Nile Adventure Cruise

Arrive Cairo and check-in at hotel.

Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)

Africa’s largest capital, Cairo, is situated mainly on the east bank of the Nile. Driving to Giza we see the Pyramids and Sphinx, among the most impressive man-made spectacles in the world. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the largest of the group (originally 145m high with a square base 232m). Second is the Pyramid of Chephren (136m high, width 210m). The complex includes the Sphinx, a crouching lion with a human head carved from solid rock, and the splendid Granite Temple. After the Pyramids we head for the Egyptian Museum, via a papyrus institute, where you can learn something of the ancient methods of paper making in the Egypt of the pharaohs. The museum itself is a spectacular repository of some 120,000 items encompassing all aspects of the world of the ancient Egyptians, from ornate jewellery and towering granite statues, to creepy mummified remains and, of course, the remarkable golden treasures of Tutankhamun himself.

Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast

Today is a free day for optional trips to Saqqara the impressive steppe pyramid/necropolis of Zozer (Djoser) – the earliest of the pyramids of Egypt and the recently opened Red and Bent Pyramids at Dashur. Or an optional trip to Islamic Cairo to visit the illustrious Citadel, one of Saladin’s many strongholds during the Crusades period. There will also be the opportunity to enter one or more of the medieval mosques of Cairo. Alternatively you could use this free time to revisit the vast Egyptian museum.  This evening we will have our flight to Luxor and transfer to the Riverboat.

Overnight Accommodation on Boat (U) Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner Swimming available

This morning you have the chance to enjoy a spectacular balloon flight over the West Bank, for an experience of a lifetime! This morning we have our included visit by ‘calesh’ (horse drawn carriage) to the stupendous Temple of Amun at Karnak, the labour of numerous pharaohs. Begun about 2000 BC, this vast temple was still being added to in Cleopatra’s time (1st century BC).There may also be the option in the afternoon to visit Deir-el- Medina and Medinet Habu - relatively little visited sites and for many a real highlight of the tour.  Or you could enjoy an optional Donkey Trek in the West Bank, through villages and fields before watching the sun set over the NIle.

Overnight Accommodation on Boat (U) Included meals: Breakfast

This morning, we cross the Nile to visit the extraordinary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s only female Pharaoh, who usurped the throne from her son, the future Tuthmoses III. The scale of the temple and its magnificent setting are breathtaking, but perhaps even more remarkable are the details - look out for the fine carving of the ‘Expedition to the Land of Punt’. We then take a short bus ride to the Valley of the Kings’ to explore some of the more important sites made famous in 1922 by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter. We visit three tombs. On our return to the Nile riverboat we set sail upstream towards Edfu, passing en route the dam at Esna, built in 1906 to regulate the Nile floodwaters.

Overnight Accommodation on Boat (U) Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning we visit Edfu, the largest Egyptian temple after Karnak. A falconheaded god guards the Temple of Horus which is in almost perfect condition, in fact the temple is unusual in that its roof has survived intact. We then continue upstream, seeing the intensive cultivation of the Nile Valley and small villages which depend upon the river for their livelihood. In the afternoon we aim to reach Kom Ombo. The temple of Kom Ombo is unique in that it is dedicated to two gods, Horus and Sobek. Sobek the crocodile god was much needed at this spot as the river here was noted for crocodiles until early this century. After our visit we continue to Aswan, arriving late tonight.

Overnight Accommodation on Boat (U) Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we disembark our Boat and head for shore amongst the Nubians. Aswan is Egypt’s most southerly city, traditionally regarded as the frontier post of Upper Egypt. Sited on the east bank, it stands just below the First Cataract and is the meeting point of Arab culture with Nubia and black Africa. Today we have the chance to travel by bus or air to the fabulous rock-hewn temple of Abu Simbel, a major highlight of the tour. Cut into the rock face, this enormous structure was raised 61m to save it from inundation by the artificial lake created by the Aswan High Dam. The 20m high statues represent Ramses II, known as the great builder. Alternatively wander the streets of this fascinating city, where stalls laden with colourful spices line the streets.

Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast

A popular optional excursion is the camel trek to the deserted coptic monastery of St. Simeon. One of the largest Coptic monasteries in Egypt, St Simeon’s was built in the 7th century and finally abandoned in the 13th. It now sits in splendid isolation at the end of a desert valley, an impressive sight, looking more like a desert fortress than a place of worship.You may wish to take an excursion to Philae Temple, situated on a picturesque island in the Nile.

Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast

Arriving in Luxor at around lunchtime, the remainder of the day is left free for personal exploration in Luxor, during which you may like to take a calesh tour of local villages, or visit the Explore sponsored Sunshine Orphanage.

Overnight Standard Hotel (H+) Included meals: Breakfast

Included meals: Breakfast