This 12 day Egypt tour follows the classic route — the Pyramids, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor and the Red Sea — but travels the Nile the older way. Instead of a cruise ship, you spend two nights aboard a traditional felucca, the wooden sailing boat that has carried people and cargo along the river for thousands of years. No engine hum and no crowds: just the sail, the water and the villages sliding past.
You begin with three full days around Cairo. The Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx, then the Grand Egyptian Museum with the complete Tutankhamun collection. A day in Alexandria for the Catacombs of Kom El-Shoqafa and the Citadel of Qaitbay. Then Coptic Cairo, the Citadel of Saladin and Khan El-Khalili, before you board the overnight sleeper train south, so the journey to Aswan costs you no sightseeing time.
In Aswan you visit Philae Temple on Agilkia Island and board your felucca. Two nights on the river bring you downstream past sandbanks and palm-lined banks. Step ashore and continue by road to the temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu, the best-preserved temple in Egypt, before a night in Luxor. Day eight gives you the Valley of the Kings and Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, and by evening you are in Hurghada for three all-inclusive nights on the Red Sea.
It suits travellers who want the full sweep of Egypt for less than a cruise-ship tour, and who would rather sleep under the stars than in a cabin. Small group, maximum 16, with 25 meals, the sleeper train, the flight from Hurghada back to Cairo, entrance fees and all transfers included, from $1,550 per person.
Prefer a cabin to a felucca deck? The 12 day Egypt tour with Nile cruise follows the same route with three nights on a cruise ship and a flight to Aswan instead of the sleeper train, and the 12 Day Luxury Trip to Egypt does it privately with luxury hotels and ships.
Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, you will meet and assist by our representative of “Egypt Best Vacations” who will help you through the arrival and visa regulations. Transfer to your hotel and the beginning of your 12-day Egypt tour to Pyramids, Nile felucca & Red Sea Odyssey.
Meals Plan: No Meals Included
Your guide collects you after breakfast for the Giza Plateau. You stand at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, then see the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure and the panoramic viewpoint where all three line up against the desert. Below them, the Great Sphinx guards the causeway to Khafre’s Valley Temple, built from granite blocks brought down the Nile from Aswan.
In the afternoon you cross to the Grand Egyptian Museum. The colossal statue of Ramesses II greets you in the atrium, the Grand Staircase climbs past kings and gods toward the windows that frame the pyramids, and the Tutankhamun galleries display the young king’s complete burial treasure together, from the golden mask to his chariots. Return to your Cairo hotel for the evening.
Meals Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Today, your 12-day Egypt itinerary takes you to the beautiful City of Alexandria. Your tour includes the famous Roman Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. The catacombs are huge Egyptian tombs and royal cemeteries with Ptolemaic and Roman influences. The catacombs of Kom El-Shoqafa are one the largest Roman burial sites not just in Alexandria but in Egypt. These catacombs started as a private tomb for a wealthy family, then became a public cemetery. The catacombs house more than 300 tombs.
From the catacombs to the Pompey’s Pillar. Many of the ancient historians did not tell us more details about the “Pompey’s Pillar” but about the buildings that stood nearby and have disappeared now. The hill on which the pillar is erected was covered with temples and houses a long time before the Roman era. It was the place of the Citadel of Rhakotis. A temple was dedicated to Osiris-Serapis was built on the mountain.
Then proceed to the Citadel of Qaitbay. The Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria is one of the most important fortifications in Egypt. It was constructed by Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay to defend Egypt against the Ottomans/Turks. End your tour in Alexandria with visiting the Library of Alexandria. It stands as a modern tribute to Alexandria’s famous role in the history of learning. Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant, then travel back to Cairo.
Meals Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
This morning explores Old Cairo, where Christian and Jewish communities lived inside the walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon. You visit the Hanging Church, built over the fortress gatehouse, the Church of Abu Serga, where tradition says the Holy Family sheltered, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Next comes the Citadel of Saladin, founded in 1176, and the Alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali, whose domes and minarets dominate the Cairo skyline. End the day in Khan El-Khalili, the medieval bazaar, with time to browse for spices, lanterns and silver before an early dinner.
In the evening you transfer to the station and board the overnight sleeper train to Aswan. Dinner is served in your cabin, and you wake up in Upper Egypt.
Meals Plan: Breakfast at the hotel & Dinner on the train
An extraordinary felucca cruise adventure awaits! You’re going to spend the next night of your 12 days in Egypt tour on board a Felucca River cruise. Meet your guide at Aswan Railway to commence your Aswan tour.
Explore the wonders of the beautiful City of Aswan such as the High Dam, the largest day was built in 1960s. This dam was built to protect Egypt against floods and to generate hydropower. Then, proceed to the beautiful Temple of Isis at Philae Island. Philae Temple was built primarily during the Ptolemaic period and is one of the most incredible temples in Egypt. It was due to the construction of the two dams in Aswan that UNESCO had to relocate the temple. End your Aswan tour at the granite quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk. Learn how the ancient Egyptians fashioned their obelisks and statues of gods and kings. Then, board your Felucca Nile cruise. Enjoy the Nile landscape in Aswan while cruising.
Meals Plan: Breakfast on the train, Lunch & Dinner on the felucca
Breakfast then, set sail from Aswan to Daraw. Visit its famous Camel Market (every Saturday and Sunday). Daraw has one of the largest camel markets in Egypt. Most of the camels come in caravans from Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan along the Darb Al Arba’een (Forty Days Rd) to just north of Abu Simbel before being trucked to Daraw. It is a picturesque sight and fascinating to see the trading; sometimes there are as many as 2000 camels. Visiting the Camel Market adds a great value to your Cairo Alexandria Aswan Luxor Hurghada tour. Then, set sail from Daraw toward Kom Ombo.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast on board you step ashore and drive the short distance to Kom Ombo, the unusual double temple shared by the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus the Elder, with its small Crocodile Museum of mummified crocodiles. Continue north to Edfu and the Temple of Horus, built by the Ptolemies between 237 and 57 BC and the most completely preserved temple in Egypt, with its roof, pylon and sanctuary still standing.
You reach Luxor in the afternoon and head straight to Luxor temple with its majestic columns. Check in to your Luxor hotel for the night.
Meals Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Visit the magnificent tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Here, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period were buried to be hidden from the tomb robbers. Your guide will recommend the best three tombs to visit. Then, proceed to the unique Temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt for about 20 yeas as a sole pharaoh. Its grand terraces, elegant design, and dramatic setting against the cliffs of Deir El-Bahari. End your Luxor West Bank tour at the Colossi of Memnon of Amenhotep III. Two giant statues once, they stood in front of the main gate of the temple.
Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant, then visit the impressive Temple of Karnak. It is the largest temple in Egypt. Its vast halls, towering columns, and sacred sanctuaries reveal the greatness of Thebes during the New Kingdom. Then, drive across the Eastern Desert to Hurghada, about four hours, arriving in time to settle into your all-inclusive Red Sea hotel for dinner.
Optional tour: Sunrise Hot Air Ballooning over Luxor
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Enjoy a free day in Hurghada. Tours such as diving, glass boat, safari, snorkeling, and submarine rides are available upon request.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Enjoy a free day with your Hurghada vacation. Tours such as diving, glass boat, safari, snorkeling, and submarine rides are available upon request.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Transfer to Hurghada Airport to fly to Cairo. Transfer from Cairo Airport to your hotel for the final night of your 12 day tour of Egypt.
Meals Plan: Breakfast Only
Conclude your 12-day Egypt tour with a transfer to Cairo Airport for final departure. It is really sad to leave, but feel free to contact us about your next adventure in Egypt.
Meals Plan: Breakfast Only
