Egypt
Trip summary statistics
9days
Egypt Highlights & Nile Cruise
Cairo, Luxor, Nile, Aswan
Snap iconic shots of the Pyramids and the Sphinx as your guide reveals ancient secrets.
Explore the awe-inspiring temples of Karnak and Luxor in Egypt's greatest open-air museum.
Visit Nefertari’s Tomb, famed as Egypt’s "Sistine Chapel" for its brilliantly preserved art.
Sail a felucca around Aswan and visit the impressive Aswan High Dam and the Temple of Isis.
Dive into Khan Khalili’s maze-like souk with top eats recommended by your Destination Expert.
* Please note: USD per person, double occupancy. Custom designed personal tour. Prices subject to change.
A travel experience like no other
This sample itinerary was created by experts and is meant to inspire your next trip. It is ready to be customized to suit your interests, tastes and budget so you can connect with local cultures and experience authentic travel on your own terms and departing whenever you choose.
CairoThe Adventure Begins
- Airport Assistance & Visa Service
- Airport Transfer with Private Vehicle
- Time at Leisure
CairoSun and Sand
- The Best of Giza: Pyramids, Sphinx & Grand Egyptian Museum (with Lunch, 7-8 hrs) - Private Tour
- Dinner at Marriott Mena House Hotel
Cairo to Luxor to NileExplore with an Expert
- Airport Transfer with Private Vehicle
- Cairo - Luxor [1 hr] - Economy
- Private Transfer to Accommodation
- Embarkation (Noon)
- Lunch on Board (Included)
- Half Day Temples of Karnak and Luxor - Private Tour
- Cruise Entertainment
- Dinner on Board (Included)
Luxor to NileA Walk Through the Past
- Half Day Valley of Kings & Queens with King Tut's Tomb - Private Tour
- Tomb of Seti I
- Sail to Edfu via Esna
- Lunch on Board (Included)
- Dinner on Board (Included)
NileIt’s All Ancient History
- 1/2 Day Edfu Horus Temple - Private Tour
- Lunch on Board (Included)
- Half Day Kom Ombo Temple Tour - Private Tour
- Dinner on Board (Included)
- Sail to Aswan
Aswan to NileA Journey Back in Time
- Half Day High Dam, Temple of Philae & Obelisk Tour - Private Tour
- Lunch on Board (Included)
- Elephantine Island by Traditional Felucca (2-3 hrs) - Private Tour
- Dinner on Board (Included)
- Overnight at Port
Aswan to CairoThe Journey Continues…
- Disembarkation
- Private Airport Transfer
- Aswan - Cairo [1.5 hrs] - Economy
- Airport Transfer with Private Vehicle
- Coptic Cairo (3.5 hrs) - Private Tour
CairoExplore a City of Contrasts
- National Museum of Egyptian Civilization Tour with Royal Mummies Hall (2 hrs) - Private
- Lunch at a Local Restaurant
- Cairo by Night & Khan Khalili Bazaar (with Dinner) - Private Tour
CairoHead Home
- Airport Transfer with Private Vehicle
CAIRO
The Adventure Begins
For your added comfort, upon your arrival at the airport, an airport representative will greet you in the tunnel and escort you through customs and immigration. The representative will facilitate the included visa process for you. Continue to the baggage claim hall and passenger pick up. Here an airport representative will help you connect with your private transfer to your hotel.
Meet your driver and English-speaking representative for a private airport transfer.
Settle in at your own pace, whether exploring independently or unwinding at your hotel with access to its full range of amenities.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Partial Pyramid View
CAIRO
Sun and Sand
Cross an item off your bucket list as you explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World on a private tour. Today, you will get an opportunity to marvel at one of the true ancient masterpieces, the Sphinx and the Pyramids. Following a pick-up from your hotel, you will be transferred to the Giza Plateau. Ponder at the majesty of the Great Pyramids and listen to your guide as they reveal the history of Ancient Egypt. Your experience includes a visit to a panoramic viewpoint, where you will be able to marvel at the grandeur of the Pyramids in all their glory. Continue to the Great Sphinx with its head of a man and body of a lion, gazing imposingly across the valley. During today’s tour, you will also enjoy a delicious lunch at 9 Pyramids Lounge overlooking the Plateau. Proceed to Grand Egyptian Museum, home to some of the most valuable treasures from this era. Your tour provides a unique opportunity to witness a selection of the most impressive artifacts, including magnificent statues, royal regalia, and ancient monuments. Your knowledgeable guide will lead you on this journey back in time, sharing insights on the treasures you'll encounter along the way. After the visit, transfer back to the hotel.
Dine at one of Marriott Mena House's delectable in-house restaurants this evening.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Partial Pyramid View
CAIRO TO LUXOR TO NILE
Explore with an Expert
Meet your driver and English-speaking representative for a private airport transfer.
Board a flight in Cairo with direct service to Luxor. Approximate flight duration is one hour.
Please note, luggage restrictions apply to this regional flight. 1) Maximum of one checked bag, weighing up to 50 lbs (23 kg) – Economy, 70 lbs (32 kgs) - Business; Checked baggage cannot be larger than 62 linear inches (158cm). 2) Guests can also bring a piece of carry-on luggage with a maximum weight of 17 lbs (8 kg). Passengers flying in Business Class may bring two pieces of carry-on luggage.
Transfer from Luxor Airport to your accommodation by private vehicle.
Welcome aboard!
Take some time to get settled in to your stateroom and to explore the length of your ship.
This evening you'll overnight at port in Luxor.
Luxor is home to one of the world’s greatest open-air museums, with the ruins of Karnak and the Temples of Luxor in easy reach along the East Bank of the city. With your private Egyptologist guide, visit the impressive UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the monuments of Karnak and Luxor, learning more about ancient Egypt’s fascinating and lengthy history. Begin with a visit to the Temples of Karnak, strolling along the Avenue of Sphinx to enter the complex. The Temples of Karnak make up the history of Thebes and consists of colossal sandstone columns transported 100 miles along the Nile river, panoramic friezes. Discover with your guide how the massive faÇade was constructed. Continue to Luxor Temple which was once joined to the Temples of Karnak by a 1.25-mile-long Avenue of Sphinx, a portion of which marks the entrance to the temple. The temple dates to approximately 1400 BC and is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship rather than the Pharaohs, cult gods or deified versions of the king in death. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings served as a legionary fortress and acted as the home of the Roman government in the area.
Relax this evening on board the comfort of your Nile cruise and enjoy the evening of entertainment, including local Egyptian music.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Cabin
LUXOR
A Walk Through the Past
Some of the most spectacular sites in all of Egypt can be found on the West Bank of the Nile, near Luxor. Meet with your private guide and driver to spend a half day exploring the West Bank of the Nile, home to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Start with a visit to the Valley of the Kings to explore the famous Tomb of Tutankhamun along with two other interesting tombs. King Tut became Pharaoh at the tender age of nine or ten, and the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922 fascinated the world. For a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). Explore the recently renovated mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the second historically confirmed female Pharaoh. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful Pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty, and remembered as the first great woman in history of whom we are informed. Next head to the nearby Valley of the Queens, where the wives of Pharaohs were buried during the 18th through 20th Dynasties. End the visit to the West Bank with a visit to the Colossi of Memnon, the only remaining monuments of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III.
The tomb of Seti I (Sethos I) is the longest, deepest and most completely finished in the Valley of the Kings. Recently re-opened, being closed for public visit for years, the tomb is located in a small lateral wadi in the Valley of the Kings. Entering into Seti I’s tomb, you will capture the spirit of discovery of the archeologists as you explore one of Egypt’s most treasured and rare experiences.
Today you'll sail to Edfu, via Esna. Overnight at port in Edfu.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Cabin
NILE
It’s All Ancient History
Disembark from your Nile cruise and meet your private guide to explore the Temple of Horus in Edfu. Dedicated to Horus, the falcon god, the temple was built from 230 to 57 BC by Ptolemy III and his successors and is considered the best-preserved cult temple in Egypt because of its later construction date. Despite its late era origins, it reflects traditional pharaonic architecture, and the Temple’s inscribed building texts provides an excellent idea of how all the temples once looked, with details about its construction. It fell into disuse as a religious monument when the Roman Empire banned all non-Christian worship within the Empire in 391. Edfu is an impressive temple, and is the second largest in Egypt after Karnak Temple.
Meet with your private guide and disembark from your Nile cruise to explore on foot the Kom Ombo Temple, a unique Greco-Roman temple dedicated to two gods: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, the sun god. The Temple in Kom Ombo dates from about 180 BC, during a period known as the Ptolemaic era, and had some additions built on to it during Roman times. It stands right on the bank of the Nile between Edfu and Aswan. The temple is unusual in that it is a double temple, with one side dedicated to the god Haroesis and the other side to Sobek. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical, with two side-by-side sanctuaries and two parallel passageways leading through the outer parts of the temple. The right side is dedicated to Sobek-Re (the crocodile god combined with the sun god Re), along with his wife (a form of Hathor) and their son Khonsu-Hor. Sobek is associated with Seth, the enemy of Horus. In the myth of Horus and Osiris, Seth and his followers changed themselves into crocodiles to escape. The ancient Egyptians believed that by honoring the fearsome crocodile as a god, they would be safe from attacks. The left side is dedicated to Haroeris, the "Good Doctor" (a form of the falcon-headed god Horus the Elder) along with his consort Ta-Sent-Nefer, the "Good Sister" (another form of Hathor).
Continue cruising onward to Aswan, where you'll overnight at port this evening.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Cabin
ASWAN
A Journey Back in Time
The impressive Aswan High Dam was a marvel of engineering when it was constructed. Originally conceived to Egypt’s irrigation of farmland to mitigate against drought and famine in low-water years, and flooding in high-water years. Visit the dam with your private guide and spend a half day learning about Aswan. The dam displaced over 100,000 Nubians in Sudan and Egypt alike and was part of a major relocation project for archaeological sites under the UNESCO Nubia Campaign, including the Abu Simbel temples and Philae. Other sites were eventually flooded by Lake Nasser, the world’s largest artificial lake that was created by the Aswan High Dam. Then head to Philae and the Temple of Isis on Agilikia Island. Stop at the stone quarries to see the unfinished obelisk, the largest known ancient obelisk and a very good practical demonstration of the methods used by ancient craftsmen to create impressive moments. Marks from workers’ tools are still clearly visible on the bedrock.
Glide onboard a traditional Egyptian felucca across the Nile to the historic Elephantine Island. Along the way marvel at the rocky shores guarding ancient ruins, temples, and a Roman-era nilometer once vital for measuring the river’s floods. Explore this natural border between Egypt and Nubia, steeped in thousands of years of history. With an English-speaking guide, head to Elephantine Island to uncover its role as a bustling ivory trading hub, visiting the Khnum Temple, home to one of Egypt’s three famous nilometers. Following your exploration of the island, sail back to Aswan and return you to your hotel or cruise.
Tonight you'll overnight at port in Aswan.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Cabin
ASWAN TO CAIRO
The Journey Continues…
This morning you'll disembark from your ship and bid farewell to the crew.
A private transfer between the airport and hotel is provided.
Board a flight in Aswan with direct service to Cairo. Approximate flight duration is one hour and 30 minutes.
Please note, luggage restrictions apply to this regional flight. 1) Maximum of one checked bag, weighing up to 50 lbs (23 kg) – Economy, 70 lbs (32 kgs) - Business; Checked baggage cannot be larger than 62 linear inches (158cm). 2) Guests can also bring a piece of carry-on luggage with a maximum weight of 17 lbs (8 kg). Passengers flying in Business Class may bring two pieces of carry-on luggage.
Meet your driver and English-speaking representative for a private airport transfer.
Cairo and the surrounding area around the Nile have been inhabited for millennia, and the heart of Coptic Cairo is still home to a host of ancient ruins telling the story the Persians and the early emergence of Christianity. With your private guide and driver, head to the remains of the Babylon Fortress, originally constructed by the Persians around the 6th century BC. These ruins are the city of Cairo’s oldest original structure – while the pyramids are older, they are in nearby Giza. Within the confines of the Fortress of Babylon are a number of important Coptic Christian Churches, including the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus Church, also known as Abu Serga, constructed on the spot where the Holy Family is reported to have rested at during the end of their journey into Egypt. The neighborhood is also home to a number of historic sites important to both Judaism and Islam. Among others, today you will visit the Hanging Church, one of the oldest churches in Egypt. Its nave is suspended over a passage and the church was the seat of the Coptic Pope for centuries after it was relocated from Alexandria following the Muslim conquest of Egypt. See the Church of Saint Barbara, a long-lasting example of ancient Coptic architecture commemorating a 4th century local saint. End the day with a visit to the Coptic Museum which houses the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world and important examples of Coptic art.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Room
CAIRO
Explore a City of Contrasts
With a view of Ain El-Seera Lake the NEMC was built on the archaeological site of El-Fustat, the first capital of Egypt. The museum showcases Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to present day, using a multidisciplinary approach that highlights the country's history. Your private tour will bring you to an internationally recognized research and conservation center that plays an important role in raising awareness and conservation of Egyptian history. With a mix of permanent and temporary exhibits your visit will help add to your knowledge and understanding of Egypt's ancient and modern civilizations. Today you will also explore the Royal Mummy Hall with your included entrance fee, where some of the world’s most powerful people are now resting, excavated from their tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens.
Relax and enjoy a buffet lunch at a local restaurant, including a choice of a small bottle of water, soft drink, tea or coffee.
As the day draws to a close, Cairo’s Khan Khalili Bazaar becomes a vibrant scene: a maze of shops lined with souvenirs and antiques, restaurants and coffee shops, workshops, mosques, and food vendors. The sights and sounds intermingle in an enchanting display over wafting aromas of freshly baked bread and roasting meats. Stroll down Al Moaz Street with your private guide, and marvel at the largest concentration of medieval architectural treasures from the Islamic world. End the evening with a memorable dinner at the Egyptian restaurant Naguib Mafouz, located in the heart of the bazaar. The restaurant is one of Cairo’s top-rated dining establishments. After dinner, return to your hotel by private vehicle.
Where you’ll be staying
Deluxe Room
CAIRO
Head Home
Meet your driver and English-speaking representative for a private airport transfer.
CAIRO
Marriott Mena House Hotel
Appreciate the true meaning of the word 'unique' at the Marriott Mena House, Cairo in a setting that has entranced travelers through the ages, where the timeless majesty of the Great Pyramids of Giza cast their spell. The tranquility and fresh, sweet breezes have attracted royalty, the rich and famous to this magical location for 150 years, offering an irresistible escape from the bustling city of Cairo just 45 minutes away. The Marriott Mena House, Cairo merges the exceptional heritage of the Pyramids standing gloriously as a witness of over 7000 years of civilization and Marriott International's 21st Century tradition of innovation. The Marriott Mena House, Cairo comprises 331 luxury rooms and suites, many boasting views of the Pyramids, the lavish gardens or the swimming pool, four restaurants and lounges, expansive indoor and outdoor meetings and banquet facilities, a heated swimming pool and a health club.
NILE
Sonesta St. George 1
Sonesta St. George I Cruise is a luxury cruise that sails the vast, ancient waters of the Nile, in Egypt. 47 cabins and 10 suites offer panoramic views of this region's wonders, with french windows that frame the marvelous river. Plasma screen TVs, electronic door locks, Jacuzzis and the latest technology are some of the features that add to the ultimate comfort in the St. George I cabins. Enjoy stylish meals in the main dining room, with an array of Egyptian and Middle Eastern specialties alongside western classics. Buffet and À la carte service are both available. For relaxation, lounge on the sun deck and take in some rays. Otherwise, make an appointment at the Spa and Wellness Center and let a skilled massage therapist treat you with care.
CAIRO
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at First Residence
Located at the core of the First Residence apartments and shops on the west bank of the Nile, with views of the Great Pyramids and close to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at First Residence is in the center of all the action. With decorations aimed at a dramatic, contemporary oriental elegance, the hotel provides a soothing escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. The Four Seasons Hotel Cairo is a sanctuary on the west bank of the Nile, at the center of the prestigious new First Residence shopping and residential complex Restaurants cater to guests from across the world, and the First Residence chefs prepare meals that will meet all the exquisite tastes it may entertain. Facilities include a spa, fitness facilities and swimming pools for adults and children.
Made to Order
- Choose from a range of places to stay, from impeccable five-star hotels to equally outstanding boutique ones.
- Tailor your trip to include a wide variety of activities, from the must-see's to the lesser-known, local experiences, and even the exclusive ones you may not know about.
- With no fixed dates or set schedules, you can explore on your terms.
- Whether you're celebrating one of life's big moments or looking to fulfill a personal journey, we always work with you to ensure we're creating a trip-of-a-lifetime.
What's included
- A fully customized itinerary based on your interests and schedule
- 24/7 in-destination support from our local office
- Regional flights between stops in your itinerary (unless otherwise indicated)
- All accommodation stays, tours and transfers for scheduled activities are covered, unless otherwise listed in the itinerary
- A private driver for tours and transfers (in some countries our local private guides also act as your driver - your Destination Expert will discuss with you if applicable)
- Local private guides or shared tours that take you through your itinerary highlights and experiences, your final itinerary will confirm the type of tour
- A greeting at the airport or at your accommodation from one of our representatives – your expert will confirm your meet and greet location with you
- Breakfast each morning at your hotel, plus any meals indicated in the itinerary
- One suitcase and one carry-on per person for trip transfers
What's not included
- Your international airfare – please do let your expert know if you'd like to receive pricing from our Air Team
- Travel insurance, which we offer and can be purchased after you've booked your tour
- Visas (unless noted)
- Tips for services and experiences
- Lunches, dinners and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), unless specified in the itinerary
- Excess baggage charges, and where applicable, baggage not included in your fare
- Personal charges such as laundry, phone calls, SIM cards or room service
- Early check-in or late check-out from hotels (unless otherwise specified)
- Additional sightseeing, activities and experiences outside of your itinerary
- Optional enhancements like room or flight upgrades, or local camera or video fees
- Passport fees, immunization costs, and local departure taxes (when applicable)
Protect your travel
- We recommend travel protection. Between missed connections, lost or delayed luggage, or medical emergencies, you want some peace of mind that your travel investment is well protected.
- No matter who you buy from, please consider purchasing a travel protection plan before you travel. Still unsure? Consider these frequently asked questions.








