Grand Tour of Egypt: Cairo, Pyramids of Giza & Nile River Cruise

Board your overnight flight to Cairo today.

Welcome to Egypt, where stories etched in stone await your discovery and your own Egypt story is set to unfold.

Transfer to your hotel and get settled in, there’s so much to see and savor ahead. This evening, enjoy an included dinner, served with beer or wine.

Set off on a guided tour of Old Cairo, whose strategic location in the Nile River valley drew the area’s first settlements 2,000 years ago. You’ll explore labyrinthine alleys and ornate mosques as you learn more about Egypt’s history from your Egyptologist—who is also your Tour Director.

• Enter the massive Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan—one of the most prestigious learning institutions in the Islamic world when it was built in the 14th century. Let your eyes linger over the elaborate Islamic geometric patterns, the peaceful courtyard, and the intricately designed mihrab (prayer niche)
• Head next door to the equally impressive Rifa'i Mosque, also known as the Royal Mosque, where modern royal figures like the last Shah of Iran and the last King of Egypt have been laid to rest
• View the Cairo Citadel, built in the 12th century by mighty Salah al-Din and originally used as a fortress, it remained as the seat of the Egyptian government until the 19th century

Don't miss your chance to experience Cairo’s multicultural diversity with an optional excursion that delves into its Coptic Christian and Jewish heritage, or use your free afternoon to venture out on your own. Perhaps the vibrant alleyways, artisan workshops, and colorful stalls of the historic Khan el-Khalili market will entice you.

Gather with your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner with beer or wine at a local restaurant this evening.

Please note: Travelers are required to remove shoes when entering the Mosques. Women must cover their hair, arms, and legs. Men must cover their legs.

Meet up with your Tour Director and set off on a guided tour of Giza, Egypt’s third-largest city and home to some of the world’s most enduring ancient monuments.

• Uncover the Pyramids of Giza, the only Wonder of the Ancient World to have survived into the modern era. Standing as tall as 480 feet (146 meters) when it was built, the Great Pyramid of Giza continues to amaze with its size and the precision with which it was constructed
• Visit the enigmatic, 4,500-year-old Great Sphinx, the largest monolith statue in the world, carved from a single limestone bedrock
• Enter the Grand Egyptian Museum, said to be the world’s largest museum, and explore the vast collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts alongside your Egyptologist
• Enjoy an included lunch at a local restaurant

Please note: If the Grand Egyptian Museum is not yet open to the public, a visit to the Egyptian Antiquities Museum will take its place.

Dine like an Egyptian by adding an optional excursion for a home-hosted dinner where you can sample Egypt’s complex traditional flavors like dukkah and fenugreek.

Make your way to the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, stopping along the way in the desert oasis of Wadi El Natrun, or the Valley of Salt, whose vast salt lakes are known for their distinctive pinkish-red hue. Wadi El Natrun is also renowned for its historical monastic settlements and the valley is home to several ancient Coptic Christian monasteries dating back to the 4th century, some of which are still active today.

• Uncover the history of how ancient Egyptians once harvested Natrun salt in the area, a key component of the mummification process
• Enter a local monastery and learn how Wadi El Natrun became a haven to early Christians escaping persecution from the Roman Empire

Continue to Alexandria where you’ll sit down for an included dinner with beer or wine this evening.

Set out to get to know Egypt’s second-largest city and explore centuries-old ruins. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, the city became a major center for Hellenistic culture. Expect a lush Mediterranean coastline, historical sites, and a thriving contemporary art scene in this cultural and educational hub.

• Enter the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a major library and cultural center on Alexandria’s Mediterranean coast, paying homage and recapturing the spirit of the bygone Great Library of Alexandria
• Drive along the Corniche—Alexandria’s scenic waterfront promenade—to the 15th-century Citadel of Qaitbay, a fortress built on the former site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria
• Climb the towering limestone ramparts of the Citadel and take in panoramic views of the city hugging the shoreline and the harbor dotted with boats
• Learn about Banlastic, a local nonprofit working to reduce single use plastics in Egypt, and receive a gift made from recycled plastic

Alexandria is the perfect place to delve into Egypt’s history under the Greek and Roman empires with an optional excursion. You can also use your free time this afternoon to return to the Corniche and bask in the sea breeze, stop at a café along the promenade, or find a spot along the waterfront and watch the sun melt over the Mediterranean.

Return to Cairo this morning, then fly to Luxor, known to travelers and historians as “the world’s greatest open-air museum” due to its incredible concentration of ancient Egyptian monuments, temples, and archaeological sites. You may have seen them in books or movies, but prepare to be more than a little starstruck. Excavations and discoveries continue to this day as new findings shed light on the lives of ancient Egyptians.

Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free evening in the city. For an unforgettable experience, book an optional excursion on the Nile aboard a felucca, a traditional Egyptian sailboat. Want to spend your free night in the city? Luxor’s monuments take on a special life at night via dramatic sound and light shows that immerse you in history.

Please note: On some departures the Nile River Felucca Ride & Dinner excursion will take place on day 8 and the included dinner from day 8 will move to day 7.

Enjoy a morning walking tour through Luxor Temple, located on the banks of the Nile River. With your Egyptologist, you’ll see one of the world's highest-quality collections of Egyptian artifacts, including a statue recovered from King Tutankhamun's tomb.

As you approach Luxor Temple, an avenue of human-headed sphinxes creates a dramatic and awe-inspiring entrance. The temple unfolds with a series of striking architectural elements that include massive columns, colossal statues, and hieroglyphs.

Continue sightseeing through Luxor on your own with a free afternoon—consider a side trip to the Mummification Museum—but we highly recommend the optional excursion to the Temple of Hathor. With an exquisitely preserved astronomical ceiling depicting zodiac signs and constellations, it’s an invaluable historical record of Egyptian astronomy. The Temple of Hathor is also your chance to ponder the mystery and intrigue of the “Dendera Light” whose motif depicts the Egyptian creation myth.

Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers for an included dinner with beer or wine.

Please note: On some departures the included dinner will take place on day 7 and the Nile River Felucca Ride & Dinner excursion will take place on day 8.

Spend the morning relaxing and catching up on sleep or brave an early start for an optional but certainly once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon ride soaring high over the Valley of the Kings and the Nile.

Later, head out to tour the Nile’s West Bank with your Egyptologist.

• Explore the Valley of the Kings, a series of tombs nestled between rugged limestone and mountains in the Theban Hills, where the barren, rocky terrain contrasts with the lush greenery of the Nile's eastern bank
• Tour the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, one of the few female pharaohs. Carved directly into the sheer mountain cliffs, the temple stands out with colonnaded terraces connected by gently sloping ramps as well as relief carvings of the queen and her storied accomplishments
• View the 64-foot-high Colossi of Memnon, circa 1350 BC—a pair of massive stone statues that stand in front of the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III. Very little of the temple remains today, but the twin statues maintain a watchful gaze toward the river
• Enter King Tut’s tomb, famous for containing the ancient Egyptian treasures a ruler would need in the afterlife, such as clothing, food, chariots, games, and ceremonial items

Board your cruise ship this afternoon and enjoy an included lunch before settling into your cabin. Sit down for an included dinner served with beer or wine aboard the ship this evening as the gentle waves carry you and your fellow travelers down the Nile.

Head off the ship today to explore the painstakingly excavated Temple of Karnak. It’s said that 30 pharaohs presided over the building of the temple—a sprawling and vast ancient site. You’ll feel a palpable connection to the ancient world as you walk in the footsteps of priests and worshippers who came here for thousands of years.

Venture off on a walking tour through the complex to see the Precinct of Amun-Re, whose mudbrick walls stretch over 1.5 miles in circumference. Gaze over extensive hieroglyphic inscriptions marking moments in history, and end at the Temple of Khonsu—a smaller, more intimate temple dedicated to the god of moon and time.

This afternoon, enjoy an included lunch before sailing toward Edfu. Then, sit down for an included dinner served with beer or wine this evening.

Set sail for Edfu and Kom Ombo this morning and disembark your ship for guided tours, with your Egyptologist leading the way, to some of the best-preserved Egyptian temples in the country.

• Walk through Edfu’s Temple of Horus, a classic example of Ptolemaic architecture, with massive stone walls and towering pylons. It’s also one of the few temples in Egypt where inscriptions on its walls describe how it was built and used in ancient times
• Enjoy an included lunch aboard your cruise ship
• Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, noted for its dedication to two deities, Sobek and Horus, constructed as two symmetrical temples aligned parallel to one another. Although they were initially constructed during the Ptolemaic period, they were expanded after the Roman conquest of Egypt, resulting in a blend of both Egyptian and Greco-Roman architectural styles

Sit down for an included dinner with beer or wine aboard the ship this evening.

Enjoy a free morning on board the ship or add an optional excursion to Abu Simbel to visit the temples of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari, originally carved into the mountainside and painstakingly relocated to save them from being submerged by Lake Nasser.

Please note: Depending on flight schedules, the Abu Simbel optional excursion may be offered on day 13 instead of day 12.

Later, enjoy an included lunch, served with beer or wine, before continuing on to Aswan for a sightseeing tour of the city led by your Egyptologist.

• Board a boat and visit the temples at Philae, located on an island in the Nile River. Watch in awe as enormous columns and imposing facades rise from the water, emblazoned with hieroglyphics
• Walk through the colorful local market where you’ll find perfumes, spices, traditional talismans, and souvenirs

Sit down for an included dinner with beer or wine aboard the ship this evening.

Disembark your cruise in Aswan and fly back to Cairo.

After sitting down for an included dinner with beer or wine, enjoy a free evening in Cairo. Ask your Tour Director for a recommendation or find a cozy café on your own for some mint tea and kunafa, a spun pastry soaked in sweet syrup and sprinkled with pistachios.

Spend one last day in Egypt exploring Cairo’s frenetic streets and boisterous culture on your own, or take an optional excursion into the depths of antiquity—Saqqara and Dahshur—where you’ll view the inimitable Step Pyramid of Djoser, the world's oldest complete stone building.

Celebrate your trip with your fellow travelers during tonight’s farewell dinner with beer or wine at a local restaurant.

Transfer to the airport to board your flight home or extend your trip with a relaxing, resort-style sojourn on the shores of the Red Sea. And yes, you’ll want to dive right in.