Intriguing Egypt Series I
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive Cairo where you will be met by your Egypt Tours and Travel tour manager, who will meet and assist you. Later, transfer to your historical and luxurious hotel, the Marriott Mena House. Overnight.
Day 2
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Drive to Memphis on the edge of the Western desert, the Capital of the Ancient Kingdom, and one of the most important cities throughout the history of ancient Egypt. Continue the tour with a drive to Sakkara, the vast Necropolis of Ancient Memphis. In the afternoon, drive to the Pyramids of Giza. Cheops Pyramids, the largest of the three, built in the 4th dynasty about 2690 B.C. and one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. In front of the Pyramid of Chephren, you’ll find the Sphinx carved from a single piece of stone. It is a lion's body with a pharaoh's head thought to be a portrait of the pharaoh Chephren. Enjoy a camel ride by the Pyramids area if you would like, then visit the Papyrus Institute. Return to your hotel to freshen up. In the evening, you will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to the Pyramid Plateau to attend the magnificent sound and light show. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Drive from Cairo to Alexandria (about 3 hours ride). Upon arrival start your sightseeing by visiting the Greco-Roman museum containing statues, bas reliefs, pottery, jewelry, marble pieces, and other artifacts, gives you a feel for the grandeur of Alexandria in its Greek and Roman days. Continue the tour to visit the Roman Amphitheater, the only known amphitheater from the Roman era in Egypt. In the afternoon, visit the Catacombs of Kom-El-Shouqafa. These tombs are remarkable for their unusual mixture of art styles, sculptures, and reliefs of Egyptian gods. Continue your tour to visit Pompey's Pillar, a column 98 feet high and 7 feet thick, made of Aswan rose granite erected in 297 A.D. Early evening, drive back to Cairo. Upon arrival in Cairo, you will be transferred back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4
You will be met by our Egypt Tours tour manager who will transfer to Cairo airport for your early flight to Luxor, upon arrival at Luxor airport, you will be met and transferred to embark your deluxe cruise ship. the Sonesta M/S Moon Goddess. Meet your guide and visit the Temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Also visit, Temple of Luxor, started by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramses II. Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5
Cross to the West Bank, visit the Necropolis of Thebes, the King Tut Tomb, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari and Colossi of Memnon. Sail to Edfu via Esna. Overnight on board ship.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6
Visit the temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved temples in existence. It’s a Ptolemaic temple built between 237 and 57 BC. Sail to Kom-Ombo. Overnight onboard your cruise ship.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7
Visit the Temple shared by the two gods Sobek and Haroeris, dating back to 180 BC, during the Ptolemaic era with additions made during Roman times. Sail to Aswan. In the afternoon, visit Philae Temple, botanical gardens, Agha Khan Mausoleum by Felucca. Overnight on board.
(Optional trip to Abu-Simbel is $319.00 additional)
**See pricing below for details of Abu-Simbel Excursion
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8
Visit the High Dam, the Granite Quarries, and the Unfinished Obelisk. Disembark your cruise ship where you will be met and transferred to Aswan airport for your flight back to Cairo, upon arrival at Cairo airport, you will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to your hotel, the Cairo Marriott. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 9
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Visit the beautiful Pharaonic Village. It's a complete island, built as a replica of ancient Egypt. See actors and actresses living their lives like ancient Egyptians used to do their daily chores. They live, work, dress, make papyrus paper (the same way they used to convey messages in old times). It's a wonderful experience that takes you several thousand years back. Return to your hotel, and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure for shopping or swimming at your hotel pool. Overnight at your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Start your tour visiting the Egyptian Museum famous for its antiquities from Egypt's Pharaonic period, dating back some 50 centuries and includes the fabulous treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Afternoon excursion to Old Cairo, visiting the very old Coptic Churches, Abu Serga Church, built over the crypt where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph stayed while in Egypt, also visit the Hanging and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Beni Ezra. Continue your visit to the Alabaster mosque of Mohammad Ali and the Citadel of Salah-El-Din and the medieval Bazaars of Khan-El-Khalili, where you can bargain for your jewelry, copper, and hand-tooled leather items. Return to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Image Source: Przemyslaw "Blueshade" Idzkiewicz.
Day 11
A day of leisure for last-minute shopping or for taking an optional tour. Overnight at your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 12
You will be met by our Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to Cairo airport, where you will be helped with your check-in for your departure flight.
Meals: Breakfast
Optional Abu-Simbel Excursion
*This will take place during your stay in Aswan
**Airfare to and from Abu-Simbel is included
Visit the Great Temple of Ramses II, with its four colossal seated statues of the king in front of the entrance, dedicated to Amun Ra, the Horakhti, and Ramses II. Continue to visit the King's wife's temple, the Temple of Nefertari. The entire site was threatened by the waters upon the completion of the Aswan High Dam and has been preserved by International action organized by "UNESCO". All of the parts of the temple have been sectioned, cut, removed from the original site, and reassembled on higher ground.
Also Included: Egypt Tours provides all meeting and assistance, baggage handling, entrance fees to sights mentioned, transfers, hotel service charges, cruise port charges, and taxes are included. All transfers and sightseeing provided in Cairo are operated in a private car with a driver and a professional Egyptologist tour guide during the sightseeing, or a driver and a tour escort during transfers available with you at all times. (Personalized service.)
Extensions & Optional Tours: Extra days and optional tours to sites that are not included are available upon request.
Pricing
$4459
Intriguing Egypt Series I
$649
Single Supplement
$319
Optional Abu-Simbel Excursion
**Please keep in mind that if you are travelling alone, you are single occupancy.
