King Tutankhamun

• Friday. Welcome to Egypt! On arrival at the airport you’ll be transferred to our hotel. Enjoy the rest of today at leisure, or those arriving early may wish to book our Backstreets of Cairo tour which visits lesser known highlights of the capital including Tahrir Square, the hub of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
• You may also extend your stay in Cairo with our pre or post tour Alexandria Day Trip.

Discover Egypt’s main attraction today as we visit the incredible Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. The largest of the pyramids, Cheops, was the tallest man-made building on Earth for 3,800 years. Experts still can’t agree how the ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids with their limited technology - it remains a mystery. A stop will be made at a government supervised papyrus emporium, then we will continue to the necropolis of Saqqara, home to the famous Pyramid of Zhoser. This ancient monument dates back to around 2700BC and is surrounded by countless tombs and burial sites. After our tour, we return to Cairo for the evening.

• Cairo - Aswan. Today we visit the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which houses a giant exhibition containing the treasures of King Tutankhamun. In this incredible 490,000 sq.m complex many of the exhibits are being displayed for the first time and artefacts have been brought together from across Egypt and the world. The museum also makes use of new technology including virtual reality.
• After our guided tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum we head over to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization to visit the fascinating Royal Mummies' Hall where the mummies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens are on display. Then there's time to relax back at the hotel before we board the night train to Aswan this evening.
• Please Note: the Grand Egyptian Museum is scheduled to open in summer 2022, though an official opening date has yet to be released. If travelling prior to the opening of the new facility we'll visit the Egyptian Museum instead.

We arrive in Aswan and visit the beautiful Philae Temple this afternoon. Take a leisurely boat trip to Agilkia Island in the Nile and explore the site, which is dedicated to the goddess Isis. Our last stop today is the perfume oil emporium, where the use of essential and perfumed oils in Egypt dates back to 2700BC. Enjoy free time this evening to explore Aswan’s vibrant market and shop in the bustling souqs.

Aswan - Nile felucca cruise. This morning there’s an optional excursion to Abu Simbel. This famous temple of King Ramses II is guarded by 4 colossal statues of the great pharaoh himself. Later, we board our traditional felucca for a 2 night cruise down the mighty Nile. If sailing by felucca is not your style, consider upgrading to a 5 star luxury Nile Cruise, please see the tab above for prices.

Nile felucca cruise - Kom Ombo. Relax and sunbathe on deck or go for a swim as our felucca sails to Kom Ombo. We’ll explore the famous symmetrical temple, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus before we return to the felucca and continue our journey downriver.

Kom Ombo - Luxor. This morning we disembark our felucca and drive to ancient Luxor, where the rest of today is at leisure. There's an optional excursion to Luxor Temple tonight, when the site is beautifully illuminated by hundreds of lights.

Luxor - Cairo. Today we visit the famous Valley of the Kings to explore some of the lavishly decorated tombs of important pharaohs. Our tour will also take us to the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the giant Colossi of Memnon. Admire these two towering statues of King Amenhotep III before we continue to Karnak Temple this afternoon. Stroll down the Avenue of Sphinxes and marvel at the towering pillars of Hypostyle Hall as we explore this gigantic complex. The site took more than 1,500 years to complete and around 30 different pharaohs contributed to it in some way. This evening, we board the night train and return to Cairo.

Arrive in Cairo this morning for a free day to explore Egypt’s bustling capital. Visit the famous Khan el Khalili bazaar or admire the imposing Citadel of Saladin.

• Sunday. Our Egyptian adventure comes to an end today with an included departure transfer to the airport.
• Add a beach break! If you like this holiday though would prefer a few lazy days at the Red Sea by the beach at the end, consider our 13 day King Ramses tour.