Highlights of Egypt - a Family Holiday in Egypt (EXFEA)

Duration: 7 days (may vary)
Areas: Egypt
Tour types: Family Adventures, History & Culture

Description

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 to follow the footpaths taken by ancient artisans on our ride to 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 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!

Tour itinerary

Day 1

Join Luxor.

Day 2

Sightseeing by calesh to Karnak Temple; free afternoon.

Day 3

Early-morning donkey trek to the Valley of the Kings; free afternoon before evening train 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; sight- seeing to the Pyramids and Egyptian Museum.

Day 7

End Cairo.