Luxury on the Nile
18- day : The Red Sea - Sharm El Sheikh

With one night camping in El Farafra Oases
A resort stay on the Red Sea . Including a 5 day Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise Boarding Your Cruise in Aswan

DAY 1 - 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. Hotel: Club Level at the Grand Hyatt or Superior Room at the Four Seasons

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with your name .
Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

DAY 2 - CAIRO (BLD)
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 head back to your hotel for a brief rest and to freshen up and get ready for a dinner cruise

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

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

Breakfast is always included at the hotel. Today , 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! Please treat this as a photo opp, do not take the camel for a ride around the Pyramid, there is no time.

We'll take our lunch at the Mena House or Meridein Pyramids or similar facilities. In the afternoon
Enjoy a 30 minute felucca sailing on the Nile to see Cairo from a different angle before we head back to your hotel. Dinner is included at your hotel

DAY 4 - CAIRO El Bahariya Oases (aBLD)
Early morning departure before sunrise to be able to watch the sunrise over the Sahara.
We board a private four wheel vehicle and proceed west on the Sahara Highway, ( 180 Kilometers from Cairo to El Bahariya), visiting Qaser Sleim , Alexander's Tomb & Museum of Golden Mummies . Lunch & Dinner at the hotel : Beshimo Lodge Evening Bedouin folk show

DAY 5 - El Farafra Oases ( White Desert ) (BLD)
After a morning tour of El Bahariya we head for the White Desert ( 180 Kilometers) , on the way we'll stop ay Crystal Mountain to marvel at the different Shapes of Lime Stones , arrive Farafra Oasis , where we will camp for the night. ( In a tent) , dinner will be camp style. This tour may not be suitable for families with children who may not be used to camping, and the lack of hotel amenities. Guests must show proof of insurance before embarking on any camping trip with us regardless of the destination be it Moroccan Sahara, Tunisian Oases or the Egyptian Western Desert or in Sinai. BBQ dinner at the White Desert.

If you prefer to stay at a hotel then we 'll move back to El Farafra Oases and : Badawiya Hotel

DAY 6 - CAIRO (B)
Early morning camp style breakfast before sunrise, drive back to Cairo ( 380 Kilometers).
Remainder of the day at leisure.

DAY 7 - ABU SIMBEL / ASWAN ( or Luxor ) (B)
Private air condition car for your transfer. Private chauffeur .

Our Cairo personnel will escort you to the airport to board your flight to Aswan then its off with a PRIVATE car/driver & guide to ABU SIMBEL, tour the mighty temples of Ramses the Great & Queen Neferatri then back to Aswan and the legendary colonial style : Old Cataract ( Subject to availability).
Afternoon High Tea included on the famous terrace over looking the Nile, where Agatha Christi wrote " Death On the Nile " Remainder of the day at leisure.

Jacquie Kennedy & Abu Simbel Temples in Egypt :
All Americans alive during the 1960s remember President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Most Americans from that time also remember Abu Simbel, the dramatic, ancient pharaonic temple
threatened by the rising waters blocked by the new Aswan High Dam.

It’s worth remembering that it was Jacquie Kennedy who provided crucial support for the mammoth rescue project. Without her help, Abu Simbel might have been lost. Arrive early in Egypt, extend one day to be able to see Abu Simbel . Read More

DAY 8 - ASWAN (BLD)
American or buffet breakfast at the hotel. Morning at leisure.

By noon we'll escort you to your Luxury floating hotel. You'll settle in to your cabin on your Luxury Nile cruiser :

Sample Nile Cruises: Queen TIYI , Amarco , Radamis ( Swiss Managed) or the Moon Goddess , where a fruit basket awaits you, then enjoy lunch 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'll board a launch to visit the Temples of Philae, rescued from rising waters when the High Dam was built.This Island temple of Philae was dedicated to the Ancient Goddess ISIS :

The Mystery of Isis

Two millennia ago the Mediterranean world was enthralled by the mystery of Isis:

"I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal man hath ever seen me unveiled."

Called Aset by the ancient Egyptians, the goddess was a Madonna in the Mediterranean tradition that stretches far, far back to the primitive Mother Goddess from Anatolia, home to some of the oldest human communities on earth.

Isis was the powerful and quick-witted protector of her son Horus, the Sun God. Ancient peoples throughout the Mediterranean regarded Isis and Horus as the perfect Madonna and Child. Another legend says she was
also the mother of the fertility god Min who, judging from the depiction of him on temple walls, needed no help from Viagra!

Because of her wisdom and skill at protection, she was admired as a good magician capable of healing the sick and protecting the dead in their journey to the Underworld.

Isis is portrayed regally, as a queen seated on a throne (which may be the meaning of her name), often holding her son Horus as a baby. Other images show her with broad, magnificent gilded wings able to protect the world.

Then, back aboard our cruiser, we'll sail down river at a stately pace to Kom Ombo, the twin temple dedicated to the crocodile river god, Sobek.
While you are on board the cruise, afternoon tea will be served daily on deck.

DAY 9 - EDFU, ESNA (BLD)
Horse-drawn carriages meet us at riverside to take us through Edfu to the Temple of Horus, best-preserved in all of Egypt. Later, we'll cruise to Esna, and by evening, we'll be in fabled Luxor.
Egyptian sweets platter will be delivered to your cabin today with our compliments.

DAY 10 - LUXOR (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. The Ancient Workers Village at Deir El Medineh, the first known "Workers Village" these were the true creative heroes who built the temples & tombs for the mighty Pharaohs of the Nile Kingdom.

Deir El Medinah is on Luxor's west bank you get a totally different perspective on ancient Egyptian life, at the ancient workers' settlement of Deir el-Medinah. While most of the imposing stone monuments and sites of Egypt honor the lives and after-lives of royalty, Deir el-Medinah gives us unique and surprising insights into the ordinary citizens who constructed and decorated the tombs.

Here we'll see the excavated homes shared by laborers with their domestic animals. These quarters were surprisingly large, with three good-sized rooms, courtyard, kitchen, and even storage cellars. While ancient Egypt might not have been a workers' paradise, we'll see that artisans and builders were highly regarded in their community. We are proud to be the only operator to offer regular visits to this singular ancient settlement in its tour and cruise programs.

DAY 11 - LUXOR, Sharm or ( Via CAIRO) (B)
We'll visit the imposing Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and the Temple of Luxor before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Sharm El Sheikh or depending on the day of the week it may be via Cairo .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 12, 13 , DAY 14 - 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 15 - 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. ( Available only when staying at deluxe hotels : Complimentary half hour massage)

Please advise us early on , if you prefer to do Mount Sinai / St. Catherine's tour by Jeep versus air conditioned sedan / van.

DAY 16 -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 17 - 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 18 - 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. Salaam and Bon Voyage!

This tour starts daily in Cairo , throughout the year. Subject to the availability of air space & the Nile Cruise.

Please note that the Nile vessels and cruise itineraries are subject to change.
Click here for more info on these luxurious cruises: Radamis ( Swiss Management) ,Moon Goddess all suites with private balconies ,

Moon Goddess ( all state   rooms do offer private balconies)

RATES per person, in deluxe accommodations, in US$:

- For travel during Easter, Christmas or New Year's, weeks a 10 percent supplement applies.

- Please click here for 4 stars first class accommodation

Rate includes: