Kiosk of Trajan. Temple of Philae-Aswan

The Best of Egypt
Our 14-Day Tour shows you the best of Egypt New and Old: Cairo, Alexandria, The Mediterranean Coast, and a five-day cruise on the Nile

DAY 1: CAIRO
Sunday Welcome to Cairo! Our staff meets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel.

DAY 2: CAIRO
Monday (BL) Today, get to know the great Egyptian capital on a full-day tour. We start at the Egyptian Museum, then visit the Manial Palace Museum, once a royal residence. We climb the hill to the east to Saladin’s citadel with its alabaster mosque, then descend to the great Sultan Hassan Mosque, built in 1362 for a powerful Mameluke king, and the city walls and gates.

DAY 3: ASWAN/CRUISE
Tuesday (BLD) Fly to Aswan and board our luxury Nile cruiser in time for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon we sail on a graceful felucca among the islands in the Nile. (Optional excursion to Abu Simbel available.)

DAY 4: ASWAN & KOM OMBO
Wednesday (BLD) First we tour the awesome Aswan dams, and next an ancient granite quarry complete with an unfinished obelisk. Then we go by motor launch to the island temples of Philae. Re-embarking on our Nile cruiser, we sail downstream to Kom Ombo to visit its twin temples.

Queen Nefertiti. (From Tel El Amarna.)

DAY 5: EDFU & ESNA
Thursday (BLD) We dock in Edfu, climb aboard horse-drawn carriages, and clip-clop through the town to the Temple of Horus, Egypt’s best-preserved. Re-embarking, we cruise to Esna and cross the lock. Tonight we arrive in Luxor.

DAY 6: LUXOR
Friday (BLD) Crossing the Nile, we tour the magnificent tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, including the great funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. After lunch, we visit the gigantic Great Temple of Amon at Karnak and the mighty Luxor Temple.

DAY 7: LUXOR & SHARM EL SHEIK
Saturday (B) Today we disembark from the cruise and fly to the resort town of Sharm El Sheik. Unpack your luggage in your resort hotel and head for the beach! The crystalline Red Sea waters, busy with brightly colored tropical fish, are yours to enjoy as you like.

DAYS 8 & 9: SHARM EL SHEIK
Sunday & Monday (B) Two full days of sun and sea to plan as you like. Why not go diving in the Ras Muhammed underwater nature reserve, or sign up for an excursion to the Monastery of St. Catherine, right beside Mount Sinai where Moses received the tablets of the Ten Commandments? If you prefer, you can opt for a trek to a desert Bedouin camp. Your hotel concierge can make all the arrangements for you. (Activities optional, at extra cost.)

DAY 10: SHARM/CAIRO
Tuesday (B) Transfer to the airport for your flight to Cairo. Visit the spellbinding sites at Giza: the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx.

DAY 11: ALEXANDRIA
Wednesday (B) Drive to Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great. We visit the Greco-Roman Museum, Kayet Bey Fortress, the Catacombs, Pompey’s Pillar and the Roman Amphitheater. Finally we marvel at the Princess Shevikar Crown, with 2,159 diamonds, in the former royal palace which now serves as the Jewelry Museum.

DAY 12: EL ALAMEIN
Thursday (BL) Driving along the shore by the blue waters of the Mediterranean brings us to El Alamein, site of momentous battles during World War II. We visit the battlegrounds, the museum and the Allied Memorial before returning to Cairo.

DAY 13: CAIRO
Friday (B) Day of leisure.

DAY 14: CAIRO/USA
Saturday (B) After breakfast, our staff escorts us to the airport for our flight home.