Cruise Plus
A Grand 11- Day tour of Egypt - Board Luxor

- Here's the best of Egypt : a good look at Cairo and a 5-day cruise along the Nile With a 2 Night stay at the legendary Old Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor and the charming Colonial Style Old Cataract In Aswan , with a tour of the Mighty Abu Simbel Temples

Tour Starts DAILY in Cairo - Arrive any day of the week .

A view from one of the room at the Old Cataract in Aswan

Click here for the 2 Weeks edition , Go fishing for a day on Lake Nasser

Add Spain and Andalucia

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 and will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for : Australian, NZ, American,EU , Canadian & 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.

DAY 2 - CAIRO (BL)
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum, including the " Mummies Room" , the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Citadel of Saladin, and the Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster.
A 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 3 - LUXOR ! ( or Aswan ) (B)
We fly to LUXOR, our local rep will assist with your transfer to your hotel.
Full day at leisure in Luxor to explore this Ancient Capital on your own.
For deluxe category : Luxor you'll stay at the Old Winter or other deluxe hotel subject to availability, at the time we receive your booking.

DAY 4 - LUXOR (BLD)
After a leisure breakfast, we assist with your transfer to board our Nile cruiser in time for a delicious lunch. Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin .The gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, and the mighty Temple of Luxor are our goals in the afternoon. We'll return in time for the afternoon tea served on deck. You'll have a chance to explore your ship before dinner.

DAY 5 - LUXOR , EDFU (BLD)
We tour today as well the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings including Tut-Ank-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 sail in the afternoon we cruise to Esna to go through the locks , and on to Edfu where we dock for the night. In the evening , we'll celebrate in Egyptian style, dressed in galabias, the flowing national costume, a galabya will be delivered to your cabin with our compliments)

Day 6 - EDFU, KOM OMBO (BLD)
We moor in Edfu, climb aboard horse-drawn carriages, and clip-clop through the town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt's best-preserved temple. Re-embarking on our Nile cruiser, we enjoy lunch as we sail further south upriver .
We disembark downstream at Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples of Haroeris, the sun god, and Sobek, the crocodile god, the continue our voyage to Aswan, while we party after dinner with music & dance.

DAY 7 - ASWAN (BLD)
First we tour Aswan dams, then on to the awesome Aswan dams, and next an ancient granite quarry complete with an unfinished obelisk. Then we go by motor launch to 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!

.
In the afternoon we enjoy a leisurely sail by graceful felucca on the Nile.

Our farewell dinner this evening is a buffet of Egyptian specialties, followed by a show featuring oriental performers, including of course a belly dancer.

DAY 8 - Abu Simbel - Private Egyptologist / Escort (BLD)
We check out after a very early breakfast.
Ramses the Great's huge desert temple at Abu Simbel marked the southern border of the pharaoh's dominions. Rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser by an international effort, it is a marvel of sacred engineering. Twice a year‹and only then the sun penetrates to the Holy of Holies, illuminating the stone figures of Ramses and Nefertari.

We've planned our visit to maximize your Abu Simbel experience. Rising before dawn, we drive along the shore of Lake Nasser, watching the sky lighten and the sacred sun rise above the horizon. We reach the temple while the air is clean, clear and cool, and the sun's light still golden just right for photographs. We explore the huge temple by ourselves, admire its ancient aura and artistry, then retire to a comfortable hotel for refreshments. Just as planeloads of visitors arrive to throng the temple .
Lunch and dinner are included at your hotel in Abu Simbel ( Seti Ist Hotel)

Evening Sound & Light Show at Abu Simbel ( bring a jacket)

DAY 9 - ABU SIMBEL / ASWAN (B)
If you wish to go back to the Temples in the morning for some more photographs , followed by a return flight to Aswan and your hotel .
In the afternoon, wander through the city or the souks on your own.

DAY 10 - ASWAN / CAIRO (B)
After breakfast , enjoy morning at leisure .
We escort you back to Aswan Airport and your flight to Cairo. In the afternoon, wander through the city on your own, or do your last-minute shopping.

DAY 11 - CAIRO- Departure (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight.

RATES per person in USD

• For Dec 20 - Jan 3 , Easter ( 2 Weeks season) , please add % 25 supplement to any of the listed rates.

• Private touring on board the cruise: Please add $250 per person for the full cruise/shore excursions.
  
  

Rates includes

• All airfares and transfers within Egypt.
• Hotel accommodation with tax & service charges.
• Visa fee , visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for : American,Western European, Canadian & 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.
• Nile Cruise with all meals & shore excursions.
• Preset menu meals including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast) L = Lunch, D = Dinner .
• All guided sightseeing as per itinerary including all entrance fees. On board the cruise you'll be part of an average 10-15 English speaking group.

Not included:

• International airfares to or from Cairo.
• Tips
• Travel Insurance

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

Compare with the 14 -day edition with one week in Hurgada or El Gouna on the Red Sea:
A "Dream Come True" tour. 14 days , Cairo and the Pyramids. A Nile Cruise of course, and a beach resort at Hurgada or El Gouna, on the Red Sea. Including the welcome Zaffa (procession that will resemble an Arabian/Egyptian wedding party) with a troupe of dancers and musicians dressed with the Egyptian typical clothes, welcoming guests by singing and dancing Egyptian Folklore).

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.