RDL/HOLIDAYS/06: CAIRO/ASWAN/LUXOR

Day 1: Pyramids of Giza
Your exciting holiday in Egypt begins early today aboard your non stop Egyptair flight departing Nairobi at 05.15 a.m to arrive in Cairo at 9.00 a.m. You will be met by our representative and assisted with visa , customs and other airport formalities then escorted to your hotel in downtown Cairo the Sheraton Cairo Hotel, Towers and Casino right on the banks of the River Nile. Spend the rest of the morning relaxing and recovering from the exhaustion of the early morning flight.

After lunch, depart for a tour of the Sphinx and Pyramids at Giza, Your guide will take you on a tour of the Pyramids of Cheops and Chephren. These monuments are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World are visited by thousands upon thousands of tourists to Cairo every year. The Sphinx, an object of great dimensions carved from a single stone, lies just before the Pyramids, imposing and as mysterious today as it was in the ancient past.

Your visit ended in the late evening you are driven back to Cairo for dinner and overnight. (LUNCH AND DINNER)

Day 2: Cairo / Aswan.
This morning you transfer to the airport for the flight to Aswan, Egypt's southernmost city and the crossroads of the ancient caravan routes. Transfer to the pier for embarkation and lunch aboard. This afternoon enjoy a tour sailing on a small Egyptian boat (the felucca ) around Elephantine Island, once the center of modern Aswan. Thereafter visit the Botanical Gardens of Lord Kitchener, before returning to your cruise ship for dinner and evening activities.. (FULLBOARD)

Day 3:
Aswan, Kom Ombo & Edfu.
After breakfast you depart for a morning visit to the Aswan Dam, which controls the Nile and is a major source of hydroelectric power in Egypt. Continue thereafter to a visit of Philae Island with its temple dedicated to Isis. After lunch, sail to Kom Ombo, where, sacred crocodiles were kept in ancient times. You will also be taken to a visit of the unique Temple of Kom Ombo which is shared by the two gods Sobek and Haroeris. Thereafter continue your cruise to Edfu. (FULLBOARD)

Day 4: Edfu, Esna, Luxor
Today's visits include the Temple of Edfu, a Greek-built monument to Horus, the falcon-headed son of Osiris. It took about 200 years to complete and has helped fill in many gaps of knowledge about the Pharaonic architecture that it imitates. Sail to Esna, and cross Esna Lock to Luxor, one of Egypt's most visited cities, full of attractions and monuments of great architectural beauty in an excellent state of preservation. Return aboard in the evening for dinner and overnight
(FULLBOARD)

Day 5: Luxor / Cairo.
After breakfast, disembark and board your touring coach to visit the West Bank of the Nile and the Valley of the Kings, containing rock hewn Royal Tombs of Egypt’s Pharaohs. Continue to the impressive Deir El Bahari temple of Queen Hatshepsut, an architectural wonder built against the backdrop of a looming cliff face and the Colossi of Memnon, two huge seated statues of Amenhotep III.

Highlights of today's tour are visits to the Temple of Karnak, one of the truly overwhelming monuments of the Pharaonic era, with work carried out on the temples over a period of 1500 years, and the beautiful Temple of Luxor with its rich history and association with Tutankhamen, Ramses II and Alexander the Great.

After todays visit, you are transferred to the airport for a late afternoon flight back to Cairo.

Day 6: Cairo. Full Day Tour.
Enjoy a full day escorted tour of Cairo. Your tour begins with a visit to the Egyptian Museum , where you'll see, among other treasures, the priceless antiquities of Tutankhamen's tomb. Thereafter visit the old City of Cairo passing through the Christian and Jewish Quarters. After lunch, drive along the Nile to the ancient capital of Memphis. Though most of the city has been destroyed by time, the magnificent Alabaster Sphinx and the mammoth statue of Ramses II remain. We continue to the Necropolis of Sakkara, City of the Dead, where we view the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser, Pyramid of Unas and the Wall of Cobras. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (BREAKFAST AND DINNER)

Day 7: Thursday , Cairo/Nairobi
Whole morning and afternoon at leisure for own activities including shopping. Lunch is on own account. In the evening transfer to the airport to board your return flight to Nairobi, Flight MS 849 departing Cairo at 22h 15 to arrive in Nairobi at 04.h15 early on Friday morning. (BREAKFAST)

Tour end

COST OF TOUR