Egypt with Alexandria: Cairo, Abu Simbel and a Nile Cruise to Luxor, 6 Nights

You are met at Cairo International Airport and driven to your hotel, a journey whose length depends heavily on the city’s traffic. Rooms are generally ready from mid-afternoon. Take the evening gently: a walk along the Nile corniche or a quiet dinner near the hotel is plenty after a long flight.

A full guided day that begins on the Giza plateau with the three great pyramids and the Sphinx, best seen before the heat and the crowds build. Later comes a museum visit, confirmed with your quote, for Egypt’s royal treasures and mummies, and the day ends in the lanes of Khan el-Khalili, Cairo’s centuries-old market.

A long day trip north to Alexandria on the Mediterranean, founded by Alexander the Great. You go underground into the Roman-era catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, see the Roman theatre and the granite column known as Pompey’s Pillar, and look out over the harbour from the Qaitbay citadel, built where the ancient lighthouse stood. Back to Cairo in the evening.

An early transfer to the airport for the short flight south to Aswan. On arrival you visit the High Dam and take a boat to the temple of Philae, rebuilt on its island when the dam raised the river. Then you board the cruise ship for lunch and your first evening on the Nile, with all meals now on board.

A very early start, around four in the morning, for the drive across the desert to Abu Simbel, about three and a half hours each way. The two temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari were cut into the rock and later moved higher to escape Lake Nasser. Back on board, the ship sails north to the riverside temple of Kom Ombo.

In the morning you visit the temple of Horus at Edfu, one of the best preserved in Egypt, with its towering gateway and roof still in place. The rest of the day is spent on deck as the ship sails north past palm groves, villages and desert cliffs, reaching Luxor by evening.

After breakfast you disembark and cross to the west bank for the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs were buried deep in the hills, the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the two seated Colossi of Memnon. You are then taken to Luxor airport for the flight to Cairo and your international connection home.