10 Day 5 star Incredible Egypt & Nile Cruise

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1 10 Day 5 star Incredible Egypt & Nile Cruise With Emirates Airfares Luxor Nile Cruise Aswan Abu Simbel

2 From $5,199 pp twin share Book Now Departure Dates 15 March 2019* 22 March March April 2019* 19 April April May May May June July August August September September October October November November December 2019 * 4 night cruise will be with the 5 star Moon Dance or similar Day 1 New Zealand Welcome to the trip of a lifetime! Board your flight to Egypt and prepare to be spellbound by the ancient wonders of the Pharaohs. Salaam Aleikum! Welcome to Egypt. You ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel of your incredible Inspiring Stay overlooking the Great Pyramids of Giza what a way to start your adventure. Tonight, meet your group for an introductory briefing to meet your guide and fellow travellers. Please note: Some flights may depart the day before. Hotel: 5 Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel (Pyramid view room) Day 2 This morning, meet your group for an introductory briefing to meet your fellow travellers. After, head out to see some of the world s most iconic sights the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Explore these structures that have stood tall for 4,500 years and learn about the ancient history of the monuments. Afterwards, make your way to the Egyptian Museum, home to one of the world's great collections of antiquities.

3 Day 2 (cont.) Wander the treasure-filled halls of the museum, and make sure to check out the Mummies Hall (optional) for a close encounter with some of the country s most important queens and pharaohs. The masses of gleaming artefacts recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun are an impressive sight to behold. Hotel: 5 Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel (Pyramid view room) Meal: Breakfast Day 3 Luxor Today, enjoy a free day at leisure. Later this afternoon you will be transferred to the station to board your overnight sleeper train to Luxor. Optional Tour - City tour - Join a local guide to get in touch with 's Islamic heart. From backstreet bazaars to minaret-topped mosques, and neighbourhood coffee houses, these are the places that make Egypt's sprawling capital what it is. Enjoy time at Khan el-khalili market. A labyrinth of narrow streets and passageways, Khan el-khalili is one of the world s largest bazaars, and offers a truly authentic local experience. Note: Accommodation aboard the overnight train is in two-berth cabins which convert to bunk beds. All bedding is provided on board and western-style toilets are in each carriage. Your bags will be stored in your cabin, where airline-style dinner and breakfast will be served. However, it may be worth bringing some additional snacks, especially if you are vegetarian or have dietary requirements. Your tour leader can help you to arrange this. Despite being a tourist class train facility are basic but comfortable. Train: Watania Sleeping train (twin share) Meal: Breakfast, dinner There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I. John Steinbeck

4 Day 4 Luxor Embark on Nile cruise Welcome to Luxor! After an early breakfast on board, the train rolls into Luxor from the spectacular temple complex of Karnak to the Valley of the Kings, Luxor is full of wonderfully preserved reminders of the Pharaohs. Today you will explore the magnificent Karnak Temple, which is perhaps the most impressive of all the ancient Pharaoh s' monumental works. One of the world's most celebrated temple complexes, Karnak is a house of the gods built over a period of some 200 years. Your guided tour of this vast temple of impressive pylons, obelisks and chapels will reveal its finest sections, such as the Avenue of Sphinxes and the Great Temple of Amun. Later you will be transferred to your Nile cruise boat, which will be your home for the next four nights. You can relax by the pool on the boat or explore the town. You can't control the past, but you can control where you go next. Kirsten Hubbard Day 4 (cont.) Optional Tour: Luxor Temple - Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor and was constructed approximately 1400 BC. Day 5 Luxor Valley of the Kings Luxor Edfu Today you will discover some of the many wonders of ancient Thebes. Our first stop is the Colossi of Memnon, two 17 metre-high statues on Luxor's west bank. Carved from granite blocks, they represent the Pharaoh Amenhotep III and were once part of an impressive colonnade. Continue on to the spectacular royal burial site of the Valley of the Kings. Buried under the arid hills here are over 60 tombs of pharaohs, many richly decorated with reliefs and paintings. With your leader, explore this sprawling and spectacular place, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (16th to 11th century BC) were secretly interred for all eternity, and where discoveries are still being made. Your guide will explain the history and legends of these remarkable people, their funerary rites, and the significance of the many paintings and hieroglyphics, still well preserved in the deepest tombs. You will visit three of the most interesting royal tombs and then continue to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a stunning colonnaded building set against high cliffs that create a spectacular natural amphitheatre. One of Egypt s greatest Queens, she built this temple to prove her importance among the ancestors. Enjoy lunch upon your return to the boat. There is time to relax on deck or in your cabin before you set sail for Edfu. Generally the journey from Luxor to Edfu is from 1 pm to 11 pm. Departure time may vary, depending on river traffic enroute to Edfu we pass through the Esna Lock and upstream. Travel far enough, you meet yourself. David Mitchell

5 Day 6 Edfu Kom Ombo Aswan Today finds you moored near Edfu, a beautifully preserved temple also dedicated to Horus, the falcon-headed god. You can disembark and discover the lively streets of Edfu town get acquainted with the bustling town centre and purchase some souvenirs at the bazaars. Optional Tour - Edfu Temple - continue to the temple, perhaps the best preserved in the whole country. The scale is incredibly impressive, with soaring sandstone walls covered in reliefs and hieroglyphics. You ll pass through the Grand Temple entranceway into a colossal courtyard ringed with 32 towering columns, each richly decorated with patterns, and once the site of a great altar. The sense of awe that comes from touring this temple is incredible. Please note: The only mode of transport available to visit the Edfu temple is by locally managed horse and carriages. As a responsible travel focused business, animal welfare is extremely important to us and unfortunately, some operators of the horse and carriages have been found to be in breach of our animal welfare guidelines. It is for this reason we do not include the visit the Edfu Temple. While we recommend that you do not use the horse and carriage to visit the Temple, the decision is ultimately up to you and your guide can help arrange transport and ensure the best horses are used.

6 Day 6 (cont.) Continue travelling upriver, relaxing on the sundeck and taking in the surrounding sights desert hills forming a backdrop to lush riverbanks, fishermen casting their nets and farmers working their land. This afternoon we will arrive at Kom Ombo temple. Kom Ombo Temple. Set dramatically on the bank of the Nile, 47 kilometres north of Aswan and 168 kilometres south of Luxor, the soaring, chunky columns of the Great Temple of Kom Ombo are a magnificent sight as you arrive from the river. Dedicated to the gods Sobek and Haroeris, the temple's finely carved reliefs give a sense of this area's prominence as capital over the surrounding region during the Ptolemaic era. Today, Kom Ombo may be a sleepy agricultural backwater surrounded by sugar cane fields, but its prime position along the Nile once made it one of Upper Egypt's most important centres. Wander through the temple's colonnades, gazing up at scenes of kingly propaganda, and you'll capture a feel of this glorious history for yourself. Return to the cruise boat where you ll continue travelling upriver. Tonight your ship will arrive into Aswan. Board your boat again at around 6pm and continue to Aswan, Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. Anita Desai Day 7 Aswan Abu Simbel Aswan Today you will drive to Abu Simbel near the southern Egyptian border. Often referred to as the Temples of Ramses II, the two enormous sandstone structures at Abu Simbel were built in 1255 BC by Ramses II to commemorate himself and his favourite wife, Nefertiti. The larger temple, dedicated to three major Egyptian deities, features four large statues of Ramses II on its facade, while the smaller temple is dedicated to the love goddess Hathor, with statues designed to embody Nefertiti. Set on the banks of the artificial Lake Nasser, the structures were once in danger of being flooded with the construction of the Aswan High Dam but were saved via an extensive project to cut the temples into pieces and move them to higher ground, where they are seen today. On the return to Aswan, the rest of the day is free for you to make your own discoveries. This afternoon, we will enjoy a sailboat ride around the islands in a traditional felucca, stopping off at the botanical gardens. Optional tour - Temple of Isis - Visit the beautiful Temple of Isis (the Goddess of health marriage and wisdom), which was rescued from the rising waters of the Nile and relocated on Igelka Island. It's a marvel of decorative pylons featuring some of Egypt's finest carvings definitely one of the real gems of Upper Egypt. "Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." Terry Pratchett

7 Day 7 (cont.) Optional tour - Nubian Dinner - Experience modern Nubian culture first-hand with a visit to Elephantine Island. On your visit you ll join a Nubian family for dinner and experience true traditional Nubian hospitality. Here, you will encounter Nubian homes, traditional food and an unforgettable insight into the daily life of a Nubian. This is a rare and memorable experience, giving you the chance to become fully immersed in the local culture. Day 8 Aswan Today we will leave Aswan and make the short flight back to. On the return to, enjoy free time to relax or do some lastminute sightseeing in. Optional tour - Home Cooked dinner with an Egyptian family - Sit down for a home-cooked meal with a local family. During this experience, you'll get to visit a local family and learn about Middle Eastern traditions, Egyptian culture and tasty food but most importantly, enjoy a delicious and authentic home cooked meal. Hotel: 5 Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel (Pyramid view room) Meal: Breakfast Day 9 New Zealand Unfortunately, today marks the end of your incredible tour through Egypt. At the appropriate time, you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight home. Meal: Breakfast Day 10 New Zealand Arrive home today. Please note, some flights will arrive home early the following morning.