WONDERS OF EGYPT
Group tour - Egyptologist escort in Egypt
CAIRO - NILE CRUISE - ABU SIMBEL
16 - 27 April 2010
TOUR COSTS
Per person sharing R12880 including tips, excluding air fares - see below
Single Room supplement R5040
AIR FARES
Ex Cape Town R6370 plus tax R2636
(Ex Johannesburg less R1600)
Fares are subject to availability and tax varies according to rate of exchange.
Terms & Conditions apply
TOUR COST INCLUDES:
- 2 nights at 5-star Oberoi Mena House Hotel - bed & breakfast - room on arrival
- 4 nights on board 5-star de luxe Nile cruiser M/S TiYi, or similar, - full board & all sightseeing
- 1 night at 4-star Seti Abu Simbel Hotel - full board
- 1 night at 5-star Mövenpick Elephantine Hotel, or similar - bed & breakfast
- 1 night at 5-star Cairo Sheraton Hotel or similar - bed & breakfast + late check-out on 26 April
- All entrance fees per itinerary
- Half day tour of Citadel, Alabaster mosque, Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue & Khan El Khalili Bazaars
- Full day tour of the Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis & Saqqara
- Sound & Light Show at Abu Simbel
- Visit 2 Abu Simbel Temples
- Half day tour Egyptian Museum, Cairo
- Egyptian English-speaking guide & tour leader throughout the tour
- Airport/hotel/cruiser transfers in Cairo, Luxor & Aswan - transport by air-conditioned coach
- Transfer by road Aswan/Abu Simbel and return
- Tips
TOUR COST EXCLUDES:
- International and domestic air fares
- Extras at hotels, restaurants, cruisers or during the tours
- Visas or visa handling charges
- International & Domestic air fares & tax (Egypt & RSA)
- Travel insurance
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ITINERARY
FRIDAY 16 APRIL 2010
Check-in at Cape Town International Airport or at other centres, for the flight to Johannesburg. Transfer to International Departures at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport for the EgyptAir flight to Cairo. Dinner will be served on the flight.
SATURDAY 17 APRIL
On arrival at Cairo International Airport, you will be met by our agent and transferred to the splendid 5 star Oberoi Mena House Hotel, situated close to the pyramids, on a bed & breakfast basis. You will have your room on arrival. After you have taken breakfast and had time to relax and refresh, there will be a half day tour visiting the Citadel overlooking the city of Cairo, the alabaster mosque of Mohamed Ali, the Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue and the famous medieval bazaar of Khan el Khalili. Overnight Cairo.
SUNDAY 18 APRIL
Today you visit the Giza Pyramids to see the Great Pyramid, Sphinx and Valley Temple. You will return to your hotel for an optional lunch at your expense. Afterwards there is an interesting drive out of Cairo to Memphis, the site of the ancient capital, to see the colossus of Ramesses II and other ancient sculptures and then continue to the desert to visit the vast funerary complex of 3rd Dynasty King Djoser (c. 2600 BCE) at Saqqara with the Step Pyramid, the first ever pyramid. You will also enter a mastaba (Old Kingdom tomb). Overnight Cairo.
MONDAY 19 APRIL
After breakfast you will be transferred to Cairo Domestic Airport for the short flight to Luxor. On arrival at Luxor Airport, you will be met by our local agent and transferred to the 5 star de luxe Nile cruiser M/S TiYi , or similar, for your 4 night cruise between Luxor & Aswan, on a full board basis, starting with lunch. During the afternoon there will be a tour of Karnak Temple, the largest religious complex in the world with its forest of pillars, sacred lake, obelisks and massive reliefs. Following this, you will visit the highly impressive Luxor Temple. The sequence of visits on the cruise may alter due to local conditions.
TUESDAY 20 APRIL
This morning you cross the Nile by road to tour the West Bank visiting the tombs of the pharaohs in the famous Valley of the Kings. There will be an opportunity for an optional visit to the tomb of Tutankhamun. There is also a visit to the great temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri and the Colossi of Memnon. In the afternoon, your cruiser sails south to Esna, where you pass through the lock and continue sailing to Edfu.
WEDNESDAY 21 APRIL
After breakfast, there is a visit to the huge Temple of Horus at Edfu by horse carriage from the ship - this is the most complete temple of the ancient world. Your cruiser continues sailing southwards to Kom Ombo, where you visit the temple with its dual dedication to the crocodile god Sobek and a falcon-headed god Ra-Haroeris. Your cruiser sails to Aswan.
 THURSDAY 22 APRIL
Following breakfast, you travel by air-conditioned coach to see the Aswan High Dam, which forms the 500km long Lake Nasser and visit the ancient granite quarry with its 1,000 ton Unfinished Obelisk. Afterwards, you take a motor-boat to the elegant island temple of Philae dedicated to the supreme maternal goddess Isis. After lunch, sailing on a traditional felucca on the Nile, you can view Kitchener's and Elephantine Islands and the Aga Khan's Mausoleum from the river. Overnight in Aswan.
FRIDAY 23 APRIL
Following breakfast, you disembark from the cruiser and drive south on the ancient 40-day caravan route through the desert to Abu Simbel, where you will check-in to the Seti Abu Simbel Hotel on a full board basis, starting with lunch. The afternoon is at leisure. In the evening, you will visit the superb Sound & Light Show at the Sun Temple of Ramesses the Great and return to the hotel for dinner. Overnight Abu Simbel.
SATURDAY 24 APRIL
After breakfast, you visit the two Temples of Abu Simbel when the sun is in a favourable position for photographs. After time to see the temples, you will be transferred by road to Aswan, where you will stay overnight on a bed & breakfast basis at the 5 star Mövenpick Elephantine Island Hotel, or similar. There is the opportunity to visit the colourful and fascinating Aswan bazaar which runs the length of the town and time for an optional visit to the Aswan Nubian Museum. Overnight Aswan.
 SUNDAY 25 APRIL
After breakfast you will be transferred to Aswan Airport for your flight to Cairo. On arrival, you will have a half day tour of the world-renowned Egyptian Museum with the astonishing gold treasures of the boy-king Tutankhamun and an antiquities collection spanning 5,000 years. Later you will transfer to the centrally situated 5 star Cairo Sheraton Hotel, or similar, on a bed & breakfast basis. Overnight Cairo.
MONDAY 26 APRIL
Today is at leisure for you to relax or do some last minute shopping. You have your room until the late evening transfer to Cairo International Airport where you will be assisted through the airport formalities for your return flight to Johannesburg.
TUESDAY 27 APRIL
Arrive in the morning at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport and transfer to the Domestic Departures for Cape Town or other centres.
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