The Best of Egypt with Hurghada | 12 Days

Cross an Item off the Bucket List The Great Pyramids of Giza are the most iconic image of Egyptology and an absolute must-see on any trip to Cairo. Meet with your private guide and head to Giza plateau to discover this only surviving site of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Marvel at the breathtaking scenery of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Great Pyramids of Giza juxtaposed against the famous Sphinx statue. The sheer beauty and allure of the Sphinx have mystified world travelers the likes of Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, an imposing scene against the backdrop of the infinite desert behind it. The mysteries of the Great Pyramids have piqued the curiosity of visitors for thousands of years. Enter the Pyramid of Khufu, also known as the Pyramid of Cheops. The oldest and the only one to remain largely intact..

Following your tour of this fascinating area, climb onto your dromedary and enjoy a ride in the shadow of the Pyramids. Cross the desert landscape guarded by some of the planet’s oldest ancient structures and take in the views of the mighty pyramids, including the Pyramid of Chepren and Mykerinus. Enjoy some of the city's finest resturant as you stop for lunch. afternoon at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, also known as the Egyptian Museum, is a veritable treasure trove of Ancient Egypt’s artifacts, with an extensive collection of more than 120,000 items split between its exhibits and storerooms. Delve into the historical background of Egypt on a full day private tour with your tour guide through the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, admiring the treasures that are stored here for safekeeping. Tie together the grandeur of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel with a collection of archaeological finds including statues, jewelry, amulets, sarcophagi, papyrus, ancient coins and the stories of famous Egyptologists. Marvel at the exquisite grandeur of the Mask of Tutankhamun and his coffin – Egypt’s most famous teenage king – although his mummy is still in its original tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Enjoy some of the city's finest resturant as you stop for lunch. After lunch, return to your hotel by private vehicle.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Fly to Hurghada. Approximate flight duration is one hour. This afternoon, enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace, or relax at your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Relax in the serene setting Hurghada, where you can enjoy the breathtaking underwater scenery in the warm waters of the Red Sea. Sign up for a wide range of optional activities (not included in the tour cost) such as deep sea fishing, thrilling boat excursions, scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, or even sea canoeing.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Relax in the serene setting Hurghada, where you can enjoy the breathtaking underwater scenery in the warm waters of the Red Sea. Sign up for a wide range of optional activities (not included in the tour cost) such as deep sea fishing, thrilling boat excursions, scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, or even sea canoeing.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Enjoy a private transfer Hurghada to Luxor, Approximate travel time is four hours. Later, step aboard your Nile Cruise, where you enjoy lunch.

Luxor is home to one of the world’s greatest open-air museums, with the ruins of Karnak and the Temples of Luxor in easy reach along the East Bank of the city. With your private tour guide, visit the impressive UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the monuments of Karnak and Luxor, learning more about ancient Egypt’s fascinating and lengthy history. Begin with a visit to the Temples of Karnak, strolling along the Avenue of Sphinx to enter the complex. The Temples of Karnak make up the history of Thebes and consists of colossal sandstone columns transported 100 miles along the Nile river, panoramic friezes. Discover with your guide how the massive façade was constructed. Continue to Luxor Temple which was once joined to the Temples of Karnak by a 1.25-mile-long Avenue of Sphinx, a portion of which marks the entrance to the temple. The temple dates to approximately 1400 BC and is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship rather than the Pharaohs, cult gods or deified versions of the king in death. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings served as a legionary fortress and acted as the home of the Roman government in the area.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Enjoy a tour of the West Bank of the Nile.Some of the most spectacular sites in all of Egypt can be found on the West Bank of the Nile, near Luxor. Meet with your private guide and driver to spend a half day exploring the West Bank of the Nile, home to the Valley of the Kings and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Start with a visit to the Valley of the Kings to explore the famous Tomb of Tutankhamun along with two other interesting tombs. King Tut became Pharaoh at the tender age of nine or ten, and the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922 fascinated the world. For a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). Explore the recently renovated mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the second historically confirmed female Pharaoh. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful Pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty, and remembered as the first great woman in history of whom we are informed. End the visit to the West Bank with a visit to the Colossi of Memnon, the only remaining monuments of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. This afternoon, Sail to Edfu and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

A horse carriage will be waiting for you and your private guide when you disembark from your Nile cruise to explore the Temple of Horus in Edfu. Dedicated to Horus, the falcon god, the temple was built from 230 to 57 BC by Ptolemy III and his successors and is considered the best-preserved cult temple in Egypt because of its later construction date. Despite its late era origins, it reflects traditional pharaonic architecture, and the Temple’s inscribed building texts provides an excellent idea of how all the temples once looked, with details about its construction. It fell into disuse as a religious monument when the Roman Empire banned all non-Christian worship within the Empire in 391. Edfu is an impressive temple, and is the second largest in Egypt after Karnak Temple.

Sail to Kom Ombo, Upon arrival disembark from your Nile cruise to explore on foot the Kom Ombo Temple, a unique Greco-Roman temple dedicated to two gods: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, the sun god. The Temple in Kom Ombo dates from about 180 BC, during a period known as the Ptolemaic era, and had some additions built on to it during Roman times. It stands right on the bank of the Nile between Edfu and Aswan. The temple is unusual in that it is a double temple, with one side dedicated to the god Haroesis and the other side to Sobek. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical, with two side-by-side sanctuaries and two parallel passageways leading through the outer parts of the temple. The right side is dedicated to Sobek-Re (the crocodile god combined with the sun god Re), along with his wife (a form of Hathor) and their son Khonsu-Hor. Sobek is associated with Seth, the enemy of Horus. In the myth of Horus and Osiris, Seth and his followers changed themselves into crocodiles to escape. The ancient Egyptians believed that by honoring the fearsome crocodile as a god, they would be safe from attacks. The left side is dedicated to Haroeris, the "Good Doctor" (a form of the falcon-headed god Horus the Elder) along with his consort Ta-Sent-Nefer, the "Good Sister" (another form of Hathor). Sail to Aswan and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Early morning optional trip to Abu Simbel Templs by car (3 hrs each way by road, $130 Per Person) Discover the commanding twin temples of Ramses II and his wife, Queen Nefertari. The former’s façade is dominated by four statues of the pharaoh, each nearly 70 feet tall. Perhaps even more impressive, this entire site was disassembled and moved here to save it from the floodwaters caused by the Aswan High Dam.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Today, bid farewell to ‘Nile Cruise, Enjoy a tour of the impressive Aswan High Dam was a marvel of engineering when it was constructed. Originally conceived to Egypt’s irrigation of farmland to mitigate against drought and famine in low-water years, and flooding in high-water years. Visit the dam with your private guide and spend a half day learning about Aswan. The dam displaced over 100,000 Nubians in Sudan and Egypt alike and was part of a major relocation project for archaeological sites under the UNESCO Nubia Campaign, including the Abu Simbel temples and Philae. Other sites were eventually flooded by Lake Nasser, the world’s largest artificial lake that was created by the Aswan High Dam. Then head to Philae and the Temple of Isis on Agilikia Island. Stop at the stone quarries to see the unfinished obelisk, the largest known ancient obelisk and a very good practical demonstration of the methods used by ancient craftsmen to create impressive moments. Marks from workers’ tools are still clearly visible on the bedrock. Later, transfer to the Aswan airport and fly to Cairo via Aswan. Check in to your hotel and spend the remainder of the day at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast.

Enjoy a private airport transfer accompanied by an English-speaking representative.

Meals: Breakfast.