Egyptian Family Adventure

Saturday. Welcome to Cairo! Your family will be met by our representative and transferred to the hotel to spend tonight at leisure.

Our day begins with a guided tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which houses over 100,000 artifacts, including monumental statues displayed along the Grand Staircase and will eventually showcase the treasures of King Tutankhamun, such as his golden funerary mask.

Then we head over to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which remains home to a vast collection of statues, jewellery, and sarcophagi. The museum also houses several well-preserved mummies, including those of Yuya and Thuyu, who were high-ranking nobles and the great-grandparents of King Tutankhamen. Some mummies are so well preserved there is even hair on their heads! Following the tour, we’ll return to the hotel the rest of the day is free for you to relax with your family by the pool.

Cairo - Aswan. Today, we visit the legendary pyramids and iconic Sphinx at Giza Plateau. Sole survivors from the ancient Greek-listed Seven Wonders of the World. Gaze in awe at the largest of the three great pyramids - Cheops, constructed from over 2.5 million limestone blocks it took more than 20 years to construct. We explore this area on foot and there's the opportunity to venture inside one of the great pyramids. The afternoon is free to relax by the hotel pool with your family or independently explore Cairo before we take the comfortable overnight sleeper train to Aswan.

This morning we arrive into Aswan and take a boat out to Agilika Island to visit the beautiful Philae Temple. After exploring this famous site we make a stop at a perfume oil emporium, the rest of the day is free for you to relax, enjoy the hotel facilities or take a stroll along the riverside corniche and explore. This evening, we’ll visit the Aswan market and enjoy the smells of herbs and spices being sold by the local tradespeople.

Today we enjoy a sailing trip aboard a traditional felucca (small wooden sailing boat) as we cruise the mighty Nile to Elephantine Island. During our guided walk of the island discover many archaeological sites and pay a visit to a local school (if open) before enjoying lunch and some family time back on board. This afternoon is free for you to spend at leisure or join our optional excursion to the fascinating Nubian Museum. The museum is home to more than 3,000 artefacts and scale models from across Egypt’s ancient history, from the Pharaohs to the Romans.

Aswan - Luxor. This morning we take a motorboat across the river to the west bank of the Nile, where we enjoy a camel ride across the desert sands to the 7th century Monastery of St Simeon. We explore this site before bidding farewell to Aswan and travelling to Luxor, stopping en route to visit the temple of Kom Ombo. The northern half of this temple was dedicated to the falcon god Horus, whilst the southern half was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. The two are perfectly symmetrical and you’ll think you’re seeing double as we explore.

We visit Luxor’s legendary West Bank this morning - home to the famous Valley of the Kings, the imposing colonnaded temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the gigantic Colossi of Memnon. See how the ancient Egyptians confounded tomb robbers with the construction of elaborate catacombs, once filled with treasures and highly decorated to allow the pharaoh passage to the afterlife.

The day continues with an afternoon trip to the colossal Karnak Temple, which took 1,500 years to complete. Karnak is a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, pylons, chapels, halls and obelisks and the vast Hypostle Hall with its gargantuan columns has to be seen to be believed, it's a great place play hide and seek with the kids! This evening can be spent at leisure with your family, or you can join our optional tour of Luxor Temple, which is beautifully illuminated at night.

Luxor - Cairo. This morning we leave Luxor, transfer to the airport and fly back to Cairo, where you can enjoy the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel pool with your family or exploring as you please.

Sunday. Today your Egyptian adventure comes to an end - after breakfast we’ll transfer you and your clan to the airport for your onward flight.