Discover Egypt

Welcome to Egypt! On arrival we will met by our local representative and transferred to our hotel. The afternoon is at leisure before tonight’s group welcome dinner where you will meet your fellow travellers.  

This is it! This morning you will be standing directly in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza! The Great Pyramids are the oldest structure in existence. Work building them began 4,617 years ago; today they are the sole remnants of the Seven Wonders of the World. Here we take the time to soak up the mystical power of these awe-inspiring structures, before visiting the nearby Sphinx.  Our sightseeing continues to the ancient capital of Memphis and the nearby necropolis of Sakkara with its unique step pyramid. 

This morning you we will be transferred to  board the fight to Aswan, then we explore Aswan and visit the High Dam, the Temple of Philae and the Unfinished Obelisk. In the afternoon we enjoy a relaxing trip on the Nile on a traditional felucca sailing boat. Overnight at your hotel in Aswan. 

This morning we travel by coach to Abu Simbel. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari. In the 1960s the complex was relocated in its entirety to an artificial hill, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. Upon our return to Aswan we board our Nile cruise. 
 

This morning we sail to Kom Ombo where we visit the Temple of Kom Ombo which is dedicated to the gods Sobek and Haroeris. This afternoon we continue sailing towards Edfu. Sit back, relax and watch the day to day happenings of rural Egyptian life on the riverbanks of the Nile as we sail past. 

Today we visit the magnificent Temple of Horus in Edfu, the second-largest temple in Egypt after Karnak and one of the best-preserved. We then sail on to Esna, crossing the lock and continuing to Luxor. 

We disembark after breakfast and set off to explore the West Bank, the world’s largest open-air museum. We also explore the Valley of the Kings where we have the opportunity to go underground and experience the tombs first-hand. We then continue on to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut; it was built of limestone, not sandstone like most of the other funerary temples of the New Kingdom period, and is therefore one of the most distinctive temples in the whole of Egypt. We end our day at the Colossi of Memnon. 

Today we visit Karnak, the largest and most impressive of all temples and the scene of the most important of ancient Egypt’s many religious festivals and ceremonies. We also visit Luxor Temple which was once linked to Karnak by a 3km avenue of sphinxes and contains evidence of early Christian occupation. Tonight we board the overnight sleeper train to Cairo.  

Today we venture into the bustling heart of Cairo to visit the world-famous Egyptian Museum, home to Tutankhamen’s priceless treasures and many other historic artefacts. There will be time for an optional visit (entrance ticket not included) to the "Mummy Room", it has nine mummies on display including the newly discovered mummy of Queen Hatshepsut. This afternoon we visit the Citadel of Cairo and the Mohammed Ali Mosque, before trying out our bargaining skills at the 625-year-old Khan El Khalili bazaar. This evening we enjoy a wonderful farewell dinner. 

Today you transfer to the airport for your flight home.