The Land of Kemet Journey

After an early breakfast, we depart for the Giza Plateau for opening hours. It's worth getting here early!  We will visit the beautiful Valley Temple, and the viewing platform for the Great Sphinx, walk up the Khafre causeway to the megalithic Middle Pyramid, and explore the site around both the Great and Middle Pyramids, before heading to the 3rd pyramid. Then a late lunch at a nearby restaurant. Overnight at 5* Hyatt Regency Cairo West

After breakfast, we will check out of the hotel and explore the treasures housed inside the Cairo Museum, still one of the greatest Ancient Egyptian museums in the world. It is full of examples of remarkable ancient technology, including incredible displays of ancient hard stone vases. We will stop for lunch en-route to the airport for the short flight to Luxor in Upper Egypt, and the 5-star Steigenburger Nile Palace hotel. Overnight at the Steigenburger Nile Palace

After breakfast, we will board our luxury coaches for the drive to Abydos, home to the incredibly well preserved Temple of Seti I, and something even more remarkable behind it. After exploring the beautiful dynastic temple, we will step outside to view and discuss the incredible megalithic Osirion! After lunch in the village, we will drive to Dendera to visit the Temple of Hathor. This temple has some amazing vividly colored ceilings with zodiacal depictions, that will be explained by your hosts. It is also home to many 'crypts' between and beneath the walls, several of which that can be explored – including the crypt that includes the “Dendera Lightbulbs”. Return to Luxor.   Overnight at 5* Steigenberger Nile Palace

Guests who wish to participate in a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the West Bank of Luxor will depart the hotel before breakfast. Snacks and breakfast boxes will be supplied, and you will return to the hotel in time for the full breakfast buffet. All other guests can enjoy breakfast at their leisure, and afterwards we will leave to visit Luxor Museum, a small but important museum with some remarkable artifacts. We will then enjoy lunch, and visit Luxor temple in the afternoon, home to some of the best examples of huge, precision made granite statues and artifacts in Egypt. There will be time for shopping near the hotel after the temple visit. Overnight at 5* Steigenberger Nile Palace

West Bank, Valley of the Kings, Ramesseum, Tombs of the Nobles, check into Nile Cruise. After breakfast, we will depart for the West bank of the Nile river, to visit the Valley of the Kings, where you will have the opportunity to visit 3 of the beautiful royal tombs. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for specific tombs of interest, and our guides will make recommendations. Afterwards we will visit the Ramesseum, a beautiful temple structure home to the remnants of a gigantic, 1000+ ton single piece granite statue. We will also visit the nearby tombs of the Nobles for a look at some unique Ancient Egyptian scenes. After Lunch, We will stop  at the Colossi of Memnon, on our way to check into the Nile Cruise. Overnight on 5* Nile Cruise

After breakfast, we will visit Karnak Temple – the largest known religious complex in the world. Here you will find some incredible megalithic structures and statues, as well as evidence for ancient technology. We return to the Nile Cruise ship for Lunch, and the afternoon will be free to enjoy the journey along the Nile and the amenities of the Cruise Ship. Overnight on the 5* Nile Cruise

In the morning we will visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu, an impressive temple that is one of the best preserved temples for the ancient Egyptian Ptolemaic period. The inscriptions on its walls provide important information on language, myth, religion, and connects to the time of Zep Tepi, Atlantis, and the Ancient Egyptian creation stories. We will then return to the cruise ship and sail towards Kom Ombo. You can enjoy lunch and afternoon tea onboard, before the cruise ship docks in Kom Ombo. We will have a late afternoon visit in Kom Ombo (cruise ship schedule permitting!) – a unique temple that is dedicated to two Gods – Horus and Sobek. We will then return to the cruise ship and continue sailing, arriving in Aswan in the late evening. Overnight on 5* Nile Cruise

Elephantine Island OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Early Morning visit to Abu Simbel (price TBD) or Nubian Museum (price TBD). Guests who wish to visit Abu Simbel will depart at 4 AM, and return to Aswan to meet the rest of the group by lunch time. Other guests will have the chance to visit the Nubian Museum in the morning. Remaining guests will have the morning free to enjoy the amenities of the cruise ship. In the afternoon we will take a motorboat to Elephantine Island – a wonderful ancient site that is less frequently visited by tourists, and home to some remarkable artifacts. We will then return to the cruise ship at sunset. Overnight on 5* Nile Cruise

After breakfast we will check out of the Nile cruise and visit the famous Aswan Quarry, where you will have the opportunity to see some quarrying techniques, as well as the Unfinished Obelisk, which would have weighed nearly 1,200 tons once completed. We will then continue on to visit Philae Island and the Temple of Isis. After Lunch, we will transfer to Aswan airport for our flight back to Cairo. Overnight at 5* Hyatt Regency Cairo West

After breakfast we will depart for our visit to Saqqara, where we will have the opportunity to explore the courtyard and structures around Unas pyramid, as well as the chance to enter the Unas Pyramid to view the pyramid texts. We will also explore around the nearby 3rd Dynasty Step Pyramid, and enter it via the 'Persian Tunnel' to look down on the incredible work in the bedrock beneath the pyramid. We will then continue to the incredible Serapeum where we see the mysterious 70 to 100 ton precision made, single-piece boxes of granite, cyanite and other hard stone types. We will then enjoy a home-cooked late lunch at a local restaurant, before returning to the hotel. Overnight at the 5* Hyatt Regency Cairo West

After breakfast, we will visit the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum! With more than 80,000 artifacts it is the largest museum dedicated to a single ancient civilization in the world. After exploring the museum we will have lunch, and guests will have the afternoon to relax at the hotel.  At the appointed time after the Giza Plateau closes, we will enter the Great Pyramid of Giza for our private, 2 hour access to this incredible monument. We will have access to all three chambers, two of which (Queens Chamber and Subterranean Chamber) are always closed to the public - it's a huge highlight to this trip, and always saved for last! Overnight at the 5* Hyatt Regency Cairo West