Egypt Explorer - Egypt -

Days 1 - 2: Cairo / Egyptian Museum / Pyramids Of Giza / Wissa Wassef

Arrive in Cairo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, and join our expert local guide for a journey back in time: explore the Egyptian Museum and its collection that spans 4,000 years of history and daily life; visit the Pyramids of Giza, the largest and most renowned of the 80 pyramid complexes in Egypt; and see the enigmatic Sphinx in person. Return to the present day and visit the Ramses Wissa Wassef School of Art,a little-known philanthropic school that gives free education and board to prodigy Egyptian children living in rural areas. Overnights are at the Pyramisa Hotel.

Days 3 - 4: Cairo/ Citadel / Khan el-Khalili / Aswan / Philae Temple

Set out to explore medieval and present-day Cairo, stopping at the imposing Citadel and plunging intothe spice- and silk-filled Khan el-Khalili, Africa’s largest market. An overnight train brings you into Aswan and to the historic Philae Temple, a structure that, due to threat from the construction of the Aswan High Dam, was disassembled and rebuilt on a nearby island. Overnights are aboard a comfortable sleeper train and at the Isis Island Hotel.

Accommodations: Sleeper Train, Cairo to Luxor, Isis Island Resort, Aswan

Days 5 - 6: Aswan / Kitchener’s Island / Abu Simbel

Hopefully you slept deeply because today, after breakfast with a local family, is all about exploring Aswan by camelback: ride to the 12th Dynasty Nobles Tombs, into the desert to visit the Coptic St. Simeon’s Monastery and then down to the Nile to complete the rest of the journey by boat and vehicle. Stop off at Kitchener’s Island for a picnic lunch and a walk through the botanical gardens created by Lord Kitchener, a WWI British field marshal. The next day, a short round trip flight brings you to Ramses II’s mighty temples at Abu Simbel – visit the Great Temple and the smaller Temple of Hathor, built in honor of Ramses’ favorite wife, Queen Nefertiti.Overnights are at the Isis Island Hotel.

Accommodations: Isis Island Resort, Aswan

Days 7 - 9: Luxor /The Valley of the Kings And Queens / Hatshepsut’s Temple / Karnak Temple

Take a leisurely drive along the east bank of the Nile to Luxor, passing local villages and stopping at a number of important Egyptian sites, including the twin temples of Ptolemaic Kom Ombo (one unique frieze details the medical techniques of child birthing) and the Temple of Horus at Edfu (a temple completed by Cleopatra’s father 200 years after construction began). The next two days are spent exploring the secrets of this ancient land: visit tombs at The Valley of the Kings and Queens (the resting place of King Tut) and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Dier al-Bahri and take a guided tour of the Karnak Temple and enjoy an evening sound and light show. Overnights are at Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel.

Accommodations: Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel

Days 10 - 11: El Kharga /El Dakhla Oasis

The next two days are spent driving at a leisurely pace to El Kharga and to the El Dakhla Oasis, stopping at a number of fascinating Egyptian sites. In El Kharga, visit the Temple of Hibis, one of Egypt’s few Persian monuments, and the old market, a stop on the old slave-trade route between the tropical south and the coastal north. In El Dakhla Oasis, check out the Museum of Inheritance, the Roman settlement of Al-Kasr and the old town of Bashandi, a place with a labyrinth of narrow, mud-walled alleyways separating houses. Overnights are at the Pioneers Hotel and the Sol Y Mar Mut Inn.

Accommodations: Pioneers Hotel, Kharga, Sol Y Mar Mut Inn, Dakhla Oasis

Days 12 - 14: Farafra / White Desert / Cairo

This morning, depart El Dakhla and drive to Farafra in preparation for an amazing desert adventure. Drive off-road into the White Desert, a region of blinding yellow sand and fantastical white and weathered limestone formations. Enjoy a traditional evening meal under the stars before bunkering down for the night in acomfortable bivouac. After a traditional nomadic breakfast, break camp and relax at one of Farafra’s many hot springs. Return to Cairo on a 350-mile route that crosses the Great Western Desert in a curving northward arc. Overnights are at the Badawiya Hotel Farafra, a desert bivouac and at Pyramisa Hotel.

Accommodations: Badawiya Hotel, Farafra

Days 15 - 16: Cairo / Departure

Enjoy a leisurely day in Cairo –¬ revisit the Pyramids of Giza or the Egyptian Museum or head off to visit Sakkara and Memphis. Need advice or assistance? Your guide is close at hand. Enjoy one last night at Pyramisa Hotel before transferring to the airport in time for your departure flight home.

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