Nile Dreams: 8 Days Cairo and Cruise Adventure

The Grand Egyptian Museum, and Saqqara Pyramid Complex Day Tour 

Start your day with a delicious breakfast meal. At around 08.30 am to 09.00 am, meet your Egyptologist at the hotel lobby to start your day tour.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (takes around 2 hours)

• The giant Ramses II statue welcomes you at the entrance.
• In 11 halls, wander amid rare treasures from the heart of ancient Egypt and present the daily life, afterworld beliefs, gods, royal items, kings, and queens from the prehistoric eras, pharaonic, Roman, and Greek eras.
• This museum includes the full collection of Tutankhamun.

Lunchtime

Experience one of the top tasty dishes from the Egyptian cuisine.

The Saqqara Pyramid Complex

• Embark on the Unas Pyramid, where you can the first pyramidal text in history—two-thirds of the texts.
• Meet the first limestone structure ever built in history, and the prime step of building a pyramid, the Saqqara Pyramid of Djoser.
• Explore how daily life was in ancient Egypt inside the Idot tomb.

By air-conditioned vehicle, arrive at the train station to experience the Sleeper Train to Aswan.

The train leaves the station around 8.45 p.m. Enjoy your dinner meal on the train board.

Meals;

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Day Tour to Philae Temple and Aswan High Dam 

On the Sleeper Train board, relish your breakfast. Arrive at Aswan 8.00 am. 

Arrive at Philae Temple Port at around 8.37 am; there, you can meet the Nubian people, exploring unique culture.

Take a motorboat, sailing in the Nile to Philae Temple. 

Keep your camera on as the Phila Temple, which is the pearl of ancient Egypt's temples, appears while you sail in the Nile in a dazzling scene.

Philae Temple Visit (extends from 1.30 to 2 hours)

• Reach Agilkia Island, where you visit the Philae temple dedicated to Isis.
• The last hieroglyphic text dating back to 394 BC and demotic text dating back to 452 BC were found in this temple.
• Meet the only place in ancient Egypt that had a wooden roof in the Trajan's Kiosk.
• Explore Mammisi with columns and have the best ever capitals, including the capitals of Hathor!
• Wander amid the Coptic Church, Hathor temple, and Hadrian Gate. 

Aswan High Dam (Lasts from 30 to 40 minutes)

• Explore the Aswan High Dam, one of the greatest twentieth-century achievements, and meet the largest artificial lake in the world, Nasser Lake.

Transfer to the Nile Cruise for check-in. 

Have a relaxing time amid the outstanding atmosphere and views of the Nile, and enjoy savoring the most delicious lunch and dinner meals.

Meals:

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Visit Abu Simbel Temples (against charge) and Kom Ombo Temple 

Free time until the afternoon on the cruise deck. Also, you have an opportunity to explore Abu Simbel Temples (out of tour cost), arriving by a modern air-conditioned vehicle.

Abu Simbel Temples (Lasts from 1 to 2 Hours);

• Leave the Nile Cruise at around 4.30 am with the boxed breakfast. By the air-conditioned vehicle, arrive at the site in 3.30 hours with one break on the road. 
• You are confronted by four colossal statues representing King Ramses II; each of these colossi is 70 feet tall.
• Between the feet of the colossal statues of Ramses, you will find the gateway to the greater temple.
• Wader amid vibrant inscriptions of Kadesh battle, and the gigantic statues
• Explore the sun's perpendicular phenomenon that illuminates Ramses' face, and Ra-Horakhty, besides Amun, while not illuminating the face of Ptah, the god of shadow! It seems as if Ramses II controlled a particular path to the sun into his temple and the sun walks on the same way until now; explore what was behind this pharaonic marvel!
• Move to the Temple of Nefertari, where you see for the first time in ancient Egypt a Queen statue taking the same measures as the King statue.

Return back to the Nile Cruise for a sailing to Kom Ombo;

• Enjoy the scenery of the lush banks of the Nile while you are on your bed, seeing through your cabin's window, or on the Nile board.
• In the relaxing sailing, savor a fresh-cooked local Egyptian dish rich with dazzling flavors.

Kom Ombo Temple Visit (from 45 minutes to 1 hour)

• You arrive at the first and only double-faced temple in ancient Egypt dedicated to the god Sobek and god Horus—both considered by some ancient Egyptians to be the creators of the world. 
• So, you visit two temples with two hypostyles and two shrines, holy of the holies, etc., divided by Maat.
• Meet this pharaonic nilometer that was used in ancient Egypt to measure the Nile’s water levels, plus ancient Egyptian surgical instruments and a calendar.

Restful night on the Nile Cruise with a scrumptious dinner meal.

Meals;

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Edfu Temple Day Tour 

A relaxing morning with the sailing. 

Edfu Temple Visit (Lasts from 1 to 1,30 Hour);

• A unique experience awaits you, riding a horse carriage in 15  minutes to the Edfu Temple, the second largest temple in Ancient Egypt after the Karnak, and the most well-preserved one. It was dedicated to Horus.
• Wander amid the Massive Pylon (entrance gate), First Courtyard (court of offerings), Hypostyle Hall, Sanctuary of Horus, Holy Barque Shrine, Inner Chambers, Battle Reliefs, and the Mammisi (birth house). All are in well-preserved condition, giving you the chance to see the temples once the ancient Egyptians had raised their hands out of them.
• Uncover the pharaonic Edfu WiFi.

Return back to the Nile Cruise for sailing to Luxor.

Flavor a delicious lunch meal on the cruise deck amid the dazzling Nile views.

Meals;

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

A Tour to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon, and Karnak Temple

After breakfast on the cruise deck, start your Luxor day tour.

The Valley of the Kings (A visit extends to 2 hours); 

• It is the home of the royal tombs where the mummies of kings were located.
• Explore this exclusive site in ancient Egypt from its discovery by the pharaonic engineer Inini up to creating the dazzling tombs with inscriptions that are still vivid until now, representing the Book of Dead, the Book of Amduat, the Opening of the Mouth, and the Book of the Holy Cow. Wander amid these details of ancient Egyptians’ afterlife beliefs. 
• Your Egyptologist accompanies you to the best royal tombs in the site.

Hatshepsut Temple (From 1 to 1.30 hours) 

• Meet this pharaonic facade carved in Deir El Bahari mountain, taking a half-moon look, with giant columns, as if the mountain hugs this temple.
• This temple, which is an architectural masterpiece, was built by Hatshepsut. Wander amid the era of this lady that ruled ancient Egypt for 21 years successfully.
• Embark on scenes from the daily life of this era, representing harvest, agriculture, fishing, and trading. 

Colossi of Memnon (Stop lasts  to 15 to 20 minutes) 

• Those two giant statues, 59 feet tall, dedicated to Pharaoh Amenhotep III, have breathtaking shots with them and get to know all the mysteries that surround them!

Lunchtime (It takes maximum 60 minutes.) 

• The Egyptian food experience is calling for you again to have a dish you cannot forget its delicacy.

Karnak Temple (2 hour visit);

• Welcome to the largest temple in ancient Egypt that was built by more than 100 kings and queens dating back to 1500 BC, while its latest artifacts date back to 30 BC. 
• Stroll through the world’s largest hypostyle hall with 134 columns; it was built for 66 years by Amenemhat III, Seti I, and Ramesses II.
• See the largest Obelisk in the globe dedicated to Hatshepsut.
• Cross through the Holy of Holies, the Holy Lake, the Temple of Ptah, the Open-Air Museum, where you can see the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut, the White Chapel of Senusret I, and the pharaonic Karnak botanical garden.
• Meet the largest scarab found in Egypt for luck as per the ancient Egyptians beliefs. 
• Other monuments, including Pylons, Shrines, Obelisks, Sanctuaries, Sacred Lake, and more, wait for you. See the vivid inscriptions of ancient Egypt in this complete pharaonic world. 

Arrive at the Luxor train station to take a sleeper train, the train of your childhood dreams, going back to Cairo. Inside your clean cabin, have your dinner.

Meals; 

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

A Day Tour to Cairo Citadel, Alabaster Mosque, and Khan El Khalili

Arrive at Cairo station in around 8:40 am, after taking a breakfast meal on the train board. 

Cairo Citadel (1.5–2 hours)

• Arrive at the glory of the Middle Ages in the Saladin Citadel, built in 1167 AD, at the highest point in Cairo, and was the royal throne seat for 600 years. 
• Meet this citadel’s jewel, the Alabaster Mosque, with its rich decorations.
• Go up to the Panorama, seeing the full view of Cairo, and taking breathtaking shots. 

Lunchtime (Lasts from 45 minutes to 1 hour); 

• In a local restaurant, taste one of the most delicacy Egyptian meals. 

Khan El Khalili  (1.5–2 hours)

• Launch on the Fatimid and Mamluk eras in Khan El Khalili. Spend free time with hundred-aged shopping from lined small shops; the atmosphere is the same since the historical times.

By the AC modern vehicle, arrive at the hotel in Cairo for check-in. A restful night in the hotel. 

Breakfast at the hotel.

Free time to final departure time.

Meals:

breakfast