Departing 29 July 2027
Join Astrophysicist Prof. Roger Davies on an exceptional journey through ancient Egypt to witness the Eclipse of the Century from a private rooftop in Luxor, the point of greatest duration, offering over six minutes of totality. Combined with a backdrop of legendary ancient Egyptian temples, this once in a lifetime event offers an unparalleled historical and celestial experience.
The location couldn’t be more apt. In ancient Egypt, the night sky served as a celestial roadmap – long before modern science, the sun, stars, and planets governed sacred rituals, royal power, and the rhythm of the farming year. Astronomy infused every corner of ancient Egyptian life and death. They understood predictable stellar movements, and integrated sky observation into the very fabric of sacred decoration, using stars, decans, constellations, and solar cycles to guide timekeeping, ritual, and beliefs about death and rebirth. Using instruments such as the merkhet and star groupings known as decans, Egyptians divided the night into hours and created a 365-day solar calendar. Weaving this ancient knowledge into the fabric of the tour, visit temples including Karnak, which was oriented to capture the first rays of the solstice sun, transforming light itself into a divine event. Delight in the intricate ceiling at Dendera, which is vividly decorated to show constellations, planets, and celestial deities. Enjoy interpreting the astronomical charts painted on select royal tomb ceilings in the Valley of the Kings, tracking the rising of specific stars over the course of the year, and the illustrations showing the sun god Ra’s journey through the twelve hours of night, with the star-covered sky goddess Nut arching overhead, embodying the vault of the heavens.
As well as reinterpreting the temples and royal tombs of Luxor and Aswan through an astronomical lens, the tour also includes a short stay in Cairo to see the treasures housed in the magnificent new Grand Egyptian museum in Giza, and to gaze in wonder at the pyramids, which are oriented to the cardinal directions with extraordinary precision. There will be a visit to one of Egypt’s most important modern-day observatories too, to learn about Egypt’s current astronomical research and the building of a flagship new telescope out in the desert. Throughout, Professor Roger Davies will give our group a serious of exclusive lectures about solar eclipses and the wider field of astronomical research, and is on hand throughout the tour to answer the group’s queries about the night sky, the formation of the universe, how best to capture the eclipse on camera, and much more.
Tour highlights
- Witness the total solar eclipse of 2027 in Luxor, the longest eclipse of the century, with totality lasting 6 minutes and 20 seconds, from a private rooftop venue.
- Visit sites showcasing the ancient Egyptians’ knowledge of astronomy, including Karnak Temple, aligned with solar cycles, and the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings, with its extraordinary astronomical ceiling
- Enjoy a series of talks from Astronomer Professor Roger Davies, who will be on hand throughout to aid understanding of the eclipse and discuss the formation of the universe itself
- Visit the cult temples of Dendera and Abydos, key centres of ancient cosmology and ritual, and trace the Nile south to Aswan through Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo, temples dedicated to solar and celestial deities.
Itinerary at a glance
Day 1: Tour starts in Cairo. Those taking Temple World’s flights arrive 16:35 | Welcome dinner and evening lecture | Overnight Giza
Day 2: Exploration Giza Pyramids | New Grand Egyptian Museum | Overnight Giza
Day 3: Morning Excursion Saqqara | Afternoon Excursion Observatory | Overnight Giza
Day 4: Early morning flight to Luxor | Visit Dendera & Abydos temples | Return to Luxor | Overnight Luxor
Day 5: Eclipse day | Late afternoon/evening visits to Luxor & Karnak temples | Overnight Luxor
Day 6: Excursion to the Valley of the Kings and Queens | Overnight Luxor
Day 7: Travel to Aswan via Esna, Edfu & Kom Ombo | Overnight Aswan
Day 8: Visit Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, and felucca ride to Elephantine Island | Overnight Aswan
Day 9: Transfer to Aswan Airport for flight back to Cairo and onward connections.
Notice about operational control of this tour
Temple World has a long-standing collaboration with the University of Cambridge to plan and operate tours for its Alumni as part of the Alumni Travel Programme. Where minimum numbers are achieved and a tour departs, 10% of the tour cost will be given by Temple World to the University of Cambridge as a donation for each traveller who has a connection to the university (alumni/staff etc). This includes any friends/family travelling with them. However, please note that the University of Cambridge has no control over the operation of the tours in the Programme, which are the sole responsibility of the Operator/s concerned (in this case, Templeworld Limited).
Day 1: 29 Jul 2027 Tour begins in Cairo this evening
Day 2: 30 Jul 2027 Pyramids of Giza and Grand Egyptian Museum
Day 3: 31 Jul 2027 Saqqara and Helwan Observatory
Day 4: 01 Aug 2027 Fly Cairo to Luxor
Day 5: 02 Aug 2027 Eclipse Day - Luxor - Karnak Temples
Day 06: 03 Aug 2027 Luxor - Valley of the Kings
Day 7: 04 Aug Luxor to Aswan via Esna, Edfu & Kom Ombo
Day 08: 05 Aug 27 Aswan - Visit Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, and felucca ride to Elephantine Island
Day 9: 06 Aug 27 - Tour ends
Dates and Prices
Prices are in UK£, per person, based on double occupancy
| Room Type | Price | Occupancy | Optional Flight from London | Availability |
| Double/Twin | £4950 per person | sharing twin/double room | £600-£900 return approx | Please enquire |
| Single Occupancy | £6600 per person | in own room for single occupancy | £600 - £900 return approx | Waitlist only |
Inclusions
Domestic flights Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Cairo, hotel accommodation in a twin or double bedded rooms with ensuite bathroom throughout, all excursions with local guides including entrance fees, eclipse viewing site, full board (except Day 1 which includes a dinner only), and the last day (the tour ends after breakfast), lectures given by expert leader.
Exclusions
International flights, breakfast/lunch on Day 1 (day of arrival), lunch/dinner on day of departure, travel insurance, drinks, tips to drivers & local guides, (estimated amount around US$130 pp) personal expenses such as telephone calls, spa treatments, hotel incidentals if used, photographic equipment.
Optional flights
Temple World can arrange international flights from London to coordinate with this tour. These won’t be bookable until September 2026 so at present we don’t know the schedules or the prices. We will most likely be using EgyptAir or BA which both operate two flights daily between London and Cairo. The cost of flights usually starts at around £450 return from London per person if booked well in advance, including taxes, however we anticipate exceptional demand over the dates of our tour and it is likely prices will be much higher than normal. Both Egypt Air and BA have a direct Heathrow to Cairo daily between 9am and 10 am, arriving in the afternoon, which is the one we will most likely use. Returning from Cairo there are also two services daily; we will be looking to book the latest available option in order to coordinate with the domestic flight Aswan to Cairo beforehand. We will arrange a group transfer to coincide with the flight arrival/departure of the main flights. We will advise all those booked on the tour as soon as flights for the journey become bookable.
Booking your own travel
You are most welcome to book your own flights to coordinate with this tour. The start and point is Cairo, but please be very careful when booking your flight home as you will need to allow enough time to connect from the flight we’re including from Aswan to Cairo at the end of the tour. We don’t yet know the timings for this flight. We can arrange private transfers to meet any flight (supplement applies).
Easyjet has recently introduced a new direct service from Luton to Sphinx airport (near Giza, avoids the traffic from downtown) 3 times per week, and from Luxor to Gatwick on Mondays and Thursdays in case you prefer the prices, timings or airports of these flights. We can’t book Easyjet flights unfortunately, so this would be something you would need to book yourself, but we can advise which ones work best. If flying with Easyjet, private transfers on arrival and departure will be necessary (we can arrange those for you for a small extra cost).
*Very important! Those who plan to book their own flights should not make any binding or non-refundable arrangements until their place has been confirmed in writing on the tour and Temple World has confirmed that it is a guaranteed departure.
How to Book
Please contact us at info@templeworld.com or fill in an enquiry form below to check availability in the first instance. We are able to hold places on request, on a non-obligation basis, for up to a week. If you then wish to confirm your places, we’ll send you a link to our online booking form along with the terms and conditions for this tour, and instructions for paying a deposit to secure your spaces.
As we have already had to pay over 50% in deposits to the hotels in Egypt in order to secure all the accommodation over these ultra-peak dates, the deposit for this tour is higher than for our standard tours. We request a 20% initial deposit (£990 per person,) which can be paid by bank transfer or by credit/debit card (we will send you a secure payment link). Sorry, no AMEX. A further 30% deposit (£1485) will be due by 1 August 2026, and a further 30% due by 01 December 2026, and the remaining 20% by 01 March 2027. Installments and final balance cannot be paid by UK credit card. Debit cards/bank transfers only (exception made for non-UK credit/debit cards and business credit/debit cards which can be used for any payments, subject to paying the representative transaction fees).
Deposits are non-refundable in the event that you are unable to participate in the tour, but it might be possible to transfer your initial 20% deposit to another Temple World tour departing within 12 months of the Eclipse tour, ONLY if we are able to fill your place/s. Further payments are not refundable and not transferrable. We strongly recommend that you have travel insurance in place at the time you book.
Special Cancellation conditions for this tour (these supersede our standard terms):
Note about the price and standard of accommodation
The price of this tour is far higher than a standard tour of Egypt of this length would usually be, so we wanted to set expectations that the reason for the price is not due to luxury hotels or services, it is purely because the hotels in Egypt are charging around four times the usual prices for rooms in the week before and after the Solar Eclipse dates. It will be a privilege to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event, but the local hoteliers are certainly making the most of the surge in demand, and this means there’s a significant cost attached to being in Egypt at this time! We are paying ultra, ultra-peak rates for rooms in Cairo and Aswan as well as in Luxor. We have chosen the best value accommodation available in each location in the circumstances – the hotels will be pleasant, clean, and with all necessary facilities – think of them as being akin to a good European 3-4 star. But they are all wildly overpriced for what they are, so we think it’s important that our clients know this in advance. All the other services we’re providing as part of the tour price (transport, guiding, meals and so on) are the same high standard that we apply to all our alumni tours to Egypt. The true luxury will be in witnessing the eclipse at its most spectacular point, and in having Professor Davies accompanying the group throughout. We also wanted to assure our clients that on our side, we have aimed to keep our own overheads to a minimum. Even with care taken, we recognise the tour price is high, but we believe it will be worth it in order to be able to witness this spectacular event in the company of a world-renowned Astronomer and other like-minded alums.
Note about the price and standard of accommodation
The price of this tour is far higher than a standard tour of Egypt of this length would usually be, so we wanted to set expectations that the reason for the price is not due to luxury hotels or services, it is purely because the hotels in Egypt are charging around four times the usual prices for rooms in the week before and after the Solar Eclipse dates. It will be a privilege to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event, but the local hoteliers are certainly making the most of the surge in demand, and this means there’s a significant cost attached to being in Egypt at this time! We are paying ultra-peak rates for rooms in Cairo and Aswan as well as in Luxor. We have chosen the best value accommodation available in each location in the circumstances – the hotels will be pleasant, clean, and with all necessary facilities – think of them as being akin to a good European 3-4 star. But they are all wildly overpriced for what they are, so we think it’s important that our clients know this in advance. All the other services we’re providing as part of the tour price (transport, guiding, meals and so on) are the same high standard that we apply to all our alumni tours to Egypt. We also wanted to assure our clients that on our side, we have aimed to keep our own overheads to a minimum. Even with care taken, we recognise the tour price is high, but we believe it will be worth it in order to be able to witness this spectacular event in the company of a world-renowned Astronomer and other like-minded alums.
Immunisations
Check the latest country-specific information and advice from the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) on the TravelHealthPro website. Vaccines commonly recommended for Egypt: Tetanus. A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is mandatory if arriving from a country with a risk of Yellow Fever such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania or Zambia.
Entry Regulations
You will need a visa to enter Egypt. E-visas can be purchased in advance online from the official Egypt e-Visa Portal. If you prefer, Temple World’s partners in Egypt can pre-arrange a ‘visa on arrival’ for British, US, Australian and Canadian passport holders for a cost of $25 + $5 admin fee, if asked in advance. These are paid for in US$ cash on arrival. Other nationalities should check visa eligibility with their nearest Egyptian Consulate. Passports should be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the date of entry into Egypt. Evidence of a previous visit to Israel (such as an Israeli entry/exit stamp in your passport) does not normally cause difficulties when travelling to Egypt.
Fitness Guideline
We have graded the fitness level required for participation in this tour as Moderate. This is a full itinerary, with one or two longer days of coach travel and two domestic flights. The weather in August is exceedingly hot in Egypt, so whilst we will aim to do sightseeing at the coolest times of day and in short bursts with regular breaks for water and rests, the heat can be debilitating. We will aim to spend the hottest parts of the day indoors or in air-conditioned museums where possible. There are no strenuous hikes, but we will be sightseeing on foot at busy open-air sites, sometimes for up to an hour at a time, and there are likely to be a lot of extra tourists around.
There is not much free time during the tour, so for those who feel they would like some, we recommend a few pre-tour nights in Cairo to acclimatise and possibly some post-tour nights too if you would like time to relax afterwards (subject to availability). We can quote and book these for you.
Many of the sites during the tour are not wheelchair accessible. If you routinely use sticks or a cane to walk short distances we regret that this tour is unlikely to be suitable.
Trip Scholar
Professor Roger Davies, Emeritus Wetton Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford
Professor Roger Davies is Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a world-renowned expert in astronomy and cosmology. He has links to both Oxford and Cambridge universities, having taken his PhD at Churchill College, Cambridge. He specialises in galaxy formation, large-scale cosmic structures, and observational techniques for studying rare celestial phenomena. Having pioneered the use of a new class of astronomical spectrograph to measure the masses, composition and ages of galaxies, as well as search for black holes in their nuclei, Professor Davies brings decades of experience in observing and interpreting extraordinary astronomical events. He has held the most senior departmental positions at Durham and Oxford Universities, becoming the Wetton Chair at Oxford in 2022, and served as President of the Royal Astronomical Society. He has been President of the European Astronomical Society since 2017. Widely published and recognised with honours including the Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize, he combines deep theoretical insight with practical expertise.
Lectures during our tours
All our tours are accompanied by an academic ‘trip scholar’ as well as local guides. The local guide or guides provide the day-to-day guiding on our tours, whilst the trip lecturer will give regular lectures on his/her specialist subject throughout to provide an academic overview. Lectures/talks usually last 30-40 minutes including questions and answers (if applicable). These are generally held in the evenings before dinner and attendance is optional. On some tours lectures may be given in other locations such as during longer bus journeys or at a site, depending on the lecturer and the schedule. We don’t usually specify before travel which days the lectures will be given (for operational reasons) but guests can expect them roughly every other day as a minimum, with some lecturers giving some kind of talk or presentation more frequently.
Pre/Post-Tour Extensions
Our time in Cairo is relatively short during the tour, so for those who are able to arrive a few days early into Egypt we will be happy to arrange extra nights in Giza or in downtown Cairo in order to see more of the city, such as the Antiquities Museum on Tahrir Square, Coptic Cairo or Old Cairo, subject to availability.
We are also able to arrange stays in Alexandria or at a beach resort on the Mediterranean coast before the main tour; the northern coast of the country experiences less extreme heat in the summer months due to cooling breezes from the sea.
There is sadly no availability to book any Nile Cruises or Lake Nasser cruises either before or after the main tour as these are all totally sold out.
Please enquire with Lia for more details, at lia@templeworld.com.
