Egypt and Paris Tour including a Nile Cruise. Paris to the Nile With Alexandria

Sheer romance, sheer adventure! This itinerary includes a tour of Egypt's top sights, a free day for shopping in Cairo's bazaars, Alexandria & Wadi El Natroun Monasteries, a sleeper-train ride up the Nile, a 5-day cruise to the temples along the Nile, and two nights in Paris--all in 13 days, at unbeatable rates. (Extend your stay with extra nights in Paris, Cairo, Luxor, or in the Red Sea resorts of Hurgada or Sharm El Sheikh--ask us how.)
Monday or Sunday , weekly , year round , tours starts in PARIS or Cairo .
Compare with Paris & Jerusalem , or Extend to Jordan & Petra ?

DAY 1 - Monday or Sunday , weekly , year round , tours starts in PARIS
Arrival in Paris! our staff will meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel, centrally located near the Champs-Elysées. Drop your luggage, grab your Lonely Planet guidebook (we'll give you a copy of the Paris guide at no extra charge), and head out into the City of Light. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy as you please: strolling the boulevards, watching boats on the Seine, shopping in the markets and boutiques, or people-watching in a cozy cafe.

Day 2- Tuesday (cB)
Enjoy full day at leisure. The City is yours with our complimentary guide book at hand.

DAY 3 - Wednesday PARIS (cB)
Come with us on a half-day panoramic motorcoach tour of the city. We'll stop by the Place de l'Opera, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysées, Arch de Triomphe, Trocadero, Eiffel Tower (tickets to the first level), Le Bastille and Notre Dame. Then we'll take a short cruise on the Seine before we let you go to find your own favorite Parisian haunts, led there by your Lonely Planet guidebook.

Evening Tour of Paris : CityRama Tour : The Magic of Paris at night: Magical and magnificent by night , a drive through Paris with its beautiful illuminated buildings should not be missed by any visitor to Paris. Every evening at 7 PM (Except on Dec 31) , also every evening at 10 PM , except on Jun 21 and July 14 . Duration 1:30 Hour. Transfer is included from hotel to Cityrama terminal , but return on your own to the hotel after the tour, or add $ 20 (total for the transfer at the end after the tour). Tour ends at the Opera Pyramids Square.

Day 4 - Thursday PARIS TO CAIRO (cB)
After breakfast, we escort you to the airport to catch your nonstop EgyptAir flight to Cairo. During the flight, study your Lonely Planet guidebook to Egypt, which we present to you with our compliments. Upon landing in Cairo, our staff meets you, assists with entry formalities, and whisks you downtown to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to get a glimpse of this great, timeless city on the Nile, the "Paris of Africa."Complimentary visa issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport, valid only for American, Western European , Australian , NZ & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for 6 month at least at time 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 5 - Friday CAIRO (BL)
Today we show you the greatness of Cairo on a full-day tour: the Egyptian Museum, including the "Mummies Hall " , the Citadel of Saladin, and Muhammed Ali's splendid Alabaster Mosque. After lunch at al-Azhar Park, we enjoy a leisurly walk through Khan El-Khalili legendary bazaar district , and al-Darb Al-Ahmar .

DAY 6 - Saturday - LUXOR & NILE CRUISE (BLD)
After an early breakfast we fly to Luxor ( air fare is always included in economy with tax ) and we take you to your deluxe Nile cruise vessel . After dropping our bags and freshening up, we set out to see the best first: the gigantic, awesome Great Temple of Karnak and the smaller but still mammoth Temple of Luxor. After lunch on our cruiser, we cross the Nile to tour the incomparable monuments of ancient Thebes: the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens, and the Colossi of Memnon. In the evening, relax on deck as our luxury riverboat casts off and gently cruises upstream to the Esna locks.

DAY 7 - Sunday - EDFU & KOM OMBO (BLD)
Our first stop today is Edfu, home of the best-preserved temple on the Nile. We board horse-drawn carriages for the short clip-clop ride through the town to the majestic Temple of Horus. After our visit, we return to our vessel for the leisurely cruise to Kom Ombo, where we dock for the night.

DAY 8 - Monday - KOM OMBO & ASWAN (BLD)
We tour the fascinating twin temples of Kom Ombo, one of which is dedicated to Sobek, the sacred Nile crocodile (complete with mummified crocs!) We continue upriver to Aswan, where we board a felucca (traditional Nile sailboat) for a cruise among the rocky islands in the shadow of the huge Aswan High Dam. Later we visit the Temple of Philae, raised from the flooding lake-bed and moved to a high island when the dam was under construction.

DAY 9 -- Tuesday ASWAN Abu Simbel - CAIRO (B) The mighty Aswan dams and the Nubian Museum are our first goal this morning, followed by a trip by motor launch to the Philae temples. Back on land, we head for the airport , on to Abu Simbel to visit the mighty temples of Ramses the Great & his Queen Nefertari the Beautiful, connect back in Aswan and fly back to Cairo by plane.

DAY 10 - Wednesday - Fayoum Oases and a HOME Hosted Dinner CAIRO (BLD)
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

A special treat in tonight as we have you join an Egyptian family for 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 11 - CAIRO / ALEXANDRIA - Thursday (BL)
We start early at first light , private air conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide will escort you from Cairo , drive to the Egyptian Mediterranean coast and the City of Alexander the Great , bottled water is available on board your vehicle with our compliemnts . Lunch is included . Today in Alexandria visit the new Library of Alexandria, the Museum, Zanket el-Satat and the local souks . In the evening your guide will call on you for a night out in Raml district with tea or coffee included at one of the local pastry shops .
Hotels: , subject to availability :First class : the Cecil Hotel with the old world charm, or Sheraton .
Deluxe : Hilton ( suite) or Palestine Montazah Hotel ( suite ) , or the Four Seasons ( standard room) .

DAY 12 - Alexandria & Wadi El Natroun Monasteries- Friday (BL)
Full day tour of the Greceo Roman Catacombs, the Roman Amphitheater, Qayet Bey Fortress , 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 , before heading 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. Reach Cairo early evening .

DAY 13 - Cairo-Giza - Saturday (BL)
Today we drive to the edge of the Sahara , cross the Nile to Giza , to visit : The Pyramids of Giza, the great Sphinx, and the Cheops Royal Barge Museum , the oldest know wooden royal barge in the world. Lunch is included at the Mena House. Afternoon tour of Memphis and Sakkara, including the Step Pyramid and Nobles Mastabas.

DAY 14 - Sunday- Departure (B)
Breakfast is served at your hotel,our local rep escort you back to the airport, the air fare is included back to Paris . Extend to Jordan & Petra ?

	Deluxe	First Class
Sharing in Triple Occupancy	US$ 4762.00	US$ 3670.00
In Double Occupancy	US$ 4895.00	US$ 3790.00
In Single Occupancy	US$ 5985.00	US$ 4780.00

DEPARTURE DATES AND NOTES
This tour starts weekly year round , in Paris. If you need assistance with air fare from USA , please do let's know, we'll be glad to help with very special deals on Air France

or American & United .

For First Class - 3 stars :
A simple, clean, comfortable, centrally-located 3-star hotel, such as the Primotel Empire, Fertel Etoile or Tilsitt. If Paris hotels are heavily booked for a major exposition or trade show during your visit, we may be required to add full fare 3 or 4 -star hotel rates to the tour rates; contact us for exact dates and details.

Click here for more info on these luxurious cruises:( Supplement : 10 % to be added to the
Deluxe rate : The Ultra deluxe Queen TiYi , M/Senator yacht all suites (17) all with private balconies , Radamis ( Swiss Management) , Moon Goddess all suites with private balconies

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, as you'll have always your own private car/driver/guide.

DINING NOTES
The set-menu meals included in your tour are indicated in the itinerary: B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast), L = Lunch, D = Dinner. On our luxury Nile cruise vessels, our spacious dining rooms accommodate all passengers at one seating, so there is no need to worry about making reservations , one less thing to worry about while you are on the Nile. Enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere with several different languages being heard at dinner. Smart Casual dress is suggested for dinner . No tie / Formal dress requirement

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.

From Paris to the Nile! A 14 Day Mediterranean Dream Vacation - Alexandria Edition

From Paris to the Nile!

A 14 Day Mediterranean Dream Vacation - Alexandria Edition