Alexandria to Luxor Explorer

Thursday. Welcome to Egypt! Upon arrival at Cairo Airport you’ll be met and escorted to our hotel. Your Egyptian adventure begins here! This evening a Welcome meeting will be held at 7pm.

Cairo - Alexandria. We start our day bright and early as we drive to the portside city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Coast. Here begins our guided tour of the Roman catacombs. We head underground to see the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. Our next visit is Pompey’s Pillar and the beautiful Library of Alexandria (exterior) and lastly, we visit the Citadel of Qaitbay. This fortress was built on the site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria which was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1323AD. Once our guided tour ends, we head back to our hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner.

Alexandria – Cairo. This morning takes us to the grounds of El Alamein, a commonwealth war grave. It was here that two bloody battles took place during World War II. During our tour, we pay respect to the 13,000 fallen allied soldiers who were killed in battle. Our tour continues with a visit to the El Alamein Military Museum, which houses many war relics, and where we will learn more about the history of World War II in North Africa. After our visit, it's time to return to Cairo.

Today is spent at leisure, relax by the hotel pool or explore Egypt’s capital. Perhaps take our optional Backstreet of Cairo excursion, where you can visit the lesser-known sights of the city including El Moez street in Islamic Cairo, visit Garbage City and the famous cave church of St. Simon.

This morning we get ready for a full day of touring, starting with a visit to the glorious pyramids and the iconic Sphinx at the Giza Plateau. The pyramids are the oldest tourist attraction and the only surviving wonder from the ancient Greek listed Seven Wonders of the World. Leaving the Pyramids of Giza, we make a short stop at a papyrus emporium before heading to the necropolis of Saqqara. We explore the myriad tombs and temples at this site and see Zhoser’s step pyramid.

Cairo – Luxor. This morning, our guided tour takes us to the extraordinary Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. This brand-new, 490,000 sq.m complex houses over 100,000 artefacts spanning most of ancient Egyptian history. Many of these treasures have never been displayed to the public before, and artefacts have been brought together from across Egypt and the world. The museum will eventually showcase a giant exhibition dedicated to the treasures of King Tutankhamun.

Later, we visit the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which continues to house a vast collection of statues, jewellery, and sarcophagi. Among its remarkable exhibits are the well-preserved mummies of Yuya and Thuyu, high-ranking nobles and the great-grandparents of King Tutankhamun. These mummies are so well-preserved that they still display thick locks of hair, visible fingernails, and smooth, blackened skin.

Once our excursion ends, we return to our hotel for a little relaxation before boarding our overnight sleeper train bound for Luxor.

Upon arrival at Luxor, we check-in at out hotel and freshen up for our day ahead. Our first stop is Dendera, located 60km north of Luxor, gradually built over thousands of years. Covering 40,000 square meters, it is one of Egypt’s best-preserved complexes of temples, chapels and shrines. Dendera’s crowning glory is the 2000-year-old Temple of Hathor, an exquisite masterpiece with its beautifully decorated ceiling, adorned with astronomical representations.

We return to Luxor. The rest of today is free for you to spend at leisure. Relax by the pool or perhaps explore Luxor at your own pace. In the evening, check out the night entertainment or join an optional visit to the Temple of Luxor, a strikingly beautiful piece of architecture built by the New Kingdom pharaoh Amenophis III (Book and pay locally).

Our day starts nice and early as we visit Luxor’s famous West Bank, 4000 year-old Luxor is ancient Egypt at its best. We venture to the magnificent Valley of the Kings, burial site of many well-known tombs including Ramses II, Seti I, Amenhotep II and of course, the captivating tomb of King Tutankhamun. After our exploration of this incredible site, we travel to visit the Valley of the Queens and the picturesque limestone Temple of Hatshepsut, dedicated to the second queen of Egypt.

We return to our hotel at around midday, we have time for lunch and a well-deserved rest by the pool before we make our way to the colossal Temple of Karnak later this afternoon. Karnak is a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, pylons, chapels, halls and obelisks, all dedicated to the Theban gods and to the greater glory of Egypt’s Middle and New Kingdom rulers.

Friday. Our amazing tour comes to an end today with hotel check out and a transfer to Luxor Airport for your onward flights. If you want to continue your adventure, we can book post tour accommodation so you can explore Luxor’s abundance of antiquities.

For information about visas, top travel tips and much more, take a look through our travel guide.