Nile Odyssey – Cairo, Abu Simbel, Nile Cruise & Luxor 8D/7N

Welcome to Egypt! Our representative meets you at Cairo International Airport, helps you through immigration and customs, and drives you to your hotel. Overnight in Cairo.

After breakfast, set off at 8 am for the Pyramids of Giza, built around 2500 BC for the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty, and the Great Sphinx that guards them, with short stops at a papyrus gallery, a perfume house and a cotton store. Continue to the Egyptian Museum and its vast collection of pharaonic treasures, then browse Khan el-Khalili, Cairo's 14th-century bazaar on historic El Moez Street. The tour ends around 4 pm. Overnight in Cairo.

Leave at 7 am for Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, about 2.5 hours away by private air-conditioned vehicle. Explore the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, the largest Roman burial site in Egypt, cut into the rock on three levels; the Roman Amphitheatre with its marble seats and mosaic floors; and Pompey's Pillar, a 25-metre granite column raised in AD 297. See the Citadel of Qaitbay from outside, built where the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria once stood. Return to Cairo around 6 pm. Overnight in Cairo.

After an early breakfast, fly from Cairo to Aswan. On arrival, visit Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, the Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in its red-granite quarry. Board your 5-star Nile cruise in the afternoon. Overnight on board in Aswan.

A 4 am start, with a breakfast box, for the road journey to Abu Simbel and the colossal rock-cut temples of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari, rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser in the 1960s. Back on board by about 1 pm, sail to Kom Ombo and visit the unusual double temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris. Sail on to Edfu. Overnight on board.

Ride a horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt, built under the Ptolemies from the 3rd century BC. Afternoon sailing to Luxor. Overnight on board.

Disembark after breakfast. In the morning cross to the West Bank for three royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. In the afternoon visit the vast Karnak Temple complex and Luxor Temple. Check in to your Luxor hotel. Overnight in Luxor.

After breakfast, check out and transfer to Luxor Airport for your onward flight.