Tailor Made - Egypt Extraordinaire

Welcome to buzzing metropolis that is modern day Cairo, sat on the banks of the Nile for over 1000’s of years this exciting capital city has offered all a tourist could ask for and more, ancient monuments, cool culture and great food mixed with the magnetitic bustle of life. Pick up from the airport by your English-speaking guide and transfer to the Hotel in a luxury A/C vehicle. On the way to your hotel get a glimpse of the adventures to come. During the ride, your guide will give you all the information about the coming day´s tours. Check into hotel and overnight.

Breakfast in the hotel and pick up by your guide to visit one of the remaining Seven Wonders of the World, the ancient Pyramids of Giza with their guardian the Sphinx. These amazing structures, each dedicated to a different Pharoah are a testament to how rich and important the Egyptian Civilization was 4000 years ago.The Egyptian pharaohs hoped to become gods in the afterlife. In order to prepare for this they constructed temples to the gods and huge pyramidal tombs for themselves, filled with everything each ruler would need to guide and sustain him in the afterlife. Continue the visit to the famous Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh, which before the 19th century spent thousands of years buried in the sand with only its head visible. It was probably the sentinel of the funerary complex of the pharaoh Kefren. This essential visit is fundamental to understanding the Egyptian civilisation. Lunch in a restaurant with direct visit to the pyramids. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Overnight.

Breakfast in the hotel before the appointed time pick up for transfer to the airport to take the flight to Luxor which was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom. Arrival, reception by our local staff and visit the Temple of Karnak, the greatest monument of the Pharaonic culture, great sanctuary of Amun that over more than two millennials, the pharaohs embellished this place as the main centre of worship of Egypt, dedicated to the great god of the new empire. On the way back to the ship you will also visit the Temple of Luxor, starting with the Avenue of the Sphinxes. This avenue, or dromos, was almost 3 km long, about 70 m wide and linked the two most important temples of ancient Thebes: Luxor and Karnak. Once flanked by 1,400 sphinxes, half man, half lion and a processional path, we enter the Temple dedicated to Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonu, which was built mainly during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom, initiated by orders of Amenophis III (or Amenhotep III), was completed in its original form during the rule of Ramses II, around 1250 B.C. Finally transfer to the transept. You will enjoy lunch served buffet style. Check into the cruise and afternoon free. Dinner served on board. Overnight.

Full board. Possibility to take part in a hot air balloon excursion to fly over the temples at sunrise. Breakfast on the cruise ship. Today we will travel across the river to the city of Luxor where the famous Valley of the Kings is located. For the Egyptians, the sun disappeared every evening in the West symbolising death and rose every morning in the East symbolising life and resurrection. This is why the necropolis and funerary temples were always located on the west bank, here we visit the Valley of the Kings, where Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, continuing through the valley we will visit the Temple of the only female pharaoh of Egypt- The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and then to the Colossi of Memnon, guardians of the tomb of King Amenhotep III. Transfer back to the cruise ship and lunch served onboard.  This afternoon we will start sailing south towards the equator, so take a seat on deck and watch the Nile flow by, over 80% of the population lives on the banks of this river of life and it provides the lush backdrop of the desert, giving food, water and life to many Egyptians. 
Arrive at the Esna lock, where you can watch the boats pass from one side of the Nile to the other. 
Dinner and overnight onboard. 

Full board. Disembark at Edfu and transfer to the temple dating back to the Hellenistic period, when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. The temple of Horus or the Falcon God, at Edfu, is the second largest after Karnak and is considered one of the best preserved. It was completed in 57 BC by Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, the father of the mythical Cleopatra. Dedicated to the falcon-headed god, its walls are decorated with hieroglyphs that tell the legend of the battle between the gods Horus and Set. Return to the ship and continue sailing south. Lunch served on board. Arrival at Kom Ombo and visit of the Temple particularly strange because it is double, dedicated at the same time to the god Haroeris, with the head of a sparrow hawk, and to the god Sobeck, with the head of a crocodile, it is completely symmetrical. It has two entrances, two hypostyle halls - covered by columns - and two sanctuaries. It also has a curious museum dedicated to crocodiles, a space that exhibits mummies of these animals that were found around the city. Continue to Aswan. Dinner and overnight.

Full board. Visit by plane to the Abu Simbel Temples. They are carved into the cliff of the western desert by the mythical Pharaoh Ramses II who ruled for over 60 years as one of Egypt's greatest builders. The major temple of Ramses II and the one dedicated to his great royal wife, the beautiful Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel built to celebrate his victory at the Battala of Kadesh symbolise the power of the Pharaoh with its four gigantic colossi presiding over the façade representing Ramses II enthroned and deified, and conveying to every visitor an overwhelming sense of dominance and splendour. Return by plane to Aswan. In the afternoon a typically English rite of passage but in a unique location here at the Old Cataract Hotel, immortalised by Agatha Christie this luxurious hotel perched on a pink granite cliff overlooking Elephantine Island on the banks of the Nile in Aswan is the perfect setting for a traditional tea service with scones, strawberries and cream, gourmet sandwiches and tasty snacks surrounded by luxury. Return to the cruise ship Dinner and overnight on board.

Breakfast on board. At the agreed time, transfer to Aswan airport, check in and departure for your flight to Cairo. Arrival, reception by our staff and transfer by luxury car to the hotel. Rest of the day at disposal for a visit to the Alabaster Mosque located in the Saladin Citadel, in the heart of Cairo, which was the residence of the rulers of Egypt for more than 700 years. Today it is an enclosure with museums, mosques and viewpoints that gives the best views of the capital. Overnight.

Breakfast and visit the NMEC, museum of civilizations. Here you will see the full range of the richness and diversity of Egyptian civilization through the ages from prehistoric times, through the Pharaonic period to the Islamic period. Wander through the Hall of the Royal Mummies. The ancient Pharaohs believed that if they preserved their bodies they would preserve their souls as well. Here you will see 18 of the most important kings and queens of the Middle Kingdom, builders of the great Egyptian civilisation. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and in the morning visit the Museum of Egyptian Art, the richest and oldest museum of Egyptian antiquities in the world (more than 120 years old) Relevant not only for the quantity of objects exhibited but also for the quality of some of its examples that allows us to appreciate more than 4000 years of history, culture and art of this ancient civilization. At the end of the tour there will be time to visit the renowned treasure of the Pharaoh Prince Tutankhamun. The grave goods that Howard Carter found in 1922 in the famous tomb of the Valley of the Kings contained everything necessary to guarantee the Pharaoh a peaceful and safe life in the Afterlife. After the visit we moved to the famous Naguib Mahfouz café for lunch. Tucked away in the mysterious labyrinth of the Khan el Khalili Bazaar, this stunning historic café is a welcome respite from the crowds. Opened in 1989, it is a tribute to the famous Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. Today it is run by the luxurious Oberoi hotel group, but its elegant Arabesque setting will transport you back to the days of old Cairo. Afternoon at leisure.

Breakfast at the hotel . At the agreed time, transfer with assistance to Cairo International Airport. Boarding formalities and departure by scheduled flight. End of our services.