NOT WRITTEN..Friday 14 October 2011. Welcome to Egypt and the start of a wonderful holiday! Arrive Cairo airport, meet and greet service and included transfer to our hotel, located by the Great Pyramids of Giza. Overnight - Cairo

Cairo - Luxor. Today we visit Egypt's most loved sight - The Great Pyramids of Giza. We explore the Giza plateau, pyramids and massive lion-headed Sphinx. Later, we tour Saqqara - an ancient necropolis with many half-buried tombs and the famous Zhoser’s step pyramid. Tonight we take an overnight sleeper cabin train south to Luxor.

If your don't fancy travelling by overnight sleeper train, opt to undertake the journey by flight with our Jewel of the Nile Flight bolt-on. The option includes air travel between Cairo - Luxor and Aswan - Cairo with two nights accommodation in the comfort of 5 star hotels. Overnight - Sleeper Train (B, D)

Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year old Luxor is ancient Egypt at it’s best. Upon arriving to Luxor, hotel check in and some rest and relaxation. Later this afternoon we visit the grand temples of 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. Later, we visit to the Temple of Luxor built by Pharaoh Amenophis III. Luxor Temple looks stunning at dusk and is beautifully illuminated at night. Overnight - Luxor (B)

An early start allows us to avoid some of the fierce midday heat as we venture to the tomb strewn Valley of the Kings. Consider opting to join our hot air ballooning excursion over ancient Thebes - fabulous early in the morning!

The massive pair of statues known as the Colossi of Memnon are the first monuments you’ll see during our visit to the West Bank of the River Nile. After we tour the famed Valley of the Kings and the colonnaded Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Return to Luxor for check-in aboard our Nile 5 star cruiser. Overnight - Nile Cruising (B, L, D)

Anchor's away! Pull up a deck chair and relax as we sail upstream toward Temple of Horus at Edfu.

Note: Dependent upon our Nile Cruise sailing schedule, sailing toward Edfu may commence till day 6. If such is the case day 5 will offer free time for you to independently explore some of the many other wonderful ancient sites of Luxor. Overnight - Nile Cruiser (B, L, D)

A relaxing day as we sail the Nile. Later today, we visit the waterside Temple of Kom Ombo. Arrive Aswan late evening and remainder on the evening at leisure. Overnight - Nile Cruiser (B, L, D)

Nile Cruiser. Arriving to Aswan, we visit the Philae Temple. Later after lunch, a visit to the High Dam and take a felucca boat journey to Elephantine and Kitchener Island. As the sun sets, free time to shop in the colourful souqs and markets or simply relax and watch an amazing sunset in Egypt's southern most town straddling the River Nile.

This evening we'll head to the colourful local souq (market) for a little bargain hunting. The lively night market offers comic entertainment as the sellers go about the business of hocking their wares. The market also offers an extensive array of cotton products, spices, wooden and copper ornaments, alabaster statues, beaded jewellery and mother of pearl trinkets at some of the best prices in the country. Overnight - Nile Cruiser (B, L, D)

Today we check out from out Nile Crusier and check into our Aswan hotel. The day offers free time for you to explore Aswan your own way. Return to the colourful markets, simply relax and sip on a cocktail and watch the feluccas ply their way or consider taking High Tea at the historic and delightful Old Cataract Hotel.

In the wee hours of the morning we rise and embark upon on our coach journey toward the Grand Temples of Abu Simbel. In readiness we await for the first rays of golden sunlight to touch the temple gate signifying the start of the Sun Festival of the mighty King Ramses II. Overnight - Aswan Hotel/ coach journey to Abu Simbel (B)

Saturday 22 October 2011. Abu Simbel – Aswan - Cairo. Possibly the most awe-inspiring temple of all ancient Egypt, with its gargantuan rock-cut façade, the great Sun Temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel was created to revere the mighty pharaonic ruler King Ramses II. Ramses the Bold, Ramses the Great, Ramses the Narcissist are perhaps all apt titles for one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers. Celebrating a life that spanned nearly a centenary, Ramses had plenty of time for his more than 200 wives and concubines who produced him some 96 sons and 60 daughters.

Built by Ramses II to demonstrate his political clout and divine backing to the ancient Nubians, Abu Simbel is an awesome self-tribute. Guarding the entrance to the temple (built between 1290 and 1224 BC) hewn into the side of a mountain are four famous colossal statues of the pharaoh himself, which sit majestically staring out across the desert, seemingly since time began. Over the centuries, the desert sands imperceptibly shifted until the temple was all but lost to humanity. It was rediscovered by chance in 1813 by a Swiss explorer called John Lewis Burkhardt. Only one of the heads of the pharaohs was showing and only a small part of the rest of the colossal temple peeked above the desert sands. It wasn’t until the British happened upon Abu Simbel and starting excavating, that the full glory of the temple of Abu Simbel was revealed to the modern world. The other rock cut temple at Abu Simbel is the Temple of Hathor, which is fronted by six massive standing statues. Four of them represent King Ramses II, whilst the other two are of his beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.

The temple was dedicated to the deified Pharaoh, King Ramses II, known also as the great builder and the gods Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ptah. In a fit of precision and architectural egotism, Ramses II had the entire temple carefully angled and oriented in order that the sun’s rays would align twice a year on his date of his ascension to the throne (21 February) and on his birthday (21 October) and illuminate the inner sanctum of the temple. This incredible natural phenomenon provides for a most spectacular sight, which has come to be referred to as the Sun Festival of King Ramses II. Crowds pack in to the temple before sunrise and watch the shafts of light slowly creeping through the rock hewn inner Hypostyle Hall (replete with further statues of the king) and through to the Sanctuary. Significantly, the sun illuminates statues of Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ramses the god, whilst the statute of Ptah - the god of darkness - remains in the shadows.

Famously, the temple was re-located in a multi-million dollar operation in 1972, further up from the shoreline of Lake Nasser, which had threatened to erode the foundations of this monolithic temple complex. For this reason, the sun now strikes a day later than Ramses had originally planned, though the event this morning itself is no less stunning. After the event, there will also be plenty of time to explore the Sun Temple of King Ramses II and also the Temple of Hathor and take plenty of pictures.

Afterward returning to Aswan, there is time to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities (a number of day use rooms will be provided for the group). Later this evening we board the overnight train for our journey back to Cairo. Enjoy a light dinner in the comfort of your sleeper cabin. Overnight - Sleeper Train (B, D)

Arriving into Cairo we embark on a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum with its dazzling array of prized antiquities. Amongst the many exhibits are the treasures of King Tutankhamen. After hotel check in the afternoon offers free time for you to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities or opt join us for an optional city tour visiting old Cairo and the Islamic citadel. Overnight - Cairo (B)

Monday 24 October 2011. Our tour concludes after breakfast and included onward departure transfer to airport. (B)