18 DAYS ~ EGYPT


Tour Pace
It’s a lively start to this tour – especially if you are planning on watching the sun rise from the summit of Mt Sinai. The tour then slows down considerably after Cairo. Once aboard your Nile Cruise, just relax and enjoy the colossal temples, exotic towns and ever changing scenery.

Fellow Passengers – Your fellow passengers will be taking this tour for a variety of reasons; Mt Sinai is revered by Christians, Moslems and Jews alike. El–Alamein is a significant site for people with WWII ancestry. It also appeals to those who want the complete Egypt experience.

DAY 1 – DEPART USA.
Board your overnight flight.

DAY 2 – ARRIVE CAIRO.
Welcome to Egypt! On arrival in Cairo you are met and transferred to your sophisticated tour hotel, built around a stunning landscaped atrium.

Hotel: Fairmont Heliopolis.

DAY 3 – CAIRO – ST CATHERINE.
Head east this morning. After driving through the tunnel under the Suez Canal, look out for the huge cargo ships as they negotiate this famous waterway. Cross the Sinai Peninsula to St. Catherine’s village in the shadow of Mt Sinai. There is time to relax before dinner. You are also invited for tea with the local Bedouins.

Hotel: Morgen Land. (BB,D)

DAY 4 – ST CATHERINE – GULF OF SUEZ.
An optional ascent of Mt Sinai shows you the cave where Moses hid and sunrise from the summit. Later, one of the priests guides you through St. Catherine’s Monastery (if open). Drive on to your seaside resort.

Hotel: Palmera Ain Sukhna. (BB,D)

DAY 5 – GULF OF SUEZ – ALEXANDRIA.
Drive through the desert to Alexandria, Egypt's major port, founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.

Hotel: Helnan Palestine. (BB,D)

DAY 6 – ALEXANDRIA SIGHTSEEING.
Your full day city tour includes the National Museum, Roman Amphitheatre and Roman Catacombs. After a visit to Montazah Gardens, your final stop is the 15C Quayet–Bey Fortress. Tonight, dinner is at a local restaurant. (BB,HD)

DAY 7 – ALEXANDRIA – CAIRO.
Drive into the Western Desert to El–Alamein. Time here to pay your respects at the War Cemeteries and visit the Military Museum. En route to Cairo make a stop at the Coptic Monasteries at Wadi El Natrun (if open).

Hotel: Marriott. (BB)

DAY 8 – CAIRO SIGHTSEEING.
Enjoy views over the city from the Citadel of Salah El Din and then visit Mohammed Ali’s great alabaster mosque. Continue to the Egyptian Museum to gaze upon Tutankhamun’s treasure. Later, experience a Sound & Light Show at the Pyramids of Giza! (BB)

DAY 9 – CAIRO – CRUISING.
Fly to Luxor, on the banks of the Nile, to tour the Temple complex of Karnak. Walk spellbound through the avenue of sphinxes into the vast Hypostyle Hall housing 134 giant columns. After boarding your cruise boat set sail for Dendara. Ship: MS Miriam/MS Giselle. (BB,L,D)

DAY 10 – CRUISING – LUXOR.
Visit the Temple of Hathor in Dendara, one of the best preserved temples in Egypt and containing a rare depiction of Cleopatra and her son Caesarian, whose father was Julius Caesar. The cruise returns to Luxor around midday. Afternoon at leisure. In the cool of early evening, visit the ancient Temple of Luxor, founded in 1400 BC during Thebe’s Golden Age. (BB,L,D)

DAY 11 – CRUISING – EDFU.
Travel by air–conditioned coach to the West Bank of the Nile to see the Colossi of Memnon, and visit both the Temple of Hatshepsut and Valley of the Kings, where many illustrious Pharoahs were buried. Return to your cruise boat and sail via the Esna Lock to Edfu. (BB,L,D)

DAY 12 – CRUISING – ASWAN.
Visit the well–preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu, dedicated to the Falcon God. After exploring this fascinating site, your cruise continues to Aswan. Don your galabeas (traditional Egyptian attire), for a fun–filled Egyptian Dinner and Galabea Party. (BB,L,HD)

DAY 13 – CRUISING – ASWAN.
A full day of sightseeing includes a visit to the Aswan High Dam and Granite Quarries to see the enormous unfinished obelisk. Travel by motorboat to the Temple of Isis, rising from the waters of the Nile on the Island of Philae. Later, return to Aswan to sail in a traditional Nile felucca around Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. (BB,L,D)

DAY 14 – CRUISING – KOM OMBO.
Perhaps join the optional excursion by air to the temples of Abu Simbel (see page 158). Later, sail to Kom Ombo to visit the only double temple of Egypt dedicated to two gods, the crocodile headed, Sobek and falcon headed Horus the Elder. (BB,L,D)

DAY 15 – CRUISING – LUXOR.
Your cruise continues along the life giving waters of the Nile. In the evening arrive back in Luxor where there is time for last minute shopping and sightseeing. (BB,L,D).

DAY 16 – LUXOR – CAIRO.
Disembark your cruise and transfer to the airport for your return flight to Cairo. This evening you are at leisure.

Hotel: Marriott. (BB)

DAY 17 – CAIRO SIGHTSEEING.
Drive to Memphis to admire the statue of Rameses II and the great alabaster sphinx. Continue to Sakkara to see the Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the oldest in the world. Now enjoy a highlight visit inside one of the Pyramids of Giza and see the Sphinx. (BB)

DAY 18 – RETURN TO USA.
The tour ends with transfers to Cairo airport. (BB) Additional visa requirements