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Itinerary
[+] Detailed Itinerary
Day 1:
Join tour Cairo
Arrive Cairo and check-in at hotel.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Day 2:
In Cairo
Cairo is Africa’s largest capital city and is known as the city of a thousand minarets. We visit the Egyptian Museum (which contains the Tutankhamun Treasure) and drive to Giza to 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), and third, Mykerinos, the smallest. The complex includes the Sphinx, a crouching lion with a human head carved from solid rock, and the splendid Granite Temple. The Great Pyramid was built in 20-odd years in about 2600 BC, with only the simplest implements and without draught animals or even the wheel.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 3:
Drive to St Catherine’s
This morning we drive under the Suez Canal to Sinai. This vital communication route, linking the Mediterranean and Red Sea, was finally opened in 1869 after many failed attempts during previous centuries. We continue our journey into the Sinai through desert landscapes and a dramatic route through Wadi Fairan to St. Catherine’s. Our hotel is situated below Jebel Musa (Mount Moses).
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 4:
Sunrise on Mount Sina; Drive to Dahab
This morning we rise early for the unforgettable experience of the sun rising over Mount Sinai. After the sunrise we return back to the bottom where we visit St. Catherine's Monastery, built in 342AD to mark the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Priceless books and manuscripts have been preserved within the fortress-like ramparts of the monastery which seems today an oasis of peace and calm, hemmed in by towering cliffs. Afterwards we head back to the coastal resort of Dahab or our overnight stop
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 5:
4WD to Ras Mohammed
In the morning we explore the surrounding desert landscapes on a rugged jeep safari, exploring narrow canyons both on foot and by 4WD (some scrambling involved). We continue by 4WD to the most southerly point of the Sinai Peninsula and our basic beach side camp in Ras Mohammed National Park. Even though it appears barren and hostile, the park has a great variety of permanent residents like birds, insects and small mammals. Camping in Egypt is ‘Bedouin-style’ with everyone camping in the open under the stars.
Overnight Basic Camping (C)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6:
In Ras Mohammed, ferry to Hurghada
Ras Mohammed was Egypt’s first National Park and offers a huge variety of exotic marine life. Brightly coloured fish live on the coral reef, but it also attracts tuna, barracuda and turtles, who come to the reef to feed. The beaches here offer great underwater activities; we include a snorkelling trip. We then board the catamaran for our crossing to Hurghada.
Please note: When the authorities deem that it is not possible to cross to Hurghada by sea, we will make alternative arrangements that could involve flights or ground transportation endeavouring to cause as little disruption to your itinerary as possible, however this could involve a change to your overnight stop.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7:
In Hurghada
We have a full day in Hurghada and you will have another chance to dive, snorkel and swim over the colourful coral reefs. There is the opportunity to go on an optional boat trip (6 to 8 hrs) to the sand islands and coral reefs off shore or alternatively relax at our comfortable hotel.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 8:
Drive to Luxor; visit Karnak
Leaving the Red Sea coast, we turn inland travelling over barren mountains to Luxor. Modern Luxor is a small town on the east bank of the Nile. Upon our arrival we shall witness the daily bustle of the town, where horse drawn carriages (caleshes) jostle with the motorised traffic. This afternoon we travel by calesh to visit the stupendous Temple of Amun at Karnak, the labour of numerous pharaohs. Dating from around 2000 BC, the scale and grandeur of the site is amazing: it covers the area of about 10 European cathedrals. The Temple Precinct encloses the Festival Temple of Tuthmosis, the Hypostyle Hall built with 134 pillars carved all over with scenes of the King worshipping Amun, (the principle God of Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom), Hatshepsut’s obelisks, a number of other temples and the Sacred Lake. In the Court of the Cachette an upstanding stele documents a pact between Ramses II and the Hittite king and is one of the first international treaties ever recorded.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 9:
In Luxor
Rising very early this morning, we cross the Nile to enjoy an adventurous donkey trek passing through an enchanting landscape of irrigated farmland and mud brick villages en route, pausing to view the famous Colossi of Memnon, the last remains of the once mighty temple of Amenhotep III then on to 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 taxi 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 with a local guide.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 10:
Tour ends Luxor
Included meals: Breakfast
