Egypt Overland Group Tour

Arrival in Cairo Welcome to Egypt Tours. The excitement of exploring the best of Egypt starts here. Upon your arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met by your host, who will then transfer you to your hotel in Cairo. The remainder of the day will be spent relaxing and acclimating. Dinner and accommodation will be at your hotel.

Guided tour to Giza and Sakkara After a sumptuous breakfast in your hotel, you will meet your local guide, who will take you on a pyramid tour, visiting Giza, Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, Valley Temple, and the Sphinx. You will have lunch at a local restaurant. Not far away lies the Necropolis of Saqqara, where the ruins of the Step Pyramid of King Zoser are. This pyramid is considered to be the first pyramid ever built. You will be offered dinner at the end of the tour in a seafood restaurant overlooking the Nile River. Welcome to Egypt's history and excitement on your first day tour.

Old Cairo cultural tour Meet your guide at the lobby of your hotel, who will take you on a cultural and historical tour of Cairo. You will explore Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets, by starting the tour with Al Derb Al Ahmar, the area south of Cairo's city walls, between the Gate of Bab Zuweila and the Citadel, which was initially the necropolis site of the dynasties of the Fatimid and Ayyubid eras. Under the prosperous reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (1293-1341), Cairo's population reached its peak, and the metropolis began to develop in earnest. Later, you will visit the Salah El Din Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali, and then proceed to the Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa, which represent a unique Islamic style of architecture. Proceed to the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, considered the third largest mosque built in Egypt. It is characterized by its spacious courtyard, unique spiral minaret, and an extensive collection of gypsum and stucco ornamentations.

Travel to El Fayyoum and El Minya Today, we will travel overland from Cairo to Fayoum early in the morning, approximately 40 miles away. You will visit Lake Qaroun on your way, then proceed to the National Park of Wadi Rayan, where you will see the Waterfalls, Gabal Al Modawara, and the Walees Cemetery. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the vicinity. Later, you will head to El Minya, and upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for dinner and accommodation. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Sightseeing tour of El Minya Another exciting day in your Egyptian cultural tour. After breakfast, your guide will be ready to take a historical tour of Minya. You will visit the cemetery of Tuna El Gabal, which features several notable elements, including the burial ground of baboons and Ibises that represent the God Thoth, the tomb of Isadora, the tomb of the priest Pet-Osiers, the old water wheel, and the boundary stele of the city of Aton. Your discovery will continue to Al Ashmunien, the ancient city of Hermopolis, where you will visit the open museum featuring the two colossal baboon statues and the ruins of the basilica church, complete with its Rose granite columns. Later, you will see the site of Beni Hasan on the eastern bank of the Nile. There, you will visit the unique rock-cut tombs featuring scenes that depict local and regional life during the Middle Kingdom. Many of these have scenes of wrestling and military training.

Travel to Amarna, Assiut and Abydos After breakfast, you will travel to Tell Al Amarna, the capital of Akhnaton, where you will explore the city, the northern and the southern tombs. Visit unique landscapes featuring ruins and temples, and be sure to see the royal tomb. Then, you will travel overland to Assiut city to visit Al Muharraq Monastery, 48 kilometres north of Assiut. Continue your quest to Meir Village, which served as the burial ground for Cusae, about forty miles north of the city of Assiut. Meir functioned as an Old Kingdom-Middle Kingdom (6th-12th Dynasty) cemetery for the nomarchs of the fourteenth Nome of Upper Egypt. Its eastern hillside was the burial site of ordinary people and common folks. The rock-cut tombs were reserved for nomarchs of Cusae, a cult center dedicated to the Egyptian deity Hathor. You will travel overland to Abydos in the afternoon for dinner and accommodation. Enjoy cultural and ancient history encounters on this day of your Egypt Tour.

Explore Abydos, Dandara and Luxor Today is the highlight of your Egypt Tour. You will visit Fortress Shonet El Zebeeb, the first building in the history of the Abydos Dynasty. You will also visit the Temple of King Seti I. This is considered by far the most beautiful Temple in Egypt. The Temple was built by Seti I and then completed by his son Ramesses II. It contains the best-colored high Reliefs in Egypt, including the Abydos Kings List, which demonstrates the cartouche names of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt, from the first, Narmer or Menes, to Ramses himself. We will take a break for lunch, then continue our historical discovery tour in the afternoon, visiting the Dandara temples. Here, you will discover one fascinating Temple, that of Hathor, the Goddess of love, music, and the performing arts. You will explore the Temple's various departments, including the decorated ceiling with beautiful, colored astronomical drawings, the Egyptian Zodiac replica, and the crypts of the God-Kings. Later, you will go overland to the legendary city of Luxor.

Discover Luxor and Start your Nile Cruise Your Nile cruise starts today after visiting Luxor. We will take an overland trip to the Dahabiya Vessel to embark from Luxor West Bank at noon. A sumptuous lunch will be on your cruise. Go to the East Bank, where you will visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak. Enjoy a delicious dinner at Luxor West Bank.

Discover Luxor West Bank After breakfast, we will depart to visit the Luxor West Bank to explore its historic highlights. We will start our cruise towards EL Batekh. Enjoy lunch while sailing to El Batekh Island around 1:00 PM. Continue to sail along the Nile and enjoy the Nile cruise for the remainder of the afternoon to reach El Batekh Island, where you will have dinner and accommodation.

Explore Esna and El Kab Village Enjoy your Nile cruise. Spend an early morning crossing Esna lock and having breakfast on board. Later, we will stop to visit Esna Temple, then hop back on your Felucca to sail to EL Kab Village, where you will have lunch, savoring local Egyptian cuisine. Your afternoon will be devoted to exploring the marvels of EL Kab Village. Dinner and accommodation will be on board your Nile cruise.

Visit to El Kab Temple and Edfu Wake up to a sumptuous breakfast on board, then prepare for a guided tour of the El Kab Temple. Return to your Felucca cruise and sail to Edfu, where you will be served lunch. Your local guide will take you on a historic tour exploring the Edfu Temple. Dinner and accommodation will be on board.

Exploring Jebel El Silsila Our sail will take us today to Gebel El-Silsila. We will reach there around lunchtime. We will take a break and walk to our restaurant to stretch our legs, then prepare for a historical tour of Gebel el. Silsila. Our dinner will consist of a special BBQ on board, enjoying the stillness of the Egyptian nights on the Nile.

Explore Kom Ombo and Herdiab Island You will wake up to a gourmet breakfast in your Felouka while sailing to Kom Ombo. An archaeology guide will take you on a visit to the Kom Ombo Temple. In the afternoon, we will sail to Herdibad Island. Your afternoon will be spent leisurely enjoying the sandy beach of Herdibad Island. You can also enjoy the natural setting by hiking the nearby dunes. Dinner will be on board.

Visiting Aswan Historic Highlights Your last day will take you to Aswan. We will embark on excursions to the city's best historical highlights, stopping for lunch at a typical Egyptian restaurant. Farewell dinner will be on board.

Flight from Aswan to Cairo Congratulations on discovering the best of Egypt on this cultural and historical tour. Enjoy breakfast on board, disembark, and transfer to Aswan Airport for your flight to Cairo, where you will take your flight home.