Discover, Plan & Go!

Days 1/2 - New York/Cairo

Board your overnight flight to Cairo. Upon arrival, you are met and escorted to your legendary hotel in the shadows of the pyramids. Your afternoon is at leisure. MENA HOUSE. (Meals Aloft)

Day 3 - Cairo

Following a breakfast lecture on pyramid construction, travel to the necropolis of Sakkara, home to 14 pyramids including one of the world's oldest - the step pyramid of Zoser. Then enter the tombs to see walls with colorful depictions of early Egyptian life and ceilings adorned with starry night skies. After an Egyptian grilled lunch, visit the bend and red pyramids at Dashur. Tonight, a welcome dinner has been prepared for you at a private club. MENA HOUSE. (B,L,D)

Day 4 - Cairo

Explore the largest and oldest of Giza's pyramids, the Cheops, and see the Sphinx. Tour the nearby Solar Boat Museum with Cheop's 142-foot long funerary boat. Your afternoon is at leisure for optional activities (at additional cost) - tour the pyramids and necropolis on camelback, visit Cairo's most exclusive boutiques with your guide, or explore one of Cairo's many excellent museums. Enjoy a fascinating evening of conversation while dining at the home of a Cairo resient. MENA HOUSE. (B,L,D)

Day 5 - Cairo/Luxor

Explore downtown Cairo and tour the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, where you see the world's richest collection of Pharaonic treasure, including the famous Mummy Room. Fly to Luxor this evening. Your hotel, originally built in 1869 for visiting royalty, is adjacent to Luxor Temple. OLD WINTER PALACE HOTEL PAVILLION WING. (B,L)

Days 6/7 - Luxor/Dendera/Abydos

Investigate the largest religious structure in the world, the Temple complex of Karnak. Visit the magical beauty of the Luxor Temple, once connected to Karnak by a two mile path lined with sphinxes illuminated by the glow of hundreds of lights. Next day, see the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. Nearby is the spectacular temple of Seti I at Abydos, renowned for its stone reliefs. Optional activity (at additional cost): sound and light show at Karnak Temple. OLD WINTER PALACE HOTEL PAVILLION WING. (B,D; B,L)

Day 8 - Luxor/West Bank

Cross the Nile to Luxor's West Bank to explore the ancient city of Thebes. In the Valley of the Kings and Nobles go into amazing tombs, then explore the Valley of the Queens and the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Enjoy lunch at the new Al Moudira Hotel, designed by incorporating vintage artifacts from old Egyptian buildings and handicrafts from local artisans. Afterwards, board your home for the next four nights, an elegant cruise ship that will stylishly deliver you down the Nile. Explore the Luxor Museum's many outstanding collections this evening, including the Luxor Cache's recently discovered artifacts found un the Luxor Temple. M/S TI YI NILE CRUISE. (B,L,D)

Day 9 - Nile Cruise: Luxor/Kom Ombo

Optional activity (at additional cost): view the Nile from a balloon high in the sky this morning! Return to the Valley of the Kings to behold rarely visited tombs in the Valley of the Monkeys, then re-board in time to pass through the Esna lock as you continue your leisurely cruise down the Nile. M/S TI YI NILE CRUISE. (B,L,D)

Day10 - Nile Cruise: Edfu/Kom Ombo

Edfu, completely in 57 B.C., awaits you this morning and is a splendid example of late temple architecture in honor of the falcon-headed god Horus. Next, visit Kom Ombo, an unusual double temple built in the third-century dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek, and the falcon god, Haroeris. M/S TI YI NILE CRUISE. (B,L,D)

Day 11 - Aswan

View the Unfinished Obelisk which has provided inisghts into ancient construction methods. Go by boat to the Temple of Isis at Philae on the island of Agilkia, built during the 3rd-century B.C. Agilkia became its new home when the Aswan High Dam was built in 1971. Afterwards, set sail aboard a colorful felluca around Elephantine Island. Take a camelback trek across the desert landscape to the 7th-century Monastery of St. Simeon. M/S TI YI NILE CRUISE. (B,L,D)

Day 12 - Abu Simbel

Leave your sea legs behind and fly to Abu Simbel this morning. Discover massive temples dedicated to Ramses II and his legendary wife, Nefartari - presided over by colossal stone figures of Ramses II. Experience its allure at night during a Sound and Light Show. Your hotel is within walking distance of the temple. SETI HOTEL ABU SIMBEL. (B,L,D)

Day 13 - Cairo

Fly to Cairo where you visit Coptic Cairo (old Cairo) and find the Suspended Church of the Virgin Mary dating back to the 4th-century. Nearby is the site reputed to be where Moses was rescued from the bullrushes. Visit Egypt's oldest synagogue, Ben Ezra. This afternoon, meet with State Department officials at the U.S. Embassy for a briefing on U.S. Government policy and relations with Egypt. your luxurious accommodations for the next two nights are built around an ancient palace in the heart of Cairo. MARRIOTT CAIRO. (B,L)

Days 14/15- Cairo/New York

Travel to the medieval fortress of Salah El Din and its stunning Alabaster Mosque. Next, enjoy lunch and adventuresome bargaining at the famous Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Afterwards, visit a restored traditional home from the Islamic period before gathering for your farewell dinner at El Aznar Park. In the morning, board your flight home. MARRIOTT CAIRO. (B,L,D; Meals Aloft)