A perfect tour for visiting the most spectacular sites in Egypt.
We travel from Cairo where we see the Great Pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Abu Simbel.
In Luxor we explore the Valley of the Kings, Deir el Medina, Hatshepsut’s Temple, the Ramesseum and much more.
On arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met by our representatives and assisted through passport control. After collection of your luggage the rep will take you to your private car for transfer to the 5-star Sheraton Hotel in central Cairo. Here you will spend the first four nights of the tour on room and breakfast basis.
After breakfast we set off for the Giza Plateau. Time to explore the famous pyramids, surely the Greatest Monuments of all time. A tour of the Valley Temple and the magnificent Sphinx will complete our time in this most famous of all Egyptian sites. This afternoon we will visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Tahrir. (BL)
A full day to explore Old Cairo. We will look at relics of the Fatamid era, with time to view Babylon’s Roman walls and towers, the Hanging Church, and the Coptic Museum. We include the Mosque of Ibn Tulun the oldest surviving mosque in Egypt and The Gayer Anderson House. We have lunch at a local restaurant. (BL)
A full day at Saqqara with visits to the Step Pyramid and the Pyramid of Unas including entry to the pyramids if they are open on the day. We view the wonderful scenes in the Old Kingdom mastabas of Mereruka, Ptahhotep and Kagemni. We also enter the mastaba tomb of Mehu with its brightly coloured reliefs and the New Kingdom tombs of Maya and Horemheb the General. Finally, the Serapeum, burial place of the Apis Bulls. During the day we will have a break at the Sakkara Palm Club with time to relax over lunch and cold drinks. (BL)
Our day begins with visit to the famous Citadel followed by a drive to the ancient city of Fustat and the wonderful new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization where we can now view the Royal Mummies. After lunch at a local restaurant, we drive to Cairo Airport to board our flight to Aswan. On arrival in Aswan, we check in to the Movenpick Hotel on Elephantine Island for three nights on room and breakfast basis. (BL)
We travel to the Island of Philae with its Temple of Isis dating from the Ptolemaic Period. Saved from the rising waters of the new High Dam in the 1970’s the temples are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our guided tour will include the temples of Isis and Hathor, the Kiosk of Trajan and Hadrian’s Gate. Our next stop will be a visit to the vast Unfinished Obelisk set in its open-air museum. We return to the hotel for free time to relax and take lunch before our afternoon visit to the archaeological site on Elephantine where we find the Temples of Satis and Khnum and the Sanctuary of Heqaib. This ancient site covered all periods of Ancient Egyptian history. (B)
Today we take a short flight to the most famous site in Nubia, Abu Simbel, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will enter the Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Small Temple of Nefertari. We return to the hotel early afternoon. Later we will visit the Nubia Museum. (B)
Today we leave Aswan and head by road to Luxor. We travel with lunch boxes provided by our hotel. On our way we will visit one of the best preserved and most complete of ancient monuments in Egypt, The Temple of Horus at Edfu. Our journey continues and we make another exciting stop at the Temple of Khnum in Esna. This temple is still undergoing cleaning and conservation and the column capitals you see here are unique. On arrival in Luxor, we check in to the Old Winter Palace, Garden Pavilion Wing, for six nights on room and breakfast basis. (BL)
We cross the Nile by private launch and our first stop will be at the Colossi of Memnon fronting the vast mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Then to the Valley of the Kings where we have tickets allowing access to three tombs of those open on the day. We allow plenty of time to explore the Valley before heading to our local restaurant for a relaxing lunch. This afternoon we visit the brightly painted tombs of Roy and Shuroy before continuing to the new Theban Mapping Project Library. (BL)
Once more to the West Bank and this morning we visit the site of Deir el Bahri and the Temple of Hatshepsut. Next to the small colourful tombs at Khokha before we have lunch at our local restaurant. This afternoon we 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)
After a leisurely breakfast we head again to the West Bank and during our day we will visit some of the most delightful Nobles Tombs including those of Ramose and Sennefer. We also take time to explore Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, where we see a royal palace along with the temple itself and colourful scenes of royal festivals as well as battles. We include lunch on the West Bank. (BL)
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. Free time over the lunch period at our hotel before we head off to Luxor Museum and Luxor Temple for guided tours. (B)
Crossing the river again we head to the Valley of The Queens and a stunning highlight of the trip. We include tickets to enter the Tomb of Nefertari, perhaps the most famous of all Egyptian Queens, principal wife of Ramesses the Great. On to Deir el Medina where we view the village and enter the tombs of the artisans and workmen who built the tombs of the Pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings. This will be followed by a picnic lunch served aboard our private felucca while we sail across the Nile a fitting end to our tour. (BL
We take our private transfer from the hotel to Luxor Airport. (B)
B = Breakfast BL = Breakfast and Lunch BD = Breakfast and Dinner BLD = Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
