Splendors of Egypt

Achieve your life dream and enjoy an excursion to the Giza pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. Then proceed to visit the Great Sphinx with a lion’s body, dating back to the time of Chephren. The Giza Plateau is about 30 minutes from Cairo, where your Egyptologist guide will introduce each of the 3 pyramids: Cheops, Khafre and Menakaure. You will have free time to enter the chamber of the Great pyramids (included); however, your guide is not allowed to enter with you. Or you can go on a camel ride (at additional cost). After visiting the pyramids, you will continue across the plateau for a photo opportunity of the 3 pyramids rising from the sands with the Cairo skyline in the background. A short drive to the city side of the plateau finds you standing at the feet of the Sphinx, for thousands of years the enigmatic symbol of Egypt. Your next stop is the famous Egyptian Museum. Housing 150,000 Egyptian artifacts, the Egyptian Museum attracts millions of visitors a year. The highlight is the priceless treasures of King Tutankhamen. His 6-gold gilded coffins dominate the main hall while his magnificent gold mask is the star attraction. Your Egyptologist guide will introduce you to the most important pieces before allowing you to have free time to explore the museum at leisure. 

Check out from hotel at morning then transfer to Cairo Airport for flight to Luxor where you will be met and assisted, then taken by an air-conditioned vehicle to board your 5 star Egypt Nile cruise to check in. After lunch on board, enjoy a visit to the impressive Karnak Temple, the largest place of worship ever built. Its ancient name Ipet-isut means “the most sacred of places.” The temple, or, more correctly, the complex of temples, was built over more than 2,000 years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Within the complex, you will find the great “Hypostyle Hall,” which is an incredible forest of giant pillars. After this, you will be transferred to Luxor temple, which was built by Amenhotep III, and Ramses II for ritual and festivals dedicated to god Amen. Dinner and overnight on board Nile cruise

After breakfast on your Nile cruise, you will visit the West Bank of the river Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings, where the magnificent pharaonic tombs were discovered. Continue the tour to visit the Hatshepsut temple at El Deir El Bahary, dedicated to the Queen Hatshepsut. Then you will visit valley of the Queens.Following this, you will visit the two colossal statues (Colossi of Memnon) You will head back to your cruise ship for lunch. After having afternoon tea on the ship, you will have free time at leisure. Enjoy a leisurely dinner aboard of the cruise. Overnight on board Nile Cruise

After breakfast on Nile cruise, visit the well-preserved Ptolemaic Temple dedicated to Horus at Edfu. Sail to Kom Ombo to see the Temple of Sobek, the crocodile god. Lunch aboard. Continue sailing to Aswan. Dinner and overnight on board your Nile Cruise

Early morning in Aswan, you will enjoy a day’s sightseeing. Start with the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk then on to the beautiful Temple of Philae, which is devoted to the goddesses Isis and Hathor. Sail and move around Elephantine Island by a local felucca boat. Dinner and overnight on board Nile Cruise

Today, you will visit  the impressive Temples of Ramses II in Abu Simbel. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Nubian Monuments,” which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt’s top tourist attractions. With your qualified Egyptologist as your guide, you will enjoy a personalized visit to the temples of Abu Simbel. With its four rock-hewn pharaohs, your guide will explain the history behind this magnificent site, including how the temples were discovered by accident in 1813. Due to the large number of visitors to Abu Simbel, guides are not permitted inside either of the two temples you will visit. Then return to Aswan Airport for return to Cairo to be met and assisted at the airport and be taken to your hotel. Overnight in Cairo.

After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to Cairo International Airport for final departure