Grand tour of Egypt

Today, you have a day at leisure to relax and enjoy the Ritz-Carlton’s facilities. If you are jet-lagged, we suggest taking the day to catch up on sleep and chill. If you want to get out and about and explore Cairo, you could head next door to the old Egyptian Museum, which houses over 160,000 artefacts from across the ages. However, the museum is quite disorganised, so we recommend booking one of our highly qualified local guides through your specialist.

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, the National Museum, and the 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 return to Cairo today with your private driver. The rest of the day is yours to spend at leisure. You may prefer to spend some time relaxing at your hotel. Alternatively, you could book a guided half-day tour for the afternoon. If you are interested in sampling local Cairene cuisine, ask your specialist to organise a food tour for you which takes you to various food outlets and restaurants in downtown Cairo, introducing you to classic and less well-known Egyptian foods, including Ta’amiya, ful, and kosheri.

This morning, you will be collected from your hotel for a full-day, privately guided tour of the pyramids at Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur. 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 tour of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation with your private guide plus a visit to the ancient citadel. Its hilltop location offers wonderful views over the city. You also explore the impressive Mohammed Ali Mosque and the labyrinthine souqs of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.

Today, you have a privately guided half-day tour exploring the intricacies of old Cairo and its Coptic history. This is the area of Cairo where Copts 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 private driver collects you early in the morning and escorts you to Cairo International Airport for your flight onwards. After your short flight to Luxor, you have a privately guided tour of Luxor Museum, where many of the exhibits are from the temples and tombs of the Theban area. You spend the rest of the day at your hotel relaxing or independently exploring Luxor if you would prefer.

This morning you board your luxury Nile cruise boat and settle into your room. 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 to take afternoon tea in the lounge, before having canapés and welcome drinks before dinner.

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 will be served on board as the boat sails on to Esna lock, where it docks overnight.

In the morning, have breakfast on board before your visit to Edfu Temple. Afterwards, return to the boat for lunch as you cruise on to Kom Ombo. You visit the temple here, which is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. You then sail on to Aswan, your final stop, where you will spend the next few nights of your trip.

Start the day with a short motorboat ride to Philae Temple, located on a small island in the Nile. Next, you will continue on to the Unfinished Obelisk, before you take a traditional sailboat ride on a 'felucca'. You ride in this small, wooden sailing boat ride around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum. Return to the boat for your final evening. The crew will host a superb gala dinner for your last night on board.

Today you disembark your Nile cruise boat and visit the temples of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. After a short flight down to Lake Nasser, you will be met and transferred to the archaeological site with your guide, who will explain the history of the monuments, before you enter the temples themselves. After flying back to Aswan, you have the afternoon at leisure to relax or explore Aswan's souqs.

Enjoy a leisurely morning at the iconic Old Cataract Hotel before you are collected and driven to Aswan Airport for your onward flight. After a short flight up to Cairo, you will be met by your private driver and a local representative, who will drive 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. Your return flight will arrive the same day.