Festive King Ramses with Cruise

Welcome to Cairo, Egypt's bustling capital. You will be met at Cairo Airport and transferred to our start hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure, or those arriving early may wish to book our Backstreets of Cairo tour which visits lesser known highlights of the capital including Tahrir Square, the hub of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

You may also extend your stay in Cairo with our pre or post tour accommodation or tour add-ons like our Alexandria Day Trip.

Get ready for a memorable day! Today we explore the legendary Pyramids of Giza and the iconic Sphinx at the Giza Plateau. Sole survivors from the ancient Greek-listed Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids are the planet’s oldest tourist attraction! A stop will be made at a government supervised papyrus emporium, and then we travel on to explore the sand-strewn tombs and temples of the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, home to the Zhoser’s Step Pyramid.

Cairo - Aswan. This morning we join our guided tour of the incredible new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. This vast 490,000 sq.m complex showcases an astonishing collection of artefacts from nearly every period of ancient Egyptian history. Among the highlights are treasures of King Tutankhamun, with plans for his famous solid gold funerary mask to eventually be showcased here, alongside many items being exhibited for the first time.

Later, we make our way to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which remains home to a vast collection of statues, jewellery, and sarcophagi. Here, we’ll see the well-preserved mummies of Yuya and Thuyu, high-ranking nobles and the great-grandparents of King Tutankhamun. Some mummies are so well preserved they still have thick locks of hair and visible fingernails. After our excursion, we return to the hotel to enjoy some free time by the pool before boarding our overnight sleeper train to Aswan.

This morning we arrive into Aswan and enjoy a short boat trip to Agilika Island for Philae Temple - dedicated to the goddess Isis and rescued under an enormous UNESCO effort in the 1970s to save the temple from the rising waters of the High Dam. Back in Aswan we visit a perfume oil emporium before check-in onboard our Nile Cruiser, which will be home for the next three nights. Later, there is free time to perhaps enjoy some shopping in the colourful souks and markets or simply relax in this attractive town which straddles the River Nile.

Aswan - Nile Cruise. Optional early morning drive to Abu Simbel, the famous the rock-cut temple of King Ramses II, the Great Builder. We then return to our 5 star Nile Cruiser which this afternoon will cruise the River Nile to Kom Ombo where we disembark to visit the temple.

Nile Cruise - Luxor. Relax, enjoy a swim in the pool and chill out in the sun on deck this morning. Let your troubles melt away as we cruise the River Nile to Luxor. Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year-old Luxor is ancient Egypt at its best. Arriving into Luxor this afternoon the rest of the day is free to explore the city before we spend our final night aboard the cruiser.

This morning we disembark and check into our 5 star Luxor hotel. The day is free to relax and explore. Tonight, an optional visit is available to the Temple of Luxor – beautifully illuminated at night (book/pay locally).

Today we discover the West Bank of the Nile and the legendary Valley of the Kings and some its many tombs. Marvel at Colossi of Memnon, the massive stone remains of the Temple of Amenophis III, before exploring the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and surrounding tombs.

After lunch, we visit the Temple of Karnak, a spectacular religious complex built on a gigantic scale, where you get lost wandering around the stone papyrus columns. The rest of the evening is at leisure.

Luxor - Hurghada. Today we drive to the coastal town of Hurghada, which will be our base for the next few days. Hurghada is one of the Red Sea's most popular resorts and it is easy to see why. Hotels and expanded infrastructure provide holidaymakers with excellent aquatic facilities for sail boarding, yachting, deep-sea fishing, SCUBA diving and snorkelling.

The next 2 days are free to explore Hurghada or simply relax. There's is an optional day trip to Giftun Island for swimming and snorkelling, which can be booked locally.

Hurghada’s central location provides a gateway to prime offshore reefs, which are some of the finest in the world. Hurghada also has plenty of restaurants and late night bars for evening entertainment. Just outside Hurghada is an ancient Roman quarry called Mons Porphyrites and Port Safaga – a famously windy place which is ideal for windsurfing.

Hurghada - Cairo. This morning we drive to Cairo where the remainder of today is free for you to relax or explore Egypt’s capital at leisure. Or you can opt to join us on a excursion to Khan el Khalili Bazaar, the ideal place for some last minute souvenir shopping.

Our holiday comes to an end and we bid farewell to our guide and fellow travellers. Included airport departure transfer.

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