• 7 Breakfast (B)
• 4 Dinner (D)
• 3 Lunch (L)

• Visit the Pyramids of Giza and the mighty Sphinx
• Enjoy a ride on the scenic overnight train from Cairo to Aswan
• Visit High Dam and Philae Temple, sail on the Nile in a traditional felucca
• Visit Kom Ombo Temple dedicated to two gods
• Explore the imposing Karnak Temple Complex
• See the Memnon Colossi and visit the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut

• Selected hotel dinners, with optional meals to purchase
• 3-star hotel, overnight cruise and overnight train stays
• Deluxe coach, cruise and train travel, and select flights

• Giza: Enjoy a day gazing at the Great Pyramids of Giza and its treasures – the Step Pyramid of Saqqara and the Colossus of Rames II.
• Cairo: Be mesmerized by the intricate art of Egyptian carpet weaving as you meet the skilled artisans of a local weaving school. This ancient and traditional Egyptian craft is one of the oldest in the country, and only few schools have been safeguarding the traditional weaving methods on wooden looms, using silk and cotton, and natural dyes. More than carpets, they come to life as unique works of art. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: Resilient Cities and Communities.
• Temple of Philae: Enjoy a day filled of wonder at the Temple of Isis.
• Sail across the Nile aboard a traditional felucca, its white sail catching the breeze as you drift between palm-lined banks.
• Spend three nights aboard a luxury Nile cruise, gliding past temple-lined shores, riverside villages and stretches of fertile green framed by desert beyond.
• Aswan: Visit the Aswan High Dam, an immense wall of rock holding back the vast blue waters of Lake Nasser as desert stretches towards the horizon.
• Kom Ombo: Discover the temple of Kom Ombo and discover the wonders of the duo gods Horus the Elder and Sobek.
• Karnak: Stand amid a vast forest of columns in the largest temple complex known to man as your Egyptologist explains the significance behind it. Walk the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, see the statue of Rameses II and the Hypostyle Hall.
• Valley of the Kings: Discover the ancient history behind the final resting place of Egypt’s Pharaohs and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple at the Valley of the Kings.
• Fly from Luxor to Cairo, leaving the ancient temples of the Nile behind as Egypt’s sprawling capital awaits.

Costsaver

Meet your Travel Director over a welcome mocktail in Cairo and get acquainted with the people who will share your journey through Egypt. It is a hosted opportunity to ask questions and hear what to expect from the experiences ahead.

Settle into the rhythm of a city where lively streets sit close to some of the world’s oldest monuments. The gathering offers a relaxed introduction to your Egyptologist-led travels without taking time away from Cairo’s sights.

Visit the Pyramids of Giza and stand before the Great Sphinx, the monumental guardian carved from limestone beside the pyramid complex. See the scale of the royal tombs against the desert edge while your Egyptologist brings the ancient setting into focus.

Built for Fourth Dynasty pharaohs more than 4,500 years ago, the pyramids remain a powerful expression of ancient Egyptian engineering and belief in the afterlife. Giza’s stone monuments offer a striking contrast to the modern city nearby.

Discover the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, a landmark in the development of Egyptian pyramid building, and see the Colossus of Ramesses II in the ancient Memphis area. These monuments reveal different eras of pharaonic ambition beyond Giza’s famous skyline.

Saqqara’s tiered pyramid was built for King Djoser in the Third Dynasty, centuries before the great pyramids at Giza. The colossal image of Ramesses II reflects the later ruler’s enduring presence in Egypt’s monumental art.

Meet artisans at a local carpet-weaving school in Cairo and watch skilled hands work silk and cotton on wooden looms. Learn how patterns take shape through patient, precise movements and how natural dyes contribute to the finished textiles.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience supports craftspeople safeguarding traditional weaving methods and the livelihoods connected to them. It offers a closer look at Egyptian artistry through the people who practise it today, rather than through museum displays alone.

Visit the Aswan High Dam and look across the vast waters of Lake Nasser, held back where the Nile meets the southern desert. The immense structure gives a sense of the scale of one of modern Egypt’s defining engineering projects.

Completed in the 20th century, the dam transformed Egypt’s ability to manage flooding and generate electricity, while reshaping communities and historic sites along the river. Its setting connects the Nile’s natural power with the country’s more recent history.

Explore the Temple of Isis at Philae, an island sanctuary near Aswan where carved columns, gateways and reliefs preserve stories of Egyptian gods. Take in the temple’s waterside setting as you discover the role Isis played in ancient beliefs about protection and renewal.

Philae’s monuments were relocated stone by stone to Agilkia Island during the construction of the Aswan dams. That remarkable rescue adds another dimension to a visit already distinguished by its intricate carvings and setting amid the Nile’s waters.

Sail the Nile aboard a traditional felucca in Aswan, letting the breeze carry its white sail past palm-lined banks and river islands. Watch the shoreline from the water and catch glimpses of everyday life in this part of Egypt, where Nubian culture remains an important presence.

The simple, wind-powered boat offers a slower perspective than a motorised cruise. With the sound of water against the hull and the desert beyond the green banks, the river becomes the experience rather than just the route.

Spend three nights cruising the Nile between Aswan and Luxor, watching riverside villages, fertile fields and temple-lined shores pass from the deck. The voyage offers extended time on the water, including a passage through the Esna Lock.

For millennia, the Nile has linked the settlements and sacred sites of Upper Egypt. Seeing its narrow ribbon of green against the desert gives the journey a distinctive perspective that cannot be captured from the road.

Explore the riverside Temple of Kom Ombo and its unusual paired design, dedicated to Sobek and Horus the Elder. Walk among columns and carved stone to see how two sets of sacred spaces share a single temple complex.

Sobek, associated with the crocodile, and falcon-headed Horus held distinct places in ancient Egyptian religion. The temple’s symmetry makes those parallel traditions visible in its layout, while its position above the Nile recalls the river’s central place in local life.

Explore the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor with your Egyptologist. Walk the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, see a statue of Ramesses II and stand among the towering columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall.

Expanded by successive pharaohs over many centuries, Karnak was a major centre of worship devoted principally to Amun. Its enormous gateways, courts and carved columns reveal how rulers used sacred architecture to express devotion and power on a monumental scale.

Visit the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank, where New Kingdom pharaohs were buried in rock-cut tombs. Discover the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut beneath the desert cliffs and stop to see the towering Colossi of Memnon.

These sites offer contrasting expressions of royal legacy: hidden burial chambers, Hatshepsut’s striking terraced temple and giant seated statues that once guarded another royal complex. Together they reveal why this landscape became one of ancient Egypt’s most significant places of remembrance.

Explore the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza, beginning with the suspended Hanging Obelisk and the imposing statue of Ramesses II in the Grand Hall. Discover objects associated with Tutankhamun, including gold sandals, coffins and jewellery.

The museum brings ancient Egyptian craftsmanship into close view, from monumental sculpture to finely worked personal treasures. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, offering more time with the artefacts behind the histories encountered at Egypt’s temples and tombs.

Experience Philae Temple illuminated after dark during a Sound and Light Show on its Nile island near Aswan. Coloured light picks out the sanctuary’s columns and carved walls as the presentation evokes the stories associated with Isis and the temple.

The evening setting gives Philae a different character from a daytime visit, with ancient stonework standing out against the dark sky. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit the temples of Abu Simbel and see the colossal seated statues guarding the Great Temple of Ramesses II. Explore a site where immense facades and carved interiors convey the pharaoh’s power in Egypt’s far south.

The temples were moved to higher ground in the 1960s to protect them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, an extraordinary feat of preservation. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

See Karnak’s columns and gateways illuminated during an evening Sound and Light Show in Luxor. The presentation uses light and narration to evoke the gods and rulers connected with this vast ancient temple complex.

Shadows change the scale and mood of the monumental stonework, offering a theatrical contrast to exploring Karnak by daylight. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour for travellers who want another perspective on the site’s history.

Take a guided excursion to Alexandria from Cairo and explore Egypt’s Mediterranean coastal city through its historic sites and sea views. Your guide provides context for a place shaped by Egyptian, Greek and later traditions.

Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria became a centre of learning and trade in the ancient world. Its coastal outlook and layered history offer a different perspective on Egypt from the Nile Valley. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Join a guided tour of Cairo to discover historic sites, colourful neighbourhoods and lesser-known corners of Egypt’s capital. Your guide helps make sense of the city beyond its best-known ancient monuments.

Cairo’s streets reflect centuries of changing architecture, commerce and everyday life. This organised tour suits travellers who want a closer look at the city with local context rather than exploring independently. It is an Optional Experience at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo, including its Royal Mummies Hall. See ancient treasures and exhibits that place Egypt’s pharaonic past within a broader account of the country’s cultural history.

Encountering the preserved remains of rulers gives a human dimension to names found on temple walls and in royal tombs. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour for travellers seeking more time with Egypt’s museum collections.

Cruise the Nile in Cairo at night while enjoying local dishes and a belly dancing performance. Watch the city lights from the water as dinner and live entertainment turn an evening meal into an organised experience.

The river provides a calmer vantage point on the capital after dark, while the performance adds a lively cultural element. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.