Itinerary:
Day

Programme

Meals & Lodge

01

ARRIVE CAIRO

Arrive Cairo International Airport; met by our representative who will assist in your transfer to the hotel for check in. Stay overnight in Cairo.

Note:
B= Breakfast  L= Lunch  D= Dinner  O/N= Overnight stay

O/N: Cairo

02

CAIRO - ALEXANDRIA

Full day visit to the Great Pyramids* of Giza and their guardian, the famous half-human, half-lion Sphinx. And afterwards, back to Cairo for the Egyptian Museum* where artifacts like the golden mask of Tutankhamun can be found. End with shopping at the busy and boisterous Khan El Khalili Bazaar.
(*) Exclude entrance fees into inside of the Pyramids, visit the Solar Boat in the Pyramids area and into the Mummies Room at the Egyptian Museum.

Later, transfer by coach to Alexandria. Upon arrival, check in at your hotel.

Stay overnight in Alexandria.

B: Hotel

O/N: Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA - CAIRO - ASWAN (ON SLEEPER TRAIN)

Start the day, with a tour of Alexandria, the city built by Alexander The Great in 331 BC. For more than a thousand years, Alexandria remained as the capital of Egypt until 641 AD, it was captured by the Arabs who then moved the central government to Fustat, which five hundred years later was absorbed into Cairo. Upon arrival, visit the National Museum (containing artifacts of different eras; Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic), Catacomb (a multi-level of labyrinth with many chambers containing sculptures, religious symbols, burial niches and sarcophagi), Roman Theater and Montazah Gardens (park with royal palace).

Afterwards, transfer to Cairo station, and board the sleeper train to Aswan (800km). Dinner and overnight stay is onboard.
(The train departs Cairo at 8.00pm and arrives Aswan next day at 8.15am)

B: Hotel

D: Onboard

O/N: Onboard

ASWAN - ABU SIMBEL - ASWAN

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for check in.

Later, board your coach to visit the Temple of Abu Simbel. Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself. When the temples were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain.

Stay overnight in Aswan.

B: Onboard

O/N: Aswan

ASWAN NILE CRUISE

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to the Nile cruise ship for check in.

Later, visit Philae Temple (once dedicated to the goddess Isis) that is in a beautiful setting and had been landscaped to match its original site when it was dismantled and reassembled (on Agilika lsland from its original home on Philae Island) when the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s. An engineering miracle, the High Dam provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, wonderful view for visitors. Next, to the Unfinished Obelisk which still lies where a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. If completed it would have been 120 ft tall and over 1150 tons

Stay overnight on your cruise ship.

06

ASWAN - NILE CRUISE LUXOR

B: Onboard

L: Onboard

D: Onboard

O/N: Onboard

LUXOR NILE CRUISE -VALLEY OF THE KINGS & KARNAK TEMPLE

Visit:
The Valley of the Kings (site of Tuthankhamun's tomb)
Situated in a secluded area of the west bank, this valley contains 62 excavated tombs, and a visit usually takes in two or three of the tombs, dependent on the number of visitors in the valley and which tombs are open. The main tombs include those of Amenophis II (one of the best preserved), Ramses IX (never completed), and Seti I (largest and most elaborate).

The Temple of Hatshepsut
Unlike any other temple in Egypt, it is composed of three widely-spaced terraces with ramps leading from one to the next. The first terrace is virtually destroyed; approaching the second visitors climb the ramp to see some excellent bas-reliefs of the Queen with her nephew and co-regent Tuthmosis III. Particularly interesting are friezes depicting the Queen's expedition to the land of Punt.

The Colossi of Memnon
These two massive statues, both portraying King Amenhotep III once flanked the entrance to his massive funerary temple. The temple has all but disappeared but the statues, although weather-beaten, have survived. Carved from a single block of sandstone they stand over 50 ft high on a base of 8 ft and look imperiously over the barren landscape. The two colossi enjoyed fame even in the ancient world and it was the Greeks who identified them with Memnon of the Trojan War.

The Temple of Luxor
In front of the great pylon entrance originally stood two obelisks and six colossal statues, all erected by Ramesses II. One obelisk is now in Paris. The statues all represent Ramses himself. But perhaps the most beautiful parts of the temple are the Colonnade and Court of Amenophis, its columns are crowned with lotus buds.

The Temple of Karnak
The great Temple of Amun at Karnak was once the religious centre of Thebes and Upper Egypt. The Temple covers an immense 100 acres, and was once linked to Luxor by a sphinx-lined avenue.The whole complex of temples was in turn linked to the Nile via a canal through which moved the sacred boats of the god Amun. Its impressive hypostyle hall has 134 soaring columns; each column is carved with scenes of gods and pharaohs.

Stay overnight on your cruise ship.

LUXOR CAIRO (ON SLEEPER TRAIN)

After breakfast, check out of the cruise ship and free at leisure until transferred to the station , and board the sleeper train to Cairo.
Dinner and overnight stay is onboard.
(The train departs Luxor at 9.30pm and arrives Cairo next day at 6.45am)

Stay overnight on the sleeper train.

CAIRO

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for check in.
Free at leisure. Stay overnight in Cairo.

10

DEPART CAIRO

B: Hotel