Essential Egypt

Welcome to Egypt! At the Cairo terminal keep your eyes peeled for the Travel Talk sign for your transfer to the hotel. Freshen up and meet in the lobby around 6:00pm for an informal meeting with your guide and other tour members. Afterwards you have free time to start exploring vibrant Cairo or board a cruise for an optional group dinner.

Set your alarms for 7.30am and fill up on plenty of breakfast before a big day exploring Egypt’s iconic Ancient Wonder of the World – the Pyramids and Sphinx! Follow your guide for a tour across the ancient site to learn about the 4,600-year-old wonders. The journey continues with one of the most important museums dedicated to the ancient world – The Grand Egyptian Museum of Cairo. Home to over 120,000 ancient Egyptian relics and antiquities, this place will leave you in awe! After everyone has had their dose of awe, we’ll head back to our hotel for overnight stay.

We start the day with a flight to Aswan where we will have a city tour with our local guide. Visit the Unfinished Obelisk for a look into the incredible building methods used to create the four-sided, hallmark monuments that are placed at the entrances of Egyptian temples. Take some time to walk along the 42-metre long lying bed of granite and learn about its significance from your guide. Visit the Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, divine mother of the pharaohs. The temple is set beautifully on an island in the middle of the Nile. We will then arrive at the hotel for check-in and then have the option to join a traditional Nubian dinner in the evening.

At 04:45 in the morning, we depart for the optional trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Abu Simbel. It is a must-do for all keen historians! Enjoy a free afternoon to explore Aswan and the banks of the Nile River at your own pace.

We hop on the coach and drive towards Kom Ombo. Visit the Kom Ombo Temple, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. Next stop will be Edfu, home to one of the largest and best-preserved temples in Egypt. Dedicated to the falcon god Horus, the temple was built over 180-years from 237 BC to 57 BC.

Time to relax and enjoy the cool breeze of the Nile. Jump on-board a traditional Felucca sailboat, bound for the sailing on the Nile. After our river excursion, the rest of the day is yours to wander around Aswan as you wish.

We start the day with a visit to the vast Karnak Temple Complex, one of the most important religious centers of ancient Egypt with its marvelous temples. Your Egyptologist guide will enlighten you with the most intriguing stories and mythologies from the temple complex. In the evening, we will check out the Luxor Temple. Explore the dim-light temple after dark and learn from your guide of the temple complexes ancient history, dating back to the 14th century B.C.

Early in the morning take to the skies on an optional hot air balloon ride over Luxor.

Then follow your guide to the Valley of the Kings, also known as the ‘City of the Dead’, home to fancy royal tombs carved into desert rocks and filled with treasures for the Pharaoh afterlife. Next up, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and Colossi of Memnon. Later in the afternoon we make our way to the airport and fly back to Cairo.

Have your final breakfast on us and start bidding farewells to your travel mates. Check-out of the hotel in Cairo (11:00am) and catch the transfer to the airport at the end of your tour. Time to start counting days for your next adventure with Travel Talk!