In Search of Egypt's Ancient Lands

A Grand 14 Day tour with Abu Simbel
Egypt with an 8 day Nile Cruise , Abu Simbel Excursion and Alexandria

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 & 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.

DAY 1 - CAIRO : Start weekly , year round on : Friday and Wednesday
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

DAY 2 - GIZA - Saturday - Thursday (BL)
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.

DAY 3 - CAIRO & GIZA - Home Hosted Dinner Sunday & Friday (BLD)
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.

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 l! 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.

DAY 4 - LUXOR - Monday & Saturday (BLD)
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.

Today we tour : the Gigantic Temple of Karnak and the great temple of Luxor , then off to the west bank to visit 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 - On Board Your Nile Cruise - Tuesday & Sunday (BLD)
Buffet breakfast on board . A grand day sailing on the Nile , heading south , after enjoying a shipboard lunch we reach Edfu where we dock for the night.

DAY 6 - EDFU - KOM OMBO- ASWAN - Wednesday & Monday (BLD)
In Edfu, we board horse-drawn carriages for the ride to the Temple of Horus. The best preserved temple in Egypt. Back to the ship and off to Kom Ombo , where 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 Aswan . Complimentary Galabya , you may wish to try on for the evening when there's a jolly galabia party aboard.

DAY 7 - ASWAN & Abu Simbel - Thursday & Tuesday (BLD)
Get ready for the tour of Aswan Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, 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.

Abu Simbel: Depending on flight confirmation your Abu Simbel flights may be morning or an afternoon ones: Abu Simbel may be considered the highlight of your Egyptian adventure. Fly south over Lake Nasser. In Abu Simbel, your private guide, private chauffeur and private air-conditioned vehicle await you , tour the larger temple dedicated to Ramses the Great , 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 temples , admiring their ancient aura and artistry, after which we fly back to Aswan Airport and your Nile Cruise.

DAY 8- On Board Your Nile Cruise - Friday & Wednesday (BLD)
Morning at leisure . In the afternoon we sail for Kom Ombo, and on to Edfu , where we dock for the night.

DAY 9 - On Board Your Nile Cruise - Saturday & Thursday (BLD)
Today , our cruise goes through the Esna Locks , and set sail for Luxor where we dock for the night .

DAY 10 - LUXOR - Sunday & Friday (BLD)
After breakfast, 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 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 - Monday & Saturday (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 - Tuesday & Sunday (cBL)
Full day tour of the Catacombs, the Roman Amphitheater, Qayet Bey Fortress .

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. Visit the 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.

Time permitting we 'll visit the new 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.

Day 13 - On Desert Safari for the Day
Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old , Wednesday & Monday (BL)
We leave Cairo by sunrise ( private air conditioned car/driver/guide): Full day Fayoum Oases , 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.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution 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 a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie 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

DAY 14 - Departure - Thursday & Tuesday (cB)
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home. Bon Voyage

Deluxe Hotels & Cruise : RATES per person in USD $

The Deluxe :M/S Nile Vision , MS Mojito. MS Solitaire . MS REnaissance
M/S Adonis , M/S Monaco or M/S Monte Carlo

Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Easter Week : Please add 20 % holiday supplement.

Children discount : 25 % discount on the double rate
Child must be 10 years or younger at the time of travel . Children discount applies when sharing with 2 adults.

Please add : 20 % supplement for the Ultra Deluxe Boats :

Sample of the The Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise :

• The Ultra deluxe M/S Tuya and M/S TiYi
  
• The all suites M/S Amarco
  
• The Movenpick M/S Royal Lotus, M/S Royal Lilly or the Movenpick M/ S Radamis II
  
  
• All the State rooms are with private balconies : the Sonesta Moon Goddess
  

First class ( 4 stars ) hotels & Cruise : M/S Nile Dream - M/S Ruby

Easter Week , Dec 20 - Jan 5 & Apr 1-30: Please add 20 % holiday supplement.

Children discount : 25 % discount on the double rate
Child must be 10 years or younger at the time of travel . Children discount applies when sharing with 2 adults.

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES :

• Egyptian domestic airfares as described in the itinerary in " Y " class . But business class for the Deluxe rate.
• All airport transfers and taxes 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.
• Abu Simbel Excursion by air.

Not included :

• Tips .
• Insurance and trip cancellation 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

Clothing on Board: Lightweight comfortable & casual clothing. Swimsuits, sun hat. Dining room dress code is casual for breakfast & lunch, but smart casual for dinner. All ships are fully air conditioned