Those who have purchased flights from Temple World will depart today on a daytime flight from London Heathrow to Cairo with EgyptAir departing 09:40 arriving 17:20. On arrival, guests on this flight will be met and transferred to our hotel to check in for three nights.

*Please note, if you book your own flights, we can organise a transfer for you to meet any flight (private transfer charge applies). Check in time at the hotel is from 14:00. Guests arriving earlier than this may leave baggage securely at reception and use the hotel facilities until their room is ready.

This evening, meet the group members, guide and trip scholar over a light buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant at 9pm (7pm UK time).

Overnight: Hilton Pyramids Golf or similar | Meals: D

After breakfast this morning,  head out to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum (if open), or original Egyptian Museum (on Tahrir Square) if the GEM does not yet have the Tutankhamun tomb exhibit in it yet.

After lunch in a traditional restaurant, continue to visit Coptic Cairo, including the Hanging Church, Coptic Museum and the Ben Ezra Synagogue (if open).

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon for time to swim or relax before meeting for dinner at the hotel restaurant this evening.

Overnight: Hilton Pyramids Golf or similar | Meals: B, L,D

A full day of Pyramid visits to see the evolution of pyramid building, starting with Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid built for king Djoser in the 27th century BC , among other less well-preserved pyramids.  It is thought to be the earliest major stone structure erected in Egypt.

The site of Saqqara is currently one of Egypt’s most exciting, with 52 burial shafts unearthed just in the last few years. Time permitting,  we will be able to see some of Saqqara’s further treasures, which could include the Serapeum, an underground corridor 100 meters long filled with the burial chambers of embalmed sacred Apis bulls, and/or the Mastaba of Ti, the richly decorated tomb of a high court official from the Fifth Dynasty, incredibly well-preserved.

Continue into the desert to visit Dahshur. Here, pyramids are built with smooth sides for the first time, and visitors can see early mistakes, including the ’Bent’ pyramid built for king Sneferu. Archaeologists have discovered new tombs here revealing a cache of mummies, masks and tools. Sneferu’ s second pyramid, the ’Red’ pyramid, was the first successful smooth-sided pyramid and the precursor to his son Khufu’s ’Great Pyramid’ at Giza.

Return to our hotel in Cairo for dinner and overnight.

Overnight: Hilton Pyramids Golf or similar | Meals: B, L,D

Check out of our Cairo hotel this morning and visit the famous Pyramids of Giza, which include the Great Pyramid and the Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, set amidst the sands of the Giza plateau. We shall also see the enigmatic reclining sphinx.

You can optionally choose to add a ticket to go inside Khufu’s pyramid, the only one which is always open to visitors (extra cost applies locally). The passageways are narrow with reduced head height and dank, stale air – this is an interesting experience although sadly there is little to see inside as there are no decorations unlike the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Note: Going inside the pyramid is not for the claustrophobic or anyone who may find it difficult to walk up/down steep shafts hunched over,  which is why we don’t routinely include the extra ticket and offer it instead as an optional extra. It takes around 30 minutes to get to the furthest part and return back to the entrance.

After lunch near the pyramids, we shall start the journey south by road along the Nile towards the Fayoum Oasis, stopping to visit the partially collapsed Meidum pyramid, and at Hawara to see the second pyramid built for Amenemhet III.

In 1888 Flinders Petrie discovered a great number of naturalistic Hellenistic-era funerary portraits here, attached to mummies, their bright colours preserved by the dry environment.

Drive to the fertile Fayoum Oasis, to check in to our hotel on the edge of Lake Qarun for dinner and overnight.  We shall stay at the Helnan Auberge Fayoum,  a storied hotel which was originally built by King Farouk as a palace in 1937.

This is an area which is little visited by tourists and as such there are currently very few places of an international standard to stay in that are the right size to fit a group. The hotel is a 5 star officially but we recommend guests think of it as a historic but rather basic ‘faded glory’ 3 star property to set expectations. There is a pleasant pool area which is ideal for taking a refreshing dip after desert explorations (pool maintenance permitting) and extensive grounds (although note as with all lake-side properties in this area, there can be a smell from the lake if the wind is blowing towards the resort).  This is currently the best available in the area.

Note that furnishings are old-fashioned and many require refurbishment, and there can be maintenance and service issues relating to hot water for showers, food, and understanding of the wishes of international guests. Feedback from recent alumni guests who have stayed at this resort suggest that as expectations had been set in advance, they enjoyed the hotel, despite its quirks/faults. 

Overnight: Helnan Auberge Fayoum or similar |   Meals: B, L,D

Today, enjoy a 4×4 safari to Wadi al-Hitan, the Valley of the Whales, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Western Desert. The shifting desert sands, which 37 million years ago formed the bed of the prehistoric Tethys Ocean,  contain fossil remains of over 1000 whale skeletons, including some complete specimens of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. Crucially, some of the whale skeletons have vestigial ’legs’, providing a snapshot of a period in evolution when whales, having emerged from the ocean to become land mammals, were beginning to evolve to cope in the water once again.  Visit the Whale Museum before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Overnight: Helnan Auberge Fayoum or similar |   Meals: B, L,D

Depart the Fayoum and drive south along the Nile Valley to Beni Hasan to visit the Middle Kingdom funerary tombs cut in the cliffs, including the tombs of Baqet III, Khety, Khnumhotep II and Amenemhat. Much earlier than the more famous tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens in Luxor, some of the tombs contain remarkably well-preserved wall paintings of daily life. The tomb of Khnumhotep II contains a scene showing Semitic Bedouin merchants in richly coloured garments entering Egypt. Continue to the town of Minya. Check in to the Savoy Hotel al Minya for dinner and overnight.

Please note that the town of Al Minya is a ‘dry’ town (eg no alcohol can be sold). In case you’d like to enjoy a drink in the evenings, your tour manager will take your orders for beer and wine in Cairo and these can be brought in the coach to Al Minya. Note that consumption of alcohol can only be done in your rooms as it is not allowed in public in Al Minya.

Note: There are very few hotels near Tell el-Amarna and the town of Minya, so we have chosen the best available. The Savoy is a small, clean and newly renovated property which mainly serves domestic business travellers rather than international leisure travellers. Housed in an attractive 1920’s corner building near Minya’s railway station, it doesn’t have an international classification as it has very few facilities on site, but we’d class it as a simple but clean 3 star hotel with modern decor.  Due to the lack of regular international visitors it is to be expected that there may be maintenance issues such as lack of reliable hot water for showers in some rooms, although the manager is very amenable and does everythig he can to assist. The location in the centre of town means there can be noise at night from car horns (Egyptian drivers tend to use their horns a lot, including at night).  Light sleepers are recommended to bring earplugs.

Overnight: Savoy Hotel al Minya or similar | Meals: B, L,D

Travel to the important site of Tell el-Amarna. This was the new capital created by the Pharaoh Akhenaten (father of Tutankhamun) and his queen Nefertiti during the 14th century BC. Akhenaten controversially discarded polytheistic worship in favour of a cult worship of Aten, the disc of the sun.  The site is still being excavated, under the direction of Professor Barry Kemp (University of Cambridge) for the Egyptian Exploration Society. We are hoping that Professor Kemp or a member of his team will show us their work. The team have been able to reconstruct an accurate picture of the layout of the city as it was abandoned. It is here that the famous Amarna Letters were found, nearly 400 clay tablets in cuneiform. After the visit, return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Overnight: Savoy Hotel al Minya or similar | Meals: B, L,D

After leaving our hotel, travel the short distance to the village of Tuna el-Gebel, where we shall visit the interesting Ptolemaic and Roman Period necropolis of the ancient town of Khmun/Hermopolis.

In 2019 fifty mummies wrapped in linen and buried in stone coffins and wooden sarcophagi dating back to the Ptolemaic Period were discovered by archaeologists at the site – it is believed they are the graves of senior officials and high clerics of the god Thoth.

Following a local lunch, we shall travel by road towards Abydos this afternoon. Note that as the crow flies this journey does not appear to be that long, but will usually  take most of the afternoon as the local Egyptian officials sometimes request that we use back roads instead of the main road. Our coach will usually have a security escort provided by the government for this part of the journey, which may involve a member of military or security personnel on board – this is standard procedure.

On arrival into the Abydos area, check into our local hotel for dinner and overnight. This pleasant 3 star hotel designed in the style of an ancient temple is the best for miles around and is within walking distance of the site. Rooms are air-conditioned and there is a rather nice outdoor swimming pool for cooling off in.

Overnight: House of Life  | Meals: B, L,D

After breakfast today, head straight to Abydos which is within walking distance of our hotel, known for the spectacular Temple of Seti I. The glorious reliefs in the second hypostyle hall and the historically important Abydos Kinglist make this one of the most significant monuments in Egypt. Also see the temple of Rameses II (Seti I’s son), built in the 13th Century BC.

Continue to Dendera, visiting the spectacular Graeco-Roman Period Temple of Hathor.  One of the largest and best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt, it is noted for its superb decoration, including reliefs of Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion.

After the visit, drive along the Nile to Luxor, the New Kingdom capital of Thebes. Check in at the Nile Palace Steigenberger Hotel for dinner and overnight.

Overnight: Nile Palace Steigenberger Hotel | Meals: B, L,D

A full day to visit the highlights of the West Bank at Luxor. See the Colossi of Memnon, the Mortuary Temple of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, the Valley of the Kings (including the Tomb of Tutankhamun) and visit Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight at the Nile Palace.

Overnight: Nile Palace Steigenberger Hotel | Meals: B, L,D

A final morning of guided exploration as we explore the East Bank of the Nile at Luxor, in particular the Temple of Karnak, one of the biggest temple complexes ever constructed. Karnak was originally connected to Luxor Temple by an imposing 3km avenue of around 1500 statues of rams and sphinxes, but much of this processional way was covered over by later inhabitants of the town. In 2021, after over 70 years of excavations and the moving of dozens of buildings,  the avenue was fully re-opened, lined with over 1000 of the statues.

This afternoon, there is free time to explore Luxor independently, or relax at the hotel. We highly recommend the Luxor museum, which is less than 10 minutes by taxi from our hotel.

Meet up again this evening for a farewell dinner and overnight at the Nile Palace.

Overnight: Nile Palace Steigenberger Hotel | Meals: B, L,D

The tour ends after breakfast. Those leaving today and taking our recommended flight direct to Heathrow will depart early this morning.

For those staying on to add extensions and not departing right away, you may keep your room until 12:00. The hotel will be happy to store baggage and allow you to continue to use the public facilities after check out, if departing later in the day.

We are offering an optional four-day Nile cruise to Aswan, an optional four-day Nile cruise on Lake Nasser to Abu Simbel, or the option to add a morning visit to Abu Simbel by air as set extensions to our tour – please enquire for further details.

We can also arrange tailor-made extensions such as pre or post tour hotels, luxury Nile cruises or guiding anywhere in the region. Simply contact our team (Alice or Lia) on 0208 940 4114 for a quote.

Overnight: –  | Meals: B