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From the moment you arrive in Cairo to your final farewell dinner beneath the city’s ancient skyline, this twelve-day journey takes you deep into the heart of one of the world’s most extraordinary civilisations. Egypt is a country that defies expectation at every turn — grander than you imagined, more beautiful than photographs suggest, and more alive than any history book can convey.
Begin in Cairo, where the Great Pyramids of Giza and the enigmatic Sphinx stand as enduring monuments to human ambition. Explore the treasures of the Egyptian Museum before boarding an overnight sleeper train south to Aswan, a quieter, more intimate city where the Nile runs clear and the pace of life slows to something deeply restorative. Sail northward on a traditional felucca, spending a night beneath a canopy of stars as the desert drifts past on both banks.
In Luxor, the open-air museum of the ancient world, descend into the painted tombs of the Valley of the Kings, marvel at the temple complexes of Karnak and Hatshepsut, and feel the full weight of three thousand years of history pressing in around you. The journey then carries you east across the desert hills to Hurghada, where four days of rest, sunshine, and the vivid coral reefs of the Red Sea await.
Your Egyptian adventure begins the moment you land at Cairo International Airport, where our friendly team will be waiting to welcome you and assist with your transfer to your hotel. After the long journey, the rest of the day is entirely yours — a chance to decompress, freshen up, and ease yourself into the rhythm of this extraordinary city. Cairo is a place that buzzes with energy at every hour, so even a gentle wander from your hotel can feel like a discovery. Stroll through a nearby neighborhood and take in the sounds of street vendors, and the sight of minarets piercing the skyline. If you’re feeling peckish, dive straight into Egyptian cuisine — grilled kofta, warm flatbread, or a bowl of ful medames are perfect introductions.
Overnight: Cairo
Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum & overnight train
Today is the one you’ve been waiting for. We head straight to the Giza Plateau, where the Great Pyramids rise from the desert in a sight that never loses its power, no matter how many times you’ve seen them in photographs. Standing at the base of these ancient wonders — built over 4,500 years ago — is genuinely humbling. We’ll take a short camel ride across the sands, giving you a unique perspective on the plateau and some unforgettable photos. Nearby, the enigmatic Sphinx gazes across the desert, carved from a single limestone outcrop and steeped in mystery. Afterward, we drive into the heart of Cairo to visit the Egyptian Museum, a treasure trove of antiquity housing thousands of artifacts spanning millennia. The undoubted highlight is the Tutankhamun collection, including his breathtaking golden funerary mask — one of the most iconic objects in the world. As evening falls, we make our way to the train station and board the overnight sleeper to Aswan, settling into private twin cabins for a comfortable nine-hour journey south through the night.
Overnight: On board sleeper train
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
The sleeper train pulls into Aswan mid-morning, and the pace shifts noticeably — the air is drier, the city smaller, the Nile a deeper blue. We take a short boat ride to the island of Philae, home to one of Egypt’s most beautifully situated temples, dedicated to the goddess Isis. This ancient sanctuary was painstakingly dismantled and reconstructed on higher ground to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, and it remains an extraordinary feat of both ancient craftsmanship and modern preservation. The boat journey itself is a pleasure, skimming between granite boulders and watching fishermen cast their nets. During term time, we also visit a local school for an informal and joyful session of English and Arabic language exchange. These encounters — laughing together over pronunciation, swapping names and ages, playing word games — are among the most genuinely memorable moments of the trip. We try to match the age of your group where possible. The day ends with a traditional Nubian meal, a fragrant and warming introduction to the distinct flavors of southern Egypt.
Overnight: Aswan hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Early risers have the option of a truly extraordinary experience this morning: an excursion to Abu Simbel to watch the sunrise illuminate the colossal temples of Ramses II. These rock-hewn monuments, carved directly into a cliff face over three thousand years ago, were relocated in one of the most ambitious engineering operations in modern history to prevent them from being submerged. If you’ve not yet experienced them, the scale is staggering — four enormous seated statues of Ramses guard the entrance, each over twenty metres tall. For those staying behind, the morning is free to browse Aswan’s bustling bazaar, pick up spices and souvenirs, or simply relax at the hotel. In the afternoon, the whole group reconvenes at the riverbank to board our traditional felucca sailboat — a wooden vessel that has carried people along the Nile for centuries. As the white sail catches the wind and the shore slowly drifts past, the pace of life drops to something altogether more peaceful. Our friendly Nubian crew will look after you as you spend your first night sleeping under the stars on the deck.
Overnight: On board felucca
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
There are few more peaceful ways to wake up than on the deck of a felucca, the morning light rippling on the Nile and the desert hills glowing on both banks. Breakfast is served on board as we continue sailing northward, passing riverside villages and date-palm groves. The felucca experience is genuinely unlike anything else — no engine noise, no rush, just the creak of the rigging and the lap of water against the hull. After a leisurely morning afloat, we disembark and drive to Luxor, arriving in time to check into our hotel, which sits right on the banks of the Nile. The rest of the afternoon is entirely free, and Luxor offers plenty to fill it. You might wander down to the river and watch the sun begin to drop behind the western hills, explore the lively streets near Luxor Temple, or simply relax at the hotel after a night in the open air. Our guides can point you toward the best local eateries, teahouses, and hidden corners of this history-saturated city.
Overnight: Luxor
Meals: Breakfast
For those who can face an early alarm, this morning offers an optional hot air balloon flight over the West Bank — drifting silently above the Valley of the Kings as golden light floods the desert is one of the most spectacular ways imaginable to greet the day. Afterward, we cross the Nile to the West Bank for our main sightseeing. The Valley of the Kings is an ancient royal necropolis where pharaohs including Tutankhamun and Ramses the Great were buried in elaborately decorated underground tombs, filled with vivid paintings and hieroglyphs intended to guide them into the afterlife. Descending into these chambers, torchlit and wonderfully cool, is an unforgettable experience. We then visit the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most remarkable rulers — a woman who governed as pharaoh for over two decades and left behind a legacy her successors tried to erase. The afternoon is free for you to revisit favourite spots, take a felucca to the serene Banana Island, or wander through the Mummification Museum, which offers a fascinating glimpse into ancient Egyptian beliefs and burial practices.
Overnight: Luxor
Meals: Breakfast
Our final morning in Luxor is devoted to Karnak, arguably the most impressive ancient religious complex anywhere in the world. Built, expanded, and embellished by successive pharaohs over a period of nearly two thousand years, Karnak is less a single temple than an entire sacred city — a vast network of sanctuaries, towering pylons, hypostyle halls packed with 134 enormous columns, soaring obelisks, and avenue after avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. Walking through it, you feel the ambition and devotion of an entire civilization pressing in around you. Allow yourself to simply stand still for a moment and let the scale sink in. After a satisfying lunch in Luxor, we begin our journey east, winding up through the dramatic desert hills that separate the Nile Valley from the Red Sea coast. The landscape is stark and beautiful — bare rock, occasional acacia trees, and the gradual appearance of blue on the horizon. By evening we arrive in Hurghada, where a beach resort awaits. The next few days are about rest, sunshine, warm water, and complete freedom from itineraries. Half-board is included, with all-inclusive upgrades available.
Overnight: Hurghada Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After the intensity and richness of the past week, today asks nothing of you except to relax and enjoy yourself. The Red Sea resort is yours to explore at whatever pace suits you best. The beach is right on your doorstep — warm, clear water and soft sand make it easy to spend an entire day doing very little at all. If idling isn’t your style, the Red Sea offers some of the world’s most accessible and rewarding snorkelling and diving. The coral reefs here are astonishingly colourful and teeming with life, from parrotfish to moray eels to the occasional turtle drifting overhead. No experience is necessary — the reef begins just metres from the shore in many spots. For those who prefer to stay on the surface, there are jet skis, glass-bottomed boats, and sailing trips to keep things interesting. Away from the water, a camel trek into the surrounding desert offers a completely different perspective on the landscape, while a visit to the old town and marina reveals a more authentic side of Hurghada. Whatever calls to you, we can help arrange it. Today is simply yours.
Overnight: Hurghada Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Another day of complete freedom on the Red Sea coast — and by now you’ll likely have found your own rhythm at the resort. Perhaps mornings belong to the beach, when the light is soft and the water is at its most inviting. Perhaps afternoons are for the pool, a cold drink, and a good book in the shade. Or perhaps you’ve been bitten by the diving bug and want to push a little deeper into the reef today. Whatever yesterday brought, today offers a fresh version of it. If you’re looking for something new, speak to your local representative, who can help organise a range of optional activities: quad biking through the desert at sunset, a boat trip to a more remote reef, a cultural tour to the Bedouin villages inland, or a cooking class focused on Egyptian and Nubian flavours. Hurghada has far more to it than a typical beach resort — the town itself rewards a slow afternoon wander, with spice stalls, small galleries, and seafood restaurants overlooking the marina. But equally, if all you want is another day of sun, sand, and sea, that is entirely the right choice too.
Overnight: Hurghada Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The last full day at the resort, and it deserves to be spent exactly as you wish. There’s a particular quality to this kind of final day — the knowledge that tomorrow the journey continues gives today a gentle poignancy, a reason to be fully present wherever you are. Take one last long swim over the coral, or stretch out on the beach and watch the pelicans patrol the shoreline. Order something you haven’t tried yet from the menu. Strike up a conversation with someone you haven’t properly spoken to on the trip. Take a slow evening walk along the waterfront as the sky turns amber and the boats bob in the marina. If there are any activities or excursions you’ve been meaning to try and haven’t yet, today is the day — our guides can still arrange things at relatively short notice. And if the answer to all of that is simply more rest, more swimming, and more sunshine, that is equally valid. You’ve earned it after an extraordinary ten days of exploration. Tomorrow Cairo and the final chapter of the tour await — but tonight, linger.
Overnight: Hurghada Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This morning we transfer to Hurghada’s local airport for a short flight back to Cairo. It’s always a slight jolt to return to the capital after the tranquility of the Red Sea, but Cairo rewards the return — there is still plenty to discover. Our first stop is the Citadel, the great medieval fortress that has dominated Cairo’s skyline for eight centuries. The mosque of Muhammad Ali inside is a genuinely beautiful building, its alabaster walls glowing and its domes rising against the blue sky. From the ramparts, the view across the entire city is breathtaking — on a clear day you can see the Pyramids on the horizon. From there, we plunge into the magnificent chaos of Khan el-Khalili, one of the oldest and most atmospheric bazaars in the Islamic world. Brass lanterns, spices, perfume oils, papyrus, and hand-crafted jewellery fill its narrow alleyways — this is the place for final souvenir hunting and some spirited bargaining. Lunch is at a traditional Koshari shop, sampling this beloved Egyptian street dish. The evening brings a warm farewell dinner with your guides and fellow travellers, a chance to share memories from an extraordinary journey.
Overnight: Cairo
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
The final morning in Egypt arrives gently, and there’s no rush. Depending on your departure time, you may have a few hours to fill before we transfer you to Cairo International Airport — time enough for a last cup of strong Egyptian tea on the hotel terrace, a short walk to revisit a favourite corner of the city, or a final browse through a nearby market for anything you may have missed. Cairo has a way of making you feel, even on departure day, that there is still more to uncover — that is both its challenge and its gift. Our team will ensure your transfer to the airport is smooth and well-timed, and will be there to say goodbye as you check in for your flight home. We hope this journey has left you with a deep appreciation for Egypt’s extraordinary history, the warmth of its people, and the timeless drama of the Nile.
Meals: Breakfast
