Family holiday in Egypt, highlights of Egypt
| country: | Egypt |
| location: | Pyramids |
| departures: | 2009: 28 Dec 2010: 15 Feb, 12 Apr, 2 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Oct, 27 Dec 2011: 21 Feb, 18 Apr, 1 Aug, 22 Aug |
| price: | From £795 - £945 (7 days) per adult and from £775 - £885 per child including flights from the UK. From £375 - £485 excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
photo gallery
1of6
1of6the amazing things you'll be doing
Temples & Tombs:
Luxor might as well be a million miles away such is the difference between home and the city which in ancient times was known as Thebes. We start our adventures by exploring enormous Karnak Temple, travelling there by calesh - horse-drawn carriage. Huge columns and dramatic wall paintings tell the stories of countless pharaohs whose exploits are dramatically described in hieroglyphic inscriptions. Later we mount donkeys and ride to the amazing temple of Queen Hatshepsut, then visit the Valley of the Kings, where we explore underground tombs covered in colourful wall paintings.
Beautiful Aswan:
Travelling south into ancient Nubia we arrive in Aswan, the most southerly city in Egypt and one that revels in its laid back atmosphere. It's a city of colourful bazaars, camels, desert sands and the ever-moving yet limpid waters of the Nile. Here we can take an optional trip to see Ramses II's amazing temple at Abu Simbel, before visiting a local Nubian family for a traditional meal. Next we take a camel ride into the desert to the abandoned and hauntingly atmospheric St. Simeon's Monastery before free time when you could choose to take a boat ride to the island-temple of Philae.
Magical Cairo:
Cairo - a city of towering minarets and narrow streets, the famous Giza Pyramids and Sphinx stand to the west of the city on a plateau at the very edge of the desert. We arrive by overnight train from Aswan and head straight out to explore, first to the Pyramids. Standing, seemingly unchanged, for millennia these mind-blowing testaments to power are the most dramatic display of the engineering prowess of the ancient Egyptians. Finally we head downtown to the Egyptian Museum - home to antiquities too numerous to display. The highlight of our visit is Tutankhamun's famous gold mask and funerary ware - what a way to finish!
Highlights:
Luxor might as well be a million miles away such is the difference between home and the city which in ancient times was known as Thebes. We start our adventures by exploring enormous Karnak Temple, travelling there by calesh - horse-drawn carriage. Huge columns and dramatic wall paintings tell the stories of countless pharaohs whose exploits are dramatically described in hieroglyphic inscriptions. Later we mount donkeys and ride to the amazing temple of Queen Hatshepsut, then visit the Valley of the Kings, where we explore underground tombs covered in colourful wall paintings.
Beautiful Aswan:
Travelling south into ancient Nubia we arrive in Aswan, the most southerly city in Egypt and one that revels in its laid back atmosphere. It's a city of colourful bazaars, camels, desert sands and the ever-moving yet limpid waters of the Nile. Here we can take an optional trip to see Ramses II's amazing temple at Abu Simbel, before visiting a local Nubian family for a traditional meal. Next we take a camel ride into the desert to the abandoned and hauntingly atmospheric St. Simeon's Monastery before free time when you could choose to take a boat ride to the island-temple of Philae.
Magical Cairo:
Cairo - a city of towering minarets and narrow streets, the famous Giza Pyramids and Sphinx stand to the west of the city on a plateau at the very edge of the desert. We arrive by overnight train from Aswan and head straight out to explore, first to the Pyramids. Standing, seemingly unchanged, for millennia these mind-blowing testaments to power are the most dramatic display of the engineering prowess of the ancient Egyptians. Finally we head downtown to the Egyptian Museum - home to antiquities too numerous to display. The highlight of our visit is Tutankhamun's famous gold mask and funerary ware - what a way to finish!
Highlights:
- Explore tombs, Pyramids and Tutankhamun's secrets
- Ride to ancient temples in horse-drawn carriages
- Ride camels into the desert
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Luxor. |
| Day 2: | Sightseeing by calesh to Karnak Temple; free afternoon. |
| Day 3: | Early-morning donkey trek to Hatshepsut Temple and visit Valley of the Kings; free afternoon; drive to Aswan. |
| Day 4: | Optional visit by air or coach to Abu Simbel; free afternoon for optional excursions before evening visit to Nubian family for dinner. |
| Day 5: | Camel trek to St. Simeon's Monastery; free afternoon - optional visit to Philae Temple; overnight train to Cairo. |
| Day 6: | Arrive Cairo; visit Giza Pyramids and Egyptian Museum. |
| Day 7: | Fly London. |
small group family holiday
This is a 'small group family adventure' - typically you will join several other families and travel in a group of approx. 16 people. The trips are great value and a great way for you and your children to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of time to yourselves. Most adventure kids tend to be aged between 7 and 15, but some are younger (minimum age is usually 5) and some older (perhaps travelling as part of a larger family group). Please check with the operator to confirm the minimum age for this trip how this holiday makes a difference
|
Environment:
In terms of the environment, this tour is fairly low impact as we use the train and driving distances are short. Add to that that all our tours work to a strict Responsible Tourism Policy and you can be sure that even we’ve considered every aspect of our operation in Egypt and are confident it is best practice. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. Community: A family tour is a huge opportunity to educate children about the world around them in a fun way and Egypt is just brimming with history and culture! One of the reasons we prefer to use local tour leaders where possible is they can give a real insight into the local culture; anything from learning about the education system, to making sure we don’t fall foul of any taboos! Secondly it is our policy to generate business and employment opportunities in the countries we travel to by employing local people. All our leaders in Egypt are locals and we’ve personally trained them all too so they are comfortable in their work and you get great service. You can be fairly confident that your money is benefiting the local community in the areas we visit. We use a huge number of small local suppliers on this trip, such as restaurants and cafes, donkey and camel owners, taxi drivers, calesh drivers, boatmen...all of whom get a benefit from us being there. The fact that we have worked with lots of these people for many years has really given them a stable source of income and we’ve also helped them out in difficult times. We’re delighted that you’ll have the chance to meet so many of them on your trip! We really think meeting the people is one of the best things about overseas travel and try to find opportunities for you to get a real flavour of local life, such as having dinner in a Nubian village. Aside from the income it generates for the family, the food is delicious! Whilst you are in Luxor you will have the opportunity to visit the Sunshine Orphanage which we have supported for many years. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |