Day 1: Arrival – Cairo
Stylish Holidays representative will be waiting for you at Cairo international airport to meet and assist you upon arrival to Egypt, he will care about your language and will transfer you to your hotel in Cairo for overnight
Day 2: Cairo
After breakfast at hotel in Cairo, we will go today for the expected tour in Cairo, the Great Pyramids of Giza. We will start by Giza Plateau to see the Pyramids of Giza, the most popular monument in the whole world, built by the pharaohs from the period starting from 2590 BC to 2480 BC. You will have the chance to explore the wonders of the Great Pyramid, the largest Pyramid ever constructed in Egypt which was built by King Cheops in 2589 BC, and it is the only remaining item in the list of the Greek Old Seven wonders of the world. And we will discover the beauty of the lion’s body and the human headed sphinx, one of the largest monolith statues in history of mankind.
Later, we will drive for about 20-30 minutes south Giza Plateau to explore two of Egypt’s most important archaeological treasures, first we will visit Sakkara where Egypt’s oldest pyramid is located. Built by Imohotep for king Zoser in the third dynasty, the famous Step Pyramid is well preserved. Our guide will give us a briefing about the site history before getting free time to walk around the Pyramid. Sakkara is part of the necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital for the 1st Dynasty as well as for the 2nd Dynasty. Kings of both ages are mostly buried in Memphis necropolis. Later, we arrive to Memphis to enjoy the open air museum hosting several artifacts of Egypt
At the end of the day we will be transferred back to our hotel for a free evening to relax or go with one of optional tours to explore Cairo by night
Overnight at hotel in Cairo
Day 3: Cairo – Luxor
After breakfast at Cairo hotel, we will check out and head to Cairo airport for our internal flight to Luxor. Upon our arrival to Luxor airport, one of Stylish Holidays representatives in Luxor will meet us and escort us to join our tour guide in Luxor to start our visits. We will start our visits by visiting the Karnak Temple, the largest religious Pharaonic structure ever built in the world. The kings of the Pharaohs staring from the 11th dynasty (2055 – 1985 BC) began adding their mark, one after the other, to this huge complex of Pharaonic temples. The Karnak temple includes the breathtaking hypostyle hall of the god Amun built by Ramses II in 1244 BC, the sacred lake of god Amun, and many more attractions. Later we will the Luxor Temple. Dedicated to the holy Theban triad, the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, it is one of the finest examples of the Pharaonic architecture.
Although the construction work of the temple was mainly completed by Amenhotep III (1390 – 1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279 1213 BC), many kings who came afterwards have added their marks to this great complex including Alexander the Great. The Luxor temple was buried under sand and dust for years until it was discovered in 1881.
After that we will be transferred to our hotel for check in, and in the evening, we will have free time to relax or go with an optional tour in Luxor
We will overnight at hotel in Luxor
Day 4: Luxor – West Bank – Esna – Nekheb – Dahabeya
After early breakfast at hotel, we will check out cross the Nile river to Luxor West bank, and start our exploration by visiting Valley of the kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and Colossi of Memnon
Later, we will be transferred to Esna, where our Dahabeya Nile cruise is waiting for us, we will board our Dahabeya Ship which will take us down the Nile like ancient Egyptians in the most romantic and relaxing atmosphere.
Our first stop will be at The City of Nekheb, this ancient city, which was a flourishing center in the past, hosted the temples to Thoth and Nebket and was very first established during prehistoric times. The city remained, through the Ptolemaic times as an important cult center fort the god Nebket
The Dahabeya will go on sailing to reach one of the small islands located in the Nile to stay there for the night. Today, we will have our first overnight onboard of our Dahabeya
Day 5: Dahabeya sailing – Edfu
After breakfast onboard of Dahabeya, we will reach Edfu, and we will take the horse drawn carriage till we reach the amazing Temple of Horus in Edfu. This temple is the largest and best preserved Ptolemaic temple in Egypt. The building of the temple started during the reign of Ptolemy III in 237 BC and the construction continued until 80 BC. The temple includes wonderfully decorated walls and stone capitals.
Later, we will take the horse drawn carriage back to Nile River Banks, where our Dahabeya is waiting for us
The Dahabeya will start sailing while we enjoy the natural scenery of the river banks
We will overnight onboard of the Dahabeya
Day 6: Dahabeya Sailing – Kom Ombo
We will have breakfast onboard of Dahabeya while smelling the fresh breeze of Nile River and watching the amazing greenery scenes, later we will go to Gebel El Selsela to visit the temple of Horemoheb, the last king of the 18th dynasty who built this temple or chapel dedicated to the god Amun and many other gods who are associated with the Nile like Sobek, Khnum, and Satet. Many other kings from the 19th dynasty completed the ornaments of the chapel.
Our next visit will be the ancient stones quarry where the ancient Egyptians belonging to the New Kingdom got most of the stones they used in erecting their fabulous monuments like the Karnak, Kom Ombo, Dendara, and Edfu.
We continue sailing till we reach Kom Ombo, then we will have a short walking distance till we reach the amazing Temple of Kom Ombo dedicated to two gods; Horus, the falcon god, and Sobek, the crocodile god. This Greco-Roman temple is famous for its matchless location overlooking the Nile. Construction work of the temple started in the 2nd century BC by Ptolemy VI and was completed during the reign of Ptolemy XII during the 1st century AD.
In the evening, we will enjoy a romantic dinner on board of the Dahabeya, while surrounded by breezes of the Nile. Overnight will be onboard of Dahabeya
Day 7: Dahabeya Sailing – Daraw – Koubania
We will have breakfast onboard of Dahabeya and then start visit to Daraw, an amazing town located on the Nile bank and one of the most interesting places to visit during your Dahabeya Cruise trip. Daraw is famous for its many markets especially the camel Market “Souq”
Later we will continue sailing on the Nile till we reach Koubania village, and we will have a great chance to communicate with the Nubian community, and share experience with them, and see their daily lives. Later we will return back to our Dahabeya and overnight
Day 8: Dahabeya Sailing – Aswan
We will have our breakfast onboard of boat while sailing on the Nile, till we reach Aswan afternoon. Then we will disembark from our boat and start Aswan sightseeing by visiting one of the most beautiful temples constructed in Egypt, the Temple of Philae. This fabulous temple dedicated to the goddess Isis was constructed as one of the finest examples of the combined architecture of ancient Egyptians and the Greco-Romans styles. The temple was covered with Nile river water due to construction of High Dam. And it was relocated at Agilika Island by the UNESCO, the project of relocating took 8 years from 1972 to 1980 to be completed
Our next visit will be to the High Dam, built by the former Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s to reserve the Nile Water that was lost every year in the artificial Nasser Lake. The High Dam was viewed as an architectural miracle at the time, also generates a lot of the electricity consumed in Egypt
Later, we will head to see the Unfinished Obelisk, a gigantic granite obelisk dating back to the Pharaohs New Kingdom. This Obelisk supposes to be weighed more than 1197 tons if completed. At this granite quarry we will have a great chance to understand how the ancient Egyptians built these gigantic Obelisks
After that we will be transfer to Aswan airport for a 1.2 hours flight back to Cairo, and upon arrival to Cairo airport, we will be met by Stylish Holidays representative whom will transfer us to our hotel in Cairo for overnight
Day 9: Aswan – Cairo
After breakfast at hotel in Cairo, we will start our Cairo tour today to see the Egyptian Museum. The present Museum building was constructed in 1900 in the neo-classical style by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon. The Museum exhibits collections that now exceed 120,000 objects ranging from the pre-historic era to the Greco-Roman period.
Then we will proceed to visit Citadel of Salah El Din which was constructed by Salah El Din on the Moqattam hills in 1183 AD It was built to defend Cairo from the armies of the Crusaders and to become the center of Salah El Din’s government. Inside the Citadel, you will see Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque.
After that we will be accompanied to the old market in Cairo “Khan El Khalili Bazaar” which was built in 1382 by the Emir Djaharks El Khalili. It is considered to be one of Cairo’s most important shopping areas
Afternoon, we will have free time in Cairo to explore with our own or go with an optional tour to see Sound and Light show at Pyramids
Overnight at hotel in Cairo
Day 10: Cairo – Final Departure
Breakfast at hotel, and then we will be transferred to Cairo airport for final departure
Notes
Sailing schedule is subject to change without prior notice due to navigational circumstances, but all sites will be maintained