Egypt on a Yacht (11 days)

An 11-Day Private Tour including Cairo and a
Deluxe one week Dahabiya Nile cruise

The Ultra Deluxe Sonesta Dahabiya

Here’s the best of Egypt: a good look at Cairo and a one week Yacht Dahabiya cruise along the Nile including the Abu Simbel Ramses temples in Nubia, locally escorted. The Deluxe Dahabiyas are air conditioned. 

DAY 1: CAIRO Thursday – Weekly in Cairo, year round
Our local representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel.

VIP Meet & Greet Service 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)
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum including the ” Mummies Room”, then off to Giza to tour the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza (complimentary short camel ride is included) to allow you a photo with the Pyramids in the background. Time is limited, so please do not go for what the camel driver tries to convince you, i.e. go for a long ride around the Pyramids. Lunch is included at a local restaurant: Naguib Mahfouz restaurant or similar. On to the Citadel of Saladin, and Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals: This evening we’ll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread… right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo! You’ll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you’ll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they’re sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you’ll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, if you prefer, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions by letting us know your preferences. You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (T shirt, small souvenirs of your home town). For a more balanced and relaxed stay in Cairo, add one more day: Please click here

Giza Pyramids. Photo by The Mighty Alan – aka Mighty Ra, Richmond Party.

Day 3: Saturday – Cairo to Luxor and board your deluxe air conditioned Dahabiya:
Very early morning breakfast and transfer to Cairo Airport. Flight is included in our rate, in economy class, tax included. Morning arrival at Luxor. We’ll meet you at the airport, and escort you to your deluxe air conditioned Nile cruise yacht or dahabiya. Board Luxor (or Aswan).

Embarkation in Luxor for a relaxing week sailing the Nile on a luxuriously appointed Dahabiya.

After lunch, excursion to the West Bank for visits to the burial places of the Pharaohs – the Valley of the Kings – where Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. Continue to the adjacent Valley of the Queens, and the Colossi of Memnon. We conclude our day with a tour of the small yet charming Luxor Museum. Evening Sound and Light show at Karnak Temples. Overnight moored on the Nile banks of Luxor. Sample Deluxe Felucca / Dahabiya: Sonesta Dahabiya or similar.

Day 4: Sunday – Luxor – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
You will visit the magnificent temple complex of Amon-Ra at Karnak, with its vast hypostyle hall of 137 columns, followed by the imposing 28th Dynasty Luxor Temple.

Karnak Temple time-lapse. Video by TravelingSUZUKI.

Our Tour includes as well: Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum and Deir El Medinah, the first known “Workers Village” these were the true creative heroes who built the temples and tombs for the mighty Pharaohs of the Nile Kingdom.

Deir El Medinah is on Luxor’s west bank you 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.

Overnight moored in Luxor. In the evening your guide will call on you for a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout Luxor and the water front.

Day 5: Monday – Luxor to Esna – Tour Esna Temple – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
Today will be a leisurely day. After breakfast, commence sailing to Esna where your Dahabiya will moor, we have included a private guide for our guests to tour Esna Temple.

Day 6: Tuesday – Edfu – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
This morning you will sail to Edfu to visit the wonderfully preserved Temple of Edfu. Overnight on board as we will look for an island in the middle of the Nile where we moor. On board the Dahabiya cruise, you will be part of an English speaking small group.

Edfu Temple of Horus (2007-05-588) by Argenberg

Day 7: Wednesday – Kom Ombo – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
Today you will sail to Kom Ombo visit see the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon-headed Horus, god of the morning sun. Overnight moored beside a Nile island. On board the Dahabiya cruise, you will be part of an English speaking small group.

Day 8: Thursday – Aswan – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
A leisurely day sailing to Aswan where the dahabiya moors overnight. Evening horse-drawn carriage ride to tour Aswan souks and water front.

Day 9: Friday – Aswan – On board your Yacht Nile Cruise
Today you will visit the Aswan High Dam (completed in 1971); the Old Dam (completed in 1902) and the’ unfinished obelisk’, lying in situ since the days of the pharaohs. You will also visit the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, a structure rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser at the time of the High Dam’s construction. Evening Sound and Light show at Philae Temple.

Erin with a group of happy and smiling Egyptian Children in Luxor. Sonesta Luxury Yacht Dahabiya Cruise on the Nile. Photo by Kerry Arquette – Richmond Party.

Day 10: Saturday – Aswan – Abu Simbel – Fly back to Cairo
Breakfast aboard the dahabiya and check-out. We bid farewell to the crew, we switch transportation modes and head for Aswan Airport and your flight to Abu Simbel then back to Cairo and your hotel. Air fare is always included within Egypt, economy class, tax included. Hotels in Cairo: City Stars Inter.continental, Cairo Conrad or Grand Hyatt. Sonesta Hotel, J. W. Marriott or similar.

Abu Simbel (Breakfast and lunch box): Private guide in Abu Simbel. Private driver. Private air-conditioned vehicle. Breakfast aboard the dahabiya and check-out. Fly over Lake Nasser, watching the sky lighten and the sacred sun rise above the horizon. We reach the great temples where your “Private guide”, Private driver and Private air-conditioned vehicle await you. In the larger temple, colossal figures of Ramses are seated with the gods and attended by his queen and daughters. The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, who appears as Hathor, the goddess of love, joy and fertility, symbolized by the benevolent cow. We explore these fine temple, admiring their ancient aura and artistry, after which retire to a comfortable hotel for our lunch, and refreshments. Just as planeloads of visitors arrive to throng the temples we head for Abu Simbel Airport and fly back to Cairo, air fare is always included with all taxes. In Cairo, we’ll assist with your transfer to your hotel

DAY 11: CAIRO/ Departure – Sunday (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight. Bon Voyage.

Rate Includes:

• Dahabiya Nile cruise shore excursions with all the guided sightseeing including all entrance fees, all as per itinerary
• Private Egyptologist and private car/driver for Cairo and Abu Simbel tours as listed including all entrance fees and lunch.
• All meals on board the DELUXE Felucca / Yacht / Dahabiya Nile cruise: Pre set meals as listed including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast), L = Lunch, D = Dinner
• Tea/ coffle and afternoon tea while on board the Deluxe Nile Cruise
• All airfares within Egypt in Business  class including tax as listed.
• Private air conditioned car /driver for all transfers within Egypt.
• Deluxe hotel accommodation with tax & service charges.
• Accommodation in a private cabin: Double or single on board The Dahabiya / Felucca / Yacht Nile Cruise with all meals and shore excursions.
• A complimentary home hosted family dinner in Cairo.
• VIP Meet & Greet At Cairo Airport
  Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport (photos are not required).
• Egyptian Visa will be issued 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. The Airport VIP Service representative meets 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, then our local representative will  claim your luggage while you enjoy coffee at the VIP Lounge, then walk with  you pass the passport and customs formalities and exiting the terminal, another local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry awaits you in your room in Cairo upon arrival with our compliments.

Rate Does Not Includes:

• Tips.
• Travel Insurance
• International air fare from / to your home country.

• Suite Accommodation On Board Your Luxury Dahabiya: Sonesta Dahabiya (Suite) or similar
• Private Guide – Private Air-Conditioned Vehicle – Private Chauffeur for all the Cruise Shore Excursions.
• The Four Seasons Hotel – Nile View room.
• Flying Business Class within Egypt (Aswan – Abu Simbel flights (plane configuration) are only in economy class).

Peak Season: Easter (2 weeks), Christmas and New Year (2 weeks): Please add 20% to any of the listed rates.

Ultra Deluxe Dahabiya:

• The Four Seasons Hotel – Nile View room. Flying Business Class within Egypt.
• Sonesta Dahabiya, Armonia Dahabiya or similar.
• Flying Business Class within Egypt (Aswan – Abu Simbel flights (plane configuration) are only in economy class).

Peak Season: Easter (2 weeks), Christmas and New Year (2 weeks): Please add 20% to any of the listed rates.

Ultra Deluxe Dahabiya:

• Cairo Hotels: Cairo Marriott, JW Marriott, Cairo Conrad, Intercontinental Hotels in Cairo or similar
• Sonesta Dahabiya, Armonia Dahabiya or similar.
• Flying Business Class within Egypt (Aswan – Abu Simbel flights (plane configuration) are only in economy class).

Peak Season: Easter season (2 weeks), Christmas and New Year season (2 weeks): Please add: 20% to the listed rates.

Photo by Argenberg