Felucca Dahabia Sailing Nile Cruises, 14 day Egypt Travel Package , Four Seasons Mena House Luxury hotel and a Private Nile Cruise

For London or Brussels passengers please deduct $350 from the listed rates. Rome & Milan : $500 . London & Brussels Passengers arrive Cairo same day , today.

JFK Passengers : We take off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, bound for Cairo in business class, either nonstop on Egyptair, or Athens on Olympic Airways. You may upgrade to First class on Egyptair for an additional $1500 round-trip , tax included. Leave any day ( Subject to availability of air space & Nile cruise)

DAY 2 - CAIRO
Our Cairo staff greets you and escorts you through the excitement and hubbub of the terminal, and onward to your hotel. Traditional sweets await you, with our compliments. You'll have time to relax and unwind. Visa fee is included & issued upon arrival. Available only to American, Japanese , Canadian & EU citizens, your passport must be valid for at least 6 month beyond the date of arrival.

Private air condition car for your transfer. Private chauffeur
For Hotel upgrade in Cairo : Four Seasons or the Mena House Palace wing / Pyramid's view ( you may mix & match Cairo stay first stay at Four Seasons and return stay Mena House Palace Wing: please add: $489 for the total of 3 nights per person in double

DAY 3 - CAIRO (aBLD)
Private air condition car for your tour today . Private chauffeur .

Your exploration of ancient Egypt begins today! We'll start after breakfast with the Egyptian Museum. Here you'll see the treasures of the ancient pharaohs: Mummies Hall is included , statuary, and precious stones and metals. Travelers have long come to Cairo just to gaze on these sights alone. But there's more, on we go to the Coptic & Jewish ancient quarter then the Royal Manial Palace of the former Crown Prince Mohamed Ali. After lunch Egyptian-style, we'll motor to the mysterious Sphinx and the Pyramids on the edge of Cairo.

Those who are fit and adventurous enough may wish to penetrate into the heart of the Great Pyramid, to the King's Chamber your ticket is included with our compliments (or the interior of Kephren Pyramid). Taking a camel ride (Included) is entirely your own choice!

Conclude a memorable day as we host you on a Nile dinner cruise complete with exotic Egyptian entertainment.

DAY 4 - LUXOR (aBL)
Early morning flight to Luxor, all transfers are on a private basis, always with an air conditioned car. A welcome fruit basket awaits you at your luxury hotel, in Luxor : Sonesta St. George or the legendary Old Winter Palace .
Relax, unpack, snacks or pre-set menu lunch is on us , with our compliments.
In the afternoon: You'll tour the charming Luxor Museum. Then we'll set out overland to visit the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, followed by the mighty Temple of Luxor. Evening Karnak Sound & Light Show including a horse drawn carriage ride for your transfers between the hotel & the mighty Karnak Temples.

DAY 5 - LUXOR/ ESNA (BLD)
We'll cross the Nile to view an array of ancient splendors: the tomb chambers of the Valley of the Kings; the imposing tomb-temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens . A brief stop at Colossi of Memnon then continue in your private air conditioned van to Esna :tour Esna Temple of Khnum, discovered in late in the 19th Century, it was well protected & preserved , buried under the main village's square for thousands of years.

Check-in , and board your Felucca the Royal Cleopatra ( Your crew of 5 will be available to welcome you : the captain, sailor, chef, housekeeper and of course your Resident Egyptologist)

Welcome drink served upon arrival "Karkadeh - Local herb tea". Lunch will be served, as we sail for Edfu. Welcome fruit basket awaits you in your cabin, watch sunset as we dock north of Edfu and sip tea on deck. Dinner follows ) .

Just for fun, and for those interested , we'll engage a local fortune - teller , knowledgeable in the mystic secrets of ancient Egypt, to read the future in your palm or your coffee grounds!

Then after the fortune -teller assures you of success in business & in love on to bed, with the ripples of the Nile gently rocking you to sleep

Day 6 - EDFU (BLD)
Breakfast in your cabin, or on the sundeck,As sun rises we continue our sailing towards Edfu.

In Edfu, climb aboard your private horse-drawn carriages, and clip-clop through the town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt's best preserved.

Enjoy a grand afternoon of sailing on the Nile watching villages & scenery that changed little since Biblical times. We enjoy lunch at one of the small islands on the way. Dock at Elmerinat.

Day 7 - GABAL ELSISILAH - FARES (BLD)
Breakfast on board. We sail further upstream heading for GABAL ELSISILAH
Enjoy lunch on board . We reach Gabal Elsisilah early afternoon and tour the ancient sandstone quarries. A charming off the beating track site that 's not yet overwhelmed with large groups of tourists.
Watch sunset as we sip tea on deck. Dinner follows, then on to Fares where we dock for the night . Enjoy the Egyptian southern clear skies with thousands of stars to watch ! A galabya will be delivered to your cabin with our compliments.

Day 8-�Kom Ombo - Aswan (B)
After breakfast on board. We return to Royal Cleopatra to bid farewell to the crew. We change our mode of transportation and board an air conditioned van/car , we stop at Kom Ombo , visit its twin temple dedicated to the crocodile god of the Nile, a true Greco Roman masterpiece.

Inspect the ancient wall carvings that documents the measurements and detailed description of the medical instruments available to the Ancient Egyptian.

We enjoy a short walking tour of the local village and souks of Kom Ombo, before heading for Aswan legendary colonial style " Old Cataract Hotel. Maybe you would like to enjoy High Tea ( on your own ) at the famous terrace over looking the Nile, where Agatha Christi wrote "Death On the Nile " Remainder of the day at leisure. Make sure you retire to bed early tonight, you leave tomorrow for Abu Simbel before sunrise

DAY 9 - ABU SIMBEL (B, Snack)
Very early breakfast before sunrise. We've planned our visit to Abu Simbel to be a highlight of your Egyptian adventure. Rising before dawn, we drive along the shore of Lake Nasser, watching the sky lighten and the sacred sun rise above the horizon. We reach the great temples while the air is clean, clear and cool, and the sun's light still golden;just right for photographs.
In the larger temple, colossal figures of Ramses are seated with the gods and attended by his queen and daughters.
The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, who appears as Hathor, the goddess of love, joy and fertility, symbolized by the benevolent cow. We explore these fine temple by ourselves in the quiet of the morning, admiring their ancient aura and artistry, after which retire to a comfortable hotel for refreshments. Just as planeloads of visitors arrive to throng the temples,we retire to one of the hotel;s in Abu Simbel for a refreshing drink and a snack ( included in the rate) , before we begin our leisurely drive back along the shore to Aswan.

DAY 9 -CAMEL CARAVAN/SAILING BOATS (BLD)
After breakfast on board, we'll have the opportunity to experience Egypt at its most authentic, as we sail the Nile in a graceful Felucca, the age-old sailing vessel of the river. If you wish, try your hand at camel riding! We'll take a traditional caravan to enjoy tea with Nubian villagers.

Back in Aswan we connect by air to Cairo, at Cairo airport, our local rep will assist with the connection to fly to Sharm El Sheikh .Private air condition car always for your transfers. We'll settle you into your Luxury hotel in Sharm : Sonesta , Hyatt, The Ritz Hotel or similar.

DAY 10 , DAY 11 - Sharm El Sheikh (aBD)
Full days at leisure . Hit the water , or venture into the nearby Bedouin village to see how the local people live-as you like. Dinner is included daily on a complimentary basis at the hotel.

DAY 12 - MOUNT SINAI - St. CATHERINE ( Santa Katarina / Catarina ) Monastery (BL)
Relax! This is one more day in "Paradise", enjoy the beach the Egyptian sun and maybe fishing , snorkeling or diving in the Red Sea. Or join us on a complimentary tour to Mount Sinai then in the cool before sunrise, we drive into the wilderness of Sinai, through which Moses led his people to the Promised Land. Our goal is the Monastery of St. Catherine, built on the site of the burning bush at the base of Mount Sinai. We tour the monastery, rich in history,icons and sacred paintings, returning to Sharm late in the evening. You must be in good physical condition if you wish to consider climbing Mt. Sinai. The climb is not recommended for those affected by heights.

DAY 13 - CAIRO - HOME HOSTED FAMILY DINNER (aBD)
Fly to Cairo remainder of the day in Cairo, at leisure.
You'll have one more opportunity to experience the excitement of this great city and, of course, do some last-minute shopping.
This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo ! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy dinner in a quiet restaurant with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences. You may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town).

DAY 14 - Cairo Fayoum (cBL)
On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old

The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains, oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.

Join us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel, and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest. Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands. It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.

We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local artisans are on display.

Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure! We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes, and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales ( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included

DAY 15 - DEPARTURE (aB)
Private air condition car for your transfer. Private chauffeur .Our Cairo-based staff escorts you to the airport, where you'll begin your journey home, either direct on Egyptair, Turkish Airlines Via Istanbul or via Athens on Olympic Airways. Salaam and Bon Voyage!

This tour leaves daily from JFK , throughout the year. Subject to the availability of air space & the Nile Cruise.

Please remember that we can also arrange a cruise for you on one of our large, spacious, luxurious air-conditioned Nile cruisers with all the conveniences: a different experience from the intimate ambiance of the "Royal Cleopatra." Compare with the 14 day version on board a one of the Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise
For cruise images : Radamis ( Swiss Management) ,Moon Goddess : M/S Ganna ( Kempinski Management)

- For travel at Easter, Christmas or New Year's, a 15 percent supplement applies.

- For London or Brussels passengers please deduct $350 from the listed rates. For Milan & Rome passengers Please deduct $ 500

- Regrettably, discounts are not available for children on this cruise/tour.
- Itinerary is subject to change without notice.

Extend your air ticket to Athens , special air fare add on : $550 tax included in business class .

Feluccas
are the traditional sailing vessel of much of the Mediterranean world
The traditional Nile felucca, or dahabeah, was the mainstay of travel in ancient Egypt.

Deluxe Felucca Private Boat on teh Nile

With shallow drafts, sails, and oars, feluccas could navigate not only the great river, but the maze of canals threading through its banks, with or without wind, reaching every part of the kingdom.

Feluccas long ago transcended their role as humble transports. They held the ancient empire together, carrying troops, decrees, and the very mystery of the pharaoh.

Royal feluccas bore a larger-than-life image of the pharaoh, seated on a throne, to be seen and venerated by inhabitants even along the most remote canal. In turn, imbued with the same "ka," or spirit, as the living pharaoh himself, it would keep watch over his subjects and their activities.

So integral was the Nile felucca to the ancient Egyptian way of life that it assumed legendary attributes. Even today, you can see the oldest known Nile felucca, the regal Pharaonic dahabeah of Cheops, the ruler immortalized by the Great Pyramid at Giza. Known as the Solar Boat, it was believed to sail through the skies carrying its royal passenger along sunbeams in his single cabin, the royal suite of its day.

In later times, pashas, emirs, and sultans found that feluccas were indispensable. When Napoleon invaded Egypt, the Mameluke rulers observed the Battle of the Pyramids from their dahabeahs, and in the wake of defeat, set them afire, still laden with treasures, in the middle of the river. Always one to adapt to local practice, Napoleon even had his own dahabeah, the Italie, which was used by his officers to explore Upper Egypt.

In the nineteenth century, the well-equipped Nile felucca was essential to the upper-crust adventurer. Lord Kitshner used several feluccas for his famous trip from Cairo to Khartoum.

It took from two to three months to ascend the Nile under wind power, and another month-and-a-half to float back downstream, stopping at the great temples along the way. King Farouk, Churchill, Montgomery, Mark Twain and others settled in for the journey, and a certain Lady Edwards even had a piano installed on her sailing vessel.

Eventually, steamers displaced dahabeahs, opening up an Egyptian adventure to greater numbers on Thomas Cook's tours, and trains nearly finished them off. But never completely. Even today, despite the inroads of rail, steam power, and highways, the graceful Nile felucca retains its place.

Now, Travel in Style and Nubian Nile Cruises re-create the grand era of Nile adventure. Through their special contacts, they have arranged cruises on private Nile vessels. Completely refitted, our craft will delight the discriminating traveller, with full amenities, and modern conveniences and safety features unimaginable by upper-crust visitors of old or even the ancient pharaohs.

Our private Nile cruisers are at your disposal to accommodate couples, honeymooners, families, children enjoy most this barging cruise on the Nile, and small groups, affording the unique experience of navigating the ancient river on your own.

The M/S Cleopatra is a lateen-rigged Nile sailing vessel, 62 feet long by 24-1/2 feet wide, with sleeping accommodations for two to six people.

Spacious quarters include a main salon, bar, and sun deck. Each of two staterooms has private sink, shower, and toilet, and may be configured for your voyage with a queen bed, a queen and single, or up to three single beds.

A skilled river captain is on board at all times . A guide is at your disposal to plan your itinerary and escort you through the sites you choose to visit. The crew has completely separate quarters, to ensure your privacy.

Meals may be taken as you wish in your cabin, in the salon, or on deck while you watch the timeless way of life along the banks of the river, and villages twinkling at dusk. The temptation to spend at least one night gazing at stars and sleeping on deck may be irresistible. Enjoy luxury and unique adventure, made possible at a price delightfully within your reach through Travel in Style!

For charter and a PRIVATE Nile Cruise booking :
A NON REFUNDABLE deposit of $ 250 PER PERSON for Royal Cleopatra is required within 7 days from the date we confirm. Any booking made 45 days or less requires FULL PAYMENT.
If you cancel a chartered private boat less than 44 days or less , a 100 % cancellation fees apply, there is no refund,

The Great Pyramid of Cheops . . . Are You Up to the Adventure?

A journey into the heart of the Great Pyramid is a real-life Indiana Jones adventure. But it can also be a taxing and frightening one.

You'll follow claustrophobic passages cut into the heart of the pyramid, feel the pull of the mass of stone directly above. For better or worse, you have placed yourself in the hands of the engineering expertise of the ancients.

As you continue along the unventilated passages, the oxygen becomes depleted, the air becomes noticeably warmer and more pungent. The ascent of steep stairways consumes more energy than you imagined, and you find yourself short of breath. Lighting is dim, every footstep must be carefully calculated. Low passageways repeatedly oblige you to advance while bent down, and your muscles protest. Where walls disappear into the dark above, you feel wedged into a shaft. Despite warnings, and your own resolve, claustrophobic feelings are hard to suppress.

Finally, you behold the King's Chamber at the heart of the Great Pyramid. The effort to reach it has made the reward more exhilarating than you imagined. If only you can face the return.

Is the King's Chamber for you? If you're not used to bending and regular exercise, you might find the challenge beyond your capabilities. Turning back is more difficult the farther you go, and the experience could leave you aching for days afterwards.

Be realistic about yourself, your abilities, and your disposition. And remember that there are many other rewarding sights and adventures at Giza, without the physical challenge and risks of the King's Chamber.

The decision is up to you