Explore the Colosseum and Roman Forum with a local guide who brings ancient Rome’s public life into focus. Stand among the remains of the empire’s political heart and learn about the spectacle of gladiatorial contests in its great amphitheatre.

The Forum’s ruined temples and civic buildings evoke debates, ceremonies and political upheaval, including the era of Julius Caesar. This locally guided encounter with ancient Rome connects two celebrated landmarks to the people who shaped them.

• 3 Dinner (D)
• 9 Breakfast (B)

• Cairo: Tipping’s a big deal in Egypt – it’s part of the culture and helps support locals (especially those working in tourism). During your trip, you’ll be expected to tip people like hotel staff, local guides, porters, and restaurant crews.
  To keep it simple (and avoid the awkward maths), your Trip Manager will organise a tipping kitty. They’ll let you know the suggested amount upon arrival in Egypt, and collect it in USD or Egyptian Pounds to cover group service tips along the way.
  Heads-up: this doesn’t include a tip for your Trip Manager.

• Rome:  Kick back with your Contiki crew and feast on some yummy Italian cuisine – served at a local restaurant working to train and provide jobs for members of the community with disabilities.
   
• Rome: Stroll around the Italian capital, ticking off some sights on your bucket list! 
• Rome: Wander through the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire’s political heart, while our Local Guide peels back the layers of history & reconstructs the past. From the assassinations at the Forum to the bloody battles in the Colosseum, learn how the roots of Western culture started here. 
• Athens: A locally guided tour of Athens, including entry to the legendary Acropolis.
• Cairo: The world’s largest archaeological museum complex is no joke. You’ll find 100,000 artifacts here (including King Tut’s ENTIRE treasure collection). You don’t wanna miss this one…
• Cairo: Needs no introduction! Marvel at the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. #bucketlist

Contiki

Share an Italian welcome feast with your fellow travellers at a local Rome restaurant. It is an opportunity to meet your group over regional cooking rather than a routine hotel meal.

The restaurant trains and provides jobs for people with disabilities, giving the evening a meaningful connection to the community. Conversation around the table sets an easy, sociable tone for exploring the three ancient civilisations on this journey.

Walk Rome’s cobblestoned streets with your group on an orientation that introduces the Italian capital on foot. Take in historic sights and the bustle of its streets, with the chance to join the city’s coin-tossing tradition.

Rome’s monuments sit amid cafés, piazzas and everyday neighbourhood life. This guided introduction to the Eternal City helps you get your bearings while experiencing the layers of history that make even a short walk feel distinctive.

Discover Athens with a local guide and enter the Acropolis, the rocky height above the modern city. See the Parthenon and other surviving monuments of a sanctuary central to ancient Athenian civic and religious life.

Your guide places the classical buildings in the context of the city’s history and mythology. From the elevated site, the contrast between ancient stonework and the spread of present-day Athens makes the scale of the city’s long history tangible.

Explore the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids, a vast collection devoted to Egypt’s ancient past. Encounter artefacts spanning thousands of years, including objects associated with Tutankhamun’s treasures.

The museum gives the monuments and royal tombs of Egypt a human scale through sculpture, craftsmanship and everyday objects. Listed among the tour’s included experiences, this visit offers a closer look at the beliefs and skills behind the civilisation’s surviving wonders.

Stand before the Pyramids of Giza and see the Great Sphinx on the desert plateau outside Cairo. Appreciate the scale of these ancient monuments up close, with local guiding that helps place their construction in the world of Egypt’s pharaohs.

Built as royal tombs more than four millennia ago, the pyramids remain among the most recognisable works of ancient engineering. The Sphinx, with its lion’s body and human head, adds another enduring symbol to this encounter with Egypt’s past.

Make and eat fresh pasta in Rome during a hands-on food experience. Working with dough offers a different way to engage with Italian cuisine: through the textures, techniques and pleasure of preparing something yourself.

Pasta varies widely across Italy, and the experience puts a familiar staple into its local culinary setting. This activity is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour, leaving you free to choose whether to add a practical taste of Rome to your visit.

Explore some of Athens’ best-known food spots on an evening tour focused on the city’s eating culture. Discover the flavours and lively streets that make dining an important part of local social life.

Greek cuisine draws on ingredients such as olive oil, herbs and cheese, while Athens brings regional traditions together in one capital. This food-focused outing is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; specific tastings or dishes are not specified in the itinerary.

Take an island cruise to Aegina and spend time exploring a traditional town and the island’s ancient heritage. The crossing offers a change of perspective from Athens, with the waters of the Saronic Gulf forming the backdrop to the day.

Aegina’s monuments speak to its long history in the Greek world, while its town offers an island atmosphere. This day trip is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; the itinerary does not specify individual monument entries.

Join an optional tour of Old Cairo’s historic sights, including the Citadel of Salah El Din and the Alabaster Mosque. Explore a side of the Egyptian capital shaped by centuries of Islamic architecture and changing rulers.

The citadel was founded in the 12th century, while the mosque, also known as the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, dates from the 19th century. This guided outing is at additional cost and bookable on tour, offering a distinct perspective beyond Cairo’s ancient Egyptian landmarks.

Cruise the Nile through Cairo on an evening outing with a buffet dinner and show. See the city from the water while sharing a meal, with its riverside lights giving the capital a different atmosphere from its busy streets.

The Nile has sustained Egyptian communities for millennia and remains central to Cairo’s identity. Combining a river journey with evening entertainment, this experience is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; the itinerary does not specify the show’s performers or format.