Ancient Egypt & Jordan 17-day discovery tour

Cairo

Day 1: Arrival in Egypt

Touch down at Cairo Airport and receive a warm welcome from one of our team. Transfer to your hotel in the city to settle in and rest after your journey. 

Cairo

Day 2: The Great Pyramids & Cairo

Enjoy breakfast, then you'll be picked up at your hotel for a full day visiting the Pyramids and exploring the exciting city of Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit this, several other nearby pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

After a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, head to the Egyptian Museum, the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East and home to the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world. We’ll also visit the paper museum, a perfumery and jewellery workshop.

The rest of the evening is free for you to relax or explore the city at your own pace. 

Cairo - Alexandria - Cairo

Day 3: Ancient Alexandria

Fuel up at breakfast, ready for a full-day trip to explore Alexandria. Your driver will collect you at the hotel and take you to see the city’s most impressive surviving monuments: elaborate cemeteries, including the Roman-era Kom al-Shoqafa near the Serapeum. It contains Greek-style catacombs, a chapel and a banqueting area used during funerals. Its paintings and reliefs gracefully combine ancient Egyptian and Greek artistic traditions.

Lunch will be enjoyed in a local seafood restaurant. In the afternoon, visit Montazah Gardens for a stroll before returning to your hotel in Cairo. This evening is free for you to spend as you please. 

Cairo

Day 4: Religious architecture of Cairo

After breakfast, set off for a full-day cultural tour to discover the ancient Islamic and Coptic sites around Cairo. Begin by visiting the citadel of Salah El Din, resembling a typical medieval fortress, with large imposing gateways, towers and high defensive walls. The prominent fortress houses three mosques, a carriage museum, a military museum and a garden museum. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant before continuing the tour to visit one of Cairo’s oldest Coptic monasteries.

Afterwards, return to your hotel and an evening at leisure.

Cairo - Aswan

Day 5: All aboard for a Nile cruise

After breakfast, check out and transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Aswan.

You'll be picked up at the airport for a sightseeing visit to High Dam to see the Philae Temple of Isis. This is one of the last ancient Egyptian temples to remain active during the Byzantine era and where a priest of Isis carved the last-dated hieroglyphic inscription during the late fourth century CE. Transfer to your Nile cruise boat for check in. Enjoy lunch on board and some time to settle in. Later, your driver will collect you for a sunset trip to Felucca with views overlooking Aswan. Return to the boat for dinner and an overnight stay.

Aswan - Kom Ombo

Day 6: Grand temples of the Nile

After breakfast, visit the Great Temple of Abu Simbel near Egypt’s southern border in Nubia: it is among the most awe-inspiring monuments of Egypt. It was cut into the rock during the reign of King Ramesses II around 1264 BCE. The temple is most well-known for the imposing statues that dominate its façade. Visit the temple this morning and return to the boat for lunch as we sail to Kom Ombo. The temple here is unique, as it has a mirrored or double design. The courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms were duplicated for two sets of gods. The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the northern part to the falcon god Haroeris. Everything has been built perfectly symmetrically along the main axis. Return to the boat for dinner and and another night afloat.

Edfu - Luxor

Day 7: Sailing for Luxor

After breakfast on board, you'll go ashore to visit one of the best-preserved shrines in Egypt. The Edfou Temple was built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 237 and 57 BCE. The inscriptions on its walls provide a fascinating insight into language, myth and religion during the Hellenistic period of Egypt. Lunch will be served back on board as we set sail for Luxor. In the afternoon, visit the impressive Luxor Temple, which is thought to have been where many of the pharaohs of Egypt were crowned. Return to the boat for dinner and an overnight stay.

Luxor - Cairo

Day 8: The Valley of the Kings

Breakfast on board before checking out and being collected by your driver to visit the Valley of the Kings. This royal burial ground was carefully selected on the west side of the Nile. Ancient Egyptian cemeteries were generally situated on the west bank of the Nile to mark where the Sun God sank/died ready to be reborn.

After lunch in a local restaurant, we continue to Karnak Temple, the most important temple in Thebes (modern Luxor) and Upper Egypt. This was where the cult of the great god Amun of Thebes was conducted. It was extremely wealthy and its priesthood held great political power.

Later, transfer to Luxor Airport for a flight to Cairo and transfer to your hotel for check in, followed by a free evening.

Cairo - Sharm El Sheikh

Day 9: Journey to Sharm el-Sheikh

After breakfast, travel by road towards Sharm El Sheikh. Pass through the Ahmed Hamdy tunnel under the Suez Canal with a stop to visit the Springs of Moses. This collection of freshwater springs in South Sinai is said to be where, during the Israelite Exodus, Moses was directed by Yahweh to throw a tree branch into the bitter springs to make them sweet. Arrive in Sharm El Sheikh for lunch in a local restaurant, then check in at your all-inclusive hotel to relax and enjoy an evening meal.

Sharm El Sheikh

Day 10: The Red Sea coast

Spend a full day at leisure in Sharm El Sheikh. All meals are included at your hotel and there is the option to add a boat trip with diving or snorkelling, or simply enjoy the hotel facilities and pool.

Sharm El Sheikh - St Catherine - Dahab

Day 11: Exploring the Red Sea

Breakfast at your hotel before a trip to St Catherine’s Monastery and the Blue Hole. The monastery is situated in a deep gorge and is an extraordinary relic of the 5th century. A site of great religious significance, it is one of the oldest still-functioning Christian monasteries in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Transfer from there to The Blue Hole, a sinkhole dive site on the coast of the Red Sea. The Blue Hole is popular because of the depth directly accessible from shore and the lack of current. Lunch at Dahab then return to your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh for dinner.

Sharm El Sheikh

Day 12: Free day in Sharm El Sheikh

Enjoy another day at leisure in Sharm El Sheikh, perhaps taking a stroll along the seafront and a swim in the sea. There are also options for snorkelling and sea excursions. All meals are included during your stay.

Sharm El Sheikh - Aqaba - Wadi Rum

Day 13: By boat to Jordan

Check out of your accommodation after breakfast and transfer to Nuweiba Port. One of our team will be there to assist you with all the paperwork for your sea journey into Jordan. Set off by ferry to Aqaba and then take an overground transfer to Wadi Rum, where you'll spend tonight.  

Wadi Rum - Petra - The Dead Sea

Day 14: Explore Petra

After breakfast this morning, set off on a desert wilderness adventure by 4x4 jeep across Wadi Rum. Follow in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia on this adventurous journey to Petra. Marvel at the beauty of the Lost City, exploring its many caves, halls and tombs. Walk through the canyon and be astounded at the magnificent Treasury, the carved entrance guarding this ancient Nabatean city. After a full day of discovery, transfer to your Dead Sea hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

The Dead Sea

Day 15: Dead Sea bathing

Enjoy the morning sunshine at the lowest point on earth, while you take an invigorating mud bath to cleanse the skin. Unwind in this unique place with a full day and evening of relaxation, as you watch the sun set over the hills, with Jerusalem in the distance.

The Dead Sea - Amman

Day 16: Journey to the capital

After breakfast, check out of your hotel, then drive to Madaba town to discover the amazing Byzantine mosaics excavated there. See the Madaba Map, the oldest preserved mosaic map of the Holy Lands. Then, continue to Mount Nebo and wonder at the view where Moses looked across to the Promised Land. Transfer to Amman, the capital of Jordan, and take a tour. Check in at your hotel and enjoy your last evening in Jordan.  

Amman

Day 17: Homeward bound

Check out after breakfast at your hotel. Your driver will collect you to transfer to Amman Airport for your homeward flight.