Egypt's Masterpieces: 11-Day Grand Tour

After breakfast you meet your private Egyptologist and drive to the Giza Plateau, where the last surviving wonder of the ancient world rises straight from the desert. You stand before the Great Pyramid of Khufu, explore the enigmatic Great Sphinx keeping its timeless watch, and step inside the granite-lined Valley Temple where royal mummies were once purified. Nearby, the Grand Egyptian Museum unveils Tutankhamun's complete treasure among thousands of artefacts in its vast, light-filled galleries. Your guide brings each stone to life with stories of the builders and kings behind them, and a relaxed lunch punctuates the day before you return to your hotel. Overnight in Cairo.

• Giza Pyramids Complex — The plateau of the three great pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, rising from the desert edge of Cairo.
• The Great Pyramid — The colossal tomb of Khufu, the oldest and largest of the Giza pyramids and the last standing ancient wonder.
• The Great Sphinx — The enigmatic lion-bodied guardian with a pharaoh's face, watching over the plateau for over 4,500 years.
• The Valley Temple — The granite-clad ritual temple beside the Sphinx where royal bodies were purified before burial.
• The Grand Egyptian Museum — Egypt's vast new museum, home to Tutankhamun's full treasure and thousands of antiquities.

This morning you fly south to Luxor, the open-air museum built over ancient Thebes, and dedicate the day to its storied East Bank. Your private guided tour opens at the colossal Karnak Temple, a sprawling complex enlarged by pharaoh after pharaoh across two thousand years; you wander the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 towering columns close overhead like a forest carved in stone. After lunch you rest through the warmest hours, then return as the sun dips for Luxor Temple by night, when floodlights wash its avenue of sphinxes and the soaring statues of Ramesses II in gold. Walking the same processional route that once linked the two temples, you feel the scale of a city that was once capital of an empire. Your guide reveals the hieroglyphs, obelisks and layered histories that make Luxor unforgettable. Overnight in Luxor.

• Karnak Temple — The largest religious complex of the ancient world, famed for its immense hall of 134 columns.
• Luxor Temple by Night — The graceful riverside temple, magically illuminated after dark along its avenue of sphinxes.

You cross to Luxor's West Bank, the realm of the dead, as the morning light softens the Theban hills. In the Valley of the Kings you descend into the rock-cut tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs, their corridors still blazing with painted scenes of the afterlife; your Egyptologist helps you choose the finest tombs and decodes their sacred texts. You continue to the Temple of Hatshepsut, the elegant terraced mortuary temple of Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, rising in clean lines against a sheer cliff. Before returning, you pause at the Colossi of Memnon, two weathered giants that have guarded the plain for thirty-four centuries. A leisurely lunch rounds out a day steeped in myth and memory. Everywhere you look, the artistry of ancient craftsmen endures in astonishing colour and detail. Overnight in Luxor.

• Valley of the Kings — The royal necropolis of New Kingdom pharaohs, its tombs vivid with afterlife scenes.
• Hatshepsut Temple — The striking terraced temple of Egypt's great female pharaoh, set against a dramatic cliff face.
• Colossi of Memnon — Two towering seated statues of Amenhotep III that have watched over the plain for millennia.

Today you venture beyond the usual trail to two of Egypt's most breathtaking yet lesser-visited temples. Driving north along the Nile, you reach Dendera, where the Temple of Hathor stands remarkably intact, its ceiling recently cleaned to reveal astronomical figures and vivid zodiacs in blues and golds few travellers ever see. You climb to the rooftop chapels and descend into crypts hidden within its thick walls. Continuing to Abydos, one of the oldest sacred sites in Egypt, you enter the Temple of Seti I to find some of the finest carved reliefs in the entire country, alongside the famous King List that names pharaohs stretching back through the ages. Your private guide unravels the cult of Osiris that drew pilgrims here for millennia. It is a long but deeply rewarding day, with a relaxed lunch along the way. Overnight in Luxor.

• Dendera Temple — The superbly preserved Temple of Hathor, celebrated for its restored, colour-rich astronomical ceiling.
• Abydos Temple — The Temple of Seti I, home to exquisite reliefs and the famed Abydos King List.

With Luxor's headline sites behind you, today reveals the West Bank's quieter treasures on a relaxed private guided tour. You begin in the Valley of the Queens, where the tombs of royal wives and princes glow with delicate artwork; your guide points out the exquisite decoration that made this necropolis so revered. Next you explore Medinet Habu, the mighty mortuary temple of Ramesses III, whose towering walls still hold their original pigment and record epic battles in crisp relief. Finally you visit Deir el-Medina, the remarkably preserved village where the very artisans who carved the royal tombs once lived, worked and were buried in miniature, jewel-like chapels of their own. Away from the crowds, you sense the everyday lives behind Egypt's grandest monuments. Now your days on land give way to life on the river: after the morning's sightseeing you cross back to the East Bank and embark on your Nile cruise ship, where you settle into your cabin and enjoy a relaxed lunch on board. The ship stays moored in Luxor this evening, so there is time to unpack, explore the decks and watch the lights of the city shimmer on the water over your first dinner on board. Overnight on board your Nile cruise, moored in Luxor (night 1 of 4 on the river).

• Valley of the Queens — The burial ground of royal wives and children, prized for its delicate, colourful tomb paintings.
• Habu Temple — Medinet Habu, the vast, well-preserved mortuary temple of Ramesses III with vivid battle reliefs.
• Deir El-Medina — The intimate village of the tomb-builders themselves, with beautifully decorated private chapels.

Today the pace changes as your Nile cruise heads south, the most romantic way to travel through Upper Egypt. After a leisurely breakfast on board the ship casts off from Luxor, and the temple towers of the city slip astern as palm groves, fishing skiffs and timeless village scenes drift past your window. There are no early starts and no schedule to keep: you spend the day on the sun deck with a cool drink, watching water buffalo cool off at the bank and children wave from the shore, while your Egyptologist shares the story of the river that made Egypt possible. Lunch is served on board, and in the afternoon the ship passes through the Esna lock, a slow and absorbing manoeuvre that you can follow from the rail. Tea on deck is followed by a long golden evening as the ship glides on towards Edfu and moors beside the town for the night, ready for an early start to the Temple of Horus tomorrow. Dinner and the gentle motion of the Nile send you to sleep. Overnight on board your Nile cruise, moored at Edfu (night 2 of 4 on the river).

After an early breakfast you step ashore at Edfu to visit the Temple of Horus, the best-preserved temple in Egypt, its falcon-god guardian and soaring pylons almost untouched by time. Your Egyptologist leads you through the great court and the dim inner halls, reading the reliefs that tell of the god's battle with Seth. Back on board the ship sails on while lunch is served, and in the afternoon you reach Kom Ombo, where you tour the unusual double temple dedicated jointly to Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder, perched dramatically on a bend in the river. Your guide accompanies you ashore at each stop. Then the ship continues upstream to Aswan, where the Nile threads between granite boulders and the sails of feluccas crowd the water as the light fades. You moor in the cataract city in time for dinner on board. Overnight on board your Nile cruise, moored in Aswan (night 3 of 4 on the river).

• Edfu Temple — The magnificently preserved Temple of Horus, guarded by its great falcon statue and towering pylons.
• Kom Ombo Temple — The unique riverside double temple honouring the crocodile god Sobek and Horus the Elder.

You rise before dawn for one of Egypt's most awe-inspiring excursions, travelling by road from Aswan to Abu Simbel near the Sudanese border. Carved into a mountainside by Ramesses II, the Great Temple guards its entrance with four colossal seated statues of the pharaoh, each towering more than twenty metres high. Inside, a hall of Osiride pillars leads to a sanctuary aligned so precisely that sunlight floods the gods twice a year. Beside it stands the smaller temple honouring his beloved queen Nefertari. Your guide recounts the astonishing 1960s rescue, when the entire complex was cut apart and lifted stone by stone to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser. Returning to your ship in Aswan for lunch, you rest on deck before a gentler afternoon: a boat ride carries you among granite islets to Elephantine Island, the ancient frontier settlement scattered with ruins and a Nilometer once used to measure the river's flood, and on to Kitchener's Island, its lush botanical garden brimming with exotic plants. Before the day ends you are welcomed in a colourful Nubian village, sipping hibiscus tea among the bright indigo and ochre houses and learning about a proud culture with roots deep in Africa. Full-board dining aboard keeps you well looked after throughout. Overnight on board your Nile cruise, moored in Aswan (night 4 of 4 on the river); after breakfast tomorrow you leave the ship.

• Abu Simbel Temples — The monumental rock-cut temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari, spectacularly relocated above Lake Nasser.
• Elephantine Island — The ancient frontier island scattered with ruins and an old Nilometer measuring the Nile's flood.
• Kitchener Island — A serene botanical garden island planted with exotic species from around the world.
• The Nubian Village — A vividly painted riverside village offering warm hospitality and a window into Nubian culture.

After a final breakfast on board you disembark and fly back to Cairo for a full day among the capital's cultural riches. At the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization you meet the Royal Mummies in their serene, purpose-built hall. In the afternoon you lose yourself in medieval Islamic Cairo, strolling the lantern-lit Al Muizz Street past the Al Aqmar and Al Hakim mosques, the beautifully restored Ottoman mansion of Bayt Al Suhaymi and the atmospheric Gayer-Anderson Museum. You end amid the bustle of Khan El Khalili bazaar, haggling for spices, lanterns and silver over a glass of mint tea. A relaxed lunch is included. Overnight in Cairo.

• The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization — The modern museum whose highlight is the hall of the Royal Mummies.
• Al Muizz Street — A living open-air museum of medieval Islamic architecture in the heart of old Cairo.
• Al Aqmar Mosque — A small, finely carved Fatimid-era mosque along Al Muizz Street.
• Al Hakim Mosque — A grand Fatimid mosque with distinctive minarets, restored to its historic splendour.
• Bayt Al Suhaymi — A beautifully preserved Ottoman merchant's mansion with tranquil inner courtyards.
• Gayer-Anderson Museum — A pair of historic houses filled with antiques and Oriental art beside Ibn Tulun Mosque.
• Khan El Khalili Bazaar — Cairo's legendary labyrinth of market alleys, alive with spices, lanterns and craftsmen.

Your grand tour of Egypt draws to a close today. After breakfast you savour a final, unhurried morning, perhaps picking up last souvenirs or simply reflecting on eleven days that carried you from the pyramids of Giza to the temples of the Nile and the far reaches of Abu Simbel. At the appropriate time your private driver collects you from the hotel and transfers you in comfort to Cairo International Airport, where our representative assists with check-in and departure formalities. You leave with a camera full of unforgettable sights, a deeper understanding of one of humanity's greatest civilisations, and the standing invitation every traveller feels to return one day. From all of us at Travel Joy Egypt, we wish you safe travels until Egypt welcomes you back.