Compare Classic Egypt by Travelous vs Egypt: See & Experience the Ancient Sites in 9 Days, 1st Class Custom Tours by Charlie The Traveler

Day 1: Cairo - Airport Assistance & Visa Service

Accommodation: The Mena House Palace Hotel - Premier Garden Pyramid View

Welcome to Cairo! Upon your arrival, you will be met at the end of the tunnel by an airport representative who will aid and facilitate you through the Visa process (cost included). You will then be escorted through customs, immigration, and assisted with baggage claim before being introduced to your Travelous representative who will be awaiting your arrival at passenger pick up and on call throughout your entire stay.

Cairo - Airport Transfer (Arrival)

Transfer in private vehicle with English speaking driver from the Airport to your hotel for overnight.

Day 2: Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, & Memphis Tour (Lunch Included)

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: The Mena House Palace - Premier Garden Pyramid View

Spend a full day with your private certified Egyptologist who will provide fascinating insight to each of the three famed pyramids of Giza. Wander about these inspiring pyramids and visit the Solar Boat Museum which houses the intact solar ship vessel from Ancient Egypt. Continue to the feet of the Sphinx, the enigmatic symbol of Egypt for thousands of years. Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Mena House before continuing to Saqqara, the vast, ancient burial ground, which served as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Visit the famous step Pyramid of Zoser. Your final stop is Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Here you will see artifacts from many of the great rulers of Egypt, including the huge fallen statue of Ramses II.

Sunset Camel Ride (Dinner Included)

This evening set out before dusk towards the Ancient Pyramids of Giza for a Sunset Camel Ride. Take in the incredible sights set against a fiery sky as your camel gently paces through the golden sand dunes. Enjoy dinner at a traditional Bedouin restaurant before returning to your hotel for the night.

Day 3: Cairo - Airport Transfer (Depart)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Movenpick Royal Lily Nile Cruise - Deluxe Cabin

Transfer in private vehicle with full assistance from your hotel to Cairo Airport.

Flight: Cairo - Luxor (1 hr)

Flight from Cairo to Luxor. Duration is 1 hour. Flight times TBD.

Luxor - Airport Transfer (Arrival)

Welcome to Luxor. Transfer provided in private vehicle with English speaking driver from the Airport to your hotel.

Luxor is often characterized as the "world's greatest open-air museum", as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Across the Nile River lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Archeologically, Luxor is the most important site in all of Egypt and a rare gem of a city, unlike any other in the world.

Luxor East Bank Tour (Lunch Included)

Your private tour takes you through the East Bank of the Nile to visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak, largely the work of Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, whose colossi and obelisk stand at the entrance. Walk along the Avenue of Sphinx as you enter the complex while your guide explains how the massive facade was constructed and explore the Karnak Open Air Museum that features an amazing array of statuary and reconstructed temple structures.

Day 4: Luxor - West Bank Tour (Lunch Included)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Movenpick Royal Lily Nile Cruise - Deluxe Cabin

Visit the Valley of the Kings where you will see the intact royal tombs of the Pharaohs. Continue to Tombs of Princes in the Valley of the Queens. Stop at the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El-Bahri. Visit the Colossi of Memnon, two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3,400 years, they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the Nile River of modern Luxor. Your last stop will be at the Theban Necropolis, which was used for ritual burials during Pharaonic times.

Day 5: Nile - Edfu Private Tour

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Movenpick Royal Lily Nile Cruise - Deluxe Cabin

Enjoy a privately guided exploration of the Temple of Edfu. This archaeological treasure beautifully dedicated to the falcon god Horus and built over a period of two thousand years. The inner walls of the building reveal the mysterious legends of Horus, born upon the death of his father, Osiris, the god of the underworld who was killed by his brother, Seth. The much beloved goddess Isis brought Horus into life from a piece of Osiris’ flesh. Horus later battled Seth and won the battle but lost an eye in the process. Hence, the eye of Horus has important religious symbolism in ancient Egyptian mythology. The Temple of Edfu was abandoned as a religious monument following Theodosius I edict banning non-Christian worship within the Roman Empire. Many of the temple's carved reliefs were destroyed in the process. The blackened ceiling of the hypostyle hall, visible today, is believed to be the result of arson intended to destroy religious imagery.

Nile - Kom Ombo Private Tour

Continue to the Temple of Kom Ombo, remarkable for its double design. As you walk through the temple complex, notice that the courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms are duplicated for two sets of gods. The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world. The northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris, also known as Horus the Elder. A few of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity are displayed in The Crocodile Museum. Make sure to visit the strange instruments resembling surgical tools, located in the southeast corner of the complex!

Day 6: Aswan - High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk, Philae Temple

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Movenpick Royal Lily Nile Cruise - Deluxe Cabin

Explore Aswan with a stop at the High Dam, a modern architectural project containing more than 18 times the material used to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu! From a pavilion perched over the enormous rock and clay dam, you can admire the Temple of Kalabsha and one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, the impressive Lake Nasser. Continue to the Unfinished Obelisk, which was ordered by the longest reigning female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, who ruled for over 22 years. The Obelisk was carved out of bedrock, but it was quickly abandoned when large latent cracks were discovered on either side. This abandoned monument gives great insight into the stone-cutting techniques and tools used by the skilled ancient Egyptian workers. Continue to the fascinating Temple of Philae, moved to the Island of Agilkia after the waters of Lake Nasser flooded its original location. Dedicated to the greatly-revered goddess Isis, the Temple attracted thousands of pilgrims yearly during ancient times. Now encircled by crystal blue waters and adorned with lush foliage, the Temple will reveal the secrets of a bygone era.

Aswan - Kitchener Island by Felucca & Botanical Garden

Explore Aswan by traditional felucca and sail to Kitchener Island. Take a stroll through the peaceful gardens that display an array of colorful species of plants and trees. Visit the botanical gardens and learn about plants that have been imported from the most remote and exotic places in the world.

Day 7: Aswan - Airport Transfer (Depart)

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Kempinski Nile Hotel - Nile Superior Room

Transfer in private vehicle with English speaking driver from your accommodations to the airport.

Flight: Aswan - Cairo (1.5 hr)

Flight from Aswan to Cairo. Duration is 1.5 hours. Flight times TBD.

Cairo - Airport Transfer (Arrival)

Transfer in private vehicle with English speaking driver from the Airport to your hotel for overnight.

Day 8: Egyptian Museum Private Tour (Lunch Included)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Kempinski Nile Hotel - Nile Superior Room

Today your private tour of the Egyptian Museum awaits. Built in 1891, The Egyptian Antiquities Museum is the second most visited attraction in Cairo. From the prehistoric era to the Greco-Roman period and housing more than 165,000 artifacts, the museum is home to the famous collection of King Tutankhamun and the Royal Mummies. Lose yourself in the many rooms and galleries where history is yours to discover. Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Citadel Restaurant in Al Azhar Park.

Day 9: Cairo - Airport Transfer (Depart)

Unfortunately, we say goodbye to you today. Transfer in private vehicle with full assistance to Cairo Airport for your flight home. Keep the memories alive and we hope to see you in Egypt again soon. Stay Travelous!

Day 1: The Unfinished Obelisk, the Temple of Philae & the High Dam

Our tour starts not in Cairo but rather Aswan. We spend the day sightseeing and sleep in our cabin on the cruise ship. Dinner is included after today's tour.

Aswan is the smallest and most relaxed of the major tourist destinations along the Nile River. There we visit two attractions, the High Dam and the Temple of Philae. Construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The ability to control floods, provide water for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity were seen as pivotal to Egypt’s industrialization. The Temple of Philae was the last ancient temple built in the classical Egyptian architectural style (approximately 690 BC). A major multinational UNESCO team relocated the Temple of Philae after the flooding of Lake Nasser.

Please note that this tour (Day 1) begins only on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Also, note that breakfast, lunch and dinner are included on the cruise ship, as are a swimming pool, different fun activities and live entertainment.

Day 2: Starting the Nile Tour with a 5 Star Deluxe Cruise Ship & Visiting Ancient Temples

Before the cruise ship leaves Aswan, we go on a daytrip to the temples of Abu Simbel. There we are provided with a guided tour. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. They serve as a lasting monument to the king and his queen Nefertari and commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Their huge external rock relief figures have become iconic. After the tour is breakfast, which is provided to us near Abu Simbel. We then return to the ship. It starts sailing along the Nile River after lunch.

In the evening, we disembark the cruise ship. Walking distance from where it docks is an ancient temple called Kom Ombo. There we are provided with a guided tour. Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple constructed between 180-47 BC. It is atypical because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis. Please note that breakfast, lunch and dinner are included on the cruise ship, as are a swimming pool, different fun activities and live entertainment.

Day 3: A Horse Carriage Ride, a Belly Dancing Show, Temples & Luxor Museum

Today starts with a horse carriage ride to an ancient temple called Edfu. There we are provided with a guided tour. This is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt, built between 237 and 57 BC. We should be back on the cruise ship around 8:00am and continue sailing along the Nile river shortly thereafter. We again disembark the cruise ship around 4:45pm, in the city that is Luxor. The highlights on this evening’s tour are the Luxor Museum and the Luxor Temple. The day ends with dinner and a belly dancing show.

Day 4: A Hot Air Balloon Ride & Sightseeing in the City of Luxor

Our cruise ends this morning and our luggage is taken to the hotel. Just in time for sunrise, we enjoy a balloon ride over the archeological site of Luxor. Afterwards, we are taken to the west bank. There we have breakfast, which is included on today’s tour. Next, we are taken to the Colossi of Memnon. There we see two massive stone statues. Afterwards, we head to the Valley of the Kings. There we see ancient tombs of Egyptian kings (a.k.a. pharaohs), including that of the much-revered Tutankhamun. Next, we are taken to Deir el-Bahri. There we see a complex of mortuary temples and tombs. Afterwards, we are taken to Deir el-Medina. There we see an ancient village. Next, we are taken to the Tombs of the Nobles. There we see the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers of the ancient city. Following this attraction is lunch. Afterwards, we are taken to the Valley of the Queens. There we see ancient tombs of Egyptian queens, including that of the much-revered Nefertari. Next, we are taken to Medinet Habu. There we see a mortuary temple. The final attraction today is Ramesseum. There we see another memorial temple.

Day 5: The Sacred Settlement of Abydos & the Dendera Temple Complex

Today we make a daytrip to the ancient sites of Abydos as well as the Dendera Temple Complex. We are provided with a guided tour at each destination. Both breakfast and lunch are included on today’s tour. Considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, the sacred city of Abydos includes a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were entombed. Dendera was a site for chapels from the beginning of ancient Egyptian history. The whole complex, surrounded by a hefty mud brick enclosed wall, covers 40,000 square meters.

Day 6: Mummification Museum, the Extravagant Winter Palace & the Old Market

Today we explore the East Bank of Luxor. The first stop is the Mummification Museum. There we are provided with a guided tour. This unique museum is intended to provide visitors with an understanding of the ancient art of mummification. The Ancient Egyptians applied embalming techniques to many species, not only to dead humans. Mummies of cats, fish and crocodiles are on display in this museum, where one can also get an idea as to the tools which were used during those times. Next, we are taken to the Karnak Temple. There we are provided with a guided tour. Karnak comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons and other ancient buildings. Following the Karnak Temple is lunch. Afterwards, we are taken to the Winter Palace Hotel. At this historic, British colonial-era 5-star luxury resort, we are provided with a guided tour. The day ends with checking out the shops in the Old Market.

Day 7: Exploring the Capital that is Cairo

We take an early-morning and quick flight from Luxor to Cairo and immediately start sightseeing. Places to visit today are the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo Citadel, Hanging Church, Cairo Cave Church (a.k.a. Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church), Ben Ezra Synagogue, Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili bazaar. We should be at the hotel in Giza around 8:00pm, which is about a 40-minute drive away from Cairo.

Day 8: Camel-Riding, World Famous Pyramids & a Sound & Light Show

Destinations for today are the ancient sites of Dahshur, then Memphis, then Saqqara and finally the Giza Pyramids. Camel-riding is included at the Giza Pyramids, as is the sound and light show later this evening.

Day 9: Our Tour Ends This Morning

Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the international airport in Cairo.