Deluxe Tour of Egypt 8 nights 9 days

FRIDAY CAIRO

Upon arrival in Cairo you will be met by Monarch-Israel representative near the immigration counter area, he will have a blue sign with your name, give him a wave and he will meet you and give you the visas, he will help you through passport control, then continue with you to get your bags and assist through customs if needed, then you will be transferred to your hotel for overnight.

SATURDAY CAIRO

Your private Egyptologist tour guide and driver will pick you up at 8:30AM to start your tour. Visit the Red Pyramid of Dahshour. Senefru, father of Cheops, built this pyramid approximately 4,600 years ago. Many scholars consider it to be more glorious than the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Continue to Sakkara to see the prototype of the pyramids, the Step Pyramid, built for the 3rd Dynasty Pharaoh Djoser by the exalted architect Imhotep. Lunch en route.Drive to Giza and visit the Great Pyramids. See a royal burial chamber, the Valley Temple, and the Sphinx. Continue to the Papyrus Institute where you will watch and learn how the first paper made of papyrus was done in the ancient Egypt.
Return to the hotel for overnight.

SUNDAY LUXOR

Breakfast in the hotel.Your Egyptologist and driver will pick you and drive to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities for a detailed, guided tour.Among other fascinating exhibits, see the treasures of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. Then visit Old Cairo and walk back in time, visiting the Old Coptic Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Lunch en route.Continue to the Mohamad Ali Mosque.After a day of touring, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight from Cairo to Luxor. Upon arrival, you will be met by a Monarch-Israel representative and transferred to your hotel for overnight.

MONDAY NILE CRUISE (Luxor)

Breakfast in the hotel. Check-out. Your driver and Egyptologist will start the tour with a visit to Karnak Temple, called by some “the Temple of Temples.” It is the largest place of worship ever built. Its ancient name Ipet-isut means “the most sacred of places.” The temple, or, more correctly, the complex of temples, was built over more than two thousand years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Within the complex, the great “Hypostyle Hall” is an incredible forest of giant pillars covering an area larger than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral. Then visit the graceful Temple of Luxor built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II for ritual and festivals and dedicated to the god Amun
Continue to your Nile cruise, check-in. Lunch on board.Free time to rest and enjoy your time on board.
Dinner and overnight on board.

TUESDAY NILE CRUISE (Edfu)

After breakfast onboard, cross to the West Bank of the Nile and visit the wondrous Valley of the Kings, a vast city of the dead where the magnificent tombs of 62 pharaohs have been discovered. The tombs were carved deep into the desert rock, richly decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife of the pharaohs. Visit several of the tombs. Next, visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This beautiful monument to the reign of one of the very few female pharaohs rises out of the desert plain in a series of terraces and merges with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it. On the way back to your Nile cruise, stop at the famed Colossi of Memnon, two 66ft, 1 thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III. These colossal statues were known by the ancient Greeks to emit haunting voices at dawn. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive. Return to your cruise and set sail for Edfu. The afternoon is at leisure.Lunch and dinner on board. Overnight on board.

Optional Tour: Balloon over Luxor

Starts very Early in the morning, to be booked and paid in Cairo before departure to Luxor

WEDNESDAY NILE CRUISE (Aswan)

After breakfast on board, set out by horse-drawn carriage to visit the Temple of Horus, the most perfectly preserved of all the Nile Temples. Horus, also known as Haroeris, was the falcon-headed solar war god. Return to your cruise vessel by carriage.Sail to Kom Ombo. Visit the Temple of Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertility and creator of the world. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where, in ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank.
Lunch, dinner and overnight on board.

THURSDAY NILE CRUISE (Aswan)

After breakfast on board, take a tour of Aswan High Dam, Egypt’s contemporary example of building on a monumental scale. Next, proceed to the granite quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. Continue by a short motor-boat ride to the Temple of Philae on the island of Agilka. The temple was dedicated to Isis, sister/wife of Osiris and patroness of the Ptolemaic rule. After lunch on your cruise, sail around Elephantine Island on a felucca, the traditional Egyptian sail boat. Elephantine Island is the largest of the Aswan area islands, and is the site of some of the most ancient remains in Egypt, with artifacts dating to pre-dynastic periods. From the river you have a nice view of the Aga Khan Mausoleum, an elegant pink granite structure built in the late 1950’s.Return to your Cruise for farewell dinner on board.Overnight on board in Aswan.

FRIDAY CAIRO

After breakfast you will be transferred to Aswan airport for your flight to Abu Simbel Visit the great temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Queen Nefertari,The temples were built over a 25 year span and are one of the most prodigious feats of engineering in Egypt. The entire complex of temples was moved to its present location 90 feet above its old site to protect it from the rising water of the Nile when the Aswan Dam was built in the early sixties.Fly back to Aswan and connect to Cairo.
Upon arrival, you will be met by a Monarch-Israel representative and transferred to your hotel for check-in.In the evening, enjoy a special farewell dinner.Back to your hotel for overnight.

SATURDAY DEPARTURE

Early breakfast and transfer to the airport for your departure flight. Our representative will assist you during check-out and through passport control and customs in the airport.