Classical Egypt

Day 1: CAIRO
Arrival at Cairo airport. Reception by a local representative, with assistance with immigration and customs. Private transfer to the hotel. Accommodation for 2 nights, with breakfast.

Capital of Egypt, Cairo is one of the largest metropolises in the Middle East and combines ancient history, Islamic architecture, traditional markets and intense urban life on the banks of the Nile River. The city is renowned for its important archaeological sites, museums, and its proximity to the famous pyramids of Giza.

DAY 2: CAIRO
Breakfast at the hotel. Guided tour visiting one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”, the Pyramids of Giza (Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus). These pyramids were built with 2,300,000 blocks, each weighing around 2 tons.

Not far from the pyramids is the Great Sphinx of Giza (2,620 BC), carved from natural yellowish limestone and measuring 20 meters high and 60 meters long, combining the head of a pharaoh with the body of a lion.

In the afternoon, time to explore the Egyptian Museum, established by the Egyptian Government in 1835. The current building was built in 1900, in the classic style of the French architect Marcel Dourgnon. The museum has more than 120,000 prehistoric and Greco-Roman period objects.

Return to the hotel.

Suggested optional activities (not included):

• Entry to the Cheops pyramid, considered one of the most interesting, because its chambers are open to the public;
• Quick visit to the Papyrus Institute or a perfume store;
• Lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Egyptian Museum;
• Light show at the Pyramid of Giza.

DAY 3: CAIRO/LUXOR
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Private airport transfer for boarding a flight to Luxor. Upon arrival, assistance and private transfer to the port for boarding a cruise along the Nile River.

Accommodation for 4 nights, with full board and shared tours with an English-speaking guide on the cruise to be defined.

Lunch (without drinks) on board.

Next, visit the Karnak Temple, founded in 1928 BC as a small shrine dedicated to Amon. The complex, built over 1,300 years, consists of three main temples (Mut, Monthu and Amun), in addition to smaller temples and several external structures, surrounded by large brick walls.

Continuing the Luxor Temple, built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramses II, the temple served as a setting for rituals that were performed to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with his divine function.

Return to the boat and dinner (without drinks) on board.

DAY 4: LUXOR - ESNA - EDFU
After breakfast on board, shared tour with an English-speaking guide to the Valley of the Kings, the ancient necropolis of Thebes where several pharaohs of the New Empire were buried.

Continuation to the Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahari), dedicated to the god Amon-Ra and considered one of the most impressive examples of ancient Egyptian architecture. Its reliefs depict the legend of the divine birth of Queen Hatshepsut and commercial expeditions to the legendary Land of Punt.

Lunch (without drinks) on board. Continuation of navigation along the Nile River to Edfu.

Dinner (without drinks) on board.

DAY 5: EDFU - KOM OMBO - ASWAN
Breakfast on board. Shared tour with an English-speaking guide to the Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved temples in Ancient Egypt and considered the second largest in the country. Its construction took about 200 years, and the site is believed to mark the mythological scene of the battle between the gods Horus and Seth.

Continuation of navigation along the Nile River towards Kom Ombo. Lunch (without drinks) on board.

In the afternoon, shared tour with an English-speaking guide to the Kom Ombo Temple, dedicated to the gods Sobek and Horus. Built on the banks of the Nile, the temple stands out for its symmetrical structure and for its connection with the cult of crocodiles, sacred animals in ancient Egypt.

Continuation of the navigation towards Aswan.

Dinner (without drinks) on board.

DAY 6: Aswan
After breakfast on board, shared tour with an English-speaking guide to the Aswan High Dam, an important engineering project responsible for controlling the Nile floods, energy generation and agricultural irrigation in Egypt.

Continuation to the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis and transferred to a nearby island during the construction of the dam, in an operation coordinated by UNESCO to preserve the monument.

Then, visit the Unfinished Obelisk, located in the northern region of the old Aswan quarries, considered the largest known ancient obelisk.

Lunch (without drinks) on board.

In the afternoon, ride a falucca, traditional wooden sailing boat, around Kitchener Island, including observation of the Aga Khan Mausoleum.

Dinner (without drinks) on board.

DAY 7: ASWAN/CAIRO
Breakfast and check-out on board. Private transfer to Aswan airport for boarding a flight to Cairo.

Upon arrival, reception and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation for 1 night, with breakfast.

Rest of the day free for independent activities.

Optional activity suggestion (not included):

• Visit Abu Simbel, a complex of temples built by Ramses II and dedicated to him and Queen Nefertari, located on the shores of Lake Nasser.

DAY 8: CAIRO
Breakfast at the hotel, check-out and private transfer to Cairo airport.

Sharm el-Sheikh Extension Package

Fayoum Extension Package