Touch down in Cairo, where desert horizons meet a skyline of minarets and modern boulevards. After clearing Immigration and collecting your luggage, meet our local representative just outside Arrivals for your private transfer to the hotel. En route, catch your first glimpses of the city—palm-lined flyovers, the broad ribbon of the Nile, and, on a clear day, the distant outline of the Giza Pyramids.

Use the rest of the day to rest and acclimatise. For a gentle first look at the city, stroll the riverside promenade near your hotel, or browse a nearby souk for spices and artisanal crafts. Save energy for tomorrow’s deep dive into Giza and the chronicles of ancient Egypt.

Breakfast at the hotel, then set out for Egypt’s most iconic ensemble: the Great Pyramids of Giza—Cheops (Khufu), Chefren (Khafre) and Micerinos (Menkaure)—and the enigmatic Eternal Sphinx with the adjacent Valley Temple of Chefren. Your guide unpacks 4,500 years of ingenuity, from precise stonework to funerary rites, while you take in desert horizons and the classic pyramid skyline.

Return to the hotel by early afternoon or continue with an optional guided extension to the Saqqara Necropolis—home to the revolutionary Step Pyramid of Djoser—and nearby Memphis, ancient capital of the Old Kingdom, to view statues and reliefs that illuminate the birth of pyramid building.

After your visits, return to the hotel to unwind. The remainder of the evening is at leisure—consider a Nile-side stroll or a relaxed dinner in Zamalek.

After breakfast, transfer to Cairo International Airport for your domestic flight to Aswan (ASW). On arrival, meet our representative and transfer to your Nile motor ship for embarkation. Settle into your cabin and step out onto deck to savour Aswan’s serene river scenery—granite outcrops, palm-fringed banks and feluccas stitching lazy arcs across the Nile.

This morning, visit the monumental High Dam of Aswan, a feat of modern engineering that tamed the Nile, then boat across to the romantic Temple of Philae—sanctuary of Isis, relocated stone by stone to its island setting. Colonnades, reliefs and tranquil courtyards introduce the elegance of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Return to the motor ship to relax on deck and watch the river drift by. Dinner is served on board. Overnight on the Nile.

Awaken to the hush of Aswan. Early risers may opt for the Abu Simbel excursion (optional) to witness Ramesses II’s rock-cut temples, their colossal facades mirrored in Lake Nasser. Return to your Nile cruise as the ship eases away from the quay and the sails of feluccas fade astern.

Cruise north to Kom Ombo, where the riverside temple rises above the palm belt. Explore the unique double temple jointly dedicated to Sobek (crocodile-headed lord of fertility and the Nile) and Haroeris (falcon-headed Horus the Elder). Reliefs of surgical instruments and Nile deities line the hypostyle halls; the adjacent display of crocodile mummies adds a curious epilogue to the visit.

Re-embark and continue along a pastoral reach of the Nile toward Edfu. Late-afternoon light gilds sugarcane fields and mud-brick hamlets as village life unfolds on the banks. Arrive in Edfu this evening and moor up beneath the stars.

Wake in Edfu and visit the magnificent Temple of Horus, one of Egypt’s best-preserved sanctuaries. Pass towering pylons into shadowed hypostyle halls where reliefs depict the triumph of Horus over Seth. Your guide unravels ritual routes, sacred barques and the celestial geometry that shaped this Ptolemaic masterpiece.

Re-embark and sail north through fields of sugarcane and date palms toward Esna. Watch life along the banks—fishermen casting nets, waterwheels turning—before the ship queues for the Esna Lock. The dramatic level change lifts the vessel to the upper reach of the Nile; it’s a great moment for photos from the sun deck.

Continue sailing toward Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes. As sunset warms the river, temple silhouettes appear on the horizon—tomorrow brings the necropolises and colossi that crowned the New Kingdom’s power.

Breakfast on board, then disembark in Luxor. This morning focuses on the West Bank—the sacred necropolis of ancient Thebes. Explore the Valley of the Kings with its vividly painted corridors to the afterlife, the elegant terraced Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (El-Deir El-Bahari), and the towering Colossi of Memnon keeping timeless watch over the plain.

Cross back to the East Bank this afternoon for the monumental temples of Karnak—a vast complex of pylons, hypostyle halls and sacred lakes—and Luxor Temple, glowing honey-gold as the sun dips. Your guide threads together pharaonic timelines, inscriptions and architectural marvels that spanned centuries.

After sightseeing, transfer to your hotel in Luxor. Evening at leisure—consider a riverside stroll or a relaxed dinner in town to toast your final night by the Nile.

After breakfast, transfer to Luxor Airport for your domestic flight to Cairo (CAI). A short hop carries you from the temples of Thebes back to Egypt’s dynamic capital. On arrival, meet our representative and transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure to unwind or explore a nearby café or Nile-side promenade.

Breakfast at the hotel. At the scheduled time, meet our representative for your private transfer to Cairo International Airport (CAI), with English-speaking assistance from hotel lobby to airline check-in.

After check-in and formalities, enjoy some last-minute browsing in the duty-free area or relax at a café before boarding. As the aircraft lifts over the desert and Nile, take a final look back on days of pyramids, temples and river light—memories to carry home.