Grand tour of Egypt

This morning, you will be collected from your hotel for a full-day, privately guided tour of the pyramids at Giza, Saqqara, and Dahshur. You will visit the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, one of the earliest examples of pyramid architecture, before working your way back to Cairo, visiting the stepped pyramid of Saqqara and the behemoths at Giza.

Today's activities include a private tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and Old Cairo. Your expert guide will bring to life the dizzying array of artifacts at both these museums which tell the story of Egypt across the ages. Old Cairo is the area where Coptic Christians first built their churches for protection. There are still tens of thousands of Copts in Egypt, many of whom live in Old Cairo. Your tour includes spending time visiting the backstreets of Coptic Cairo and the ingenuous Hanging Church.

Your final full day in Cairo will allow you to experience a different flavour to the city. You join a specialist local guide for a half-day food tour across downtown Cairo. This will introduce you to various food outlets and restaurants and take you on a culinary journey from the classic foods such as kosheri and ful, to the less well-known Egyptian foods like molokhiya. The rest of the day you will spend at leisure.

Spend the morning at leisure at your hotel. In the early afternoon, you are met by your private driver who will transfer you north out of Cairo and on to Alexandria. The drive takes around three hours, depending on Cairo’s notorious traffic. Spend the evening acquainting yourselves with Alexandria and your hotel, The Four Seasons. You might like to take a walk along the corniche or along San Stifanu Beach close to your hotel.

Today, you have a full-day, privately guided tour of the major sites in Alexandria, a city once a thriving metropolis and an interesting blend of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures. Your tour includes Pompey's Pillar, the Catacombs, and the National Museum and Alexandria Library, which gives you an interesting overview of the city’s long and complex past as your guide explains what makes Alexandria so significant to Egypt’s history.

You are collected early in the morning by your private driver and driven to Cairo International Airport for your short flight down to Luxor. On arrival, you are met by a local representative and driven to your hotel. You spend the rest of the day relaxing, or independently exploring Luxor if you prefer.

This morning you board your luxury dahabiya cruise, a small, traditional boat which sails down the Nile at a slower pace than the bigger boats. After lunch, you join your small tour group for a visit to the East Bank, where you visit the temples of Karnak and Luxor. Karnak Temple is particularly impressive and boasts 134 giant sandstone columns designed in the form of papyrus stalks. You then return to the boat for dinner as the sun sets on the start of your Nile voyage.

After breakfast, join your small group again to visit the West Bank and explore the picturesque tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, as well as the modernist-looking temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Enter the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and marvel at the intricate and well-preserved hieroglyphics which date back thousands of years. Lunch and dinner will be served on board, and you will dock in Dendera overnight.

In the morning, have breakfast on board before you visit the Temple of Dendera, one of the lesser-visited temples in the Nile Valley. The temple dates back to the Old Kingdom and is dedicated to the worship of Hathor. The rooftop of the temple is intact, making it almost unique among Egyptian temples. After, return to the boat for lunch on board before sailing towards Esna. There, you will have dinner on board and moor overnight.

This morning, you visit the Temple of Khnum at Esna, which is dedicated to the ram-headed creator god. Excavations at the temple in the 1840s revealed the Roman hypostyle hall, featuring 18 columns and capitals decorated with palm leaves, lotus buds, papyrus and bunches of grapes. After your visit, you will have a walking tour of Esna itself. After a barbecue lunch on board, you visit Edfu Temple with your private guide.

Start your fifth day on board with a visit to the ancient quarries of Gebel El Silsila, a rarely visited site used for centuries to construct Egypt's most glorious temples. Return to the boat and sail on to Kombo Ombo and Sobek Temple, which is dedicated to both Sobek (normally represented by a crocodile), and Haroeris, an older manifestation of Horus. After lunch on board, the boat will dock at a small, rural island where you can watch local life on the Nile float by. Here you will have a Nubian-themed, candlelit dinner.

Your final full day on board, you sail on to Aswan and visit the tranquil Philae Temple, Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. After your excursion, you will return to Gaia for lunch on board and a special farewell dinner.

Today you depart your Nile cruise boat for a spectacular day. After a short flight down to Lake Nasser, you are met and driven to Abu Simbel archaeological site by your guide, who will explain the history of the monuments, before you enter the incredible temples themselves. After touring the temples, you will fly back to Aswan and have the evening at leisure to relax or explore Aswan's souqs independently.

Enjoy the morning at your hotel before you are collected and driven to Aswan Airport for your flight back to Cairo. On arrival, you are met by your private driver and a local representative, who drives you to your airport hotel for your last night in Egypt.

Your private driver will collect you from your hotel and escort you to Cairo International Airport in time for you to check in for your flight home today.