Arrival at Cairo International Airport. 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 Egypt tour by land in 15 days from USA.

Your actual Egypt tour (Egypt Hidden Gems) by land in 15 days from USA begins when our professional tour guide picks you up from your hotel to commence your tour to the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and Saqqara.

Today, you will explore the Giza Plateau. Today’s tour includes the Great Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure with the great Sphinx. The only ancient wonder which still exists (Khufu’s pyramid) awaits you. Are you ready to explore it from the inside? (Optional). Today you will learn about the history of the pyramids, how they were built, and why they were built?

Then on to the first pyramid in history, the Step Pyramid of King Djoser at Saqqara. It was the cemetery of Memphis, the 1^st capital city of United Egypt in 3200 BCE. Transfer back to your hotel. 

Explore the fabulous contents of the historical Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Thousands of artifacts from all periods of Egyptian history are displayed on the two floors of the museum.
From the museum to the Citadel of the Sunni Muslim leader Saladin, which was built in 1172 to defend Cairo against the Crusaders. The White Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha is a prominent feature of the Citadel.
You will finish your tour today at the historical bazaar of Khan El-Khalili, the largest bazaar in the Middle East.

Today, your Egypt tour by land in 15 days from USA takes you to the beautiful City of Alexandria, the capital city of Egypt during the Greco-Roman era. 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 from the outside. Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant, then travel back to Cairo.

Travel by land from Cairo toward Meidum to visit Senferu’s first pyramid at Meidum. Started as a Step Pyramid but then converted into a true pyramid, the pyramid at Meidum marks the transition from the Early Dynastic Period to the Old Kingdom.

Then proceed to El-Minya to Visit Tuna El-Gabel. Tuna El-Gabel is the necropolis of Hermopolis Magna, ancient capital of the 15th nome and cult centre of Thot, god of writing and sciences. Continue to Ashmunein, the site of the ruins of the ancient city of Hermopolis (Magna).

Transfer to your hotel in El-Minya for a free evening.

Visit the wonderful tombs of Bani Hassan. This site includes some of the most impressive tombs of the Middle Kingdom. Its rich and well-preserved tombs attest the economic prosperity that it enjoyed.

Then your Egypt tour by land in 15 days from USA takes to Tell El-Amarna (Ancient city of Akhetaten), the city was founded by King Tutankhamen’s father, Akhenaton, and where King Tutankhamen was born. Artifacts discovered here in the 19th century included hundreds of cuneiform tablets, known as Amarna Letters. Archaeological finds of the late 20th century included sculptures and paintings.

Transfer back to your hotel. 

Travel from El-Minya to Abydos to Visit the stunning temples of Seti I and Ramses II in Abydos. Abydos is the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian name (Abdju). Abdju was the great necropolis of Thini. Thini, the capital city of the 16^th nome of Upper Egypt, held a great position during the Predynastic period.

The temple of Seti I is built of limestone and laid out on three levels. Unlike other Egyptian temples, it is L-shaped rather than rectangular and incorporates seven great doorways and seven sanctuaries. The temple was dedicated to the major gods Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah as well as the deified Seti I himself.

Transfer to your hotel in Abydos for a free evening.

Travel from Abydos to Dendera to visit the wonderful temple of Hathor at Dendera. The temple of Dendera dates back to the Ptolemaic Period, although evidence points to older structures once existing on the site, dating as far back as king Pepy I, from the Old Kingdom. Among the temple’s most notable features are astronomical engravings on its ceiling.

Then transfer to your hotel in Luxor for two full days of your Egypt tour by land in 15 days from USA. Visit the majestic Luxor Temple by night. The Temple of Luxor was built by the 18^th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III (1387-1349 BCE), the grandson of the military genius Tuthmosis III, and expanded by the 19^th Dynasty pharaoh Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE). Numerous other sovereigns, including Tutankhamun, Horemhab, and Alexander the Great enriched the construction with reliefs, inscriptions, and minor buildings. 

Transfer back to your hotel.

Enjoy a breathtaking sunrise hot air balloon over Luxor, then back to your hotel for breakfast. Then, visit the impressive Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings is one of the most important highlights not only in Luxor but throughout Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians named it (Ta-Iset-Ma’at), which means “the Place of Truth”. The Valley of the Kings is the necropolis of the great Egyptian pharaohs of the 18th to the 20th Dynasty (1550-1080 BCE). Tuthmosis I was the first pharaoh who was buried at the Valley of the Kings while Ramses XI was the last pharaoh who was buried there.

From the Valley of the Kings to the unique Temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, and then to Colossi of Memnon of Amenhotep III.

Transfer back to your hotel. 

Today, you will return back to the west bank of Luxor to visit the Valley of the Queens.  It was part of ancient Thebes and served as the burial site of the queens and some royal children of the 19th and 20th dynasties (1292–1075 BC). Then proceed to the Valley of the Artisans at Deir El-Madina. 

Deir El-Madinah is the modern Arabic name for the worker’s village which was home to the artisans and craftsmen of Thebes who built and decorated the royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Then continue to the tombs of the Nobles. 

Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant then, proceed to the Karnak Temple. The Temple/Complex of Karnak was the great god’s chief sanctuary and much larger than any other monument in Egypt. This huge and splendid complex which actually contains many separate temples covers 1700 years of expansion and an area of 300 acres. 

Transfer back to your hotel in Luxor.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Transfer to the most intact temple in Egypt, the Temple of Horus in Edfu. The Temple of Horus in Edfu is the most intact temple in Egypt and one of the most beautiful temples built during the Greco-Roman period. The Temple of Edfu is fully inscribed with reliefs and hieroglyphs on its exterior and interior walls.

Then proceed to the twin Temple of Horus and Sobek at Kom Ombo. It was built during the Greco-Roman period. The temple began during the time of Ptolemy V and was completed by the time of Emperor Tiberius. The emperors Domitian, Caracalla, and others added to the temple. So it took about 400 years to finish.
Transfer from Kom Ombo to your hotel in Aswan.

Transfer to the phenomenal Temples of Ramses II, and his beautiful wife Nefertari at Abu Simbel. The temples of Abu Simbel are considered among the most celebrated achievements of ancient Egypt. The two temples were cut in the cliffs about 310 Km south of Aswan. The Great Temple was built for Ramses II (1279-1213 BC), while the Small Temple was built for his beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.

Because of the rising water of Aswan High Dam, the temples had to be saved and rescued in a magnificent world rescue operation of temples in Lower Nubia. Transfer back to your hotel in Aswan. 

Explore the highlights of the beautiful City of Aswan such as the High Dam, one of the great engineering feats of the 1960s. Then proceed to the beautiful Temple of Isis at Philae Island. This temple was built during the Greco-Roman era and, was dedicated to Isis, goddess of Love and Magic in ancient Egypt. You will end your tour at the granite quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk.

Transfer to Aswan Airport to fly back to Cairo for the rest of your Egypt tour by land in 15 days from USA. Transfer from Cairo Airport to your hotel.

Free day in Cairo. 

Conclude your Egypt by land in 15 days from USA with a transfer to Cairo Airport for final departure. It is really sad to leave, so ask our guides about your next adventure in Egypt.