Traces of the Pharaohs

After landing at Cairo, a VIP Meet & Greet awaits you at the airport. You will be warmly welcomed by our local contact and transferred by private transfer to your hotel.
The afternoon is entirely at your leisure.

The Great Pyramids of Giza are the only present-day remains of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built more than 4. 500 years ago as huge tombs for the mummies of the pharaohs Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, who were father, son and grandson. The pyramids are of truly monumental proportions, with the largest – the Pyramid of Khufu – built of over two million blocks.

Nearby is the enigmatic Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the face of a man wearing a royal headscarf, which workers may have modeled after King Khafre to guard his huge funerary monument. About a thousand years after the Sphinx was built, it was covered with sand until a young prince had a dream in which the Sphinx told him that if he cleared away the sand, he would become Pharaoh. This story is told on the “Dream Stele”, which was placed between the paws of the Sphinx by King Tuthmosis IV.

After breakfast, a transfer will take you back to the airport in Cairo and you will fly to Aswan. At Aswan airport you will be greeted by an A&K representative who will accompany you for check-in to the Sanctuary Sun Boat IV.

After check-in, lunch will be served on board.
In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to sail around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens and the Agha Khan Mausoleum on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sailboat) (weather permitting, life jackets provided).
Afternoon tea is served in the lounge while you enjoy the sounds of an oud trio. In the evening, you will be greeted by your boat manager and enjoy a selection of canapés as well as Egyptian wine and local beer. A gourmet dinner will be served on board.

A buffet breakfast will be served on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on Agilika Island. Then visit the granite quarries that supplied the ancient Egyptians with much of the hard stone used for pyramids and temples, and where a huge unfinished obelisk still stands.
Enjoy lunch as you drive to Kom Ombo and visit the magnificent temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god. During the drive to Edfu, you will be served afternoon tea.
Tonight a delicious dinner will be served followed by a movie night on board.

A buffet breakfast is served on board.
This morning, explore the extraordinary Temple of Horus. Enjoy lunch on board as you cruise to Esna. After lunch, an Egyptian cooking class will be held on board.

In the afternoon, your Egyptologist will guide you through the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum in Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the mud accumulated by centuries of annual Nile flooding and lies about nine meters below present-day street level.
Afternoon tea will be served during the drive to Luxor.
Tonight there will be a costume party “Egyptian Night” for all guests, where you will have the opportunity to dress in traditional Egyptian “Galabeyya”. For dinner there will be a rich buffet with Egyptian specialties, followed by oriental music and dancing for all.

Breakfast will be served on board.
This morning you will visit the Valley of the Kings. You will have the opportunity to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens and visit the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the Nile, you will pass the famous Memnon Colossi, known in ancient Greece for their haunting voices at dawn.

After lunch, your Egyptologist will guide you through the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor, dedicated to the god Amun, and then on to the Temple of Karnak.
You’ll then return to your luxurious Nile cruise ship, where afternoon tea will be served in the lounge.

Tonight’s program includes a gala dinner with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet dishes, followed by a dervish show and belly dance performance.

After breakfast and check-out on board the Sanctuary Sun Boat IV, a transfer will take you to the Steigenberger Resort Alaya (transfer approx. 4 hours).
The rest of the day is at your leisure.

The beautiful long sandy beaches of the Red Sea invite you to relax, swim, dive, snorkel and sail. Many, varied possibilities await you. The colorful coral reefs and the variety of the underwater world are known all over the world and attract many divers. There is something for every vacationer – simply wonderful experiences in Egypt.

After breakfast it is time to say goodbye to Egypt. A transfer will take you to Hughada Airport and you will fly back to Europe via Cairo.