Suggested Itinerary

DAY 1 - CAIRO Wednesday . Weekly in Cairo , year round
Our representative greets you at the airport and whisks you to your hotel. Visa fee is included and will be issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport for : American, EU , Canadian , Singaporean & Japanese citizens. You are responsible for having your passport in order valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival in Cairo. Welcome fruit basket & Egyptian pastry, await you in your hotel room .

Hotels : City Stars Inter.continental. Nile Hilton , Sonesta , Cairo Conrad or Grand Hyatt or similar

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 the name you prefer to use for the sign .
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.

Meals : All meals on board the Felucca / Yacht / Dahabiya Nile cruise : and for rest of the program please check meal codes Pre set meals as listed including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast), L = Lunch, D = Dinner

DAY 2 - CAIRO - Thursday (BL)
On your first full day in Egypt we show you the Egyptian Museum including the " Mummies Room" . Lunch is included at the charming Naguib Mahfouz local restaurant ( or similar ) , on to the Citadel of Saladin, and Mohammed Ali Mosque, made of alabaster, then wander through the alleys of the legendary Khan El Khalili Bazaar district .

DAY 3 - Giza - Friday (BLD)
Today we drive to the edge of the desert , tour Giza major monuments : the Sphinx , the Pyramids of Giza, complimentary short Camel ride is included, to allow you a photo with the Pyramids in the background, time is limited , so please do not go for what the camel driver tries to convince you , i.e. go for a long ride around the Pyramids .
Lunch is included at a local restaurant at the Mena House or the Meridien Pyramids . On to the ancient capital of the Northern Delta Kingdom : Memphis, and the necropolis of Sakkara including the Step Pyramid. Dinner cruise is included tonight with a folk show ( on board the Hyatt cruise)

Day 4 - Saturday -Cairo to Luxor and board your deluxe air conditioned Felucca (BLD)
Very early morning breakfast and transfer to Cairo Airport. Flight is included in our rate, in economy class , tax included . Morning arrival at Luxor . We'll meet you at the airport , and escort you to your deluxe air conditioned Nile cruise felucca or dahabbiya , Board Luxor ( or Aswan ) .

Embarkation in Luxor for a relaxing week sailing the Nile on a luxuriously appointed Dahabbiya.

After lunch, excursion to the West Bank for visits to the burial places of the Pharaohs - the Valley of the Kings - where Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. Continue to the adjacent Valley of the Queens, the temple of Medinet Habu and the Colossi of Memnon.

Overnight moored on the Nile banks of Luxor. Names of the Four Felucca / Dahabia : El Bey (His Lordship) .  El Hanem (The Lady)  *  Zahra (Flower)    *  and Nesma (Breeze)

Day 5 - Sunday - Luxor - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
You will visit the magnificent temple complex of Amon-Ra at Karnak, with its vast hypostyle hall of 137 columns, followed by the imposing 28 th Dynasty Luxor Temple.

Overnight moored in Luxor.

Day 6 - Monday - Luxor to Esna - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
Today will be a leisurely day. After breakfast, commence sailing to Esna where your dahabiyya will moor

Day 7 - Tuesday - Edfu - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
This morning you will sail to Edfu to visit the wonderfully preserved Temple of Edfu.

Overnight on board as we will look for an island in the middle of the Nile where we moor.

Day 8 - Wednesday - Kom Ombo - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
Today you will sail to Kom Ombo visit see the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon-headed Horus, god of the morning sun. Overnight moored beside a Nile island.

Day 9 - Thursday - Aswan - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
A leisurely day sailing to Aswan where the dahabiyya moors overnight.

Day 10 - Friday - Aswan - On board your Yacht Nile Cruise (BLD)
Today you will visit the Aswan High Dam (completed in 1971); the Old Dam (completed in 1902) and the ' unfinished obelisk', lying in situ since the days of the pharaohs. You will also visit the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, a structure rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser at the time of the High Dam's construction.

Day 11- Saturday - Aswan- Abu Simbel - (BLD)
Breakfast aboard the dahabiyya and check-out. We bid farewell to the crew, we switch transportation modes and head for Aswan Airport and your flight to Abu Simbel . Air fare is always included within Egypt, economy class , tax included .

In Abu Simbel :
Your private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur and private Egyptologist will be waiting for you at the airport , proceed to : Tour the mighty Temples of Ramses the Great & his Queen:
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, before we head to your hotel, Seti or similar.
Lunch & dinner are included at the hotel.

Evening Sound & Light show at Abu Simbel, transfers & entrance tickets are included.

Hotels : Seti First Hotel , Nefertari Hotel or similar . If you prefer to fly in/out of Abu Simbel same day , please click here

Day 12 - Sunday - Abu Simbel - Fly back to Cairo (B)
Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. (For guests interested in Photography) Rising before dawn, we drive to the temples , 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. After which and Just as planeloads of visitors arrive to throng the temples we fly back to Aswan , and connect with your flight back to Cairo and your hotel: Grand Hyatt , Sonesta , Conrad or similar . Air fare is always included within Egypt, economy class , tax included . If you prefer to fly in/out of Abu Simbel same day , please click here

DAY 13 - CAIRO - Home Hosted Family Dinner in Cairo - Monday (BL)
Breakfast is included at the hotel. Morning at leisure. Lunch is served at a charming local restaurant at Khan El Khalili old district, followed by a leisurely walking tour of the Khan El Khalili12-Century District .
A complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town )

This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Cairo l! 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 a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 14 - Cairo Fayoum - Tuesday (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 - Cairo - AAAAH ! Finally a day at LEISURE ! Wednesday (cB)
Full day at leisure . Explore Cairo as you wish , maybe a chance last minute shopping.

DAY 16 - Alexandria- Thursday (BL)
Private air conditioned vehicle , private chauffeur at all times for your transfer. Your Private guide will board the train with you on Cairo
On to Cairo Railway Station. Board the Express train Cairo Alexandria - First Class, reserved seats, air-conditioned . Disembark at Sidi Gaber Station in Alexandria
In Alexandria, once again: Private air conditioned vehicle , private chauffeur at all times for your tours and transfer.
Today is a very Full day tour : The Museum, the Catacombs, the Roman Amphitheater and Qayet Bey Fortress built on the same site of the ancient wonder of the world : the famous Alexandria Light House. A brief stop at " El Selsela" the site of the Underwater reserve where Cleopatra Place was discovered, as well as Caesar Kiosk. Lunch at a local restaurant , then its off to the new site for the Alexandria Library before heading to your hotel
In the evening , we will head to the city center for a leisurely walk and maybe te at one of the local cafes
( included with our compliments)

Hotels in Alexandria : Deluxe Helnan Palestine Deluxe Hotel or the new Alexandria Four Seasons San Stefano

Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria San Stefano

DAY 17 - Alexandria- Friday (B. Lunch Box )
After breakfast, check out . Proceed to tour the local souks, and "zanket el-setat.
Lunch box will be provided from your hotel in Alexandria. We head south back to Cairo .
We stop at Wadi El Natroun monastery , where early Coptic Christians retreated here to escape the Roman persecution in the 4th century AD. The Egyptian Pope of Alexandria is always chosen from the Monks of wadi El Natroun. Reach Cairo early evening and your hotel : J. W. Marriott , Grand Hyatt or Sonesta

DAY 18 - CAIRO/ Departure - Thursday (B)
Our representative escorts you to the airport for your homeward flight. Bon Voyage.
Or add a foray into the Sahara: Three Days / Two Nights - Private Desert Caravan

Rates are in USD $ . PER Person . There is no triple occupancy cabins

All year except the two weeks Easter season - Christmas/New Year's : Dec 20 - Jan 3 :

Rates are per person in USD $
Rate per person in double : $ 5135
Rate per person in single : $ 7700

Peak Season :   Easter ( 2 weeks ) & Christmas and New Year: Dec 20 - Jan 3

Rates are per person in USD $
Rate per person in double : $ 5670
Rate per person in single : $ 9097

Rate Includes:

Rate Does Not Includes:

Aswan to Luxor Cruise Itinerary

Cairo portion remains the same .

For the cruise portion :

Saturday - Board Aswan

Embarkation in Aswan for a relaxing week sailing the Nile on a luxuriously appointed dahabiyya. Overnight, the ship moors on the Nile banks of Aswan

Sunday
Today you will visit the Aswan High Dam (completed in 1971); the Old Dam (completed in 1902) and the ' unfinished obelisk', lying in situ since the days of the pharaohs. You will also visit the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, a structure rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser at the time of the High Dam's construction.

Overnight moored in Aswan.

Monday
Morning sail to Kom Ombo to see the Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon-headed Horus, god of the morning sun.

Overnight moored beside a Nile island.

Tuesday
This morning you will sail to Edfu to visit the wonderfully preserved Temple of Edfu.

Overnight moored beside an island.

Wednesday
Today will be a leisurely day. After breakfast, commence sailing to Esna, and onwards to Luxor, where your dahabiyya moors overnight.

Thursday
Excursion to the West Bank to visit the great burial places of the Pharaohs - the Valley of the Kings - where Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. Continue to the adjacent Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.

Overnight moored in Luxor.

Friday
This morning you will visit the magnificent temple complex of Amon-Ra at Karnak, with its vast hypostyle hall of 137 columns, followed by the imposing 28th Dynasty Luxor Temple.

Overnight moored in Luxor.

Saturday- Luxor -Disembarkation
Breakfast aboard the dahabiyya , check-out.

Daily Telegraph
Peter Hughes
Saturday 13 May 2006

'Going with the flow'

...'The riad I found was not in the city but on the Nile. It's a dahabiya, a traditional, two-masted Nile sailing cruiser. Anywhere else it would be called a yacht. King Farouk had several. So if a riad is a small princely palace on land - now given over to holidaymaking - a dahabiya is a riad on the river...'

...'Mahogany panelled and with two faux-glass oil lamps swinging from the beams - a perfect touch for a sailing ship - the look was of a colonial club. Hercule Poirot could have popped up at any moment. There were button-back leather sofa and chairs, an antique bookcase and Scrabble, and tables where we ate when the weather was too chilly for the deck. The food was outstandingly good...'

...' While the bigs ships charged by as if permanently late, the El Bey moved at the same courtly pace as the Nile - slow enough to enable us to smell woodsmoke from the villages and watch the kingfishers hover. Under our isosceles sails we were as much a curiosity as the boys laying fishing nets and the women doing laundry, the donkey carts and buffalo. But it was the sight of some 40 huge cruise boats, moored in ranks, cheek by gunwale up to 10 deep, at the pretty little temple of Kom Ombo that made the greatest sense of dahabiya travel. The dahabiyas dont take you to sites different from the norm, but they do take you in irresistibly different style...'

...'The greatest compliment to the El Bey was that, for all the wonders of ancient Egypt, shown to us by our own guide, the part of the week my fellow passengers enjoyed most was the time on the river...'

More choices :

• Add Alexandria , stay at the legendary Palestine Hotel in the Royal Garden of Montazah Palace , or the Alexandria Four Seasons San Stefano