beyond the pyramids - 12 days

Tour Information
Starts in: Cairo
Ends in: Cairo
Departs: Tuesdays, fortnightly year round
Prices and Departures: Click Here
Local Payment Required: No
Breakfast: Daily, Lunch: 2, Dinner: 2
Hotel rating: 3 - 5  (+ Siwan style hotel)
Egyptian Tour leader: Yes

Day 1: Cairo
Tuesday - Cairo. Welcome to Egypt and the start of your holiday! Arrive Cairo, included airport arrival transfer to hotel and overnight. Overnight - Cairo

Day 2: Pyramids of Giza & Saqqara
Cairo - Luxor - breakfast. Today, a visit to the incredible pyramids and Sphinx at Giza Plateau. It’s estimated the largest - Khufu (Cheops) was constructed from no less than 2.5 million quarried limestone blocks, weighing around 6 million tonnes. No mean feat, when you consider the pyramids were built without the use of modern equipment! Maybe opt for a camel ride. Travelling on to the necropolis of Saqqara, innumerable sand strewn temples and tombs await discovery. It’s at Saqqara where you’ll see Zhoser’s step pyramid. Rising 6 steps, it served as the prototype for ancient Egypt’s most enduring architectural legacy. Overnight seater train to Luxor - consider upgrading to the sleeper train. Overnight - train

Day 3: Explore Luxor
Luxor - breakfast box. Arrive and check into hotel. One of the world’s greatest open-air museums, the 4000 year old site of ancient Thebes - known today as Luxor is our base for two exciting days of exploration. Enjoy some rest and relaxation. Tonight, these is an optional visit to Temple of Luxor, which is magically illuminated by a thousand coloured lights at night fall. Remainder of the evening at leisure with a chance to enjoy the facilities of our hotel. Overnight - Luxor

Day 4: Valley of the Kings & Queens
Luxor – Cairo - breakfast. An early start! Today, we visit the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, the imposing colonnaded temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. There is the option to float over Luxor in a hot air balloon.

Returning to Luxor, enjoy free time. Later today, we visit Karnak. More than a temple, Karnak is a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, pylons and obelisks - built on a grand scale. During the height of Theban power, Karnak was the most important place of worship. Tonight, we return to Cairo by overnight seater train. Overnight - train

Day 5: Cairo & The Egyptian Museum
Cairo - breakfast box. Arrive to Cairo and hotel check-in. Later, a guided visit to the Egyptian Museum. See the famous King Tutankhamen solid gold death mask or opt to see the Royal Mummy room. Remains of the afternoon and evening free to do your own thing. Overnight - Cairo.

Day 6: El Alamein to Siwa
Sunday. Cairo – El Alamein – Siwa - breakfast. Starting early (7am) we drive North-west toward the Mediterranean coastline, to the World War II cemeteries of El Alamein. In 1942 the Allies under Britain’s field Marshal Montgomery halted the German- Italian advance towards the River Nile. Marked as a major victory for the Allies, though not without loss of life, with some 11,000 killed and 60,000 wounded. We visit the Commonwealth cemetery and recently erected memorials funded by the Australian and New Zealand governments. Through the arches and beyond the gardens, 7,000 white headstones commemorate the Australian, New Zealand and British soldiers who fought and died. Stopping for a light lunch in Marsa Matrouh we continue onward to Siwa . Evening walk and opportunity for dinner in a typical Siwan style restaurant. Light lunch and overnight - Siwa.

Day 7: Bike ride & Temple of the oracle
Siwa – breakfast. This morning we take a leisurely bicycle ride through the verdant date palm groves, visiting the local sights en-route. Our first stop is the Temple of the Oracle, dating back to near 570BC, whose most famous petitioner was Alexander the Great. Alexander visited the Siwa in the spring of 331BC, seeking confirmation from the Oracle that he was the son of Zeus (whom the Greek’s identified with Amun – the sun god and creator of all life in Pharaonic history). We cycle to Cleopatra Spring for a dip in the pool as the spring fed warm water bubbles to the surface. Afternoon at leisure or optional (book/pay locally) sunset dinner, swim and campfire at the ‘Great Saltwater Lake’. Overnight - Siwa.

Day 8: Mountain of the Dead & 4x4 Safari
Siwa – breakfast. Today we visit Mountain of the Dead and explore Old Shali. Old Shali is the old city abandoned in 1926 after 3 days of rain that literally melted the mud brick city. A hermetic labyrinth of secret corridors, homes, shops, granaries and mosques are all waiting to be explored. Afternoon - Desert Safari. 4x4 through the massive sand dunes of the Great Sand Sea, stopping off at an amazing natural spring fed lake surrounded by miles of sandy desert. We also visit the site of an ancient ocean abundant with marine fossils and finish the day at the hot spring of Bir Wahed for swimming and sunset dinner. Dinner & overnight - Siwa.

Day 9: Marsa Matrouh seaside & the  Libyan market
Siwa – Marsa Matrouh – Alexandria - breakfast. An early start, we drive along the north coast to Marsa Matrouh . The city has a large Libyan/Berber population distinctive in custom and dress. We stop for lunch, swim in the Med and have time to explore the Libyan souq (market) before driving onward to Alexandria . Total - 9hrs drive. Lunch and overnight – Alexandria.

Days 10: Explore Mediterranean Alexandria
Alexandria - breakfast. A free morning to relax, afternoon sightseeing of Montazzah Palace, home to King Farouk – the last monarch of the Mohamed Ali dynasty who abdicated and fled to Italy and Quat Bay Fort, the site of the Pharos – Alexandria ’s great lighthouse. Evening tram ride into the downtown to shop followed by famous Alexandrian Fateer for dinner. Dinner and overnight – Alexandria.

Days 11: Roman Catacombs & sites of Antiquity
Alexandria - Cairo - breakfast. Today, sightseeing is undertaken with a qualified Egyptologist, visiting the Alexandria's best loved sights - the Catacombs, Pompeii’s Pillar, National Museum and later a stop at the Library of Alexandria. After lunch, we return to Cairo. Overnight - Cairo.

Day 12: Cairo, free time
Saturday. Cairo – breakfast. Our tour concludes after breakfast and onward departure transfer to the airport.