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North
African Gems
Tour Tunisia and Cairo
In 14 days
Tour the best of Egypt & Tunisia - the best of North
Africa in 14 days , weekly departures, year round .
Click here for the
Nile Cruise version.
Cairo, Luxor, Tunis, Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir, El Jem,
Sfax, Djerba Island, Gabes, Matmata, Kebil, Tozeur, Chott El Djerid,
Kairouan, Gafsa, Skeita - No other package could offer you Th. combination
at such affordable rates.
DAY
1 - JFK - Sunday
Board Air France, British Airways or Lufthansa wide body jet at JFK
International Airport , overnight across the Atlantic. Dinner is served
on board.
DAY
2 - TUNIS/CARTHAGE - Monday
Our staff greets you at Tunis/Carthage airport and escorts you to your
Tunis hotel. After freshening up, take your first look at this Mediterranean
capital as you like.
DAY
3- HAMMAMET TO SFAX (cBLD) - Tuesday
We drive along the beautiful blue Mediterranean seashore to Hammamet,
passing picturesque castles, stopping occasionally in local souks (bazaars)
for shopping. Continuing to Sousse, once the Phoenician city
of Hadrumatum, we walk through the medina (old city), cooled by breezes
off the harbor, and visit the Roman catacombs and, if there's time,
a local museum. We stop to explore a typical ribat (fort) before enjoying
lunch at Monastir. Our next stop is El Jem, which boasts
a Roman coliseum very similar to the famous one in Rome. Finally we
reach Sfax, and our hotel.
DAY
4 - DJERBA & GABES (cBLD) Wednesday
We explore the old city of Sfax, then board the ferry to the
island of Djerba (Jerba) for lunch. Fertile Djerba, a large island
on the south side of the entrance to the Gulf of Gabes, bears many traces
of Roman civilization and produces an abundance of delicious fruit.
We travel to Gabes in time for shopping in the local market,
and for enjoying the shade of a typical palm grove before dinner and
a good night's rest.
DAY 5 - MATMATA TO CHOTT EL DJERID (cBLD)
Thursday
Our journey continues to Matmata where we visit troglodyte (underground)
houses where descendants of the Berbers still live as their ancestors
did. We continue to Kebil for lunch, then across the Chott El
Djerid to see its desert Berber villages. We spend the night in a desert
oasis.
DAY 6 - CHOTT EL DJERID & TOZEUR (cBLD)
Friday
We explore our desert oasis before driving to Tozeur in time
for lunch. In the afternoon, wander at leisure in Tozeur, our
base for the night.
DAY 7 - GAFSA, KAIROUAN & TUNIS (cBLD)
Saturday
We drive to the ancient Roman pools of Gafsa, then to Sbeita
to climb around its Roman ruins. After lunch at a local restaurant,
we continue to Kairouan, an Islamic holy city boasting several
historic mosques and a souk famous for its carpets and leather goods.
We reach Tunis in time for dinner.
DAY
8 - TUNIS (cBLD) Sunday
The famous Bardo Museum, with the largest Roman mosaics in the world,
is our first stop, followed by a visit to Tunis's medina (old city)
for last-minute bargain-hunting. After a relaxing lunch in a seaside
restaurant, we visit the ruins of ancient Carthage, including its theater,
circus and baths. Finally, we stop in the picture-perfect medieval village
of Sidi Bou Said before returning to our hotel in Tunis.
DAY 9 - TUNIS (cBD) - Monday
Full day at leisure , maybe for last minute shopping. Evening farewell
dinner in the Old Medina at a typical Tunisian restaurant " Essaraya"
or similar.
DAY
10 - TUNIS/CAIRO (cB) - Tuesday
Our
staff escorts you to the airport for your flight to the Egyptian
city of light. During
the flight, study your Lonely Planet guidebook to Egypt, which we present
to you with our compliments. Upon landing in Cairo, our staff meets
you, assists with entry formalities, Complimentary Egyptian visa fee
(valid only for American & Japanese citizens. Passports must be
valid for at least 6 month upon arrival). A visa will be issued at the
airport upon arrival in Cairo.
DAY 11-CAIRO/ DAHSOUR (cBL)-Wednesday
A
morning tour takes us to Dahshour, the newly-opened pyramid field
south of Cairo. We visit the great pyramid of Senfru, father of Cheops,
and other structures,
after lunch at a local charming restaurant,we
drive to Giza for a visit to the sphinx and the valley temple, and a
tour of the Pyramids.
In the evening, we return to the Pyramids for an awe-inspiring
sound-and-light show.
DAY 12-LUXOR (cBLD)-Thursday Morning
flight to Luxor, we set out to see the best first: the gigantic, awesome
Great Temple of Karnak and the smaller but still mammoth Temple of Luxor.
After lunch, we cross the Nile to tour the incomparable monuments of
ancient Thebes: the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut,
and the Colossi of Memnon. Board the overnight sleeper train back to
Cairo ,dinner is served on board in the privacy of your cabin.
DAY
13-CAIRO (cBLD)
-Friday
Morning arrival at Cairo Railway Station. We stop at the Nile Hilton
for morning Coffee or tea (included) then we proceed to the next block
to tour the renowned Egyptian Museum, filled with the wealth of the
pharaohs, is our first stop. Following lunch at a charming local restaurant,
we see the Islamic Museum,
Ibn Tulun Mosque and Gayer-Anderson House, a pair of traditional
Arab houses built in 1540 and 1630. After lunch, we visit Bab an-Nasr,
a great gate in the old city walls.
In
the evening, we host you on a Nile dinner cruise complete with exotic
Egyptian entertainment.
DAY
14 - DEPARTURE (cB) - Saturday
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home.
Rates per person in US$
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Triple |
Double |
Single |
Per
person |
$3579 |
$3650 |
$4050 |
Tour departs from the USA every Sunday , year round. For Christmas,
New Year's & Easter weeks, please add %10 supplement.
Your tour includes:
Airport
transfers in Tunisia & Egypt.
Domestic
air fare & sleeper train within Egypt.
Complimentary
visa fee for Egypt, valid only for American & Japanese citizens,
passports must be valid for at least 6 month at time of arrival, no
visa is required for Tunis or France.
Air
fare with taxes from JFK, round-trip. For most west coast cities,
please add : $250. For Jun - Aug. , Air fare supplement is $250 (doesn't
apply when you handle your own air fare). When /if you handle your
own air fare, please deduct $ 800 from the rate.
Hotel
accommodations in simple but comfortable four-star (first-class) hotels
(Tunis: International Mechtel; Sfax: Sfax Center Syhax; Gabes: Chems;
Tozeur: Ramla); Cairo : 4 stars : Maadi, Oases, Three Pyramids etc.
Luxor : Isis, Novotel
Meals
as indicated: cB = Continental breakfast; L = set-menu lunch; D =
set-menu dinner.
Guided
sightseeing as indicated, including all admission fees, by air-conditioned
motorcoach . Please note that in Tunisia, touring & guiding will
be in French and English.
Not
Included :
Tips
.
Any insurance, we'll be glad to send you the flyer
Drinks.
The
Mediterranean resorts of Europe are wonderful, but they can be crowded
and expensive. So where do discerning Europeans go to find the perfect
laid-back, affordable Mediterranean vacation? Why, they go to Tunisia,
of
course!
The
clear blue water, the shimmering sun, the white sand beaches are
all the
same in Tunisia, the southern shore of the Mediterranean, just across
the
sea from Sicily and Sardinia. The prices are lower, the pace is
more
relaxed, and the cuisine and service in this former French colony
are
French-inspired. (Everyone speaks French as well as Arabic, and
many people
in hotels, restaurants and other tourist spots speak some English,
too.)
Tunisia's
history has always been linked to Europe's. Hannibal of Carthage
crossed from Tunisia to Europe with 30,000 men and a few dozen elephants
and
humbled the Roman legions. Rome ultimately triumphed, however, and
Tunisia
became the Roman province of Africa. Today the picturesque ruins
of great
Roman cities are spread throughout the Tunisian countryside.
Be
sure to see Tunisia's African side as well: its legacy of Umayyad,
Abbasid and Ottoman culture and cuisine, its picture-perfect desert
oases
shaded by date palms, its markets filled with handicrafts and exotic
spices.
Want
a Mediterranean vacation like the Europeans
enjoy? Go to Tunisia!
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