The Essence of Egypt including Nile Cruise

DURATION: 12 DAYS/10 NIGHTS

                                                                                               • Cairo • Aswan • Kom Ombo • Edfu • Esna • Luxor

GUARANTEED DEPARTURES / Small Group Tour

Egypt is a living history book. The evidence of its rich cultural past can be found everywhere, amazingly preserved in monuments and temples. During the tour you will see the highlights of Cairo and Alexandria and sail the Nile from Aswan to Luxor.

Tour at a Glance

° 12 days/10 days locally escorted

° Air France from Toronto to Cairo via Paris. 

° Egyptair  flights between Cairo-Aswan and Luxor-Cairo.

° Transfers between airports, piers and hotels as outlined including porterage of one    normal sized piece of luggage per person.

° Accommodation - 6 nights hotels & 4 NTS cruise                                

° Breakfast and dinner daily in Cairo. All meals while on board the Nile cruise   

   commencing with lunch on the day of embarkation and ending with breakfast on

   the day of disembarkation.

° 4 night/5 day Nile Cruise on board the M/S KING OF THEBES between Aswan and Luxor based on an outside cabin.

° All sightseeing as outlined including the services of a fully qualified English speaking guide and entrance fees.

Friday, Day 1 TORONTO - PARIS
Evening departure on board Air France scheduled overnight jet service for Paris. Inflight meals will be served during the appropriate times.

Saturday, Day 2 PARIS - CAIRO
Morning arrival in Paris. Change planes and continue on board Air France scheduled service for Cairo. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel - Sofitel Le Sphinx for a three night stay (on breakfast and dinner daily). There will be time for relaxation and to freshen up before dinner. (D)

Sunday, Day 3 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)

Monday, Day 4 CAIRO
Following breakfast, we proceed to Giza to gaze upon the massive triangular 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. It has been quite a day! Return to the hotel for the balance of the day at leisure. (B, D)

Tuesday, Day 5 CAIRO - ASWAN
Transfer to airport for departure by Egyptair to Aswan, a favorite resort town of dignitaries. You will be  met upon arrival and transferred to the pier for embarkation on the M/S KING OF THEBES, for your 4 night cruise along the fabled waters of the ancient Nile in an outside junior suite cabin with private facilities. All meals are included commencing with lunch on the day of embarkation and ending with breakfast on the day of disembarkation.

Time to relax and enjoy the surroundings as your cruise ship slowly moves up the Nile passing monuments and temples. Lunch on board. Afterwards sail by felucca on the ageless Nile. Dinner and overnight in Aswan. (B, L, D)

Wednesday, Day 6 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 1400 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 and Galabaya Party on board. Overnight in Edfu. (B, L, D)

Thursday, Day 7 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)

Friday, Day 8 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)

Saturday, Day 9 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 Ramses Hilton Hotel, where you will stay for the next two nights based on breakfast and dinner daily. (B, D) 

Sunday, Day 10 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)

Monday, Day 11 ALEXANDRIA
Full day tour to Alexandra. In ancient tieems 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 eyars. Visit the national museum, catacombs, Bombay's Bailer, the citadel, roman ampitheatre, and the Abu el Abas Mosque. (B, L, D)

Tuesday, Day 12 PARIS - TORONTO
Transfer to the airport for flight to Paris and connecting flight to Toronto.

YOUR TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:

• AIRFARE - Air France from Toronto to Cairo via Paris. Egyptair between Cairo-Aswan and Luxor-Cairo.
• TRANSFERS - Round trip transfers between airports, piers and hotels as outlined including porterage of one normal sized piece of luggage per person.
• ACCOMMODATION - 10 nights based on double occupancy
• MEALS - Breakfast and dinner daily in Cairo.
• NILE CRUISE - 4 night/5 day Nile Cruise on board the M/S KING OF THEBES between Aswan and Luxor based on an outside junior suite cabin with private facilities.
• MEALS ON NILE CRUISE - All meals while on board the Nile cruise commencing with lunch on the day of embarkation and ending with breakfast on the day of disembarkation.
• SIGHTSEEING - All sightseeing as outlined including the services of a fully qualified English speaking guide and entrance fees.
• LOCAL TAXES AND STANDARD SERVICE CHARGES - All local taxes and standard service charges on accommodation and meals included in your tour price

• DOCUMENTATION - Passport fees and travel insurance.
• EGYPTIAN VISA CHARGE - The visa charge is no longer included. US $20 upon arrival in Cairo.
• BEVERAGES - Those not included.
• OPTIONAL TOURS - Excursion to Abu Simbel approx. $275 per person.
• TIPS - On cruise and to guides and driver about US $100 per person