STANFORD TRAVEL/STUDY Egypt Family Adventure December 24, 2011 to January 2, 2012 Journey back in time to discover the magic and mystery of ancient Egypt. History textbooks come to life along the legendary Nile River and the Sinai Peninsula as you and your family explore great temples and tombs and stand beneath pyramids glowing golden in the morning light. The adventure begins in Cairo, where you ll explore the world-renowned archaeological collections of the Egyptian Museum. Continue your journey from the Pyramids of Giza and the ancient Step Pyramid at Saqqara to the world-renowned coral reefs of the Red Sea. Along the way, the kids play soccer with their Egyptian pen pals and bond with their Young Explorer groups. Cruise the Nile on a traditional felucca before returning to Cairo to bid farewell to Egypt. YOUNG EXPLORERS PROGRAM Stanford Family Adventures bring destinations to life for our younger travelers. Our Young Explorers program features hands-on educational activities, kids-only tours and meals, and opportunities to meet lifelong friends. At the close of every Adventure, the comment we hear most often from our Young Explorers is how much they are going to miss their new friends! At the heart of our Young Explorers program are our well-seasoned, highly trained, road-tested Sierra Camp counselors, all recent Stanford grads. Summers spent working closely with families have given this crew the skills to make each Adventure exciting and educational for Young Explorers of all ages. You can count on these talented counselors to provide age-appropriate educational activities for kids that make travel come alive. Kids meet in small peer groups where a 10-1 explorer-tocounselor ratio promises intimate and age-appropriate programming. But in case you thought your kids got to have all the fun, our Young Explorer Leaders also engage the whole family through fun (and silly!) group activities. Virtually all over the world, our families have danced through Disco Bingo, squared off in Family Feud, raced through Family Olympics and competed in their own Palio. FACULTY LEADER Marsh McCall decided to become a teacher when he was in the third grade and went on to fulfill that desire, introducing legions of university students to classics studies during a decades-long professorship in the classics department at Stanford. He has long been one of Travel/ Study s most popular faculty leaders and has enchanted hundreds of participants with his lectures and on-site readings of classical authors. As Professor McCall says, The ancient world has been my life for more than 50 years, and I m always eager to talk about its endless fascination. He looks forward to teaching adults and kids alike about Egypt s antiquities and legends, including such figures as Alexander, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra. Marsh will be joined on this program by Stanford s favorite Egyptologist guides, Tarek Swelim and Fetiche Posma-Zaalouk.
ITINERARY Saturday & Sunday, December 24 & 25, 2011 DEPART U.S. / ARRIVE CAIRO, EGYPT You ve crossed oceans and continents, and finally have arrived. Meet our local guide at the airport, where you will obtain entry visas and then transfer to the hotel. Catch up on sleep this evening after the long flight. MENA HOUSE OBEROI OR SIMILAR Monday, December 26 CAIRO / SAKKARA / CAIRO Behold the most famous of Egyptian monuments the Pyramids of Giza, including the 450-foot Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. Nothing compares with the awe and wonder of standing at the base of this massive structure, or crawling through its narrow passageway. We ll also visit the Solar Boat Museum to see a royal barge built to carry the pharaoh s soul on its afterlife journey. Continue on to the Paws of the Sphinx, as well as the older step pyramid. Enjoy a festive welcome dinner this evening. MENA HOUSE OBEROI OR SIMILAR (B, L, D) Tuesday, December 27 CAIRO Today, delve into Cairo. Begin with a visit to a local school, where children can meet their pen pals. In the world-renowned Egyptian Museum, enter the Royal Mummy Room and view the golden treasures of King Tutankhamun. Tour the narrow passageways of the medieval Khan el Khalili Bazaar, where gold, silver, carpets and wooden handcrafts are bartered and sold. MENA HOUSE OBEROI OR SIMILAR (B, L, D) Wednesday, December 28 CAIRO / SHARM EL SHEIKH A one-hour morning flight takes us to Sharm el Sheik, a resort town located at the very tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Red Sea, where we stay in a five-star resort on the beach. Sharm el Sheik and the coral reefs offshore are a world-renowned snorkeling and diving location. This afternoon, drive out into the desert to the Valley of Mandar and enjoy a sunset camel ride. This evening, enjoy dinner with a Bedouin family. MARRIOTT HOTEL SHARM EL SHEIK (B, L, D) Thursday, December 29 SHARM EL SHEIKH Today choose a special optional activity (price not included in program cost.) After a late night drive you can walk to the summit of Mount Sinai, where it s believed Moses received the Ten Commandments, to witness a magnificent sunrise, and later visit the famous Byzantine Monastery of St. Catherine. Or you might opt to venture out into the open spaces of the Sinai Peninsula in 4-wheeldrive vehicles in search of the lush Oasis of Ein Khudra, the burial chambers of Nawamis and the beautiful coastal village of Dahab. Alternatively, you may choose to relax in town. Dinner tonight is independent to choose from one of the many restaurants located along the Promenade or in town. MARRIOTT HOTEL SHARM EL SHEIK (B)
Friday, December 30 SHARM EL SHEIKH / LUXOR Today s destination is the site of Egypt s most impressive archeological sites. After a brief flight from Sharm el Sheikh to Luxor, transfer to our hotel and then ride in a horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Luxor, a remarkable structure with massive statues of Pharaoh Ramses II and a ceremonial avenue lined with sphinxes. Also visit the Temple of Karnak with its great hall supported by 134 columns. SONESTA ST. GEORGE OR SIMILAR (B, L, D) Saturday, December 31 LUXOR Enjoy a late morning felcucca ride along the Nile River. After lunch, visit the other side of the Nile to explore the great burial areas of the pharaohs and nobles, including the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Seti I. Explore the Colossi of Memnon and the impressive Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, where many of the ceilings and walls retain the color from their original paint. SONESTA ST. GEORGE OR SIMILAR (B, L, D) Sunday, January 1, 2012 LUXOR CAIRO This morning fly back to Cairo, and visit the Citadel of Salah El-Din and the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali. Afterwards, the afternoon is at leisure to relax, shop or swim at the hotel pool. Re-join fellow travelers this evening for our farewell dinner and celebrate the end of a fabulous Family Adventure. INTERNATIONAL CITY STARS (B, L, D) Monday, January 2 DEPART CAIRO / ARRIVE U.S. Depart Cairo for flights home. (B)
INFORMATION WHAT TO EXPECT The Egypt Family Adventure is fast-paced and active, requiring you to be in good health and physical condition. Schedules include some long days, with early wake-up calls and activities scheduled throughout the day and sometimes into the evenings. A typical day starts with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a stimulating lecture by the faculty leader while kids meet with their Young Explorer groups for learning-based, fun activities with their peers. Then we depart on a morning excursion to an archeological site with fellow travelers. Lunch is hearty meal made from fresh, local ingredients after which families have some free time to explore on their own or we may continue on for more sightseeing. In the evening, partake in a fun family activity, perhaps the all-time favorite, Stanford Family Feud. SIZE This program is limited to 60 participants. COST* PROGRAM COST* $6,295 per adult, double/triple occupancy $8,295 per adult, single occupancy $6,095 per child, double/triple occupancy *Association nonmembers add $200 per person. INCLUDED 8 nights of first-class hotel accommodations 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners Welcome and farewell receptions Entry visa (obtained upon arrival) Bottled water on excursions Gratuities to porters, guides and drivers for all group activities All tours and excursions as described in the itinerary Transfers and baggage handling on program arrival and departure days Minimal medical, accident and evacuation insurance Educational program with lecture series and pre-departure materials, including recommended reading list, a selected book, map and travel information Services of our professional tour manager to assist you throughout the program NOT INCLUDED International and U.S. domestic airfare Passport fees Immunization costs Meals and beverages other than those specified as included Independent and private transfers Trip-cancellation/interruption and baggage insurance Excess-baggage charges Personal items such as email, telephone and fax calls, laundry and gratuities for nongroup services
TERMS AND CONDITIONS DEPOSIT, FINAL PAYMENT, CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS A $1,000 per-person deposit is required to hold your space. Sign up online at www.stanfordalumni.org/trip?egypt2011. Deposits and any payments are fully refundable, less a $500-per-person cancellation fee, until the final payment due date, 120 days prior to departure. After that date, refunds can be made only if the program is sold out and your place(s) can be resold, in which case a $1,000-per-person cancellation fee will apply. INSURANCE Stanford Travel/Study provides all travelers who are U.S. or Canadian citizens with minimal medical, accident and evacuation coverage under our group-travel insurance policy. We strongly encourage that you subscribe to optional baggage and trip-cancellation insurance. A brochure offering such insurance will be mailed with your confirmation. The product offered in this brochure includes a special Waiver of Pre-Existing Conditions and coverage for Financial Insolvency and Terrorist Acts if you postmark your insurance payment within 15 days of the date listed on the confirmation letter. ELIGIBILITY We encourage membership in the Alumni Association; the program cost for nonmembers is $200 more than the members' price. For more information or to purchase a membership, visit www.stanfordalumni.org/membership or call (650) 725-0692. RESPONSIBILITY The Stanford Alumni Association, Stanford University and our operators act only as agents for the passenger with respect to transportation and exercise every care possible in doing so. However, we can assume no liability for injury, damage, loss, accident, delay or irregularity in connection with the service of any automobile, motorcoach, launch or any other conveyance used in carrying out this program or for the acts or defaults of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger or in carrying out the arrangements of the program. We cannot accept any responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in air or other services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, force majeure or other causes beyond our control. All such losses or expenses will have to be borne by the passenger as tour rates provide arrangements only for the time stated. We reserve the right to make such alterations to this published itinerary as may be deemed necessary. The right is reserved to cancel any program prior to departure in which case the entire payment will be refunded without further obligation on our part. The right is also reserved to decline to accept or retain any person as a member of the program. No refund will be made for an unused portion of any tour unless arrangements are made in sufficient time to avoid penalties. Baggage is carried at the owner's risk entirely. The airlines concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time passengers are not on board their plane or conveyance. Neither the Alumni Association, Stanford University nor our operators accept liability for any carrier's cancellation penalty incurred by the purchase of a non-refundable ticket connected with the tour. Program price is based on rates in effect in May 2010 and is subject to change without notice to reflect fluctuations in exchange rates, tariffs or fuel charges. As a condition of participation, all confirmed participants are required to sign a Release of Liability. California Seller of Travel Program Registration #2048 523-50