Egyptian Wanderer
- Accommodation in 3-4 star hotels with daily breakfast
- Transfers, transportation, entrance fees, sightseeing, services and meals as specified in the itinerary
- Overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan
- 2 night Nile Cruise
- Services of a local English-speaking tour guide
- All Activities and Entrance Fees as per Itinerary
- FULLY ESCORTED BY AUSTRALIA ZOO TRAVEL'S BEC DUTHLER
PLEASE NOTE: A visa is required for Australian residents to enter Egypt. Please ask your consultant for further details.
Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Nile cruise, Egypt
Day 1 Arrive Cairo
Arrive at Cairo Airport. Our representative will meet and assist you. An arrival transfer is included to your hotel. This evening is free for you to relax or explore a little. Cairo is the largest city in Africa with between 12 and 18 million inhabitants - nobody is sure, but there are quite a few.
Driving is an experience, as it appears that Egyptian vehicle inspectors are fairly lenient and that the only roadworthy requirement on the cars is a workable horn, which must be continuously tested. The city itself is fascinating. Apart from the rich history, there are good markets,
restaurants, banks and even a metro (underground railway). In typical Egyptian style, there are no maps of the underground so you will have to ask the tourist police.
Day 2 Cairo (B)
After breakfast, your guide will accompany you to the awe-inspiring Great Pyramids of Cheops (Khufu), Chephren (Khafre) and Mycerinus (Menkaure) and you will see the Sphinx in Giza by camel ride. The pyramids are part of a huge mortuary temple complex whose purpose was to keep the Pharaohs alive in the afterlife. The Great Giza Pyramids are the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. A trip to Cairo would be incomplete without a visit to these sacred sites. Though fairly busy with tourists all the sights are a must see.
Day 3 Cairo to Aswan (B)
After breakfast, you will be taken on a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum. The museum houses more than 10,000 relics of ancient Egypt. There you can see the famous Tutankhamen Gallery and The Royal Mummies. The museum is home to millions of artifacts, mummies and reclaimed artworks alongside the extremely impressive Tutanhkamoun exhibition. Then you will see Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church, Islamic Cairo, the Saladin Citadel, the Mohammed Ali Mosque, the old Cairo bazaar (Khan El Khalili) and the El Fishawey coffee shop. This evening we take the sleeper train (around 12 hours) up the Nile valley to Aswan. Overnight aboard the sleeper train.
Day 4 Aswan
On arrival into Aswan, you will be transferred from the train station to your hotel for some free time to relax or explore Aswan. In the afternoon you will be taken on a tour to the famous High Dam of Aswan. The High Dam was completed in 1971 and created Lake Nasser. The creation of the dam made it necessary to relocate several famous monuments. On the tour you will also visit the romantic Temple of Philae and the Unfinished Obelisk. The Philae Temple is a majestic Greco-Roman Egyptian temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, the goddess of love. Then in the evening you will go on a sunset felucca cruise to enjoy the Nile River in your traditional boat. In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants.
Day 5 Nile Cruise, Kom Ombo, Edfu & Abu Simbel (B, D)
You will have a very early start this morning to see Abu Simbel. Flight included. Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was a historic event in itself. When the temples (280 km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 metres up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before.
At about 1pm, we board our Nile Cruise ship. We take in the breathtaking scenery while cruising down the Nile, and visit Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples. At Edfu Temple you will learn the interesting history of this Greek built temple and explore the great hypostyle hall and famed falcons. Rejoining our ship, we continue our cruise passing through the Esna lock. Built by the British in the last century the lock was the first of many attempts made to tame the mighty Nile. From Esna we will continue to Luxor.
Day 6 Nile Cruise Ship – Luxor (B, L, D)
We arrive in Luxor in the early morning. After breakfast we start a tour of the East Bank of Luxor including a horse drawn carriage to the Luxor temple. We visit both the massive Karnak temple and historic Luxor temple. Karnak temple is actually a gigantic temple complex which is over 3500 years old and dedicated to the greatly powerful Ram Headed god Amun. Luxor temple is an important temple in that it was dedicated to 3 gods; Amun, his wife Mut and his son Khons. In the evening we enjoy a sound and light show at the Karnak temple before returning to our cruise boat.
Day 7 Luxor (B)
After breakfast we disembark our cruise ship ready to start a tour of the West Bank of Luxor including a donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings and visit to the Valley of the Queens. The tour starts with the world famous Valley of the Kings where you can enter some of the incredible tombs of the New Kingdom Pharoahs, like King Tutankhamun. Then we go to the Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir al-Bahri). This is the mortuary temple of the only Pharonic Queen of Egypt with very unusual architecture. And we finish with the great Colossi of Memnon, the last remains of Amenophis III's temple.
We stay overnight at a hotel in Luxor. The evening is free to relax and maybe venture out to the night markets.
Day 8 Cairo (B)
The morning is free until we depart for Cairo at about midday. As a group we will be transferred to Luxor airport in time for the flight to Cairo where on arrival you will have free time for some last minute shopping and dinner by your own arrangements. Overnight in Cairo.
Day 9 Cairo (B)
After breakfast today your adventure finishes and you will be transferred to the airport to take your memories with you on the flight home.
After breakfast today your adventure finishes and you will be transferred to the airport to take your memories with you on the flight home.
