Day 1
- Monday 25th March 2024
We fly London Heathrow to Luxor and on arrival take our private transfer and check in to the Old Winter Palace, Garden Pavilion Wing, for seven nights on room and breakfast basis. Upgrades to the Old Palace building available – call for a quote!
Day 2
- Tuesday 26th March - To the West Bank
We take our private launch and cross the Nile to join our vehicle for the short ride to the Tombs of the Nobles. Time to explore the colourful scenes in the tomb of Sennofer known as the ‘Tomb of Vines’ and admire the rich decorations in the tomb of Rekhmire. We also enter the tomb of vizier and governor of Thebes, Ramose. Here we see beautiful classical and Amarna-style reliefs and pay special attention to the funerary scenes. We also make a visit to Howard Carter House close by. We have lunch at a local restaurant before our guided tour of Medinet Habu, the vast Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. Also a short stop to admire the magnificent Colossi of Memnon. (BL)
Day 3
- Wednesday 27th March – The Valley of The Kings
Again we cross the Nile and then head to the Valley of The Kings. We have tickets for entrance to three tombs of your own choosing of those open on the day but the real highlight will be our special permit entry to KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II. Still being excavated, this is the largest tomb in the Valley, and has never been open to the public. We also have a special permit entry to KV57, the tomb of Horemheb. This tomb represents an important stage in the evolution of the tomb of pharaoh, the first fully realised such monumental tomb to be built in the main branch of the Valley since the reign of Thutmose IV. Time to buy extra tickets for Seti I and Tutankhamun for those who wish. After a refreshing local lunch we will visit the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple of Ramesses II. Time to admire the toppled colossi that is said to have inspired Shelley’s Ozymandias and the stunning reliefs showing scenes from the battles of Qadesh and Dapur. (BL)
Day 4
- Thursday 28th March - The Temple of Amun
After breakfast we will head off to the Temple of Amun at Karnak, the world’s largest temple complex. We have an in depth tour of the site looking at the Pylons, the Great Hypostyle Hall, The Sanctuary and the Sacred Lake. We include all the main elements but also the more out of the way hidden gems. Plenty of time to photograph and explore this amazing site. We return to the hotel at lunchtime and later we visit Luxor Temple for a guided tour. (B)
Day 5
- Friday 29th March – A traditional day
What better way to celebrate Friday than take a calm and relaxing sail on a traditional Felucca on the Nile. We will have a first class lunch prepared by the Old Winter Palace while we have plenty of time for photography and bird watching on this ever popular excursion. Later this afternoon we visit Luxor Museum where we can see some of the finest statuary from the area. (BL)
Day 6
- Saturday 30th March – Temples and Tombs
Today we will enter the rarely visited memorial temple of Seti I, in which one can note the difference between the art of Seti I and that of his son Rameses II, who finished-off his father’s work. We visit the colourful tomb-chapels of Roy and Shu Roy at Dra Abu el Naga along with the newly opened tombs of Hery and Djehuty. Next we head to Asasif where we visit the twenty sixth Dynasty tomb of Pabasa, a high official, with its famous bee-keeping and fishing scenes. Finally the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahri. We include a lunch at our local restaurant today. (BL)
Day 7
- Sunday 31st March - The Valley of the Queens
This morning we return to the West Bank and this time head to the Valley of The Queens. We have included tickets for entrance to the stunning tomb of Nefertari, The Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II. We allow plenty of time to enter any of the other tombs open on the day. It is here we find the tombs of high officials and Princes some of which tell moving stories and are very nicely decorated. Next, Deir el Medina where we see the village homes of the workmen who built the grand tombs in the Valley of the Kings. We can enter the well preserved, small but colourful, private tombs of the craftsmen and artisans. Time to walk to the nearby Ptolemaic temple and the ‘Great Pit’. We return to the hotel at lunch time and the afternoon is free. (B)
Day 8
- Monday 1st April 2024
This morning we take our transfer to the airport for our direct EgyptAir flight to London Heathrow arriving early afternoon. (B)
If you would like to stay on for extra nights to relax and explore further please phone or email for a quote. Room upgrades to the Palace building available on request.
Alternatively, You can always begin your journey in Cairo with the Pyramid Explorer tour departing London on the 18th March. We can arrange your internal flight from Cairo to Luxor on the 25th March with transfers throughout, plus you receive £500 discount on the tour price. Call or email for details.
Chris Naunton is an Egyptologist and author of Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt (Thames and Hudson 2018) and Egyptologists Notebooks (2020). He has appeared in numerous television documentaries, regularly lectures on a wide variety of subjects around the UK and online, and is a frequent visitor to Egypt. He was Director of the Egypt Exploration Society from 2012 to 2016, President of the International Association of Egyptologists from 2015 to 2019, and is now Director of the Robert Anderson Trust.
B = Breakfast BL = Breakfast and Lunch BD = Breakfast and Dinner BLD = Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
