Ancient Egyptian Kingdoms Tour

Ancient Egypt has fascinated travelers for centuries. The burial pyramids of the Old Kingdom to the temples and tombs of the New Kingdom in places such as Luxor and the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, offers tantalizing opportunities to study anthropology.   


Today you will arrive in Cairo, and be taken to your hotel in the city center.  You will meet your guide, who will take you on an afternoon excursion south of the city to see the first pyramid built in the Old Kingdom, the so-called Step Pyramid In Saqqara.  You will also see the ruins of the Old Kingdom capital of Memphis, and the huge statue of Ramses II in its museum.


Start your morning with a tour of the awe-inspiring Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza. Learn about the pharaohs who had the three pyramids built as burial chambers, then marvel at the Sphinx and its history, including when Napoleon’s army used it for target practice and blew off its nose.  


Following your excursion to Giza, venture into the heart of Cairo for a city tour, including a visit to the incredible Egyptian Museum. The main attractions here are treasures from King Tut’s tomb, and the Mummy Room featuring a who’s-who of Egyptian pharaohs.  Sights of interest on your tour include the Salah El-Din Citadel, with its sweeping views over the city, the Al-Azhar, Sultan Hassan or Ibn Tulun Mosques and the bustling Khan El-Khalili market.


This evening, consider an atmospheric felucca ride on the Nile, then dinner at your hotel.

Head to the airport for a flight to Aswan. From here you’ll be taken to your boat to begin a four-day, three-night cruise of the Nile.  The slow pace of the cruise boat, stopping at temples along the way, let’s you ease back in time. Many of the sights you’ll see are unchanged over centuries, be it local boys riding their donkeys to date harvesting to women washing their clothes along the riverbank.    


You will embark on your ship in time for lunch, and visit several highlights of Aswan, including the Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk that remains in the place where it was being carved due to cracks that appeared, and the Temple of Philae, which was moved in its entirety after the flooding of Lake Nasser when the Aswan High Dam was built.


Take advantage of the early morning optional excursion to Abu Simbel, where you will see truly monumental sculptures cut into the rock of Pharaoh Ramses II and his Queen Nefertari. The temple complex was also moved due to the flooding when Lake Nasser was created.  


Lunch is served on board the cruise as you sail to Kom Ombo. There you will visit the Temple of Kom-Ombo, a double temple dedicated in one section to the crocodile god Sobek and in the other to the falcon god Horus.


This evening, sail to Edfu with dinner and entertainment on board.

You’ll have breakfast on board the cruise, followed by a visit to the Temple of Edfu by horse carriage.  
This huge temple in Edfu is dedicated to Horus, the Falcon God. 


Sail through the lock at Esna, and continue sailing to Luxor, with lunch served on board.  


As you arrive at Luxor, you will be able to tour two of the most impressive temples in Egypt, Karnak and Luxor.  Karnak has a forest of carved pillars you can play hide and seek amongst, as well as obelisks and pharaonic monuments.


Luxor Temple features two enormous seated figures of Ramses II, while the temple was dedicated to Egyptian gods. There is a chance to return tonight for a sound and light show at Karnak Temple, dramatizing the history of the site. 


Have one last breakfast aboard your ship, then disembark for an amazing day of exploration. You’ll get an early start to avoid the day’s heat as you cross the Nile to visit the West Bank to see the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut’s tomb, then the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut n the Valley of the Queens, whose dramatic setting has served as the backdrop for opera performances such as Aida.  As you visit some of the king’s tombs, you’ll be amazed by the bright colors of the hieroglyphics on the walls.


Fly back from Luxor to Cairo and enjoy one last dinner with your tour group prior to turning in tonight at your hotel.

After breakfast, head to the Cairo airport for your flight home, having learned and experienced so much from your travel abroad about the Egyptian kingdoms that built such impressive memorials around Cairo, Giza and along the Nile River.