Explore Egypt

After breakfast, set off on a journey to witness some of the world’s most iconic sights. Meet with your private Egyptologist guide who will accompany you to the famous Giza Plateau, home of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Stand in awe before this ancient monument that has stood tall for over 4,000 years. For an additional charge, you can enter the pyramids' chambers and explore further. After you tour the pyramids, make your way to the legendary Sphinx, the timeless guardian of these ancient tombs. 

(Optional Tour) The Egyptian Museum

Explore the Egyptian Museum and its expansive collection of pharaonic artifacts and treasures. Amongst the museum's highlights is the six gold-gilded coffins of Tutankhamun, as well as his funerary death mask. After your guided tour, you will be able to wander the museum and view the exhibits at your own leisure. 

Later in the evening, you will transfer to the Giza Train Station and board an overnight train to Aswan. Bedding and air-conditioning is available in your cabin to ensure maximum comfort during your 13-hour train ride. 

Overnight: Sleeper Train to Aswan | Meals: Breakfast 

Welcome to Aswan, Egypt’s southernmost city. Our representative will meet you at the train station and transfer you to your hotel for check-in.  The day is open for you to partake in optional day tours that may interest you. Visit historic sites such as the Unfinished Obelisk and the Aswan High Dam. Alternatively, you may opt to immerse yourself in the Nubian culture by exploring local bazaars and visiting the fascinating Nubian Museum.

Your Egypt Tours highly recommends visiting the stunning Temple of Isis, located on the beautiful Philae Island. The temple features a marvel of decorative pylons featuring some of the finest carvings found in Egypt. 

It is easy to fall in love with the easygoing charm of Aswan and its gorgeous waterfront, a perfect place to enjoy a cup of mint tea. Watch the waterfront come alive at dusk as you relax and unwind along the corniche. 

Overnight: Hotel in Aswan | Meals: Breakfast 

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and prepare to continue exploring the wonders of Aswan. 

(Optional Tour) Abu Simbel 

Set off on an exciting journey to the stunning temples of Abu Simbel. Marvel at the four gargantuan statues of Ramses II guarding the temple’s entrance. These fascinating twin temples are a sight you definitely don't want to miss. 

Please Note: This optional day tour starts early in the morning (5-6 AM). You may choose to travel by air or rent a van for your journey (roughly 3 hours on the road). 

The day is open for you to explore and make your own discoveries. A popular afternoon activity is a relaxing sailboat ride along the Nile. Circle the beautiful islands of the region as you journey to the botanical gardens on Kitchener’s Island. 

Alternatively, you may choose to take a camel ride to the Monastery of St Simeon. This abandoned fortress was built in the 7th-century and is located in the desert of the Nile’s West Bank. 

Your tour leader will assist you with arranging any day tours of interest. Alternatively, you may prefer to simply relax along the Nile and savor the natural beauty of the region. 

Overnight: Hotel in Aswan | Meals: Breakfast 

After breakfast in your hotel, embark on an unforgettable adventure as you sail onboard a traditional felucca sailboat. Experience the beauty of Aswan as the sun rises over the Nile.  After lunch aboard the felucca, arrive at a local Nubian village on the West Bank of the Nile. 

Immerse yourself in the Nubian way of life as you walk through countryside brimming with agricultural fields. The tranquility of the location is indescribable, making for a relaxing and serene visit. Your homestay is built in the Nubian style and features a large sand courtyard where families gather for meals. There are few better ways to understand a country and its people than with a local homestay.

Overnight: Nubian Village Homestay | Meals: Breakfast 

Board a felucca and spend a day out on the river that is included in our Egypt Nile cruise, watching rural Egyptian daily life play out on the banks, then spend a night under the stars. Your Nubian sailing crew provides all the meals, which are hearty and delicious. Being a traditional wooden boat with broad canvas sails, your felucca offers some shade and protection from the elements. However, there is no cabin or enclosed section. Nonetheless, watching the sun setting across the Nile in the evening is a sight you won’t forget. This is the absolute highlight of the trip for many.

Notes: Conditions will be basic during your felucca trip. If you are prepared for this, you’ re sure to have a memorable adventure. You&rsquo'll sleep outside on the deck of the felucca on a mattress. While blankets are provided, a sleeping sheet is recommended. During the colder months (October to March) temperatures can get as low as 5° C at night, so a sleeping bag is highly recommended. Slight alterations may have to be made to the Nile itinerary throughout the year, depending on winds and currents. As the felucca is a sailing craft without any outboard engine if there’s no wind we won’t travel very far.

Our Felucca does have a shared bathroom facility on board

After farewells to the felucca crew, take a private van to Luxor (approximately 3.5 hours). Today you’ ll visit the Intrepid Foundation&rsquo's local project ACE (Animal Care in Egypt). It&rsquo's a great chance to see the holistic approach the project takes toward animal welfare, and to raise awareness among the locals. You&rsquo'll also explore the magnificent Karnak Temple, which is perhaps the most impressive of all the ancient Pharoahs’ monumental works. One of the world’s most celebrated temple complexes, Karnak is a house of the gods built some 200 years. Your guided tour of this vast temple of impressive pylons, obelisks, and chapels will reveal its finest sections, such as the Avenue of Sphinxes and the Great Temple of Amun. The rest of the day will be free to relax, shop in the bazaar (open until quite late) or perhaps experience the atmosphere of a local teahouse.

Rise early this morning and head into the Valley of the Kings. Buried under the arid hills here are over 60 tombs of pharaohs, many richly decorated with reliefs and paintings. With your leader, explore this sprawling and spectacular place, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (16th to 11th century BC) were secretly interred for all eternity, and where discoveries are still being made. Your group leader will explain the history and legends of these remarkable people, their funerary rites, and the significance of the many paintings and hieroglyphics, still well preserved in the deepest tombs. You will visit three of the most interesting royal tombs and then continue to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a stunning colonnaded building set against high cliffs that create a spectacular natural amphitheater. One of the Egypt&rsquo's greatest queens, she built this temple to prove her importance among her ancestors.

Today you farewell the Nile and drive east to the beachside town of Hurghada (approximately 5 hours). The green Nile valley is soon left behind as you head out into the barren Eastern Desert. Passing through rocky hills, the glittering waters of the Red Sea soon come into view and the rugged bulk of the Sinai Peninsula looms through the haze on the opposite shore. A vibrant beach resort, Hurghada is by no means a typical ‘ adventure destination’ After checking in to your hotel, take a walking tour with the leader to get your bearings, and check out some of the local restaurants and eateries.

Transfer to the Hurghada Marina and climb aboard your boat for a trip out to Giftun Island, part of the Red Sea National Parks, where you’ ll spend a relaxing day on the stunning white beach of Madhya. While here, you have the opportunity to take a snorkelling excursion by boat to one of the most magnificent reefs in the Red Sea – fine reef walls, lovely fan corals, and colourful fish – and explore the extraordinary ecosystem. Your snorkelling gear is provided. After a buffet lunch in one of Mahmya&rsquo's open-air sea view restaurants, there a plenty of activities to choose from, such as volleyball, soccer, or simply lazing on the beach. After a great day, you’ ll head back to Hurghada in the late afternoon and transfer back to the hotel.

Check out of your hotel this morning and then catch a flight back up to Cairo (approximately 1 hour). On your return to Cairo, visit the Islamic parts of the city and the frenetic backstreets of the local bazaar Khan el-Khalili with your trip leader. A labyrinth of narrow streets and passageways, Khan is one of the biggest and oldest markets in the world. The ‘ Khan’ sprawling around an old area known as Al-Azhar, is a quintessentially Cairo experience – a warren of alleys with stalls serving up a succession of intoxicating scenes. It retains a distinctly medieval feel. You might explore the gold market, ‘ Perfume Street’ and the spice market, where heady aromas hang in the air like a thick blanket of Damascene cloth (which can be purchased next door in the cloth market

Jump in a private van today and drive following the ‘ desert road’ to the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria (approximately 3 hours). Egypt&rsquo's second-largest city and main port, locals call this vibrant city the Bride of the Mediterranean Sea. On arrival in Alexandria, take an orientation walking tour with your leader. The Greek architect Dinocrates built Alexandria in 331 BC under the orders of Alexander the Great. The city, immortalizing Alexander&rsquo's name, quickly flourished into a prominent cultural, intellectual, political, and economic metropolis. It was the renowned capital of Ancient Egypt&rsquo's last royal dynasty, the Ptolemies, and the site of the Pharos. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this lighthouse acted as a beacon, guiding sailors away from this notoriously treacherous stretch of coastline. Take some time to stroll along the Corniche and take in some fresh Mediterranean air. Alexandria at night is not to miss, with the whole city lighting up

oday you’ ll head back to a more recent period in Egyptian history with a visit to El Alamein and the war museum located there. El Alamein sits on the Mediterranean Sea, 106 kilometers west of Alexandria, and it played an important role in significant World War II battles. The area was a turning point in the North African campaign, where the Allies held out against, and eventually pushed back and defeated, the Afrika Korps of Rommel. The importance of El Alamein was highlighted by Winston Churchill, who said “ Before Alamein, we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat.” The area contains several memorials from the countries that lost soldiers here – Greece, South Africa, Australia, and Italy – as well as a war cemetery that’s home to the graves and names of the thousands who lost their lives, from places as diverse as Britain, India, Melanesia, Malaysia, and New Zealand. In the museum, discover the story of what unfolded here, and then return to Alexandria. The city is also known for its seafood, so don’t forget to feast on some fresh fish while you’ re here.

Optional Activities

This morning, head underground and delve into the mysteries of the Kom ash-Shuqqafa catacombs. This Roman burial site is the largest of its kind in Egypt and was discovered, quite accidentally, by a hapless donkey. The crypts are 20 meters below street level, and what probably began as a small family tomb grew into a labyrinth of chambers that could accommodate more than 300 bodies. Murals and reliefs inside show how Alexandria was a place where Egyptian and Greek funerary myths coexisted. Stop by the strikingly modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina, inspired by the original great library of Alexandria and built to hold over 8 million books. Your last included visit today is el Morsi Abu El Abbas Mosque, the largest in the city. In any free time, perhaps take the opportunity to see the Citadel of Qaitbay, a fortress overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, where the famous lighthouse once stood. You&rsquo'll then leave Alexandria and return to Cairo (approximately 5 hours), arriving around 4 pm. The afternoon is yours to spend as you please. Take the chance to visit Khan Khalili for some last-minute shopping in the evening. Then maybe gather together your fellow travelers for a celebratory kebab, kofta, or sheesha as this Egypt exploration comes to an end

After breakfast at your hotel, you will check out and be driven to Cairo International Airport for your final departure.