King Tut Dive – 10 Days (Cairo – Nile cruise & Sharm El-Shekh)

Breakfast comes first, and then a friendly Egyptologist with expert knowledge accompanies you on your discovery of Cairo. Heading out to the Giza Plateau, you visit the last surviving wonder among the seven of the ancient world. The pyramids of the pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus, raised from colossal stone blocks, are among the most impressive structures people have ever made. Near them crouches the Sphinx, its lion’s body topped with the face of Chephren, keeping guard over the land of the pharaohs.

From Giza you move on to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Its halls hold over 250,000 pieces of art that span 5,000 years, and the most celebrated display is the treasure of Tutankhamun, including his solid gold mask. The day ends with a transfer to Cairo railway station, where you board an overnight sleeper train bound for Aswan.

Sleeper train travel can be swapped for a domestic flight on request if you want a more comfortable trip.

On reaching Aswan, you are greeted at the railway station and driven to your Nile cruise to board. The tour then takes you to the High Dam, a world-renowned engineering project dating from 1960, which gives the entire country electricity and water for irrigation.

From there, a short boat trip brings you to Agilika Island to explore Philae Temple. Dedicated to Isis, it contains a variety of shrines and sanctuaries. You go back to the cruise afterwards for lunch on board, and the evening meal is an international buffet.

The day begins with breakfast and a tour of Kom Ombo Temple, which is divided into two halves for two gods. On the right is the sanctuary of Sobek, god of crocodiles; on the left, that of Horus the Great, the sun god of war. Lunch follows back on board the cruise.

Later you visit the temple at Edfu, consecrated to Horus and regarded as the most complete temple surviving from the ancient world. The evening meal is a continental buffet.

Once breakfast is over, you transfer to your cruise for boarding. A tour of the Nile’s East Bank follows, taking in Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. In antiquity a road of ram-headed sphinxes ran between the two, and their scale supports Luxor’s standing as the world’s largest open-air museum, as well as one of its great archaeological sites.

After the visit you rejoin the ship and have lunch, then enjoy free time to discover the city of Luxor and its markets at your own pace.

Your Nile cruise ends after breakfast with disembarkation, and you head out to the West Bank. First comes the Valley of the Kings, with its complex of tombs prepared for pharaohs from Thutmose I onward. The tour continues to the Temple of Hatshepsut and then to the Colossi of Memnon, two massive stone figures.

From there you head to Luxor airport for your flight to Sharm El Sheikh, the Red Sea’s most famous resort and an international hub for water sports. On arrival, you are escorted to your hotel.

Once you have had breakfast, the day is at leisure. Choose from water sports like windsurfing, sailing and deep-sea fishing, or stay by the sea with your family to enjoy the sun and the warmth of the water.

After breakfast, you check out and enjoy a free day to discover Sharm El Sheikh. You then go to the Sharm bus station for the trip back to Cairo. When you reach Cairo, an air-conditioned vehicle drives you to your hotel.

Your tour ends with breakfast and a transfer to the airport.