9 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 7 dinners

16

Eating is a big part of traveling. Travelling with G Adventures you experience the vast array of wonderful food that is available out in the world. Generally meals are not included in the trip price when there is a choice of eating options, to give you the maximum flexibility in deciding where, what and with whom to eat. It also gives you more budgeting flexibility, though generally food is cheap. Our groups tend to eat together to enable you to taste a larger variety of dishes and enjoy each other’s company. There is no obligation to do this though. Your CEO will be able to suggest favourite restaurants during your trip. The above information applies to G Adventures group trips. For Independent trips please check the itinerary for details of meals included. For all trips please refer to the meals included and budget information for included meals and meal budgets.

The Geluxe Collection

1. ACCOMMODATION NOTE:

Please be aware that properties we stay in with only two stories may not have elevators installed and climbing the stairs with your luggage will be necessary.

2. EXCURSION RECOMMENDATIONS

If you arrive a day or two early in Cairo and wish to do some excursions, we recommend that you wait until you get to the joining hotel and contact our local staff for more information on available tours and excursions. Tourists are frequently over-charged for excursions bought from vendors on the street or at the airport.

3. TIPPING NOTE:

Tipping is a way of life in the Middle East. Locals themselves will usually tip anyone who provides them with services. Due to this expectation, your CEO will collect a Tipping Kitty at the start of the tour. For more details see the Tipping section below.

4. TRAVEL DAYS

Please be aware that there are some long driving days on this tour. You can refer to the detailed trip itinerary for more information on estimated travel times. Please note that any times mentioned are approximations only to give you an idea of the journey lengths and the actual time taken will depend on factors such as public transport timetables and road conditions. A mix of private and public transport is used throughout this trip.

5. OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

Please note all optional activities and entrance fees will need to be paid by card only as per a new change implemented by the ministry of tourism in Egypt.

6. RAMADAN

According to the lunar cycle, Ramadan will fall between Feb 8 – Mar 8, 2027. Please note that Ramadan is a month of fasting observed by Muslims throughout the world, during which time the followers of Islam should not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. There may be some limitations to services and disruptions to schedules during Ramadan, but generally our tours still operate effectively during this period and food is available to non-Muslims throughout the day. It is very important to display increased cultural sensitivity during Ramadan. Please wear loose fitting clothes, that cover knees and shoulders, and try to avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public out of respect for those who can’t at that time.

7. MONEY

US Dollars that are series 1996 or earlier are not accepted and very difficult to change in regions of East and Southern Africa, as there are a lot of forgeries in circulation.

8. EXTRAS

Looking to add to your experience? Check out our Extras! Specially designed for travellers with unique interests, Extras are optional add-ons to your G adventures trip that make your adventure more you-centric. Extras must be booked prior to departure, please see details in our optional activities field and ask your sales GCO or travel agent about booking.

9. AID AL-ADHA

During your visit to this country, we would like to inform you about an important celebration called Aid Al-Adha. This holiday may impact your travel experience, as most shops and restaurants are closed during the celebration. Some of the historical places we visit might also be closed during this time. There will be a shorter number of staff at the hotels and less crowded streets on the day of the celebration. Aid Al-Adha will fall between May 17th-18th 2027.

Certified Egyptologist as CEO (Chief Experience Officer) throughout.

On this trip you can expect to stay in local hotels or pensions (with the exception of the start and finish hotels, which are often larger city hotels), which will vary a little in standard and facilities: some may not have elevators, air-conditioning or English-speaking staff, but most importantly all are in excellent central locations to give you maximum time for exploring the sights.

We recommend using a backpack for your convenience, or a medium-sized suitcase if you prefer. A daypack is also essential for carrying everyday items. Space is limited on transportation, so there is a limit of one main piece of luggage per person. You will be responsible for carrying your own luggage.

It is important to pack clothes for warm to hot days and cool evenings. A set of smart casual clothes is also advisable.

Every traveller is different and therefore spending money requirements will vary. Some travellers may drink more than others while other travellers like to purchase more souvenirs than most. Please consider your own spending habits when it comes to allowing for drinks, shopping and tipping. Please also remember the following specific recommendations when planning your trip.

Step ashore at Besaw Island to wander palm-shaded lanes, mudbrick homes, and small fields nourished by the Nile’s seasonal rhythm. Friendly greetings and curious smiles reflect the river’s quiet heartbeat.

Observe traditional Nile life at a scale that larger cruises miss—date harvests, fishing skiffs, and courtyard chatter—before setting sail again with a deeper sense of place.

Approach the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt’s most complete Ptolemaic sanctuary. Pass between towering pylons into courts and hypostyle halls where falcon-headed Horus triumphed over Set.

Examine finely carved reliefs that read like a ritual manual—processions, offerings, and festivals etched in crisp hieroglyphs. Outside, the bustle of modern Edfu contrasts with the temple’s ordered geometry.

Begin your journey with a welcome dinner overlooking the Pyramids of Giza, a rare chance to dine with these icons in view as the desert fades to dusk. Meet your Tour Director and fellow travellers, share first impressions, and feel the anticipation build for the days ahead.

Learn practical tips and cultural insights while the sunset over the desert plateau sets the mood. The setting frames Egypt’s timeless silhouette and introduces the balance of scholarship and storytelling that will guide your exploration.

Explore the desert edge on a guided visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Stand before the Great Pyramid of Khufu and survey Khafre and Menkaure, aligned with the cardinal points and rising from golden sands.

Hear how polished Tura limestone once sheathed the pyramids in a white sheen, and meet the guardian of the Giza Plateau—the enigmatic Sphinx. This encounter places you eye to eye with 4,500 years of engineering mastery and pharaonic ambition.

Discover the cradle of monumental stone architecture at the Saqqara necropolis. Walk among Old Kingdom mastabas and step inside courtyards conceived by the polymath architect Imhotep.

Gaze up at the pioneering Step Pyramid of Djoser, a stacked limestone masterpiece that set the template for all that followed. Your guide reveals burial customs, early building techniques, and the sacred landscape that connected Memphis to eternity.

Visit the luminous Temple of Hathor at Dendera, a Ptolemaic–Roman sanctuary renowned for vivid pigments and celestial iconography. Step beneath the astronomical ceiling, its deep blues and star maps freshly restored.

Admire Hathor-headed columns, secret crypts, and reliefs honoring music, joy, and fertility. With fewer crowds than Egypt’s headline sites, Dendera rewards quiet observation and close-up appreciation of ancient craftsmanship.

Enter the vast Temple of Karnak, where the Great Hypostyle Hall forests 134 carved columns into stone papyrus. Trace avenues, pylons, and sacred lakes that expressed Egypt’s cosmic order.

Continue to the riverside Luxor Temple, linked to Karnak by the restored Avenue of Sphinxes. Reliefs glow in angled light as your Egyptologist decodes royal rituals, divine kingship, and the temple’s role in the Opet Festival.

Descend into the Valley of the Kings to see painted funerary chambers alive with Book of the Dead spells and scenes from royal journeys. Emerge to the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut, a vision of symmetry set against honeyed cliffs.

Pause at the towering Colossi of Memnon, guardians of Amenhotep III’s lost mortuary complex. Photography in select tombs may require a permit at additional cost; your guide will advise on current rules.

Join a Funtasia Project visit supporting youth development on the West Bank. Cycle or stroll village lanes with a local, meet your student-guide, and learn how creative programs build skills and opportunity.

Share tea and stories in a setting shaped by community-led tourism. Your visit directly supports education initiatives while deepening your understanding of life beyond the monuments.

Savour five-night dahabiya sailing—a boutique Nile experience on a twin-sail wooden vessel. Glide in near silence past date palms and riverbank farms, mooring at islands and villages unreachable by larger ships.

Enjoy silent, wind-powered cruising, intimate deck views, and an island barbecue under the stars. This unhurried rhythm connects temple visits with river life, desert horizons, and timeless scenes of feluccas at dusk.

Walk the ancient enclosure of El Kab to reach El Kab cliff tombs, memorials to governors of Nekheb. Step inside to study painted scenes of daily life—plowing, fishing, and feasting—rendered with remarkable color.

Chisel marks and desert patina narrate provincial power in the New Kingdom. Your guide introduces the nobles who managed canals and quarries that sustained the pharaohs’ realm.

Cruise into the narrows of Gebel el-Silsila, source of sandstone for Egypt’s grandest temples. Walk quarry ramps and tool marks that map the logistics behind monumental building.

Visit rock-cut chapels carved by officials and pharaohs, their reliefs honoring Nile deities and the labor that tamed the stone. This site reveals the supply chain of empire in situ.

Explore the riverside Temple of Kom Ombo, a perfectly symmetrical double temple for Horus the Elder and the crocodile god Sobek. Porticoes frame views of boats sliding past on the current.

In the adjacent Crocodile Museum, meet mummified reptiles once venerated here. Reliefs detailing surgical tools and offerings illuminate Egyptian medicine and belief along the southern Nile.

Ferry across glittering channels to the Temple of Philae, reborn on the island of Agilkia. Colonnades, kiosks, and sanctuaries celebrate Isis, mother and magician of the Egyptian pantheon.

Learn how a daring UNESCO relocation saved Philae from Lake Nasser’s waters. The temple’s island setting, incense-still courtyards, and lotus-topped columns create one of Egypt’s most romantic scenes.

Visit a riverside Nubian Village visit to admire brightly painted homes and geometric murals. Share mint tea with a local family and hear about traditions shaped by the Nile’s islands.

Discover the distinct Nubian language and music, and understand how relocation after the High Dam reshaped community life. The warmth of this exchange lingers long after you depart Aswan.

Fly south to stand before Abu Simbel, where colossal statues of Ramesses II stare across the desert. Enter rock-hewn halls lined with victory scenes and divine patronage.

Learn how a landmark UNESCO rescue moved the temples block by block above Lake Nasser’s rise. The artistry, scale, and engineering ingenuity resonate as strongly as the rulers they honored.

Wander the light-filled galleries of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a new home for over 100,000 artifacts spanning dynasties. Meet the giant Ramesses II in the soaring atrium before exploring themed halls.

Marvel at the re-curated Tutankhamun collection, conservation labs in action, and contemporary design that reframes ancient masterpieces. This is Egypt’s story told with scale, clarity, and care.

Sample Egyptian koshari—a comforting blend of lentils, pasta, rice, and tangy sauce—before ascending the Citadel and Mosque of Muhammad Ali for grand views across Cairo’s sprawl.

Continue into the medieval lanes of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and along al-Muizz Street, where Mamluk facades and minarets stage centuries of urban life. This experience is included; you will select it on tour as one of two choices.

Embark on a guided foodie tour through side streets and cafés, tasting falafel and shawarma, sugar-dusted feteer, and syrupy basbousa. Stories of recipes and neighborhoods season every bite.

Pause in Tahrir Square to frame Egypt’s modern milestones, then thread to the Khan el-Khalili stalls for a final flourish of scents and color. This experience is included; you will select it on tour as one of two choices.

Conclude your adventure with a farewell dinner by the Nile, where feluccas drift past and the river mirrors the evening sky. Raise a glass as Cairo hums softly beyond the embankment.

Under the city lights of Cairo, share highlights of the journey—from quiet tombs to wind-filled sails—and savor the flavors of Egypt one last time before departure.