In Search of Egypt's Ancient Lands

A Grand 14 Day Tour of Egypt : Cairo , Giza , Alexandria, the Lair of Rameses :
Tanis, modern San El Hagar--famed in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark as the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the Suez Canal and of cours an 8 day Nile Cruise

Compare with 10 days Edition  
The Ultra Deluxe Edition and 14 Days with Red Sea Extension

We have even included all the tips. No hidden charges, no additional tax

See the Pyramids,the Sphinx, Alexandria , the timeless temples along the Nile in Luxury fit for a Pharaoh. Tour starts weekly in Cairo year round. How would you like to cruise the Nile the way the Pharaoh and Cleopatra did ? These graceful boats will allow you to cruise the great river in a stately Pharaonic style. Our Egyptian adventure" cruise visits Cairo, all of Upper Egypt's top sights, and gives you the chance to see the Ancient city of Alexander the Great , the timeless Nile as adventurers have seen it throughout the ages , come and tour Bubastis, capital of the 22nd and 23rd dynasties. Here, the cat was more than a king, it was honored as a goddess .

DAY 1 - CAIRO : Start weekly year round on Wednesday and / or Friday and / or Sunday
Upon arrival, our local rep. will escort you to your comfortable hotel. Hilton, Hyatt or Sheraton .
All transfers in Egypt are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur

Visa may be secured upon arrival , please pay the $ 15 fee in cash at Cairo Airport , please pay in USD or Euro , this is available for a limited number of nationalities such as American , Australian, NZ , Canadian, EU , Singaporean, and Japanese Citizens , if in doubt about your eligibility , please contact the Egyptian Consulate nearest you . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you to the hotel . Arrive early . Add an extra day to recover from your flight ?

DAY 2 - GIZA - Thursday or Saturday (cBLD)
After breakfast, we'll motor to the edge of Cairo, to the mysterious Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. 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!

Continue to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:

The "Discovery" of Dahshour:
For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. Senfru's pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son built Giza's Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru's--miraculously--is still in place. Lunch is included at a local restaurant or at your hotel. In the evening we return to Giza Plateau for the Sound & Light Show. All tours in Cairo are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur

DAY 3 - CAIRO - GIZA - Home Hosted Dinner - Friday or Sunday (cBLD)
Today we see Cairo's major sights: the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummies Room, The Manial Royal Palace, former residence of Egypt's last crown prince.
Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon tour Saladin's Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque,and the 12th Century Khan El Khalili Bazaar district. As you have a very early morning flight tomorrow, we'll have an early dinner this evening :

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
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'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, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences. All tours in Cairo are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur

DAY 4 - LUXOR - Saturday or Monday (cBLD)
Morning flight to Luxor , we'll escort you to your Nile cruises . Check- in is at noon, if/when you arrive earlier your cabin may not be ready , yet all the public facilities on board are at your disposal.

Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin.

Tour the Ancient Workers Village at Deir El Medineh, the first known "Workers Village" these were the true creative heroes who built the temples & 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. Evening Sound & Light show at Karnak Temple.

DAY 5 - VALLEY OF THE KINGS - Sunday or Tuesday (BLD)
Today we tour the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's tomb, Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. After a shipboard lunch. Sail for Edfu where we dock for the night.

DAY 6- EDFU - ASWAN- Monday or Wednesday (BLD)
In Edfu, we board horse-drawn carriages for the ride to the Temple of Horus. The best preserved temple in Egypt. Returning to our ship, we set sail for Aswan .Complimentary Galabya , you may wish to try on for the evening when there's a jolly galabia party aboard.

DAY 7 -ASWAN - CAMEL CARAVAN - Tuesday or Thursday (BLD)
Get ready for the tour of Aswan Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Nubian Museum, and Philae Temple ,before we head back for our lunch aboard. In the afternoon we board a graceful felucca and cruise among the islands of the Nile, be our guest if you wish on a complimentary short camel caravan to a near by Nubian Village for tea with the locals. Return to the ship in time for your " afternoon Tea".

DAY 8- KOM OMBO - Wednesday or Friday (BLD)
Morning at leisure or join us for an optional tour to Abu Simbel by plane ( but it will be a very FULL day ) . In the afternoon we sail for Kom Ombo. Where we dock for the night.

DAY 9 - KOM OMBO - Thursday or Saturday (BLD)
We explore the twin Temples of Haroeris , the Sun God, and Sobek , the Crocodile God, at Kom Ombo, . Returning to our ship in time for tea. We set sail for Luxor.

DAY 10 - LUXOR - Friday or Sunday (BLD)
After breakfast, on to the Gigantic Temple of Karnak & the great temple of Luxor are our goal this morning , after lunch we see the most recent discoveries housed in the relatively new & charming Luxor Museum. Return to our Nile cruiser in time for afternoon tea

DAY 11- LUXOR - CAIRO - Alexandria - Saturday or Monday (BL)
After breakfast, we check out, and our flight back to Cairo ,where we connect by private car /van to Alexandria; lunch enroute .Subject to availability, and depending on the hotel category you choose : : the Cecil Hotel with the old world charm, or Sheraton or Palestine Montazah Hotel.

DAY 12 - Alexandria - Wadi El Natroun Monasteries / Cairo - Sunday or Tuesday (BL)
Full day tour of : The museum in Alexandria , the building was originally built in 1926 for the US consulate in Alexandria and is a masterpiece in 1920's architecture & Mediterranean style buildings.

On to the Catacombs, the Roman Amphitheater, Qayet Bey Fort : was built on the same site of the ancient wonder of the world : the famous Alexandria Light House. A brief stop at " El Selsela" the site of the Underwater reserve where Cleopatra Place was discovered, as well as Caesar Kiosk. Lunch at a local restaurant , then its off to the New Alexandria Library before heading to Wadi El Natroun monastery almost midway to Cairo , where early Coptic Christians retreated here to escape the Roman persecution in the 4th century AD. The Egyptian Pope of Alexandria is always chosen from the Monks of wadi El Natroun. Reach Cairo early evening and your hotel.

DAY 13 - Tanis - Suez Canal - Monday or Wednesday (B. Lunch Box )
Breakfast is included at the hotel, lunch box will be prepared by your chef with bottled water.

To the Lair of Rameses and the Suez Canal

Venture where few visitors have gone before, away from trafficked pathways and neatly packaged tours, to the legendary capital of Rameses II, the Great. So unusual is this full-day adventure, and so select are the people who take it, that special permits are required from the Egyptian Department of Antiquities. And if this opportunity is not enough to whet your appetite, we'll round out a spectacular day with a journey forward through the centuries, to the modern wonder of the Suez Canal.

Arrange your wake-up call . . . we'll be heading out from Cairo at 6 a.m. on our day of discovery. We'll make our way through busy streets, and beyond, to the fertile farmlands of the Nile Delta, seemingly unchanged since the time of the pharaohs, watered by a web of canals running from the life-giving Nile, worked by villagers with hand tools and the aid of camels and donkeys. We'll pass through Zagazig, a bustling cotton and grain farming center, and stop at nearby Bubastis, capital of the 22nd and 23rd dynasties. Here, the cat was more than a king, it was honored as a goddess, and sacred cats were buried in chambers that lie behind an Old Kingdom Chapel. Parts of temples erected by Osorkon II and Nectanebo II also remain.

But this is only prologue ... We'll continue to Tanis--modern San El Hagar--famed in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark as the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Tanis was the capital of Smendes, founder of the 21st Dynasty, a grand center whose rich remains include the main temple of Amun, and a royal Necropolis with the only Pharaonic burials never touched by ancient tomb raiders. There are even artificial lakes contained by limestone blocks.

So grand was Tanis that many believe that it was the capital of Rameses the Great. Among the layers of cities and palaces might lie the site of the Pharaoh's court that was built by the labor of the ancient Hebrews. before Moses led them out of Egypt.

Tanis is a restricted site because of its ongoing excavations and its intact burial chambers that are still yielding treasures and understanding of the ancients. It will be your privilege to make your own discoveries as one of the few to tread these stones. Because our path is away from the usual routes of visitors, we will travel with provisions, including a box lunch, and of course, bottled water.

After our discovery of Tanis, we'll journey northeastward through the delta and across the centuries to a wonder of the modern world. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 to international celebration that included the commissioning of the opera Aida, after ten years of excavation that employed more than a million laborers. The canal was the technological feat of its day, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, cutting trade routes to the East in half, and changing the course of history. Even today it is the mainstay of Egypt's economy, its neutrality guaranteed by treaty.

We'll visit Ismailia, where the historic Canal headquarters are located. We'll soak up the atmosphere of worldwide commerce passing through this sash of the sea, and conjure up the international intrigues of bygone days, as we take a break for tea and sandwiches at a local establishment. If time permits, we'll see the fortifications of the Bar Lev line, held by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967, and demolished by water cannon in 1973 in a surprise Egyptian attack.

After a day of encounters with ancient and modern history, we'll continue on our way back to Cairo.

DAY 14 - Departure - Tuesday or Thursday (cB)
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home. Bon Voyage . All transfers in Egypt are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur

Deluxe Hotels and Cruise
RATES per person in USD $

The Deluxe Nile Cruise : M/S Mojito, M/S Nile Vision , M/S Adonis .
M/S Monaco or M/S Monte Carlo , M/S Beau Soleil , M/S Florence

Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Easter Week : Please add 20 % holiday supplement.
Please add : 20 % supplement for the Ultra Deluxe Boats :

Sample of the The Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise :

• The Ultra deluxe M/S Tuya or M/D TiYi
  
• The all suites M/S Amarco
  
• The Movenpick M/S Royal Lily , M/S Royal Lotus or the Movenpick MS Radamis II
  
• All the state rooms are with private balconies on the Sonesta Moon Goddess
  

First class ( 4 stars ) hotels & Cruise
RATES per person in USD $

Easter Week , Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Apr 1-30: Please add 15% holiday supplement.
M/S Ruby - M/S Nile Dream - M/S Romance

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES :

• Egyptian domestic airfares as described in the itinerary in " Y " class . Complimentary upgrade to business class when available , with the purchase of the deluxe category.
  
• All airport transfers are on a private basis in Egypt.
  
• Hotel accommodations in the category you select , including taxes.
  
• Pre set-menu (table d'hôte) meals as indicated in the itinerary above.
  
• Nile cruise based on your category selection, 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.
  
• Guided sightseeing by air-conditioned motorcoach, including all admissions fees. All tours in Cairo are on a private basis. Private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur.

• We have even included all the tips, to your drivers , guides, porters, and the crew on board your cruise . No hidden charges, no additional tax

Not included :

• Insurance
• International air fare from / to your home country
• Visa may be secured upon arrival , please pay the $ 15 fee in cash at Cairo Airport , please pay in USD or Euro , this is available for a limited number of nationalities such as American , Australian, NZ , Canadian, EU , Singaporean, and Japanese Citizens , if in doubt about your eligibility , please contact the Egyptian Consulate nearest you . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you to the hotel