Essential Egypt & Red Sea - 11 Days

Visit Egypt

Day 1, Cairo

You will be met upon arrival at Cairo Airport and transferred to our start hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax or those arriving early can opt to join our optional Backstreets of Cairo tour which departs the hotel at 10am.

If you'd like to extend your stay in Egypt we also offer a pre or post tour [[Day Trip to Alexandria. |122837]]

No meals included.

Day 2, Pyramids of Giza

Cairo - Aswan. Our tour begins with a visit to one of the world's most famous sights this morning - the legendary Pyramids of Giza and the iconic Sphinx. Built over 4500 years ago, the three great pyramids are sole survivors of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.

This afternoon we take a guided tour of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which contains an incredible array of relics and antiquities including the treasures of King Tutankhamun and his spectacular gold funerary mask. We will also visit a government supervised Papyrus Museum. This evening we board the overnight train to Aswan.

Please Note: the Grand Egyptian Museum is scheduled to open in late 2024, though an official opening date has yet to be released. If travelling prior to the opening of the new facility we'll visit the Egyptian Museum instead.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 3, Cairo

Our train pulls into Aswan early this morning and we check into our hotel. Then we take a scenic boat ride out to Agilika Island for a guided tour of the beautiful Philae Temple, which is dedicated to the goddess Isis. Travelling back to Aswan we visit a perfume oil emporium before spending the rest of the day at leisure. Relax by the hotel pool, explore Aswan's colourful souks and watch a beautiful sunset over the Nile.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 4, Abu Simbel

Consider booking our optional early morning excursion by road to visit the spectacular Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. Alternatively enjoy a leisurely morning in Aswan. This afternoon offers free time for you to explore Egypt’s most southern city.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 5, Luxor

Aswan - Kom Ombo - Luxor. This morning we drive to Kom Ombo, to explore this ancient temple which is dedicated to the crocodile headed god - Sobek. After our visit we travel on to Luxor. Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year-old Luxor is ancient Egypt at its best! Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 6, Luxor

This morning is free to relax by the pool or independently explore the ancient city of Luxor, which is often referred to as the world's greatest open-air museum. This afternoon we enjoy a guided tour of the Temple of Karnak, a magnificent religious complex, dedicated to the Theban gods and built on a gigantic scale. In evening there's an optional tour of the beautiful Temple of Luxor (book and pay locally). This remarkable temple and the Avenue of Sphinxes which leads to it, are most spectacular at night when they're illuminated by hundreds of atmospheric lights.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 7, Hurghada

Luxor - Hurghada. Early this morning we travel to Luxor's West Bank for a guided tour of the legendary Valley of the Kings, which is home to an array of beautifully decorated pharaohs' tombs, three of which you can enter. Arriving at the West Bank we will be greeted by the towering 18m-high Colossi of Memnon and after the Valley of the Kings we enjoy a tour of the beautiful Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

This afternoon we bid farewell to Luxor and travel east to Hurghada for three nights of R&R by the Red Sea. drive east to Hurghada, on Egypt's beautiful Red Sea Riviera. We spend three nights in Hurghada, where there's free time to relax by the beach.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 8-9, Hurghada

Spend the next two days at leisure. Soak up the sunshine on the beach and swim in the sea, enjoy the hotel facilities and stroll around Hurghada. There's also an optional day trip to Giftun Island for swimming and snorkelling, which can be booked locally.

Hurghada is one of the Red Sea's most popular resorts and it offers a wonderful range of aquatic activities, from sail boarding and deep-sea fishing to SCUBA diving and snorkelling around the incredible offshore reefs, which are some of the finest in the world.

2 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 10, Cairo

Hurghada - Cairo. This morning we drive back to Cairo. The rest of the day is free to relax or explore Egypt’s capital at leisure. If you'd like to do some last minute souvenir shopping we offer an optional visit to Cairo's bustling Khan el Khalili bazaar (book and pay locally)

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

Day 11, Cairo

Cairo. After breakfast, hotel check-out and onward transfer to the airport.

1 breakfast, no lunch, no dinner included.

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