It's time to start the trip out strong with an early morning ATV ride across the sand dunes to an epic panoramic viewpoint of the Pyramids! We choose this activity not only because it's fun, but because it's more ethical than the traditional option of camel riding (note, you will be 2 per ATV!)

Then we'll trade the quads for our AC bus to go into the actual park where the Pyramids are, and listen to their fascinating history before breaking off to take photos.

If you'd like to go inside of the pyramid, you can do so for around $20 extra (you can decide when we are there, but bring extra cash in case you might want to!).

After we've ooh-ed, awe-ed, and likely made a few videos "Walking like an Egyptian", we'll get back on the bus and head to the Egyptian Museum....hopefully it will be the new one.

Spoiler Alert: We have been waiting for many years for the "Great Egyptian Museum" to finally open, but like many historical wonders, it is still claiming "next year it will open". So we are going to hope we can catch it, but we cannot guarantee that it will not be delayed again! IF it isn't opened in time, we will go to the old Egyptian Museum, where you can still see plenty of artifacts including all of the treasure that was found intact in King Tut's tomb!

After an intense tour of the ancient Egyptian relics in Cairo, we'll head to the airport for a domestic flight to Aswan!

Overnight in Aswan 

Meals: M, L, D

For those who would like to do an add-on to Abu Simbel, you'll need to get up very early to fly there and back before our Nile River Cruise starts, and you will likely miss seeing Philae Temple. In all honesty, if Abu Simbel is high on your bucketlist, it is worth seeing over Philae Temple, however in our opinion, it does look somewhat similar to Luxor.

For the early morning optional tour to Abu Simbel ($270 per person), you'll fly there via small plane and visit the site for 1-2 hours. Abu Simbel's temples are carved out of solid rock upon the orders of Pharaoh Ramses II at a site south of Aswan in the land of Nubia. The site had long been sacred grounds to the goddess Hathor of Absek. However, the temple built by Ramses was dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re and Re-Harokhte. Because of their far-away location near the Sudanese border, the temples were unknown until their discovery in 1813. All 3 temples were removed from their original sites in a gigantic rescue operation and moved further along to another site to avoid them being submerged by the High Dam waters.

For those not going to Abu Simbel: We will start our tour in Aswan with leisurely morning, followed by a short boat trip which will take us to the Temple of Philae, which was the center of worship of the Goddess Isis and thus attracted pilgrims from all over the ancient world. The original island is now completely submerged by the waters of Lake Nasser. In a spectacular rescue operation, the great temples and monuments of Philae were relocated to the nearby Island of Agilkia, where they now are perched. 

After discovering and admiring the romantic Temple (btw it's also known as "The Temple of Love"), we'll head to our fabulous floating luxury Nile River cruise boat for the next three nights!

Meals: B, L, D

Overnight:  Royal Ruby ship or similar

We'll have a relaxing morning as we cruise along the Nile River in style, taking in the sites and enjoying the luxurious ship! It'll be just like "Death on the Nile" except bigger, fancier, and ....no deaths until we get to the Valley of the Kings where the ancient tombs are! Ok maybe that was a bad joke to put on an itinerary...

Anyway, the day will be filled with leisurely activities, and stunning sights to see from the ship! If you'd like to take a dip, you can do so in the ship's pool, but not in the Nile, unless you'd like to meet a Nile Crocodile!

Then! We will set sail to Kom Ombo with an evening visit to the temple dedicated to the two gods Sobek the crocodile God and Harveris the Sun God.

Back on the boat we'll have some fun little festivities planned, along with dinner!

Meals: B, L, D

Overnight: Royal Ruby ship or similar

Wake up again to the calm waters of the Nile River, and after a delicious breakfast, we'll have a morning tour to Edfu Temple, then continue sailing towards Luxor while enjoying free time and lunch. 

Our afternoon tour is to the East Bank of Luxor, with entry down the avenue of Ram Headed Sphinx to reach the Monumental Temple of Karnak! We low key actually prefer Karnak to the actual Luxor temple, because it has the massive statues (similar to Abu Simbel's), the giant Scarab that we'll walk around for good luck, and pillars so wide, that it will take 15 or more of us holding hands to encircle it!

After enjoying this impressive man-made wonder, we will continue on to Luxor Temple! We will also have the opportunity to see Luxor at night lit up by lights -- one of the only temples that offers this!

Depending on time and our energy levels, we may have the option to go out and explore Luxor at night, otherwise we can enjoy the comfort of our ship, some onboard entertainment, and prepare for an extremely early morning hot air balloon ride!

Meals: B, L, D

Overnight: Royal Ruby ship or similar

It's a bit of a rough wake up call, but totally worth it! We'll wake up before the sun for an amazing hot air balloon ride over the west bank of Luxor as we watch the sun rise! Please note: this activity is heavily based on the weather, and if there is any wind, they will not fly the balloons, and they usually will not give us a refund..

After hopefully flying over the ruins, we will then take a tour to explore a number of massive underground tombs, followed by the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Queens (even though she was officially the only female KING). 

Each of these sites are all pretty well preserved, especially the Valley of the Kings, and they will just give you chills when you enter the colorful tombs and see the endless engravings of hieroglyphics! Bonus points if you can find Alyssa's "alien".

*NOTE: If you'd like to enter King Tut's Tomb, it has an extra fee of around $20, please bring cash! It is definitely the tiniest tomb, but the appeal is that since it was so small, the tomb raiders didn't find it, so it's the best preserved tomb, and the only one where the original buried treasure has been found, which you'll see in the Egyptian museum!

Finally, we will transfer by AC bus to Hurghada for a few days of relaxation! Keep in mind that the sooner we leave, the more time you'll have today at the all-inclusive hotel!

Meals: B, L, D + beer and wine (hard alcohol is extra)

Overnight: Hurghada All Inclusive

It's finally time to relax a bit and experience the glorious Red Sea! We'll have a full day at our all inclusive hotel in Hurghada to enjoy the hot north African sun and cool waters!

We'll also do a fun boat trip with snorkeling for those who are up for it! If not, feel free to chill by the pool or beach, and enjoy the all inclusiveness!

Meals: B, L, D +beer and wine

Overnight: Hurghada All Inclusive

Enjoy another leisurely wake up in Egyptian seaside paradise, before we head to the Hurghada airport for a quick flight to Cairo.

If we happen to get back early enough, you can have free time to go back to the market for shopping, or perhaps check out one of the rooftop bars Alyssa used to frequent when she lived in Cairo!

For those with super early flights, we will transfer you later in the evening.

*NOTE: It is too early to view flight schedules for Hurghada to Cairo, however if we cannot find a flight that gets us back at a decent time, we may opt for a 5 hour bus ride (which is technically the same amount of time a flight would take with the traffic and check in time)

Overnight: TBD in Cairo

Meals: B, L, D

Sadly it's time for our Egyptian adventure to come to an end...that is, unless you're doing an add-on!

We will transfer you in groups depending on your flight times. If you need to stay an extra day or two, we will help you make arrangements!