Egypt in a Week

A Grand 8-Day tour of Egypt

Board your Nile cruise in LUXOR – Abu Simbel Edition

Pyramids and stone walls surrounding the workmen’s tombs at Deir el Medina.

Here’s the best of Egypt in a week: a good look at Cairo. Flights to tour the mighty temples of Abu Simbel and a 5-day cruise along the Nile.

DAY 1 – CAIRO Tour Starts Weekly in Cairo – Thursday – Year Round (For Daily Arrival please click here).
Our local representative will greet you at the airport and whisk you to your hotel. Visa fee is included and will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport.

VIP meet & greet at Cairo Airport
Visa issued locally in Cairo (for a limited number of nationalities) no photos required. Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for a limited number of citizens such as: American, Australian, NZ, EU, Canadian, EU Singaporean and Japanese citizens. You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Our local rep. will meet you with a sign that carries your name, and will be waiting for you with the prepaid visa stamps to proceed to the passports control to stamp your passports and then you claim your luggage. After you clear the passport and customs formalities and exit the terminal, our local representative will escort you by private vehicle to the hotel. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry awaits you in your room with our compliments.

DAY 2 – CAIRO – Friday (BLD)
Private touring: private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur, private guide. On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum, including the “Mummies Room”, and King Tut’s gold treasure room, then drive to the edge of Cairo and Giza desert to stand in awe in front of the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx. Lunch is included at the Mena House. Dinner is included at La Bodega restaurant.

DAY 3 – LUXOR! (or Aswan) – Saturday (BLD)
We fly to LUXOR (or Aswan) and board your Nile cruiser in time for a delicious lunch. Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin.The gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, and the mighty Temple of Luxor are our goals in the afternoon. We’ll return in time for the afternoon tea served on deck. You’ll have a chance to explore your ship before dinner. Evening Karnak Sound and Light show, please bring a jacket and a flash light.

Video by denniscallan

DAY 4 – LUXOR, EDFU- Sunday (BLD)
We tour today as well the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings including Tut-Ank-Amon’s tomb and the great temple of Queen Hatshepsut, we stop at the Colossi of Memnon on the way back to our cruise.

Afterward, we’ll continue on Luxor’s west bank to get a totally different perspective on ancient Egyptian life, at the ancient workers’ settlement of Deir el-Medinah. While most of the imposing stone monuments and sites of Egypt honor the lives and after-lives of royalty, Deir el-Medinah gives us unique and surprising insights into the ordinary citizens who constructed and decorated the tombs. Here we’ll see the excavated homes shared by laborers with their domestic animals. These quarters were surprisingly large, with three good-sized rooms, courtyard, kitchen, and even storage cellars. While ancient Egypt might not have been a workers’ paradise, we’ll see that artisans and builders were highly regarded in their community. We are proud to be the only operator to offer regular visits to this singular ancient settlement in its tour and cruise programs.

We sail in the afternoon cruising to Esna to go through the locks, and on to Edfu where we dock for the night. In the evening, we’ll celebrate in Egyptian style, dressed in galabias, the flowing national costume (a galabya will be delivered to your cabin with our compliments).

DAY 5 – EDFU, KOM OMBO – on board your Nile Cruise – Monday (BLD)
We moor in Edfu, climb aboard horse-drawn carriages, and clip-clop through the town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt’s best-preserved temple. Re-embarking on our Nile cruiser, we enjoy lunch as we sail further south upriver. We disembark downstream at Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples of Haroeris, the sun god, and Sobek, the crocodile god, the continue our voyage to Aswan, while we party after dinner with music and dance.

DAY 6 – CAMEL CARAVAN, NUBIAN VILLAGE, ASWAN – on board your Nile Cruise- Tuesday (BLD)
Today we tour Aswan dams. First we will go to the new Nubian Museum then on to the awesome Aswan dams. Next we will explore an ancient granite quarry complete with an unfinished obelisk. Then we go by motor launch to the Island temple of Philae, dedicated to the Ancient Goddess ISIS:

The Mystery of Isis

Two millennia ago the Mediterranean world was enthralled by the mystery of Isis: “I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal man hath ever seen me unveiled.”

Called Aset by the ancient Egyptians, the goddess was a Madonna in the Mediterranean tradition that stretches far, far back to the primitive Mother Goddess from Anatolia, home to some of the oldest human communities on earth.

Isis was the powerful and quick-witted protector of her son Horus, the Sun God. Ancient peoples throughout the Mediterranean regarded Isis and Horus as the perfect Madonna and Child. Another legend says she was also the mother of the fertility god Min who, judging from the depiction of him on temple walls, needed no help from Viagra!

Because of her wisdom and skill at protection, she was admired as a good magician capable of healing the sick and protecting the dead in their journey to the Underworld.

Isis is portrayed regally, as a queen seated on a throne (which may be the meaning of her name), often holding her son Horus as a baby. Other images show her with broad, magnificent gilded wings able to protect.

In the afternoon we enjoy a leisurely sail by graceful felucca on the Nile.

For those who are interested: a short camel caravan and ride is included (almost a half hour ride) to visit a local Nubian Village. Our farewell dinner this evening is a buffet of Egyptian specialties, followed by a show featuring oriental performers, including of course a belly dancer.

In the evening your guide will call on you for a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout Aswan and waterfront.

DAY 7 – ASWAN, Private touring in Abu Simbel – CAIRO – Wednesday (B. Lunch box.D)
Breakfast is always included daily. Today your chef will prepare your lunch box, including bottle water. Board a short flight to Abu Simbel: where your private air-conditioned vehicle, private guide and private chauffeur await you:

Ramses the Great’s huge desert temple at Abu Simbel marked the southern border of the pharaoh’s dominions. Rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser by an international effort, it is a marvel of sacred engineering. Twice a year,and only then the sun penetrates to the Holy of Holies, illuminating the stone figures of Ramses and Nefertari. Group tour exploring the two huge temple, admire their ancient aura and artistry.

Fly back to Aswan and connect with your our return flight to Cairo and your hotel. Dinner is included at your hotel in cairo

DAY 8 – CAIRO – Departure – Thursday (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight. Bon Voyage. Transfers are always on a private basis.

• Children Discount: 9 years of age and younger, sharing with parents same room: 40 %.
• For Dec 15 – Jan 3 and Easter, please add 10% supplement to any of the listed rates.
• Private touring on board the cruise: Please add $ 250 per person for the full cruise/shore excursions.

Rates includes:

• All domestic airfares, in economy class within Egypt, tax included.
• All transfers in Egypt, always on a private basis, private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur.
• Bottled water (one per person) delivered to your cabin daily while you are on board the cruise.
• Tea or coffee/bottled water with each meal while on board the cruise.
• Hotel accommodation with tax & service charges.
• Nile Cruise with all meals and shore excursions.
• Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin.
• Complimentary galabya on board the cruise for the costume party.
• Preset menu meals including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast) L = Lunch, D = Dinner.
• All guided sightseeing as per itinerary including all entrance fees. Private Egyptologist while in Cairo, but while on board the cruise you’ll be part of an average 10-15 English speaking group.
• VIP Meet & Greet Service Upon Arrival At Cairo Airport
  Visa issued locally in Cairo (for a limited number of nationalities) no photos required. Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for a limited number of citizens such as: American, Australian, NZ, EU, Canadian, EU Singaporean and Japanese citizens. You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Our local rep. will meet you with a sign that carries your name, and will be waiting for you with the prepaid visa stamps to proceed to the passports control to stamp your passports and then you claim your luggage. After you clear the passport and customs formalities and exit the terminal, our local representative will escort you by private vehicle to the hotel. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry awaits you in your room with our compliments.

Not included:

• International airfares to or from Cairo
• Tips
• Travel Insurance

Cairo: Le Riad in the heart of El Moezz street in Cairo
In the heart of islamic medieval Cairo, a place acknowledged worldwide as the patrimony of humanity, Le Riad is the only one Hôtel de Charme 5 minutes walking distance from the famous souk of Khan El Khalili. Only 17 very private suites facing El Darb El Asfar and its exceptionnal ottoman houses. On the roof garden you will discover the 1000 minarets of Cairo and enjoy a panoramic view: the Fatimid walls, the Moquattam’s hills, the citadel of Mohamed Ali. And at your feet: mosques, sabils, madrasas, khanqas, khans mainly from mamluk time. The Riad will introduce you in an oriental dream with its typical old egyptian architecture, domes, arches, moucharabiehs, warm colors and its refined decoration mixing antiques with an amazing collection of drawings, paintings and silver jewellery. A 30 minutes drive from Cairo International Airport, the Riad is easily reachable by car.

Anakto Nubian House – Aswan
Nesting on a ridge, AnaKato possesses an extraordinary view of the Nile all the way from Aswan to the Aswan Reservoir. A placid, tranquil environment, and the generous hospitality of the natives is so calming, its hard to imagine how one could return to the bustle of civilization.

Built as a traditional Nubian house, its unique and bright colours impose the feeling of peaceful happiness. Knowing that whomever has come to AnaKato, searching for inner peace, has reached their purpose, we welcome you into our haven, far away from any soul pollution.

The rooms are simply but tastefully furnished in the local style. With only 5 rooms the house is quaint yet cozy and familiar. Also on location is a mini-mart. The staff is friendly, love their job, and will be happy to help with any of your questions.

The legendary Tree that grows beneath the house shades a spectacular terrace, at the very edge of the cool Nile waters. We also provide a morning coffee shop and a bazaar that sells hand-made goods. Anything you will buy will help the people of the village, so you will be contibuting to the community. You can relax on the little strip of sandy beach and cool off with a refreshing dip in the Nile.

There is also traditional Nubian music, dancing. And if you are in luck, and there is a wedding in the village, you may surely want to join the party, an event not to be missed! Camel rides are also available to take you to the unique, red sandy “Barbar beach.” Or if you prefer to go out into the desert for a safari we cater for that too. Also available on demand are henna tattooing and medicinal sand-burying.