4 Nights program

4 NIGHT NILE CRUISE (ASWAN TO LUXOR)

DAY 1

• Transfer from the airport, the train station or your hotel to the cruise ship.
• Board your 5-star deluxe Nile cruise boat, moored in a private dock in Aswan, where you will be welcomed by the reception staff.
• Lunch will be served on board.
• This afternoon you will have the chance to take a ride on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sail boat) around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (weather permitting, life jackets will be provided).
• Enjoy afternoon tea served in the lounge. Tonight, you will be greeted by your Boat Manager as you enjoy a selection of canapés with some complimentary Egyptian wine and local beer. A gourmet dinner will be served on board.
• Enjoy a Folkloric Show and Dervish Show after dinner.

DAY 2

• A breakfast buffet will be served on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika. This will be followed by a visit to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still hold a huge unfinished obelisk.
• Later, an Egyptian cooking lesson will be presented on board. Enjoy lunch, while you cruise to Kom Ombo and visit the magnificent Temple of Kom Ombo - dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek.
• Afternoon tea will be served while you cruise to Edfu.
• Tonight will be an “Egyptian Night” costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyya”. Dinner will be a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialties, followed by oriental music and dancing for everyone.

DAY 3

• A breakfast buffet will be served on board. This morning, explore the extraordinary Temple of Horus.
• Once you return to the boat, continue to enjoy your cruise onward to Esna, while enjoying your lunch.
• This afternoon, your Egyptologist will guide you round the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum at Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters below present-day street
• Afternoon tea will be served while you sail to Luxor.
• Tonight, a delicious dinner is served on board.

DAY 4

• Breakfast is served on board.
• This morning, your Egyptologist will guide you around the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor, dedicated to the god Amun - and then onwards to the Temple of Karnak.
• After lunch, visit the Valley of the Kings. You will have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens, and visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the river Nile, you will pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn.
• Return your luxury Nile Cruise boat where afternoon tea will be served in the lounge.
• Tonight’s farewell dinner will be a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine.

DAY 5

• A buffet breakfast will be served on board, before check out at 8:00.

4 NIGHT NILE CRUISE (LUXOR TO ASWAN)

DAY 1

EMBARK IN LUXOR

Check in to your 5-star deluxe Nile cruise boat, where you will be welcomed by the reception staff. On arrival, you will have the opportunity to visit Luxor Temple.

Lunch will be served on board in the main restaurant.

After lunch, visit the West Bank of Luxor to explore the Valley of the Kings. You will also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

On the way back to the river Nile, we will pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon.

Tonight, you will be greeted by your Boat Manager while you enjoy freshly prepared canapés with some complimentary Egyptian wine and local beer, followed by a gourmet dinner menu.

DAY 2

KARNAK TEMPLE AND TEMPLE OF KHNUM

After a delicious breakfast buffet on board, our tour of the East Bank will begin with a visit to the Temple of Karnak.

Following the morning sail to Esna, enjoy lunch on board the boat.

After lunch, your Egyptologist will guide you around the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum at Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters below present-day street level.

Afternoon tea will be served on board during the cruise to Edfu.

In the evening, a gourmet dinner will be served on board.

DAY 3

EDFU AND KOM OMBO TEMPLES

Enjoy breakfast on board, followed by a visit to the Temple of Edfu.

Lunch will be served on board while cruising to Kom Ombo. After lunch, visit the temple of Kom Ombo - dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where, in ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank.

Return to your Nile Cruise boat where afternoon tea will be served in the lounge. You will also have the chance to take part in an Egyptian cooking lesson while the boat is sailing to Aswan.

Tonight’s entertainment will be an “Egyptian Night” costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyyas”. Dinner will be a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialties.

DAY 4

PHILAE TEMPLE AND FELUCCA SAILING

A breakfast buffet will be served on board, after which you will have the morning at your leisure.

Enjoy lunch on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika.

Next, we proceed to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still hold a huge unfinished obelisk. You will also have a chance take a ride on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sail boat) around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (weather permitting, life jackets will be provided).

Afternoon tea will be served in the lounge. Tonight’s farewell dinner will be a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine. Enjoy a Folkloric show and a Dervish show after dinner.

DAY 5

DISEMBARK IN ASWAN

• Buffet breakfast on board and check out at 8:00 AM.