Grand Egypt (14 Days)

Today we start with perhaps the greatest monuments to Egyptian faith, ingenuity and achievement of any civilisation – the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. The tour with your guide enables you to step on and off an airconditioned transit buses that drop you at each stop on this incredible journey.

Saqqara Necropolis

The Saqqara area is the most researched archaeological site in Egypt with recent excavations uncovering new tombs previously unknown. We will take you into a recently discovered tomb to show you the amazing tomb wall decorations of ancient Egypt. Saqqara was the site where pyramid building began and the stepped pyramid was the first stone building ever constructed in the world 140 years before the Giza Pyramids. It has 400 chambers underneath it.

Unas’s  Tomb and the Pyramid Texts

Unas  was a pharaoh, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC (circa 2345–2315 BC).

Unas’s pyramid became the subject of investigation in the 1880’s.  The hieroglyphics found on the walls of the pharaohs burial chamber corridor, antechamber and passageway was an astonishing ‘find’.

On the walls and surrounding the sarcophagus of Unas was the spiritual roadmap for the pharaoh’s ascension to the afterlife.  They are referred to as the Pyramid Texts which gave direction to the deceased pharaoh as to to ascend as a god.  And as new pyramids and tombs were discovered, the unifying factor for the burial chambers and tombs that was the roadmap to eternal life. It was, perhaps, in the top 3 discoveries about ancient Egypt.

Transfer and overnight – the second night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel or equivalent

B L included – Dinner at Own Expense.

The Ben Ezra Synagogue, is situated in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt Tradition marks this as the spot where the prophet Jeremiah gathered the Jews in the 6th century after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jerusalem temple. This is the oldest synagogue in Cairo, founded in the 9th century on what is claimed to be the site of the Temple of Jeremiah. The founding date of the Ben Ezra Synagogue is not known, although evidence from documents found in the Geniza that it predates 882 CE and is probably pre-Islamic.

Coptic Cairo

A UNESCO World Heritage Site – The Hanging Church

Old Cairo is a historic area in Cairo, which includes the Christian settlement of Coptic Cairo, and the Muslim-era settlements predating the founding of Cairo proper in 969 AD. You will visit the
Hanging Church where Mary, Joseph and Jesus took refuge at the site which now includes the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church.

Islamic Cairo – The Citadel

The Citadel is a medieval Islamic-era fortification and it became the seat of government in Egypt for nearly 700 years from the 13th century. The Citadel was constructed between 1176–1183.

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the most visible mosque and landmark in Cairo. The mosque functions not only as a place of worship, but also contained offices and tombs.

Transfer and overnight –The third night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel or equivalent.

B L Included  –  Dinner at own expense

The pick up will be at 11.00 am.

The  Khan El Khalili site you visit today was originally the site of the  burial place of the Fatimid rulers of Egypt from 909-1171. Princes  who once ruled Egypt.

Not many people realise that this now bustling bazaar was the necropolis of the Fatimid rulers.  Eventually the Fatimid rulers were overthrown and later  the site was transformed in the early 14th century, when Emir Dajaharks Al-Khalili built his market complex on the site.

The Khan bazaar has been operating 24 hours a day for over 600 years. It has over 1000 store holders selling all manner of things.  The humour of the stall holders is legendary and is a great place to see Egyptian going about their day.

We will visit El-Fishawy café which has hosted renowned guests like Napoléon Bonaparte, the German leader Rommel, and Abdul Nasser. We will also take lunch at Na Guib Mahfouz, a restaurant dedicated to the Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Noble Prize for Literature.

The fourth night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel.

BL Included – Dinner at own expense.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is the largest archaeological museum devoted to a single civilisation in the world and brings together the entire Tutankhamen collection. The museum was officially opened in November 2025 and is simply awe inspiring. The original foundation stone was laid in 2002 and the Ramses statue in the main auditorium was added and then the museum was built around it.

Its outstanding design is awe inspiring with views of the neighbouring Giza Plateau (2 kilometres away) and pyramids ever present as you wander its enormous expanse. It occupies a site of over 50 hectares (123 acres).

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC)

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation  has gained an international reputation for excellence. It currently houses over 30 mummies from the late to the Early Kingdom. The mummies were brought to the museum in a grand parade which honoured their status and contribution to some of the greatest achievements the world has ever seen.

The fifth night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel.

BL Included – Dinner at own expense

The Museum of Islamic Art

In Cairo, the Museum is acknowledged as the largest museum specialising in Islamic art in the world.

Currently it houses over 100,000 artifacts covering all the different forms of Islamic Art from the various periods of Islamic history.

Its collection is comprehensive in quantity and quality of its coverage.  This has made it a beacon of Islamic art and civilization throughout its history. It also become the ‘go to’ organisation and library for researchers and historians.  It attracts visitors from all walks of life, who are interested in delving into the intricacies of Islamic sciences and disciplines such as medicine, engineering and astronomy.

Its collection includes metallic, glass and porcelain utensils, as well as jewellery, weapons, wood and ivory objects, textiles, carpets.

The museum ​also has a large library that has a rich collection of specialized books and references covering a wide variety of topics like Islamic history, antiquities, art and architecture.

Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center

Near the pyramids at Giza, the Wissa Wassef centre was founded in the early 1950s by the late architect Ramses Wissa Wassef as a weaving school. It has since evolved to comprise workshops and showrooms, a pottery and sculpture museum, houses and farm buildings, constructed entirely of mud brick.

For Wissa Wassef, vaulted and domed mud brick structures represented something quintessentially Egyptian as these forms had been adopted in turn by Paranoiac, Coptic and Islamic civilisations. The choice of this traditional technology also reflected his desire to transmit the values of handicraft to succeeding generations in a rapidly industrialising country.

The Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center was the home of a unique experiment in tapestry weaving that has produced extraordinary works admired and collected by museums and galleries around the world.  And is ceramic creations was also a passion that drove him in his life.

The sixth night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel.

BL Included – Dinner at own expense

The pick up time for today’s experience is 11am

Manial Palace

After the Muslim conquest of Egypt, parts of Egypt became provinces of successive Muslim dynasties e.g. the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) which exerted its own influences on Egyptian society into the 19^th century in particular.

But in 1952 the Egyptian monarchy was abolished and the ruling elites (dominated by the Mamluk princes and families) were largely expelled in the revolution led by Abdul Nasser.

This experience of the Manial Palace gives insight into the life of the monarchy and ruling classes of Egypt from the 1800’ to the 1900’s.   A part of history into the lives of the ruling classes of Egypt at that time. Manial Palace was the former home of Prince Mohammad Ali Tewfik

The seventh night at the Cairo Marriott (Nile River) 5 Star Hotel.

BL Included – Dinner at own expense

Breakfast at the hotel – transfer to Cairo Airport for your flight to Aswan. 

Aswan Dam and Elephantine Island 

The dam is the world’s largest embankment dam. And today, you will also embark on a 1-hour sail on a traditional Egyptian craft called a felucca. A water’s view before your excursion to the Philae temple complex

Elephantine island’s ancient temples, date back to the Old Kingdom period (2686-2181 BC). The most well-known temple on the Island is the Temple of Khnum, which was built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC).  The island has many archaeological sites and ancient monuments.

Philae Temple Complex 

The Philae Temple was built by the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, the Ptolemaic. It is dedicated to Isis, the goddess of healing, birth, and magic, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus. The temple is one of the last places where ancient Egyptian religion survived after Christianity swept the shores in 550AD

According to the legend, Philae is the place where Isis found the heart of Osiris and then buried it on the Island.

Your Felucca Sailing Adventure

A feluccas a traditional wooden sailing boat with a single sail that was used in ancient Egypt and around the Mediterranean.  In Egypt however some felucca’s  have two sails.

Despite the availability of motorised boats, feluccas are still in active use as a means of transport in Nile-around Aswan and Luxor. They are especially popular among tourists who can enjoy a quieter and eco-friendly method of transport.

Transfer to your cruise vessel and overnight – the first of 3 nights.

B L D Included

Abu Simbel

The Abu Simbel temple was built as a place for Egyptian’s to worship Pharaoh Ramses II as a god following his death.

It was also a very obvious of show of power toward the recently conquered territory of Nubia.

The most notable aspect of the Abu Simbel temple are the four colossal statues of Ramses II on the outside.  Abu Simbel was relocated to its current site when the Aswan dam was being built as it would have been inundated by the waters of the dam.

Abu Simbel was built in 1200 BC. The Temple was dedicated for four Egyptian deities by Ramses II including Amun-Ra Ra.

Temple Kombo Ombo Located on the banks of the Nile in a village of the same name, Kom Ombo is unique in Egypt.  The Ptolemies constructed the Temple of Kom Ombo to worship two gods, Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus, the falcon god..

Transfer to your cruise vessel and overnight – the second of 3 nights.

B L D Included

The Great Temples of Karnak and Luxor

Karnak is an ancient Egyptian temple precinct located on the east bank of the Nile River in Thebes (modern-day Luxor). It covers more than 100 hectares, and is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the pharaohs.

The Temple of Karnak

The Temple of Karnak was believed to be the spot where creation began. They also believed it was a point of interaction between the god Amun-Ra and Egyptians. It is important to Egypt’s cultural history because it was a place of worship and provides clues about the ancient Egyptian religion.

Visitors to the East Bank of Luxor can walk from Karnak to Luxor Temple on this ancient processional route. You enter the Avenue of the Sphinxes at either end or in the middle.

The Temple of Luxor

The Temple of Luxor has always been used as a place of worship, and evidence of various groups is present even today.

Transfer to your cruise vessel and overnight- the third and last night on the cruise vessel.

B L D Included

The Valley of the Kings refers to  where the bodies of the pharaohs were laid to rest in tombs cut deep into the rock. These tombs range in size from single chamber burials to massive complexes spanning several thousand square meters.

The Valley of the Workers Deir el-Medina, also known as the Valley of the Workers, was an ancient Egyptian workmen’s village.

Located on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt, it was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom period (1550-1070 BCE)2.

The Temple of Hatshebut

Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s temple is an engineering marvel and is  important because it offers insight into her rule.

Hatshepsut was largely written out of history, but the stories told on the colonnades in the temple shed a lot of light on the two decades of her reign.

Transfers and Flights: You will transfer to the airport for your flight to Sharm El Seik and your  hotel for your beach retreat.

Overnight – Overnight at Hilton Hotel  – Luxor

B L included – Dinner at Own Expense 

Breakfast at the Hotel

Enjoy Breakfast at the hotel prior to your departure.

Your departure time from the hotel will be organised with our representative.

Upon arrival into Cairo you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

The first night of two nights at the Cairo Marriott (Nile)

Dinner at own expense

After breakfast we will depart the hotel for time spent in the amazing Al Azhar Botanical Gardens.   It’s a great place to relax on your last day in Cairo

The Largest Park in Cairo

Al-Azhar Park is the largest park in Cairo and offers a 72-acre space of greenery in the midst of Old Cairo. Its architectural design was inspired by historic Islamic gardens. The spine of the park is an axis with water fountains leading to a small lake, along with alleyways pointing towards the Citadel of Cairo. Among several honours, Azhar Park is listed as one of the world’s 60 great public spaces.

Commanding Views of Cairo

The parks position over a hill gives visitors a magnificent view of Cairo. The park has several fountains and restaurants where visitors can enjoy the natural beauty and the breath-taking views. On weekends you see many families on daytrip with picnics.

An Expansive Liberating Allure

In addition to small cafes and restaurants and an open air theatre, the northern part of the p ark capitalises on the views of the medieval city. And when combined with the Islamic art forms of its design, the park is truly a magical place.

Lakes, Cafes and Restaurants

In addition to small cafes and restaurants and an open air theatre, the northern part of the park capitalises on the views of the medieval city. The Lakeside Café, on the other side of the park, has a tranquil lake setting.

The second night of two nights at the Cairo Marriott (Nile)

Dinner at own expense

BL Included – Dinner at own expense

Breakfast in the Hotel and Checkout: Checkout times can be discussed with the hotel but are typically between 11 am and noon.

Optional  – Last Minute Shopping

Depending on your departure time, you may have an opportunity to relax or enjoy a shopping experience at the Khan El Khalili Bazaar.

Transfers and Flights: You will transfer to Cairo International Airport for your ongoing journey.

End of Tour