History tours to Egypt
| country: | Egypt |
| location: | Nile Cruises, Pyramids, Luxor |
| departures: | 2010: 27 Jan, 10 Feb, 10 Mar, 20 Oct, 27 Oct, 3 Nov, 22 Dec 2011: 26 Jan, 9 Feb, 23 Mar, 13 Apr |
| price: | From £1074 - £1215 (15 days) including flights from the UK, from £675 - £735 excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
In the Land of the Pharaohs:
From the tour's start in Cairo, the largest capital city in Africa, the history of this antique land is almost tangible. We spend time in the excellent Egyptian museum and at the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, before continuing south through the fertile Nile Valley, the bread basket of Egypt. At Saqqara we discover Egypt's oldest pyramids and, at Dashur, a lesser known but equally impressive complex of pyramids.
Beni Hassan & Tell al-Amarna:
From El Minya we visit the remarkable rock-cut tombs of Beni Hassan (majestically overlooking the Nile Valley), then discover the ruins of Amarna the short-lived capital of ancient Egypt's most enigmatic figures: Akhenaton and his queen Nefertiti. Also included in our itinerary are the brilliantly coloured bas-reliefs of Abydos, burial ground of Osiris, god of the dead.
Upper Egypt & 3-day Nile Cruise
More archaeological wonders await us on our optional trip to Abu Simbel, the site of the monumental sculptures of Ramses II, the most magnificent of all pharaohs. After experiencing the rest that Aswan has to offer, including the atmospheric souks, we board the M/S Doma to cruise gently downriver back to Luxor via Kom Ombo and Edfu, temple of Hathor, goddess of love. Our stay in Luxor offers ample time to enjoy the richest concentration of historical sites in the world, including the awesome Temple of Amun at Karnak (reached by horse carriage), the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple (where we travel to by donkey!). Finally we arrive back in Cairo with time for further optional sightseeing.
Highlights:
From the tour's start in Cairo, the largest capital city in Africa, the history of this antique land is almost tangible. We spend time in the excellent Egyptian museum and at the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, before continuing south through the fertile Nile Valley, the bread basket of Egypt. At Saqqara we discover Egypt's oldest pyramids and, at Dashur, a lesser known but equally impressive complex of pyramids.
Beni Hassan & Tell al-Amarna:
From El Minya we visit the remarkable rock-cut tombs of Beni Hassan (majestically overlooking the Nile Valley), then discover the ruins of Amarna the short-lived capital of ancient Egypt's most enigmatic figures: Akhenaton and his queen Nefertiti. Also included in our itinerary are the brilliantly coloured bas-reliefs of Abydos, burial ground of Osiris, god of the dead.
Upper Egypt & 3-day Nile Cruise
More archaeological wonders await us on our optional trip to Abu Simbel, the site of the monumental sculptures of Ramses II, the most magnificent of all pharaohs. After experiencing the rest that Aswan has to offer, including the atmospheric souks, we board the M/S Doma to cruise gently downriver back to Luxor via Kom Ombo and Edfu, temple of Hathor, goddess of love. Our stay in Luxor offers ample time to enjoy the richest concentration of historical sites in the world, including the awesome Temple of Amun at Karnak (reached by horse carriage), the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple (where we travel to by donkey!). Finally we arrive back in Cairo with time for further optional sightseeing.
Highlights:
- An in-depth look at man's achievements over thousands of years.
- Travel the Nile Valley from Cairo to Aswan.
- Visit temples that are almost six thousand years old.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Join tour, Cairo. |
| Day 2: | In Cairo. Cairo is the busiest city in Africa and is know as the city of a thousand minarets. Driving to Giza we see the Pyramids and Sphinx, among the most impressive man-made spectacles in the world. |
| Day 3: | Drive to El Fayyum via Saqqara and Dashur. Leaving the city behind, we pause at Saqqara to investigate the impressive step pyramid/ necropolis of Zozer – the first and greatest pyramid of all Egypt. Moving on, we visit Memphis; once the grand capital of the 3rd Dynasty in the Old Kingdom. |
| Day 4: | Drive to El Minya via Maidum. El Fayyum, the ‘Garden of Egypt’ is the largest oasis in Egypt. Fed by the Nile through hundreds of water channels this fertile soil allows cotton, tomatoes, olives, melons, almonds, apricots and a wide variety of other plants to grow. |
| Day 5: | Drive to Assiut via Beni Hassan and Tell El-Amarna. Starting early we cross the Nile this morning en route to our first stop at Beni Hassan, a Middle Kingdom necropolis containing 39 rock tombs. |
| Day 6: | Drive to Luxor via Abydos & Dendera. On our southerly route to Luxor we stop off to explore Abydos Temple. |
| Day 7: | In Luxor; visit Karnak Temple. In the morning you have the opportunity to take a balloon flight over the west bank of Luxor (optional). Later on we will be travelling by calesh, horse-drawn carriage, to the stupendous Temple of Amun at Karnak. |
| Day 8: | Bus to Aswan; optional visit to Philae Temple. Aswan is Egypt’s most southerly city, traditionally regarded as the frontier post of Upper Egypt. Sited on the east bank, just below the First Cataract, it is the meeting point of Arab culture with Nubia and black Africa. |
| Day 9: | In Aswan; optional visit to Abu Simbel. For most a highlight of the trip is the opportunity to rise early in the morning to journey south from Aswan for an optional visit to the incredible temples of Abu Simbel. |
| Day 10-12: | Riverboat to Luxor. This morning we suggest a camel trek through the desert to the abandoned Coptic Monastery of St. Simeon. Later, we board our comfortable riverboat for our 3-day voyage to Luxor. |
| Day 13: | Donkey trek to the Valley of the Kings; overnight sleeper train to Cairo. Rising very early this morning, we cross the Nile to enjoy an adventurous donkey trek passing through an enchanting landscape of irrigated farmland and mud brick villages en route, pausing to view the famous Colossi of Memnon, the last remains of the once mighty temple of Amenhotep III then on to the extraordinary Temple of Queen Hatsheput, Egypt’s only female Pharaoh, who usurped the throne from her son, the future Tuthmoses III. |
| Day 14: | In Cairo. Optional visit to Islamic Cairo and Khan el Khalili. |
| Day 15: | Tour ends in Cairo. |
small group cultural tours
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment:
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: Learning about the country we are travelling to is really important on our tours 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 benefitting the local community in the areas we visit. We use a a huge number of small local suppliers, such as cafes, donkey owners, 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! This particular tour gets us off the beaten track too as relatively few visitors travel through central Egypt. As such we are a vital part of the local economy in these parts. 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. |