From Tokyo to Cairo

Here’s the best of the two worlds and two of the oldest civilizations, Japan and Egypt. All in 20 days: a good look at Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Cairo and a cruise along the Nile. Locally escorted. Business class flights Japan/Egypt.

Day 1, Sunday: Arrival Tokyo – Weekly year round
Arrive at Tokyo Narita International Airport. After entry formalities, you will be met and escorted to the Airport Limousine. The coach will stop at your hotel: the KEIO PLAZA INTERNATIONAL HOTEL located in Shinjuku, or similar hotel.

Day 2, Monday: TOKYO (B)
Breakfast is included at the hotel. We allowed for this extra day for you to rest after the trans-Pacific flight. Enjoy Tokyo as you wish, full day at leisure or simply join one of the available optional tours.

Tokyo city guide. Video by Lonely Planet.

Day 3, Tuesday: TOKYO (BL)
The all-day Dynamic Tour begins with the Tokyo Tower for a panoramic view of this metropolis. Enjoy a tranquil opportunity at the Happoen Garden and experience the tea ceremony. LUNCH at the Chinzanso Garden for a Genghis Khan Barbecue treat. Your boat cruise on the Sumida River highlights the new development surrounding the riverside and enjoy browsing through the many colorful “nakamise” arcade shops at Asakusa Kannon Temple. You may return to your hotel or you may end your tour at Ginza maybe for some shopping on your own and take a taxi or subway to your hotel.

Day 4, Wednesday: TOKYO (B)
Today at leisure to enjoy this metropolis on your own. The department stores offer a glimpse into the lifestyle of the people. Be sure to visit the basement food area for an endless array of Japanese and western delicacies.

Day 5, Thursday: TOKYO – MT FUJI – HAKONE (BL)
Morning sightseeing excursion to Mt. Fuji and drive to its Fifth Station for a view of the surrounding lakes. Continue to Hakone National Park and LUNCH at the Hakone Highlands Resort. Enjoy a cruise on Lake Ashi. Accommodations at the KOWAKI-EN HOTEL. (3 stars) Enjoy the public bath at this Hotel which is invigorating and is a “must.”

Day 6, Friday: Hakone – NARA – KYOTO (B)
Morning Transfer to Tokyo Station to board the JR super Express Shinkansen (Bullet) train to Kyoto. Upon arrival walk to your accommodation at the New Miyako Hotel (5 stars) or similar. Afternoon enjoy a motorcoach tour through the countryside to the ancient capital of Nara visiting Todaiji Temple and its indoor Buddha and Deer Park. Tour The Kasuga Shrine and its 1001 Hanging lanterns. Return to Kyoto early evening.

Day 7, Saturday: KYOTO (B)
A glimpse into the history of Kyoto is presented in your visits today to the Golden Pavilion with its golden splendor reflected like a mirror in the surrounding pond. Walking through the Nijo Castle brings you into the residence of the shogun and helps you to understand the formality of the Tokugawa period. The Old Imperial Palace, the former residence of the Imperial Family, presents the simplicity and nobility of the era. The Kyoto Handicraft Center gives you an opportunity to observe artisans of the area as they present their intricate crafts such as cloisonne, calligraphy and more. Take the shuttle back to your hotel. Afternoon at leisure.

Day 8, Sunday: KYOTO (B)
Morning tour will include: Kyoto Heian Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple, and Sanjusangendo Hall. Then in the evening, your local rep. will call on you and head out for a Tempura dinner and the Gion Corner for a program of traditional Japanese arts.

Day 9, Monday: KYOTO – OSAKA/KANSAI/CAIRO (B)
Airport Limousine transfer to Osaka Kansai International Airport. Subject to availability, we may fly out of Osaka to Cairo, or connect through Tokyo and on to Cairo. Overnight on board your flight. Air fare is included one way between Japan and Egypt in business class, with tax included.

Day 10,Tuesday: CAIRO – VIP Meet & Greet Service (B)
Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel:

VIP Meet & Greet 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 months 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.

Cairo city guide. Video by Lonely Planet.

Day 11, Wednesday: CAIRO (BLD)
Breakfast is always included daily while you are in Egypt. On your first full day in Egypt we will show you the Egyptian Museum, including Tutankhamon treasures and the Mummies Room. Lunch is included at Abu El-Sid restaurant or similar. Afternoon tour of Saladin’s Citadel, The Alabaster Mosque, Sultan Hassan Madrassa and the 12th century district of Khan El Khalili bazaar district. Dinner is included at La Bodega restaurant.

Day 12, Thursday: CAIRO (BLD)
Today we drive to the edge of Cairo and off to Giza to tour the Pyramids of Giza, the enigmatic Sphinx, and Cheops Royal Barge Museum.

The museum of the Royal Barge of Cheops
The museum is built over the rectangular pit that housed the Royal Barge for thousands of years. The wooden boat was readied for the king’s daily journey with the sun god, Ra. Discovered in 1954, in a completely dismantled state, the 43-metre (140-foot) cedar boat is a rare window on the Royal boats used by the kings of Ancient Egypt.

Those who are fit and adventurous enough may wish to penetrate into the heart of the Great Pyramid, to the King’s Chamber. Your ticket is included with our compliments (or the interior of Kephren Pyramid). Taking a camel ride (included) is entirely your own choice! Lunch is included at the Mena House Museum. The afternoon is devoted to Memphis, Sakkara, the Step Pyramid of Zoser, the small yet charming museum of Imhotep, and the Nobles Mastabas. Dinner is included on board Hyatt dinner cruise.

DAY 13, Friday: On Desert Safari for the Day – Fayoum Oases – And you thought the Pyramids were old (BLD)
We leave Cairo by sunrise (private air conditioned car/driver/guide). Full day at Fayoum Oases including: Hawara Pyramid, El Lahoun Pyramid, Ruins of Karanis, and a drive by Lake Qarun. Lunch is included at a local restaurant.

The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains, oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.

Join us for a day, ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place of camels we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel, and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest. Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands. It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.

We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local artisans are on display.

Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure! We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes, and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales (In Arabic: Wadi-El-Hitan). Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived – almost forty million years ago – in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone. This valley was discovered in 1936 by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley) (UNESCO/NHK)

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution and has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore. A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80’s that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet. This was a startling discovery, suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well. These whales were not related to any of the whales we have today, rather having a more slender body and may have grown up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct species the Zeuglodon Isis Whales.

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Dinner as well is included back at the hotel in Cairo.

Day 14, Saturday: CAIRO – LUXOR – Nile Cruise (BLD)
We fly to LUXOR (or Aswan) by business class for domestic flights within Egypt. Air fare is included in our rate. Board your deluxe Nile cruise in Luxor and proceed to cross the Nile to the West Bank.

We tour today 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. We will board our 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.

For the Nile Cruise we will be using one of the deluxe Nile Cruises to be confirmed at the time of booking. Please click here for a sample of these Nile Cruises. Please note that the cruise program will slightly vary based on the cruise confirmed at the time we receive your booking.

DAY 15, Sunday: LUXOR, EDFU – Cruising The Nile (BLD)
We sail 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 16, Monday: EDFU, KOM OMBO – Luxury Cruise on the Nile (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, then continue our voyage to Aswan while we party after dinner with music and dance.

DAY 17, Tuesday: ASWAN – On Board Your Deluxe Nile Cruise (BLD)
First we tour Aswan dams, then on to the new Nubian Museum. From there we will visit the awesome Aswan dams and then next 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:

“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!

In the afternoon we enjoy a leisurely sail by graceful felucca on the Nile. Our farewell dinner this evening is a buffet of Egyptian specialties, followed by a show featuring oriental performers including, of course, a belly dancer.

DAY 18, Wednesday: ASWAN, CAIRO (BD)
After breakfast you will check-out and head to the Nubian Museum. For those who are interested, a short camel caravan and ride is included to visit a local Nubian Village. Then off to the airport and board for the return flight to Cairo. Air fare is always included with tax (in business class) and your hotel. Remainder of the day at leisure. Dinner is included at the hotel.

DAY 19, Thursday: CAIRO (B)
Full day at leisure. AAAAAH, finally a break! Enjoy your hotel facilities or explore the city as you wish on your own. In the evening a complimentary Dinner is included at a local home where you can meet the locals. You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family (T shirt, small souvenirs of your home town):

This evening we’ll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread… right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo! You will be invited to a family dinner and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you will 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 are 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 instead. Just let us know your preference.

DAY 20, Thursday: CAIRO – Departure (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight. Bon Voyage!

RATES are per person in USD $:
	Deluxe	First Class Hotels
Double	$ 16,595.00	$ 15,510.00
Single	$ 19,075.00	$ 17,450.00

First class and deluxe hotels apply to Egypt hotels and Nile cruises. The hotel listed in Japan will be used for both categories.

High Season: For Easter, Christmas/New Year’s week, add 15% to the rates.

The rates include :

• All domestic airfares within Egypt as per itinerary, in business class, tax included.
  
• Train tickets and all airport & train transfers within Japan and Egypt.
  
• Hotel accommodations including tax and service charges as listed or similar hotels within same category or better.
  
• Meals as listed: continental breakfast daily in Japan, but American breakfast or Buffet in Egypt, L/D: preset menu lunch/dinner.
  
• Guided sightseeing as listed including all entrance fees.
  
• International airfare between Japan and Egypt as indicated, in business class with tax included.
  Please note that flights and itinerary are subject to change without notice.
  
• Hotels used in Japan (or similar):
  Intercontinental Keio Plaza (5 Stars) Kwai -en (4 stars) New Miayko (5 Stars) or similar.For those looking for a different experience while in Japan: Stay at a Ryokan, the traditional Japanese Inn. Stay with the locals, get to see the real true charming Japan; PLEASE Let’s know at the time of booking, space is very limited.
  
  Staying at a Ryokan, the traditional Japanese Inn, is a truly unique experience affording you a special glimpse of the age-old customs, manners and lifestyle of the Japanese community. Besides the luxuriously refreshing hot springs bathing, dinners at your Ryokan are the singular most compelling attraction. They are a sumptuously prepared and lavishly presented festive combination of the finest Japanese cuisine, intermixed with savory local delights. The typical menu, brought to you dish after dish, offers an incredible variety from Sukiyaki and Tempura to grilled fish and sea food. And in some inns you will thoroughly enjoy the room’s size, its simplicity and the aura of tatami straw matting, sliding screens and Spartan furnishing, all unmistakably Japanese. 
  
  
• Hotels used in Egypt:
• For Deluxe we use hotels such as: The Ritz Carlton, The Four Seasons First Residence, The Kempinski Nile Cairo Hotel, Conrad Cairo Hotel or similar, Hilton/Meridien or similar. For First Class we use: Ramses Hilton, Semiramis Inter-Continental Hotel or similar.
  
• Sonesta or Movenpick Deluxe Nile cruise or similar, with all shore excursions and meals.
  • Complimentary welcome drink upon arrival on board the Nile Cruise.
  • Complimentary welcome fruit basket on board the Nile Cruise.
  • Large bottle of water (per person) delivered to you cabin daily while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
  • Tea or coffee and bottled water with each/every meal while you are on board the Nile Cruise.
• 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 months 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.
  

• Tips in Egypt to all your drivers, guides, porters, and the crew on board your Nile cruise.

The rate Does NOT include:

• Trip Cancellation Insurance, Travel Insurance
• Beverages
• Meals that are not specified
• International air fare from/to your home country
• Visa fee for Japan if needed (based on your nationality)