Splendours of the Nile

Tour description

Combining the pyramids, sphinx and Egyptian Museum in Cairo with a luxury Nile Cruise is one of the world's classic holidays, and one of our most popular. You will see and learn about some fascinating ancient history while enjoying some of Cairo's very best hotels and watching rural Egyptian life pass by as you sail up-river on a 5-star deluxe level cruise boat.

We begin in Cairo with an introduction to Egyptian Pharaonic history at the pyramids and Sphinx at Gisa. In the afternoon we explore the huge Egyptian Museum with its famous Tutankhamun exhibit, and vast collection of statues and artefacts.

The tour starts in Cairo by staying in the famous Oberoi Mena House hotel, located right at the foot of the pyramids for a truly memorable opening to your holiday.

We leave Cairo on the overnight sleeper train (flight upgrades available) and head south to Luxor, commonly described as the world's largest open air museum. Arriving early in the morning, we board our luxury Nile cruise boat for breakfast, before visiting the huge temple complex at Karnak. We return to the boat for lunch and to check in, and the afternoon is free to explore Luxor's markets, or perhaps visit the Mummification Museum. In the evening we visit Luxor temple in the centre of town when it is beautifully lit up.

 We start early the next morning to explore the West Bank of the Nile before the big crowds and the extreme heat of the middle of the day arrive. Our tours here take in the Valley of the Kings, where many Pharaohs were buried, the unique temple to Queen Hatchepsut, and also the less visited Medinat Habu temple which has some of Egypt's deepest carved hieroglyphs and colourful wall paintings, really giving a sense of how these temples used to look at their peak. Our final stop is at the Colossi of Memnon before we head back to the cruise boat.

The cruise boat then departs and heads south, up-river and through the locks on the Nile at Esna, before arriving at Edfu where we overnight.
After visiting Edfu temple, we sail further up-river, stopping at Komombo, before reaching the laid-back town of Aswan, which sits beside the cascading waters of the Nile.

Here you can relax and watch myriad feluccas sail lazily around the many small islands or experience traditional Egyptian life with a stroll along the mazy streets of the town’s colourful bazaar.

Our tours in Aswan include a boat trip to the lovely island Philae temple, the Aswan Dam, and a felucca sailboat trip on the river to some of the islands. You can also take the opportunity to visit the temples to Ramses II at Abu Simbel, which were dismantled and rebuilt when Lake Nasser was flooded.

From Aswan you return to Cairo by air and our last tour takes in the Citadel with great views over the city, several beautiful mosques, the ancient churches of Coptic Cairo, and the bustling Khan-el-Khalili bazaar. Your tour ends in Cairo with a transfer to the airport for your flight home.

You can extend the tour if you wish to add a day trip to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, or to visit the spectacular desert scenery at Wadi Rayan and Wadi Hitan just outside Fayoum, near Cairo. This tour includes the 'Valley of the Whales' World Heritage Site where ancient whale fossils are found and displayed on the sand.

Extended versions of this tour are available to visit the Red Sea (Egypt Experience), or to head into Jordan (Classic Egypt & Jordan).