Egypt Travel Package, Egypt Nile Cruise - Luxury Nile Cruises | Escape to the Sun

Octavious visiting Alexander the Great's Tomb in Alexandria just after he defeated Cleopatra & Marc Anthony.
He left his coat as a token of respect to Alexander the Great. The search continues for Alexander the Great's Tomb.

DAY 1 - CAIRO
Our staff meets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel. Enjoy the sights and sounds of Cairo as you like for the rest of the day, complimentary visa for American, Australian , NZ , Western European , Canadian, & Japanese citizens, passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of arrival.
Weekly on Sundays , Mondays & Tuesdays & Wednesdays, year round
Click here for the 7 day edition

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with the name you prefer to use for the sign .
Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

DAY 2 - CAIRO - Giza - Home Hosted Family Dinner (aBL)
Today we get to know the great Egyptian capital on a full-day tour. We start at the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummy room & Tutankhamoun Treasures, then go on to visit the majestic pyramids of Giza and the timeless Sphinx, and conclude with the 12th century district of Khan El Khalili.

In the evening we'll treat you to a home hosted dinner with an authentic Egyptian family.
Dinner is included at a local home , few visitors do enjoy such opportunity & experience, come and 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 dinner in a quiet restaurant with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 3 - Aswan (or LUXOR) / Edfu (aBLD)
An early flight takes us to Aswan , ( Cruise embarkation may also be from Luxor). A brief stop at the Pier to freshen up, then it is on to a complimentary short camel ride to a nearby Nubian Village for tea with the locals. Followed by a tour of the Nubian Museum .

Tour of Kalabsha Temple dedicated to the ancient god Mandulis, and the goddess Isis . Built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus , the small rock-cut temple of Beit El Wali, built by Ramses the Great , and the small yet charming Kiosk of Qertassi.

Back to the cruise , settle on board your Nile cruises, then visit the Aswan High Dam, the red granite quarries of the ancient pharaohs , and the temples of Philae, reconstructed on an island in the middle of the Nile .

Two millennia ago the Mediterranean world was enthralled by the mystery of 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!

Because of her wisdom and skill at protection, she was admired as a good magician capable of healing the sick and protecting the dead in their journey to the Underworld.

Isis is portrayed regally, as a queen seated on a throne (which may be the meaning of her name), often holding her son Horus as a baby. Other images show her with broad, magnificent gilded wings able to protect
the world.

Isis, the great Mother Goddess. Come explore her mystery in timeless Egypt when you Travel in Style!

After a shipboard lunch, we set sail for Kom Ombo, where we explore the twin Temples of Haroeris and Sobek. We continue our cruise to Edfu, where we dock for the night.
Welcome complimentary fruit basket.

DAY 4 - EDFU & Luxor (BLD)
We board horse-drawn carriages (or motor vans) for the ride to Edfu's Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved Ancient Egyptian temples on the Nile. After lunch , we continue our cruise down the Nile to Luxor. Afternoon tea is served on the sun -deck. Dinner & entertainment on board. Complimentary Galabya, maybe to wear it for tonight's costume party .

DAY 5 - Luxor (BLD)
Today we tour the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple of El Deir El Bahari , and the Colossi of Memnon. After lunch,we tour the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak , the "mother" of all temples, and the smaller yet charming Temple of Luxor, Afternoon tea is served on deck. Dinner & folk dance show on board. Complimentary Egyptian sweets/pastry tonight.

DAY 6 -Disembarkation / CAIRO / Alexandria (B)
Check-out after breakfast. We return by plane to Cairo and connect to a first class air conditioned train heading for Alexandria on the Mediterranean shores and your hotel. Experience Alexandria as you like.

DAY 7- Alexandria (aBL)
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 then its off to the new site for the Alexandria Library

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 8 Wadi El Natroun - Cairo (cBL)
Breakfast at the hotel . Private car /van , private Guide and we head south back to Cairo .
We stop at Wadi El Natroun monastery , 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. Lunch enroute ( modest meal/snack/lunch box)
Reach Cairo early evening

DAY 9- DEPARTURE (aB)
After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home . Bon Voyage

Nile cruise including all meals & shore excursions. For a private Egyptology while on board the cruise , please add $100 per person , this will include as well private air conditioned car /driver for the duration of the Nile Cruise. This tour starts weekly in Cairo , year round.

Please add a supplement of 10% to these rates for departures from December 23 to January 3, or during Easter Week.

Dining Room Reservations :
NOT REQUIRED ! our dinning rooms are large enough to accommodate all passengers in one seating, so no hassle of reserving your dinner seating.

Clothing on board :
Lightweight comfortable & casual clothing, swimsuits, sun hat. Dinning room dress code : Casual for breakfast & lunch, smart casual for dinner. All ships are fully air conditioned.

dining room, Sonesta Nile Cruise

Jacquie Kennedy & Abu Simbel:

All Americans alive during the 1960s remember President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Most Americans from that time also remember Abu Simbel, the dramatic, ancient Pharaonic temple threatened by the rising waters blocked by the new Aswan High Dam.

It’s worth remembering that it was Jacquie Kennedy who provided crucial support for the mammoth rescue project. Without her help, Abu Simbel might have been lost.

No one questioned that the temple must be saved. UNESCO developed a marvelous plan to cut the huge monument into 1,423 stone blocks and move it 200 meters (219 yards) north and 63 meters (207 feet) higher, just above the estimated level of Lake Nasser, the vast inland sea that would be created by the new dam.

But who would pay? As a developing country, Egypt could not shoulder the burden alone. Other countries could contribute, but only one country--the United States of America--truly had the resources for this
monumental rescue effort.

No matter how much wealth there is, it is never enough. Many legitimate, worthwhile projects compete for funds. What Abu Simbel needed was an advocate, someone who recognized the temple for the irreplaceable world art treasure that it was.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, already famous for her grace, refinement, and sensitivity to the arts, saw the need to work for the salvation of Abu Simbel. It was she who urged Congress to allocate $10 million for the rescue effort (a sum roughly equivalent to $100 million today). It was an enormous amount of money, but she saw that America
must step up to the challenge of saving this treasure of worldwide importance for all time.

The rescue funds were approved by Congress and the temple was saved.

In appreciation for her efforts, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser presented the First Lady and the president with a 4000-year-old Egyptian statue (which is now preserved in the John F Kennedy Library &
Museum in Boston). (http://www.jfklibrary.org/visit_museum-14.html)

President Nasser wanted also to give a gift of thanks to the people of the United States for their valuable support. He asked Mrs. Kennedy to choose an appropriate monument. She suggested the small Temple of
Dendur (c. 15 BC), and the gift was readily approved. The temple was brought to the United States in 1965 and installed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967.
(http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/ view1.asp?dep=10&full=0&item=68%2E154)

Times change, leaders come and go, but some acts of support and generosity are remembered through the decades.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy loved Egypt, and Egypt still loves her.

Why book with us ?

General Hotel Listing

	Deluxe Hotel & Cruise	First Class Hotels First Class Nile Cruise	Tourist Class Hotels First Class Nile Cruise
Athens	Divani Palace (Upgrade to King George or Grand Bretagne Supplement applies)	Electra Palace / Stanley	Electra Palace / Stanley
Cairo	Hilton / Sheraton/ Hyatt Movenpick	Shepheard's / Oases Novotel	Cosmopolitan Cairotel/Maadi
Istanbul	Hyatt , Conrad , Divan	Aygun Plaza , Richmond, Arena	Yenisehir, La Villa,
Aswan	Mövenpick Aswan (upgrade to Old Cataract : $75 per per person night Nile View )	Basma	Marhaba . Cleopatra
Jerusalem	American Colony Hotel	Notre Dame Hotel	St. George 's Hostel
Luxor	Sonesta / Hilton Sheraton / Sofitel (upgrade to Old Winter : $75 P. Person P. Night )	Novotel	Philip
Nile Cruise	Monaco / Monte Carlo / TiYi / Nile Vision / Mojito	Nile Dream / Ruby / Presidential Nile Cruise	Nile Dream / Ruby / Presidential Nile Cruise

Escape to the Sun
Alexandria Edition

Our special 8-day locally escorted tour shows you the top sights in Cairo, with four days (three nights) cruising on the Nile, including domestic air fare within Egypt, add Red Sea

Escape to the Sun Alexandria Edition

Our special 8-day locally escorted tour shows you the top sights in Cairo, with four days (three nights) cruising on the Nile, including domestic air fare within Egypt, add Red Sea

Escape to the Sun
Alexandria Edition