Arrive on an early- to mid-morning flight. We’ll meet our operator’s representative and be transferred to our hotel. We won’t be able to check in yet, but we’ll drop our luggage at our hotel and go on our Cairo city tour. We will start our tour with a visit to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which houses the Royal Mummies Hall. Nothing like starting an Egypt trip by seeing mummies! After that, we will visit the Citadel of Salah el Din and the Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque. We will then continue to Khan el Khalili Bazaar, where we will have some free time to stroll through the maze of streets. We should be done early in the evening, and can enjoy some free time at our resort hotel.

P.S. Early arrival can be arranged if you want to arrive one day before, and have some free time to relax before the trip officially starts.

Accommodations: Pyramids Park Resort or similar

Meals: N/A (if you arrived the day before, breakfast will be included at the hotel).

After breakfast at our hotel, we will go on a tour of the Giza Plateau. Our Egyptologist guide will provide a fascinating introduction to each of the three pyramids: Cheops, Khafre, and Menkaure, the only survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We will have free time to enter the burial chambers of the pyramids (optional).

When we are finished, we will have the option to go for a camel ride by the Pyramids!

We will then continue across the plateau for a photo opportunity of the three pyramids rising from the sands with the Cairo skyline in the background, and after a short drive to the city side of the plateau we will find ourselves standing at the feet of The Sphinx, for thousands of years the enigmatic symbol of Egypt.

After our tour of the Giza Pyramids, we will drive to Saqqara, which was built in 2650 B.C., and is home to Egypt’s oldest pyramid. Our guide will provide a brief history of the famous Step Pyramid, and we will have free time to walk around.

Our final stop is Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Here we will see artifacts from many of the great rulers of Egypt, including the fallen statue of Ramses II. After touring Memphis, we will have a chance to visit a papyrus institute to see how this famous artwork is made and have the chance to purchase genuine items if we wish.

In the evening, we will have an incredible optional activity: The Pyramids Sound and Light Show, where we will see The Great Pyramids and The Sphinx awash in a colorful light and sound show, as we hear the stories of the kings who built them. We will have many optional sound and light shows throughout the trip, but I think this one will be the best!

Accommodations: Pyramids Park Resort

Meals: Breakfast

Today is one of the highlights of our trip! We will get to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum. Open just last year, the GEM is the largest museum in the world and the greatest archeological museum of all time! There we will find the biggest collection of Egyptian artifacts, with over 100,000 pieces, including the complete Tutankhamun collection (over 5,000 items, containing the famous golden mask and coffins).

We will be picked up after breakfast and driven to the museum. Different people have different tastes, so we will be dropped off at the museum where you can stay with the group, or explore the museum whatever way you you’d like. At the end of the day, our operator will pick us up and take us back to our hotel for the night.

Accommodations: Pyramids Park Resort or similar

Meals: Breakfast

For the next two days, we’ll take a fascinating trip to one of the most important cities in the history of civilization: Alexandria. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., Alexandria was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and possibly the most famous library in the history of humanity: The Library of Alexandria, where even books written by Cleopatra were kept. Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the ancient world, and its Greco-Roman history is very different from the other cities in Egypt.

Our Egyptologist guide will pick us up from our hotel right after breakfast, and drive us to Alexandria (a 3-hour drive). Our first stop in this historic city will be the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, which is a Roman burial site that reveals the merging of Egyptian and Roman art and architecture. After that, we will continue to Pompey’s Pillar, an 82-foot (25-meter) granite column built to honor Emperor Diocletian. Continuing the Roman theme, the next site will be the Roman amphitheater, possibly the best preserved Roman site in Egypt. The site also includes the remains of a Roman street and homes. We should be done early in the evening, and be dropped off at our hotel for a free evening and night.

Accommodations: Paradise Inn Beach Resort – Maamoura or similar

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast at our hotel, our guide will take us to El Montazah Palace and Gardens of the ex-royal family in Egypt. Following that, we have one of the highlights of our Alexandria trip: The famous Library of Alexandria. Interesting fact: In the 3rd and 2nd  centuries B.C., the Library of Alexandria once aimed to collect every book in the world, and accumulated over 400,000 scrolls. Though the original library has long since vanished, the site now hosts a striking piece of modern design: A Norwegian-built building that offers a beautiful contrast to Egypt’s ancient architecture. The library also houses several exhibitions relating to the history of Egypt and a display of rare antique books. After the conclusion of our tour, we will be driven to Cairo for overnight close to the airport for our early departure tomorrow to Aswan.

Accommodations: Le Passage Cairo Hotel & Casino or similar

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast at our hotel, you will be driven to Cairo Airport to take our flight to Aswan.

Upon arrival in Aswan, we will be transferred to the Nile and step aboard our Nile cruise. After we get situated, we’ll go on a sightseeing tour, starting with the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, followed by the beautiful Temple of Philae, which is devoted to the goddesses Isis and Hathor. We will also move around Elephantine Island by a local felucca boat. In the evening we’ll have our second optional sound and light show, at the Temple of Philae. We finish the day cruising the Nile aboard our luxury ship, and for the next three nights, we’ll be sailing the Nile under a beautiful starry sky (I purposefully picked our dates, so the sky will be dark and full of stars).

Accommodations: Blue Shadow Nile Cruise (5-Star Luxury) or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Early this morning we will go on a trip by private van to the impressive Temples of Ramses II in Abu Simbel (3-hour drive). 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). With a qualified Egyptologist as our guide, we will enjoy a personalized visit to the temples of Abu Simbel. Our guide will explain the history behind this magnificent site, including how the temples were discovered by accident in 1813.

We return to our cruise ship and enjoy lunch while sailing to Kom Ombo. Upon arrival, we will be escorted by our Egyptologist guide to visit the Kom Ombo Temple, built for the god Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertility and creator of the world.

We will then return to our ship and set sail towards Edfu, under another starry sky.

Accommodations: Blue Shadow Nile Cruise (5-Star Luxury) or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast on the ship, we will visit the well-preserved Ptolemaic Temple of Horus at Edfu, which is one of the most well-preserved temples in Egypt.

After that, we’ll get back on the ship, and sail to Luxor. Our first stop in Luxor will be the Karnak Temples, 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, we will find the great “Hypostyle Hall,” which is an incredible forest of giant pillars.

Our third stop in will be Luxor Temple which was built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II for ritual and festivals dedicated to the god Amen.

At night, we’ll have another optional sound and light show at the Temples of Karnak, which highlights the dramatic history of ancient Thebes.

Accommodations: Blue Shadow Nile Cruise (5-Star Luxury) or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We will start our last day with breathtaking optional hot air balloon flight over Luxor. We’ll come back to have breakfast onboard the cruise, and be taken to the West Bank of the river Nile to visit the two colossal statues or Memnon (Colossi of Memnon).

Following this, we will visit the Valley of the Kings, which is considered the royal cemetery of the Theban kings and rulers of ancient Egypt, and the place where Pharaohs were buried, including the famous King Tutankhamun, whose tomb we’ll have the option to visit.

Continue the tour to visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari, considered one of the most wonderful examples of the architecture in ancient Egypt, completely carved inside a mountain.

We should end this incredible day late in the afternoon or early in the evening, and have the rest of the evening and night free at our resort hotel.

Accommodations: Steigenberger Nile Palace or similar

After ten incredible days of history, fascination, and excitement, it is time to say goodbye to magical Egypt. After breakfast, we will be transferred to the airport for our flight to Cairo. The flight to Cairo is included. If you book an early afternoon flight back home, you will already be at the airport, and the connection will be a breeze.

Accommodations: N/A

Meals: Breakfast (we may not be able to have breakfast if the restaurant only opens after we leave for the airport)