringing visitors to help build infrastructure and renovate village agriculture in the mountains above Sharm el-Sheikh. Its next trip leaves on 12 November, from £411 excluding flights.
• New this summer is a family astronomy holiday in Egypt's Sinai desert. Departing on 7 August, the eight-day tour takes in expert-guided stargazing during the Perseid meteor shower, plus camel trekking, desert camping and more. It costs from £939pp through Adventure Company (0845 287 1198, adventurecompany.co.uk), including flights, accommodation, transport and most meals.
• Imaginative Traveller (0845 564 8515, imaginative-traveller.com) also has new tours, as well as a rolling 20% discount, which brings the price of its eight-day Felucca Trails tour to £308pp excluding flights – you'll go for a Nile journey on a traditional felucca boat. The price also covers B&B accommodation, some evening meals and transfers.
• In September, the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, built in 1899 on the banks of the Nile, reopens after five years of renovation. Five nights with Bales Worldwide (0845 057 0600, balesworldwide.com) costs £1,595pp B&B, including flights and sightseeing. Bales also has dahabiyyas, traditional colonial-style sailing boats, plying the Nile between Aswan and Luxor: seven nights' cruising in September costs £1,095pp, a saving of £700.