Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1:  Johannesburg → Cairo Airport

Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, a Royal Way representative will be there to meet you and assist through Customs. Transfer to hotel and check-in.

Dinner included

Day 2:  Cairo Sightseeing

After your relaxing breakfast at the hotel in Cairo your own private guide will take you to Sakkara, part of Memphis’s massive necropolis, and the burial site of the most ancient Pharaohs where you will see the first pyramids ever built in Egypt. Step Pyramid of King Djoser designed by Imhotep, the ancient Egyptian architect. Thereafter we will take a relaxing drive to the famous Giza Plateau, home of Egypt’s GREATEST attractions to visit The Great Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. We will then visit the mysterious Sphinx, the Father of Terror for the ancient pharaohs. Included is a visit to the valley temple facing the great sphinx.

Transfer back to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Cairo Sightseeing Tours

Enjoy your breakfast at your hotel followed by  a tour to visit the world-renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiques that was built in neo-classical style. You will be escorted by a private Egyptologist tour guide. The museum exhibits a collection of over 120000 masterpieces (including the treasures of the child King Tutankhamen, Pharaonic Gods and Goddess ) that range from pre-dynastic era, Pharaonic era to the Greco-roman period. Thereafter we will visit the Citadel of Saladin, overlooking the city from the Muqattam Hills and Mohammed Ali Alabaster Mosque inside that was built in Turkish style and very similar to the Blue Mosque in Turkey. The day ends with the Famous Khan EL-Khalili Bazar, from there you will be transferred to your hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 4:  Cairo/ Luxor

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out and transfer to the airport for your flight to Luxor. Upon arrival at  Luxor Airport, we will depart to visit the Temple of Karnak, the largest place of worship ever built. Its ancient name Ipet-isut means the most sacred of places. The temple, or, more correctly, the complex of temples, was built over more than two thousand years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Within the complex, the great Hypostyle Hall is an incredible forest of giant pillars. We  then transfer for the Nile Cruise.  Embarkation and lunch on board.

After lunch we proceed to the Temple of Luxor which built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II, dedicated to the god Amun.

Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 5: Luxor Sightseeing / Edfu 

Breakfast onboard the cruise.After breakfast  we will be picked up by our tour guide to visit archaeological sites of the ancient Egyptians on the West Bank of the Nile including the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III (Colossi of Memnon).

We will then visit the Valley of the Kings, where tombs were carved deep into the desert rock, richly decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife of the pharaohs. We will visit 3 tombs. Continue the tour to visit the Hatshepsut Temple at El Deir El Bahary This impressive temple is dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. Return to your Nile cruise for lunch and start navigation to Edfu passing through Esna Lock.

Dinner on board and overnight Edfu.

Day 6: Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan 

After breakfast we depart to explore Edfu’s Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved Ancient Egyptian temples on the Nile. We continue navigation towards Kom Ombo. Afternoon tea is served on the sun deck. Upon arrival you will be accompanied by your Egyptologist speaking guide to visit Kom Ombo Temple, (the crocodile-headed God of fertility and creator of the world). Return to the cruise and navigation to Aswan.  

Dinner on board.

Day 7: Aswan Sightseeing

After breakfast, we depart with our guide to an exciting tour to the world-famous High Dam that was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960’s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Then you will be taken by motor-boat to the island of Egilka where we will  visit the majestic Philae Temple that was dedicated to the Goddesses Isis. We will continue to the granite quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. The quarries still hold the famous Unfinished Obelisk. Back to cruise for lunch. In the afternoon, we will depart for a Felucca Ride on the Nile River in Aswan, whereafter we will return to our Nile cruise ship for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Abu Simbel / Fly Cairo

After breakfast on board, we  will be escorted by our Egyptologist speaking guide for an optional tour to explore the impressive temples built by Ramses II in Abu Simbel. This is one of Egypt’s most visited sites. Relocated in the 1960’s with the building of the Aswan Dam, Abu Simbel is a feat of modern and ancient engineering. Transfer to Aswan Airport for your flight bound to Cairo airport after which we will be transferred to our hotel for check in.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 9: Cairo → Johannesburg 

Breakfast at the hotel, check out and transfer to the airport for your flight back home.