Essence of Egypt including Nile Cruise

Duration: 11 Days / 10 Nights                                                                      • Cairo • Aswan • Kom Ombo • Edfu • Esna • Luxor • Alexandria •

Small Group Tour - from 2 to 10 guests

Guaranteed Departures     

A Nile cruise is one of the best ways to experience Egypt. Along the Nile from Aswan to Luxor are many of the most impressive monuments and temples of ancient Egypt.

° Accommodation - 6 nights hotels & 4 nights on cruise                                

° Breakfast and dinner daily in Cairo.

° 3 meals daily on board the Nile cruise commencing with lunch on the day of embarkation

° 4 night/5 day Nile Cruise on board the MS King of Thebes between Aswan and Luxor

° Sightseeing as outlined with entrance fees and the services of a Egyptologist guide

° Transfers between airports, piers and hotels

Day 1 / Saturday Cairo

On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel - Mercure Le Sphinx for a 3 night stay (D)

Day 2 / Sunday Cairo

Morning departure to the exciting historical and architectural area known as the city of the dead - Sakkara. The site is dominated by the Step Pyramid of Zoser which is believed to have been constructed before those at Giza and thought to represent a staircase to heaven. Next is Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt built by King Menes where we stop to view the statue of Ramses II and the Alabaster Sphinx. Returning to the hotel, the balance of the afternoon is free for relaxation or further optional visits. (B,D)

Day 3 / Monday Cairo
Following breakfast, we proceed to Giza to gaze upon the massive trio of pyramids standing near the West Bank of the Nile. Each Pyramid has its own history and was built as a tomb for a departed Pharaoh. It was regarded as an indispensable necessity for it was the place that his body would reside, preserved forever through mummification and would contain his personal possessions, his household goods and the wealth he would need in the life beyond. Our tour today concludes with a stop at the Sphinx. Together with the Pyramids, the Sphinx is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Carved out of solid natural rock, it has the body of a lion and the head of a man and faces east to greet the rising sun and return of life each day. Return to the hotel for the balance of the day at leisure. (B,D)

Day 4 / Tuesday Cairo - Aswan

Transfer to airport for departure by Egyptair to Aswan, Egypt's gateway to Africa. You will be  met upon arrival and transferred to the pier for embarkation on the MS King of Thebes, for your 4 night cruise along the fabled waters of the ancient Nile in an outside cabin with private facilities. All meals are included commencing with lunch today and ending with breakfast on the day of disembarkation. Relax on the sundeck and take in the activity around you on the water and riverfront. Late afternoon sail by felucca on the ageless Nile past the Aga Khan mausoleum, Elephantine Island and the Botanical Gardens. Dinner and overnight in Aswan. (B,L,D)

Day 5 / Wednesday / Aswan - Kom Ombo - Edfu
After breakfast on the ship, we visit the Philae Temple, dedicated to the God Isis. Threatened by the flooding waters of the Nile, the temple was dismantled and reassembled on a new site on Agilika Island close to its former site on Philae Island. The Great Temple of Isis is the largest and most distinctive of the island temples. Our tour continues to the Unfinished Obelisk, a 120 foot tall obelisk that was fractured during the process and abandoned. Return to the ship for lunch. At 14:00 hrs. we set sail down river to Kom Ombo, where on a bluff commanding a magnificent view stands the Temple of Kom Ombo which is built in two distinct, separate sections - one for each of the town's two principal deities. One part of the structure is dedicated to the falcon-headed Horus, the other to the crocodile-headed Sobek and marked by a grisly mound of mummified crocodiles. Sail to Edfu located halfway between Luxor and Aswan for overnight. Dinner on board. Overnight in Edfu. (B,L,D)

Day 6 / Thursday / Edfu - Esna - Luxor
This morning visit the Edfu Temple dedicated to the God Horus, the principle of Resurrection. He is depicted in his role as the avenger of his father Osiris. It is one of the best preserved Pharaonic Temples in Egypt. Return to the ship. Sail to Luxor some 400 miles south of Cairo, site of ancient Thebes for overnight on board. (B,L,D)

Day 7 / Friday / Luxor

Cross the Nile to the West Bank to visit the world renowned Valley of the Kings, the burial grounds of the great pharaohs of the empire. Over the years several tombs have been discovered including the Tomb of King Tut-Ankh-Amun* which was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. (*Entrance fee to the Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amun is not included). Continuing southwest we come to the Valley of the Queens known in ancient Egypt as “the Place of Beauty”. Next is the graceful Valley Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a complex consisting of three gracefully rising terraces. Your last stop before lunch will be at the Colossi of Memnon, where two giant statues of Amenhotep III gaze impassively towards the Nile. Lunch on board. Late afternoon visit to Luxor Temple, the first great site you will see in the centre of town. Built during the reign of Amenophis III and dedicated to the God Amon-Ra, it was expanded by Ramses II, who added statues representing himself and two obelisks. One of the obelisks still stands there, while the other stands at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. See the remains of the Avenue of the Sphinxes that once lined the route between the two temples. Overnight on board the cruise in Luxor. (B,L,D)

Day 8 / Saturday / Luxor - Cairo
Buffet breakfast on board. Early morning visit to the Temple of Karnak, a vast monumental area which the Greeks called Hermonthis. This was the most important sanctuary of Egypt, heart of the cult of the God Amon. Each succeeding Pharaoh added his own contribution to the Temple. It is the largest temple with columns in the world and according to distinguished historians could contain the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in its entirety. After the tour transfer to the airport for departure by Egyptair scheduled service for Cairo. You will be met upon arrival and transferred to the Cairo Sheraton Hotel, where you will stay for the next two nights based on breakfast and dinner daily. (B,D) 

Day 9 / Sunday / Cairo

We begin the day with a visit to the world famous Egyptian Museum located at Al-Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo. The Museum contains the most extensive collection of ancient artifacts in the world with more than 250,000 antique pieces extending over the past 5000 years arranged chronologically from the Old Kingdom to the Roman Empire. On display you will find everything including the famous burial mask of Tut-Ankh-Amun. Our tour continues this afternoon to Old Cairo where Judaism and Christianity once flourished. A visit will be paid to the Hanging Church (El Moallaka) built over the remains of an early Roman Fortress. Next is the 10th century Church of Abu Sergha in whose crypt the Holy Family is said to have once rested. A short stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue where in 1894 documents relating to the Jewish community were discovered hidden in a vault. (B,D)

Day 10 / Monday / Alexandria - Cairo
Full day tour to Alexandra. In ancient times Alexandria was one of the most famous cities in the world. It was founded around 331 BC by Alexander the Great and remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years. Visit the national museum, catacombs, Bombay's Bailer, the citadel, roman amphitheater, and the Abu el Abas Mosque. (B,L,D)

Day 11 / Tuesday / Cairo
Transfer to the airport.. (B)

* Small Group Tour of 2 - 10 participants  (cruise excursions may have 20)

Includes:

• Transfers - Transfers between airports, piers and hotels as outlined (porterage of 1 piece of luggage per person).
• Accommodation - 6 nights Cairo; 3 nights at Mercure Le Sphinx and 3 nights Sheraton
• Meals - Breakfast & dinner daily; plus lunch daily on cruise and one lunch in Alexandria.
• Nile cruise - 4 night/5 day Nile Cruise on board the Queen Nabila Cruise Lines, MS King of Thebes between Aswan and Luxor based (outside cabin with shower/private facilities).
• Sightseeing - a qualified English speaking Egyptologist guide and entrance fees to the sites and museums as indicated.
• Local taxes and standard service charges - on accommodation and meals included in your tour price.

Your Tour Price Does Not Include:

• Domestic airfare - Egyptair between Cairo-Aswan and Luxor-Cairo (approximately $300)
• Documentation - Passport fees and travel insurance.
• Egyptian visa charge - To be paid locally upon arrival in Cairo - US $15.
• Meals - Those not specified.
• Beverages - not included.
• Optional tours - Not Included.

         Sound & Light Cairo Pyramids - $ 50 per person.

           Excursion to Abu Simbel - $ 300 per person.

• Tips - To guides, drivers and staff on board the Nile Cruise.