Alexandria, Classical Egypt & Nile Cruise

Welcome to Egypt. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you'll be met and transferred to our hotel. Here begins your Egyptian adventure! There will be a welcome meeting held at the hotel at 7pm.

Cairo – Alexandria. This morning we make our way along the beautiful Mediterranean coast heading to the port city of Alexandria. On a guided tour we explore the ancient Roman Catacombs, heading underground to set our sights on the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. From here we visit Pompey’s Pillar and see the incredible Library of Alexandria (exterior) and make our way to Citadel of Qaitbay. This fortress was built on the site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. As we end our guided tour, we head back to our hotel to freshen up before our tasty evening meal.

Alexandria – Cairo. After breakfast this morning, we visit the El Alamein. The ground of this Commonwealth War Graves speaks of the battles fought here during World War II. We pay respect to the 13,000 Allied soldiers that were killed in this battle. Later, we continue our tour with a visit to the El Alamein military museum that acts as a memorial for the battle and houses many of the war relics, where we learn the complete history of World War II in North Africa. Once our tour ends, we return to Cairo.

Today is spent at leisure, you can explore Egypt’s capital as you please. Perhaps visit the lesser-known sights of the city by taking our optional Backstreet of Cairo tour. On this tour wander down El Moez Street in Islamic Cairo, visit Garbage City and the famous Cave Church of St. Simon.

Today brings us a full day of touring, we will start with the incredible pyramids and the iconic Sphinx at The Giza Plateau. The Pyramids of Giza are the sole surviving Ancient Wonders of the World and oldest tourist attraction. Perhaps opt to ride a camel. Later we make our way to the necropolis of Saqqara, where we discover the myriad of tombs and temples and see Zhoser’s step pyramid - constructed by Imhotep, the pharaoh's chief architect in 2700 BC.

Cairo – Luxor. 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 an overnight sleeper train.

We arrive in Luxor this morning and drive 60km north to Dendera. Dendera is one of Egypt’s best-preserved temple complexes and covers an astonishing 40,000 square meters. The temples, shrines and chapels in this vast complex were gradually built across thousands of years. The main pinnacle of Dendera is the 2000-year-old Temple of Hathor with its beautifully inscribed ceiling. Returning to Luxor, the afternoon is free to spend at leisure. Enjoy a dip in the pool and soak up the sunshine or take a stroll around town. This evening there's an optional excursion to the beautiful Temple of Luxor.

Early morning, we cross to Luxor’s West Bank of the Nile and set our sights on the 18m-high colossi of Memnon, all that remains of the temple of the hedonistic Amenophis III. Next stop is the famous Valley of the Kings, where we explore some of the beautifully decorated pharaoh’s tombs. Then we travel on to the striking limestone, colonnaded Temple of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s finest monuments.

Mid-afternoon we return to the East Bank and check-in on board a 5-star Nile cruise that will be our home for the next four nights. Grab lunch and relax on board, late afternoon we head out to visit the colossal Temple of Karnak. The spectacular complex of sanctuaries, pylons, chapels, halls and obelisks, are all dedicated to the Theban gods and to the greater glory of Egypt’s Middle and New Kingdom rulers.

Nile cruising. This morning we sail downstream. Take the day to relax on deck and go for a swim, soak up the sunshine and take in the stunning view as we cruise the River Nile.

Nile Cruising - Aswan. We spend another day onboard our cruiser, relax as we sail the Nile to the Temple of Kom Ombo and then onto Aswan. Dedicated to the Crocodile God Sobek and Falcon God Horus, everything in the temple is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis including twin halls, courts, colonnades, sanctuaries and entrances. We arrive into Aswan this evening.

This morning is free to spend at leisure or take an optional early morning excursion to the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. Possibly the most incredible temple of all ancient Egypt, guarded by the four famous colossal statues of Ramses II. Please see our Abu Simbel by Road add-on for more info.

This afternoon we visit the beautiful Philae Temple, a sacred temple dedicated to the most revered and beloved goddess Isis. Most of the temple's complex structure was completed by Ptolemy II and the Romans up to 3rd century AD. To preserve the temple from the rising water of Lake Nassar, UNESCO stepped in and started a mission to have the entire temple relocated and placed 20m higher on to nearby Agilika Island.

Aswan – Cairo. Disembark the Nile Cruiser and spend the day leisure, discovering Aswan at your own speed. Perhaps head over and pay a visit to the Old Cataract Hotel, where Agatha Christie wrote the novel Death on the Nile. This afternoon, we board the overnight train (twin berth sleeper cabins provided) for our journey back to Cairo.

We arrive in Cairo this morning, check into our hotel. The rest of the day is free to spend at leisure, have a relaxing day by the pool or join an optional tour visiting Old Cairo, Coptic Cairo and the Citadel of Saladin.

Wednesday. This morning our tour comes to an end. Bid your fellow travellers farewell before an included transfer to airport.