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Day 1  Cairo                  
Welcome to Cairo! On arrival at the airport, take an included transfer to your hotel. You are free to arrive at any time today before an important welcome meeting, held at 6pm.      

Day 2  Cairo              
This morning, tour the mighty Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx with an expert leader, who is a trained Egyptologist. Seeing these ancient and iconic structures up close is a memory that will stay with you long after your time in Egypt is over. For an additional charge, you may be able to go inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops). Later, pay a visit to the long-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the world and home to a collection of Tutankhamen’s antiquities.        

Day 3  Cairo to Aswan      
Catch a morning flight to Aswan. Check in to your hotel then travel to Philae Island and visit the beautiful Temple of Isis. Later, take a boat to a Nubian village on an island in the middle of the Nile. Walk through the village before sitting down to dinner with a local Nubian family in their home.

Day 4  Aswan / Nile Cruise          
After breakfast, take a stroll around Aswan or an optional tour to Abu Simbel before you board a Nile riverboat, your feature stay accommodation for the next three nights. There’s no better way to soak in the ancient history of the Nile and the incredible sights along its banks.  

Day 5  Nile Cruise - Edfu      
Enjoy a peaceful morning on board your riverboat, then set out in the afternoon along the river, relaxing in the sun on deck and taking in the desert hills forming a backdrop over the lush riverbanks. Arrive at Kom Ombo Temple, sitting spectacularly on the river’s edge. Afterwards, return to your riverboat and continue to Edfu where you will dock for the evening.  

Day 6  Nile Cruise - Luxor              
This morning, you will be moored near Edfu and may have the option to venture independently into town to see the nearby temple. Sail towards Luxor passing through the Esna Locks. Arrive at the open-air museum of Luxor from the spectacular temple complex of Karnak to the Valley of the Kings, Luxor is full of wonderfully preserved reminders of the Pharaohs. Today you'll explore one of the world's most celebrated temple complexes,the Karnak Temple. Your guided tour of this vast temple of impressive pylons, obelisks and chapels will reveal its finest sections, such as the Avenue of Sphinxes and the Great Temple of Amun.                  

Day 7  Luxor            
Disembark your riverboat and travel to the Valley of the Kings. Buried under the arid hills here are over 60 tombs of pharaohs, many richly decorated with reliefs and paintings. With your leader, explore this place, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were secretly interred for all eternity, and where discoveries are still being made. Entry is included to three tombs of your choosing, as well as access to the tomb of Tutankhamun.      

Day 8  Cairo          
Board a flight bound for Cairo this morning. On arrival, settle in to your hotel then head with your group to the Al-Azhar neighbourhood to visit Khan al-Khalili Bazaar. Continue to the 9th Century Ibn Tulun Mosque. Stop off in Cairo’s oldest coffeeshop for an Arabic coffee or mint tea as you watch the world go by. Tonight, you will be one of the lucky few as you are welcomed into the home of a local family for dinner.              

Day 9  Cairo          
Your trip will come to an end today after breakfast. Check-out time is usually around 12pm and you are free to leave at any time.