Egypt's Nile , You've got to go
Ancient River, modern ships, come Cruise the Nile
Two Weeks

Add Spain and Andalucia

13 Days - Here's the best of Egypt : a good look at Cairo and a 5-day cruise along the Nile.
With hotel stays in Luxor & Aswan - Tour Starts DAILY in Cairo - Arrive any day

Compare with the "Independent traveller's" edition or the 12 Days Version
Go fishing for a day on Lake Nasser

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 (cBL)
We plunge into Cairo: the treasure-filled Egyptian Museum including the" Mummies Room" , the Citadel of Saladin, perched high above the city, and Mohammed Ali's Alabaster Mosque. After lunch at a local restaurant , we explore Old Cairo: first a Roman fort, then the Jewish Quarter, then the Coptic Christian Quarter. We visit the Coptic churches of Abu Serghius and Al Molaka, the Coptic Museum, and Ben Ezra synagogue. Finally, we wander through the alleys of Khan el-Khalili bazaar in search of magic carpets and other traditional souvenirs.

DAY 3 - CAIRO- DAY AT LEISURE (cB)
Own activities, maybe to return for a second visit to the Egyptian Museum .

DAY 4 - CAIRO, GIZA Home Hosted Meal (cBLD)
We drive to Giza to see the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple. If you're physically fit, you may scramble deep within the Great Pyramid to the king's chamber. After lunch at a local restaurant, we tour some of Egypt's most ancient sites: the ruins of Memphis, the step pyramid of Sakkara, and the "bent" pyramid at Dahshour,open to visitors after a half-century of seclusion,
we'll motor to the edge of the Sahara to visit Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops, and other structure:

The "Discovery" of Dahshour:
For almost half a century, the great field of huge pyramids near the desert village of Dahshour, 25 miles south of Cairo, has been off limits to the public. Confined within the perimeter of a military base were many pyramids, including the great 4500-year-old pyramid built by Senfru, father of Cheops. Senfru's pyramid, the largest in Egypt until his son built Giza's Great Pyramid, is rhomboidal in shape: it tapers more distinctly on its upper half. All the pyramids were coated in thick plaster at one time. Most have lost these protective, decorative sheaths, but Senfru's--miraculously--is still in place.

Lunch is included at a local home to meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town).
In the evening, we host you on a Nile dinner cruise complete with exotic Egyptian entertainment.

DAY 5 - ASWAN, Camel Caravan! (B)
We fly to Aswan ( or Luxor ) and proceed to the Old Cataract Hotel. Overlooking the Nile and the ancient island of Elephantine. Only for those who are interested: a short camel caravan & ride for almost half an hour to visit a local Nubian Village, then on to the new Nubia Museum
Remainder of the day at leisure, the Oberoi hotel in Aswan or Old Cataract in Aswan ( Supplement applies)     or other deluxe hotel subject to availability,for First Class : Basma Hotel or similar)

DAY 6 - Abu Simbel ASWAN (BL)
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 we begin our leisurely drive back along the shore to Aswan, arriving late afternoon.

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

DAY 7 - NILE CRUISE , BOARD LUXOR or ASWAN (BL)
After breakfast at your hotel we escort you to board your Nile cruiser in time for a delicious lunch. Complimentary welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin. In the afternoon we enjoy a leisurely sail by graceful felucca on the Nile.

DAY 8 - ASWAN & KOM OMBO (BLD)
First we tour new Nubian Museum then 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!

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. . Re-embarking on our Nile cruiser, we sail downstream to Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples.

DAY 9- EDFU & ESNA (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, we cruise to Esna , pass through the Esna locks, Evening finds us in Luxor.

DAY 10 - LUXOR (BLD)
We tour today as well the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings , including Tutankaomn'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."

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 11 - LUXOR (B)

Full day at leisure in Luxor to explore this Ancient Capital on your own, in Luxor you'll stay at the Old Winter or other deluxe hotel subject to availability, at the time we receive your booking.

DAY 12 - LUXOR & CAIRO (B)
The gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, and the mighty Temple of Luxor are our goals in the morning, followed by a return flight to Cairo. In the afternoon, wander through the city on your own, or do your last-minute shopping.

DAY 13 - On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old , (BL)
We leave Cairo by sunrise ( private air conditioned car/driver/guide): Full day Fayoum Oases including:
Hawara Pyramid, El Lahoun Pyramid, Ruins of Karanis, drive by Lake Qarun, lunch is included at a local restaurant.

The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains, oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.

Join us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel, and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest. Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands. It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.

We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local artisans are on display.

Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure! We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes, and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales ( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included

DAY 14 - CAIRO- Departure (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight.

RATES per person in USD $

• For Dec 17 - Jan 5, Easter , please add %20 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 airfare and sleeper train tickets .
  
  
• Bottled water ( one per person) delivered to your cabin daily while you are on board the cruise.
  
  
• Tea or coffee & bottled water with every & each meal while on board the cruise.
  
  
• Complimentary fruit basket upon arrival on board the Nile Cruise.
  
  
• Welcome drink served upon arrival on board your Nile Cruise.
  
  
• All transfers within Egypt. ( Honeymooners/ Anniversary / Birthday gift tours , all will enjoy private transfers at no additional charge )

• Hotel accommodation with tax & service charges. Sample hotels for:
  Deluxe : Cairo : Hyatt , Inter.Continental, Sheraton, Hilton , Le Meridien Pyramids. Aswan Oberoi, . Le Meridien Luxor , or similar.
  
  
• Visa fee , visa will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for : American,EU, Mexican, Australian, NZ , Singaporean , Brazilian , 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. Sample Deluxe boats : M/S Adonis , M/S Monaco , M/S Monte Carlo , M/S Beau Soleil, M/S Adonis , M/S Diamond .
  
  
• 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 (we'll be glad to send you the flyer upon request).

Click Here for the Physically Challenged & Wheel Chairs private tour Edition

Click here for 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.

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.

Click Here for the Physically Challenged & Wheel Chairs private tour Edition

Add a Spa Package to your stay in Cairo when you stay at the Hyatt or the Four Seasons