Here's the best of Egypt in only 10 days- Arrive any day of the week.
All transfers are on a private basis. Private touring in Cairo. A good look at Cairo and a 5-day cruise along the Nile.

Compare with the 9 Day Version , Add Athens , Petra , Abu Simbel , Sharm El Sheikh , or Alexandria
Add Israel & Palestine . Compare with the 12 Day private Touring or add London

DAY 1 - DEPART - NEW YORK- Daily ( Subject to availability) Air fare add-on available from major cities
Board your Lufthansa , Swiss , Air France or British Airways wide-body jet at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport for your transatlantic flight .

Upgrade on board Egyptair to business class :$2500 . OR $ 3500 for first class Roundtrip with tax on Egyptair. ( Subject to change without notice)

For West Coast guests : You need NOT to fly via New York . When you fly onboard Lufthansa, British Airways , Air France , etc, then you fly non stop from the West Coast to Europe then connect to Cairo .
Click for Thursday departure version

Day 2 - CAIRO -Friday
Our representative greets you at the airport, helps with formalities, and whisks you to your hotel. Visa fee is included. Visa will be issued upon arrival for " American, Australian , NZ , Canadian, EU & Japanese Citizens, you are responsible for having your passport valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival.

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 3- CAIRO (BL) -Saturday
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum, including the Mummy Room and the fabulous treasures Tutankhamon, the Pyramids of Giza, 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! the Sphinx, the Citadel of Saladin,and the Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster. In the evening, we return to the pyramids for a memorable sound-and light show.

DAY 4 - Luxor (BLD) - Sunday
We fly to Luxor ( or Aswan ) and board our Nile cruiser, most of the domestic flights arrive early morning, your cabin may not be ready . For guests that arrive while breakfast is being served in the dinning room, are welcomed to enjoy another breakfast or a warm cup of coffee ( always included with our compliments)
Welcome drink is served upon arrival on board. Morning complimentary tour of the small yet charming Luxor Museum. Walk back along the water front on to your Nile cruiser. Check in is around noon in time for a delicious lunch. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastries await you in your cabin.

Day 5 - Valley of the Kings (BLD) - Monday
We tour today as well the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including Tut-Ankh-Amon's tomb, and the great temple of Queen Hatshepsut, we stop at the Colossi of Memnon on the way back to our cruise.

Afterward, we'll continue on Luxor's west bank to 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.
we visit the great temples of Luxor and Karnak, then return to our Nile cruiser in time for afternoon tea. In the evening we attend a sound & light show at Karnak ( Bring your jacket) .

DAY 6 - EDFU & KOM OMBO - ASWAN - (cBLD) - Tuesday
We cruise by Esna to Edfu, where we board horse-drawn carriages for the ride to the Temple of Horus. Returning to our ship, we set sail for Kom Ombo.We explore the twin Temples of Haroeris and Sobek at Kom Ombo, then sail south to Aswan. In the evening, there's a jolly galabia party aboard.

DAY 7 - ASWAN - (cBLD) - Wednesday
After breakfast we start our visit to the awesome Aswan dams, and next an ancient granite quarry complete with an unfinished obelisk, the Nubian Museum ,then board a motor launch to visit the Island Temple of Philae , dedicated to the Ancient Goddess ISIS :

The Mystery of Isis

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!

Be our guest if you wish on a complimentary short camel caravan to a near by Nubian Village for tea with the locals

After lunch we board a graceful felucca and cruise among the islands, returning to our ship in time for tea. . In the evening, we take a short ride by motor launch to the Temples of Philae, on an island in the Nile, for a sound-and-light show which explains the Nile's endless history.

DAY 8 - End of Nile Cruise and fly back to CAIRO (B) - Thursday
After breakfast we check out. Our touring done, we return by air to Cairo and your hotel .

DAY 9 - CAIRO - Day at Leisure - Possible Home Hosted Family dinner (B) - Friday
Cairo is yours , explore on your own with your guide back at hand.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals: 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. You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town)

DAY 10 - DEPARTURE (B) - Saturday
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight . Bon Voyage . Extend to Petra

DEPARTURE DATES

* This tour departs daily from New York (JFK), and London .

* For Easter, Christmas and New Year's Weeks, a 20 % holiday surcharge will apply.

Air Fare Notes:

For departures from Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle, please add US$ 450 per person to the rates. DC , Denver Chicago, Miami : $ 400

Air fare supplement : Doesn't apply when you handle your own air fare:
For May - Sep 15 , Dec 15 - Jan 2: departures, please add a summer airline surcharge of $450 per person to the rate

Package Rates are subject to change without notice.

Your tour includes:

• Round-trip transatlantic airfare in economy class , including air taxes, from New York to Cairo and return on British Airways, Air France, Swiss , Lufthansa or another IATAN airline, subject to seat availability at the time of reservation.
  

• All airfares in Egypt, with taxes in economy class, upgrade to business class for Egypt's domestic flights: $150

• All transfers in Egypt.

• Hotel accommodations, including tax and service charges.

• Nile cruise; the sequence of sights visited between Aswan and Luxor is subject to change according to vessel requirements, and the cruise may begin in either Aswan or Luxor.

• Sample Deluxe boats : M/S Adonis , M/S Mojito , M/S Monaco , M/S Monte Carlo , M/S Beau Soleil, Queen of Hansa, M/S Solitaire.
  
• All meals and shore Excursions while on board the cruises.
  
  
• Complimentary welcome drink upon arrival on board the cruises. Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin, on board your Nile cruise.
  
• Tea or coffee with every meal while on board the cruise .

• Meals as indicated in the tour itinerary: B = continental breakfast; L = set-menu lunch; D = set-menu dinner.
  
• Bottled water ( one per person ) delivered to your cabin daily while on board the cruise.

• Cairo Guided sightseeing by private air-conditioned motor coach or car as per itinerary, including all entrance fees.

• Complimentary Lonely Planet travel guidebook to Egypt

Not included:

• Tips.
• Travel Insurance
• Any item of personal nature, i.e. laundry, phone calls. etc.
• Any item that's not specifically listed in the "inclusions"

For PRIVATE GUIDE/CAR/DRIVER :
For the full duration of the Nile Cruise & shore excursions: please add $250 per person . This supplement doesn't apply when you have at least 6 guests in your party.

More Choices:

• Compare with the 9 Day Version , or add a resort stay in Sharm El Sheikh

• The 11 day edition with Memphis and Sakkara

• The 12 day with Athens

• Add Petra , or Petra and Syria

• Add Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea ,

• Add Alexandria . 

• Add Israel and Palestine

• Compare with the 12 Day private Touring

• Form London to Luxor Tour : The King Tut's connection
  
• Private Touring with a stay in the Egyptian Riviera on the Red Sea .
  
• The Great Arabian Adventure : A 20- Day True Near East Fantasy Tour of : Egypt , Jordan and Syria. Weekly Departure from the USA - Year Round
  
  

Sonesta's new , all suites :

Sonesta Star Goddess:
Mondays from Luxor for the Five and Eight day cruise

• Five Decks
  
• 33 Suites
  
• 27 Beethoven suites - 40 sq meters each
  
• 4 Mozart suites - 35 sq meters each
  
• 2 Chopin suites - 52 sq meters each (Clients staying in the Chopin Suite have private guided excursions)
  
• All cabins on upper decks: main, third and fourth decks
  
  
• Sitting area in each suite
  
• In-room dining available till midnight
  
• Meals : One Seating.
  
• International cuisine serving breakfast, lunch buffet and à la carte dinners
  
• Sundeck with bar and barbeque facilities
  
• Lounge serving light meals for lunches dinners, cocktails & beverages
  
• Discotheque
  
• Outdoor swimming pool with bar service
  
• Jogging track
  
• Panoramic spa (gym room, massage room, sauna and Jacuzzi)
  
• Laundry facility
  
• Certified doctor available on board
  
• Private docking facilities in Aswan
  

8 Day Cruise : Monday to Monday : Aswan to Aswan
8 Day Cruise : Thursday to Thursday Luxor to Luxor
5 Day Cruise : Monday to Thursday : Luxor to Aswan
4 Day Cruise : Thursday to Monday : Aswan to Luxor