Cairo and the Timeless Nile With a foray into the Sahara- Bahariya Oases and the White Desert

10-Day Version : Inclusive of all transfers & Round-trip Domestic air fare Within Egypt

Compare with the 8-Day or 9- Day version

Daily in Cairo ( subject to cruise availability) year round . Embarkation Luxor or Aswan . Add an extra night at a legendary hotel in Luxor or Aswan . Cruise in the privacy of your own boat, Charter the Royal Cleopatra. Click for the full listing of Nile Cruises

DAY 1 - CAIRO Tour Starts DAILY in Cairo - Arrive any day of the week .
Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa fee is included on a complimentary basis and will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for : Australian, NZ, American, EU , Canadian, Mexican & Japanese citizens. You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo.


Flying from Sharm El Sheikh : Please add : $ 150 ( Including our handling fee and one transfer in Sharm from your hotel to Sharm El Sheikh Airport connecting to Cairo and on to Luxor

DAY 2 - CAIRO LUXOR (LD)
Transfers are always included ( private car/driver) from your hotel to the airport.
Domestic air fare between Cairo & the cruise is included. Add $ 150 for upgrade to business class ( subject to availability).

Several boats that do start on different days of the week to accommodate your schedule:
You may start this 5 day sailing Weekly on any Saturday , Monday , Tuesday ,Wednesday .
Transfer is included from Luxor Airport to the Cruise.
Check in on your luxury cruiser at noon. After lunch, we visit the great temples of Luxor and Karnak, then return to our Nile cruiser in time for afternoon tea.

DAY 3 - VALLEY OF THE KINGS (cBLD)
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.

Queen Nefertari's tomb will be closed for urgent repairs. , that's why we are visiting instead the Ancient Worker's village at Deir el Medinah

The Queen for whom the sun shines :
Long before Cleopatra humbled the ruler of Rome, an Egyptian queen held power over the heart and soul of Ramses, Egypt's greatest pharaoh. In the 12th century BC, a brokenhearted Ramses built a grand funerary tomb for Queen Nefertari, "the Beautiful one," in the Valley of the Queens. It's been exquisitely restored with the aid of an American endowment, and is among the rarest sights in all Egypt: the only great tomb ever built by a pharaoh for his late queen. Artistically, it is the closest thing you could ever come to see the original Ancient Egyptian art in all of its glory and finesse.
Because of its fragile nature, only a limited number of visitors are allowed entry each day. We are the only company to include a visit to Nefertari's tomb in our daily program. Because of the limited access we must rise early for our visit, appropriate as Ramses named Nefertari "the one for whom the sun shines." >>

Then it's on to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.

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.

DAY 4 - EDFU & KOM OMBO (cBLD)
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. In the evening, there's a jolly galabia party aboard.

DAY 5 - KOM OMBO & ASWAN (cBLD)
We explore the twin Temples of Haroeris and Sobek at Kom Ombo, then sail south to Aswan. After lunch we board a graceful felucca and cruise among the islands, returning to our ship in time for tea.

DAY 6 - ASWAN - Nubian Museum, Camel Caravan, Nubian Village, CAIRO (cB)
After breakfast we check out, visit 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 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, returning to Aswan Airport .Transfer is included ( private car/driver) back to Aswan airport

Domestic air fare is included as well back to Cairo .
In Cairo , we meet you at the airport & escort you to your hotel , remainder of the day at leisure.

This is not part of this tour , but for guests interested in more in depth desert tours, please contact us

Photo Credit Osama Abdel A'al - Click here for more images from the Oases

DAY 7 - CAIRO (B)
Full day at leisure . Explore Cairo on your own , or ask us for assistance with tour suggestions.

DAY 8 - CAIRO El Bahariya Oases (BLD)
Early morning departure before sunrise to be able to watch the sunrise over the Sahara.
We board a private four wheel vehicle and proceed west on the Sahara Highway, ( 180 Kilometers from Cairo to El Bahariya), visiting Qaser Sleim , Alexander's Tomb & Museum of Golden Mummies . Lunch & Dinner at the hotel : Beshimo Lodge. Or The International Hot Spring Hotel . Evening Bedouin folk show

DAY 9 - El Farafra Oases ( White Desert ) (BLD)
After a morning tour of El Bahariya we head for the White Desert ( 180 Kilometers) , on the way we'll stop ay Crystal Mountain to marvel at the different Shapes of Lime Stones , arrive Farafra Oasis , where we will camp for the night. ( In a tent) , dinner will be camp style. This tour may not be suitable for families with children who may not be used to camping, and the lack of hotel amenities. Guests must show proof of insurance before embarking on any camping trip with us regardless of the destination be it Moroccan Sahara, Tunisian Oases or the Egyptian Western Desert or in Sinai. BBQ dinner at the White Desert.

If you prefer to stay at a hotel then we 'll move back to El Farafra Oases and : Badawiya Hotel

DAY 10 - CAIRO (B)
Early morning camp style breakfast before sunrise, drive back to Cairo Airport ( 380 Kilometers).
Tour ends at Cairo Airport or a hotel , please ask us if you need help wit any hotel booking.
End of our service - Bon Voyage ! Itinerary is subject to change without notice.

RATES per person in USD for the

Inclusions:

• All shore excursions, entrance fees, the service of an English Speaking guide.
• Welcome fruit basket upon check-in. One large bottle of water per person daily while on board the cruise
• All outside cabins, including all tax & service charges.
• All meals: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner. Afternoon tea daily onboard.
• All transfers as listed, all by air conditioned car/van .
• Domestic air fare between Cairo & the cruise, tax included. Add $ 150 for upgrade to business class ( subject to availability)
• One small bottle of water per person with each meal
• One night hotel accommodation in Cairo , including tax & continental breakfast
• Hotel accommodation as per itinerary or camping as you wish in the oases:
  Hotels in the oases are 3-4 stars as listed & one night camping
• Oases trip excursion will be by Jeep four X four for two full days , always escorted by an English speaking guide.

Notes :

• For Christmas/New Year's and the month of April :
  Please add %20 supplement, to any of the listed rates.
  
• For a PRIVATE: CAR/DRIVER & GUIDE for all the shore excursions for the duration of the cruise , please add :$ 150 per person.
  
  

• Children discount :
  10 % on the adult double rate. ( 9 years of age or younger), must be raveling with an adult. No children discount on triple or single rates.
• Baby Sitting : Available upon request : $10 per child / per hour
• Aswan Abu Simbel Aswan with entrance fees in Abu Simbel & transfers :$225

Boarding the cruise is from either Luxor or Aswan, depending on the availability at the time of booking.  

Dining Room Reservations: Meet other passengers :
YOU will not require any, our dining rooms do accommodate all our guests in one seating, one less thing to worry about while you are on the Nile. Enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere with several different languages being heard at dinner.

Do we get sea sickness while sailing the Nile ?
This is river sailing, so do not expect any waves , no rough seas ! Your Nile cruises is actually a floating hotel that moves from place to place along the Nile. Actual cruising times are short and pleasant.

What to Pack:
Most of the year look forward to warm, even hot weather in Luxor & Aswan, morning & evenings are cooler. For Shore excursions, we suggest comfortable cotton & natural fabric lightweight clothing. Comfortable walking shoes are essential.

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

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. Read More

Why book with us ?