Kelly Ward
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive to Cairo
An airport representative from our team will be waiting for you at immigration and will assist you through passport control and luggage claim. Private transfer to your hotel in Cairo.
Overnight Le Riad de Charme Boutique Hotel
Day 2
CAIRO AND THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES
An airport representative from our team will be waiting for you at immigration and will assist you through passport control and luggage claim. Private transfer to your hotel in Cairo.
After the museum visit, enjoy a walking tour through Downtown Cairo. This part of the city was built in the 19th century by architects from France and England and has a great resemblance to London and Paris. It was nicknamed” Paris along the Nile.” Your guide will highlight historical buildings, famous spots of historical events, day to day life activities, and many other highlights and topics.
The tour will go through Tahrir Square—the main location for the 2011 revolution in Egypt. This tour will be a great introduction to popular folk history and modern Egyptian culture.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant across the street from one of the famous Jewish Synagogues in Cairo.
Drive back to the hotel for a late afternoon break.
Overnight Le Riad de Charme Boutique Hotel
Day 3
CAIRO AND CITADEL OF SALADIN
Embark on a morning visit to the Citadel of Saladin with the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali as the highlight.
After this tour, you will be back to Khan El Khalili area, where your boutique hotel is located. Enjoy the rest of the morning at leisure.
This afternoon, take a walking tour through the oldest part of Cairo, featuring medieval houses and the chance to climb a mosque minaret. Lunch will be served at a local famous restaurant named after the Nobel laureate author, Naguib Mahfouz.
In the evening, walk with your guide to a nearby cultural center dating back to the 16th century to attend a Whirling Dervishes show.
The show ends at about 8:30 PM, and your guide will walk you back to the hotel and help with dinner suggestions.
Overnight Le Riad de Charme Boutique Hotel
Day 4
Explore Luxor
Take a morning flight to Luxor. Upon arrival, drive to the river bank, where you will take a private motorboat to the West Bank of Luxor.
Enjoy a cycling tour in the West Bank including visits to the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, tombs of the princes and queens in the Valley of the Queens, the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and the Colossi of Memnon.
Have lunch in a local restaurant, then cycle back to the riverbank for a private motorboat ride across the river to your hotel.
The Winter Palace Hotel dates back to the 18th century.
Overnight Winter Palace Hotel
Day 5
Temples of Luxor and Esna
Check out from Old Winter Palace, and spend the morning exploring the Temple of Luxor and the Temples of Karnak—Egypt’s greatest compound of temples.
Drive to Esna to board your private boat on your Nile journey. Enjoy lunch on board while sailing.
In the afternoon, hike through El Higz village. This will be your first encounter with local culture and the way farmers live.
Overnight Dahabya
Day 6
SAILING AND EDFU TEMPLE
In the morning, sail towards Edfu. Visit Edfu Temple, and take a walking tour through the town of Edfu and its busy local market.
Visitors to Edfu Temple normally take a horse drawn carriage to the temple. We prefer to walk one direction—either to or from the temple—to you give a chance to explore Edfu’s busy town.
Return aboard the Dahabya for lunch.
Overnight Dahabya
Day 7
HIKING AND SILSILA
Enjoy a full day of hiking.
This morning, after breakfast, you will start hiking on a Nile island, guided by a local farmer who lives on the island. You will have the chance to participate in farming activities if you wish, and you may also fish with locals aboard their fishing boats.
Lunch is another highlight of the day. Enjoy a meal with a farmer family in their modest mud brick house.
Return to the boat by noon, and sail towards Al Silsila.
This afternoon we will visit a site that is rarely visited by Nile cruises—the sandstone quarries of Silsila. Learn about the ancient methods of cutting stones and lowering them onto the ancient barges. The site has a small rock-cut shrine dedicated to the Gods by the famous warrior pharaoh Hoe-M-Heb.
You can opt to hike to the nearby village of Al Hammam, built on a hill overlooking the river. This can be a good spot for a picture of the valley and the nearby desert. At the completion of this tour, we will sail south to a quiet spot for the night.
Overnight Dahabya
Day 8
FARIS AND KOM OMBO
Take a morning hike through the town of Faris, and explore this primitive town along the Nile. An important handicraft still survives in this town—palm box making. Boxes are handcrafted for farmers to collect their produce and transport it to the market. We will visit one of the craftsmen then hike through the fields back to the river bank.
Enjoy lunch onboard the boat while sailing to Kom Ombo. This afternoon, visit the temple of Kom Ombo— a dual temple dedicated to both the Falcon God and the Crocodile God. In the ancient days, Kom Ombo was a famous site for both healing and trade. It was a commercial border point receiving valuable hardwood from the south and gold from the Eastern Desert.
Overnight Dahabya
Day 9
DARAW AND ASWAN
After breakfast we will visit the town of Daraw—the center of camel trade in Egypt. Meet a camel merchant who will tell you about their trade and travels from Egypt to Sudan where camels are bred.
Reboard the ship, and sail towards Aswan.
On the route to Aswan, we can stop at a quiet spot where you can have a swim in the river. This evening, take an evening walk through the Aswan market and have dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight Dahabya
Day 10
Aswan and Cairo
Check out in the morning, and visit Aswan highlights, including the Philae Temple, the High Dam, and the unfinished obelisk. Transfer to the Aswan airport for your domestic flight to Cairo.
Transfer from Cairo airport to a unique spot close to the pyramids. You’ll stay in an unexplored gem—a boutique farmhouse.
Overnight Guest House
Day 11
Pyramids of Giza
Your first visit this morning will be to the Pyramids of Giza to behold the only surviving monuments of the ancient wonders of the world. During the tour, you will have the chance to climb inside one of the pyramids, visit the sphinx, and enjoy a short camel ride.
Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, visit Memphis and Sakkara and explore their ancient, historical sites dating back to ancient Egypt.
Drive back to the guest house.
Overnight Guest House
Day 12
Departure
Transfer to the Cairo Airport for your flight home.
