Day 1: Arrival in Egypt
On your arrival at the Cairo International Airport, you will be met by one of our representatives, who will assist you with getting your Egyptian visa, immigration, customs and luggage, and will transfer you to the 5 star Le Meridien Giza Hotel, located in the shadow of the great Giza Pyramids. This afternoon, there will be some time to rest after the long flight, enjoying the hotel's grounds and its photogenic pools with the pyramids view, before we meet for our welcome dinner in the evening.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodations: Le Meridien Hotel, Cairo
Day 2: Cairo
We'll begin our immersion in the ancient Egyptian culture and history. Early wake up call to go to Cheope’s Pyramid for a private meditation from 5-7 am (optional), then back to the hotel for breakfast. We will then start our journey through the world's most ancient civilization with an in-depth tour of the only remaining monuments of the Ancient World's Seven Wonders. We'll take an extensive guided tour of the Pyramids of Giza and their guardian, and the majestic Sphinx. We'll enter the Pyramid of Kephren and explore its interior, as well as the interior of the tombs of Ido and Kar, and end the day with a visit to the Solar Boat Museum.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodations: Le Meridien Hotel, Cairo
Day 3: Cairo
In the morning, we'll set out to visit Saqqara, the site of the oldest Egyptian pyramids, featuring the mysterious tombs beneath the ancient heaped mounds. Our Egyptologist guide will help us understand their significance and decipher the stories told in the beautiful hieroglyphics lining their walls. We'll also visit Titi's Pyramid and the Step Pyramid, the first freestanding stone building in history and the first pyramid ever built. In the evening transfer to the central station for our overnight train first class to Answan, dinner and breakfast served on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodations: Overnight train to Answan
Day 4: Aswan
We will celebrate the first day of the year in an amazing landscape. We will leave our train and transfer for a one-night stay in a 5-star hotel in Answan. Rest time and lunch on your own. In the afternoon we will experience a beautiful Felucca Ride visiting some of the islands of the Nile, including Kitchener Island with its amazing botanical gardens. Then, we will prepare to visit a Nubian village where we will have dinner with locals and learn about their simple life.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodations: Basma Aswan Hotel
Day 5: Aswan
Today, we'll tour Aswan, a city known for centuries for its cataracts and as being the gateway to the South, along a trading route from the heart of Africa to Egypt. Aswan enjoys a pleasant climate, and the Nile here flows through granite rocks, with the golden desert sands with palm trees lining the banks. Our first stop will be the Temple of Philae, considered the most beautiful temple in the Nile Valley and dedicated to the goddess Isis and the god Osiris. After the Aswan dam was built, the temple was flooded by the Nile, and it was moved to its new location on Agilika Island. We'll also visit the Unfinished Obelisk in its original location, in a granite quarry. At the end we embark on our 5 star-deluxe cruise.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodations: MS Sarah Nile Cruise
Day 6: Kom Ombo and Edfu
Today we start sailing to Kom Ombo. We will stop and visit the Temple dedicated to two gods, the god Horus and the god Sobek. Originally built for god Horus, after the increasing number of crocodiles on the island, it was rededicated to god Sobek, a crocodile shaped god. An imaginary line divides the temple into two parts, each with its own entrance, hypostyle halls and chapels. We continue towards Edfu, where we will visit the temple dedicated to the falcon god Horus whose divine marriage to Hathor is depicted on the temple's walls.
Dinner and overnight on our cruise.
Day 7: Luxor
We sail to Luxor. We'll start the day very early by crossing the Nile River to the west bank's Valley of the Kings to visit the vividly painted tombs, carved out of rocky cliffs. We'll tour Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, built by her to honor her father, the god Amun, the fascinating Memnon Colossi, the famous King Tut's tomb and the colorful Ramses VI's tomb. Ack for lunch. In the evening, we'll visit the Luxor Temple, one of the best-preserved ancient temples in Egypt, with beautifully decorated columns, a large open court, a massive entrance façade and two seated statues of Ramses II.
Accommodations: MS Sarah Nile Cruise
Day 8: Luxor
Disembarkation from Cruise. After breakfast, we will visit the Karnak Temple, a vast, open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. The Karnak Temple is made up of a group of temples surrounded by a wall, and dedicated to the god Amon-Ra. Free time.
Transfer to Luxor Station to take sleeping train back to Cairo.
Day 9: Cairo
Arrive in Cairo, then visit the Egyptian Museum which houses the world's largest collection of relics from Pharaonic times, the sarcophagi, statues, jewelry, and the golden treasures of King Tut. Later, we'll explore the Old Cairo, a multi-cultural area full of Jewish, Coptic Christian and Islamic monuments. We'll visit the Hanging Church, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, Abo Serga Church and the Amr Ibn el Aas Mosque, as we stroll through the city enveloped in the mysterious scents and sounds of the East. In the afternoon visit the very famous market Khan El-Khalili.
Final dinner together.
Overnight Cairo
Day 10
Transfer to Cairo airport for final departure.
The order of events and visits may be subject to change.
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