Splendors of Egypt 12Days/11Nights 26 Sites and Tours All Meals Included All Gratuities Included Featuring: -Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. -Abu Simbel. -Valley of the Kings. -Egyptian Museum. -Mummies Room. -Saqqara. -Karnak Temples. -Luxor Temple. -Luxor Museum. -Temple of Hatshepsut. -Tombs of the Nobles. -Colossi of Memnon. -Edfu Temple. -Kom Ombo. -Dendera Temple. -Philae Temples. -Mosque of Sultan Hassan. -Mosque of Rifaie. -A Coptic church. -Ben Ezra Synagogue. -Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. -El-Moez Street. -Felucca Ride. -Motor Boat ride on the Nile. -High Dam. -Sound and Light Show in the pyramids area. -Papyrus Institute. -Farewell Dinner. The Itinerary in detail:
Day 1: Tuesday Arrive in Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, you will be met by a BAITY TOURS representative. A bus will take you to your 5 star deluxe hotel. Enjoy your dinner at the hotel. Meals: Dinner Day 2: Wednesday After breakfast, you will meet your Program Director for a welcome briefing, followed by a visit to the Egyptian Museum of antiquities. The museum houses thousands of pieces including the masterpieces of the golden pharaoh, Tutankhamun. You will also visit the Mummies Room in the Museum. Lunch will be served after the Museum, and then you will be driven back to the hotel to have some time on your own. In the evening, your program director will take you to the Pyramids area to attend the Sound and Light Show. Enjoy dinner after the show. Day 3: Thursday After breakfast, start the morning tour with Saqqara, the cemetery of Memphis. Memphis was the first capital in Egypt. It was built more than 5000 years ago. Saqqara is one of the largest and oldest cemeteries in ancient Egypt. In Saqqara we will visit the oldest pyramid in the world; the Step Pyramid of King Djoser with its funeral complex. We also drive to the area of Teti s Pyramid to visit the Pyramid of Teti as well as a Mastaba tomb decorated with beautiful daily life scenes from Pharaonic Egypt. The area of Saqqara is also famous for its local crafts, especially making handmade rugs. This morning we will have the chance to visit one of the carpet schools in this area to learn about part of the culture of the local people living in the area. Then we drive to the restaurant for lunch which will be a choice from the Egyptian cuisine.
After lunch we drive to the Giza Plateau to visit the most famous pyramids on earth and the only wonder that still exists from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We will visit the Great Pyramid of King Khufu (Cheops), the pyramid of Chephren and the pyramid of Mykerinus. On the plateau we will have the chance to ride camels in the Great Sahara, and then we drive to visit the Great Sphinx; the guardian of the Giza necropolis. Late in the afternoon, we go back to the hotel so you can explore on your own before dinner. Day 4: Friday We drive to visit the mosque of Sultan Hassan, the best example of Islamic architecture in Egypt. We also visit the mosque of Rifaie where the last king of Egypt, Farouq and the last shah of Iran are buried. After visiting the two mosques, we drive to Old Cairo district to visit one of the Coptic churches and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. After lunch we drive to the famous district of Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, where we have an interesting walk in El-Moez Street built over 1000 years ago. Dinner is also included tonight. Day 5: Saturday After breakfast, we drive to Cairo International Airport to take the domestic flight to Luxor. In Luxor we visit the complex of Karnak which has many temples mainly built in the Pharaonic Period. Many pharaohs participated in the construction of Karnak including Thuthmosis III, Hatshepsut and Ramesses II. We will also also visit a papyrus institute to get an idea how the ancient Egyptians made paper from the papyrus plant. Then we will check into a 5 star hotel for 2 nights. We will have lunch in the hotel. Late in the afternoon we enjoy a felucca ride up and down the Nile. In the evening, we will have Dinner and spend the night in the hotel.
Overnight: Luxor Hotel: Steigenberger Nile Palace (OR Similar) Day 6: Sunday After breakfast, we drive some 40 miles north of Luxor to visit the beautiful temple of Dendera. A temple that was dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, music and dance. We drive back from Dendera and have lunch in Luxor. Just before sunset, we visit the beautiful temple of Luxor, built by two great pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramesses II. Overnight: Luxor Hotel: Steigenberger Nile Palace (OR Similar) Day 7: Monday Early in the morning, we take the bus and cross the Nile to the west bank of Luxor to visit the Valley of the Kings, tombs of the Nobles, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. After returning from the west bank we check into our 5 star deluxe ship to start the Nile Cruise. We will spend four nights on the ship until we reach the city of Aswan. After lunch, you can explore the ship on your own until dinner time. Overnight: Luxor Day 8: Tuesday After breakfast, we visit the beautiful Luxor Museum with its masterpieces including the famous statues which were found by accident in 1989 in the temple of Luxor. We return to the ship before noon time. The ship sets sail for Edfu early in the afternoon. Overnight: Edfu
Day 9: Wednesday Our morning tour will be the temple of Edfu, the most preserved temple in Egypt. After returning to the ship, it sets sail for Kom Ombo, the temple of the crocodile god Sobek. We visit the temple of Kom Ombo in the afternoon. Overnight: Aswan Day 10: Thursday After breakfast, we visit the Temples of Philae, built on an island in the river then we drive to visit the High Dam of Aswan. After lunch, we will enjoy a motor boat ride to see the beautiful islands of Aswan and the mythological source of the Nile. Overnight: Aswan Day 11: Friday After breakfast, we check out from the ship and drive to the Aswan airport to take a morning flight to Abu Simbel to visit the two temples of Ramsis II and his beloved Queen Nefertari. From Abu Simbel, we fly back to Cairo. In Cairo we stay in a 5 star deluxe hotel close to the airport where we will have our farewell dinner. Hotel: Intercontinental City Stars (OR Similar) Day 12: Saturday After breakfast, our representative will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the Cairo International airport for departure. Meals: Breakfast Included Features:
- 5 nights at a 5 star deluxe hotel in Cairo. - 2 nights at a 5 star hotel in Luxor. - 4 nights on a 5 star deluxe Nile Cruise between Luxor and Aswan. - 11 breakfasts, 10 lunches and 11 dinners (All meals are included starting with dinner on day of arrival and ending with breakfast on day of departure). - Bottled water, tea and coffee are included during all the included meals. - Complimentary bottled water is always available on the coach. - All the tours and entrance fees as per itinerary (26 sites and tours). - A private air-conditioned coach during all the included tours. - An expert, English speaking Program Director/guide throughout the trip. - All gratuities and tips to every person and service throughout the trip (such as program director, baggage handling, bus drivers, waiters at restaurants etc). - All domestic flights as per itinerary. - Baggage handling to and from all your accommodations as per itinerary. - Personal headsets provided throughout the journey (for groups of more than 10 guests). Not Included in the Trip: - Travel Insurance. - Entry Visa to Egypt. - International flights. - Personal expenses. - Departure Tax.