Hotels
Cruise the Nile in style aboard your traditional Nile cruiser with its spacious cabins, bars, shops, lounge, restaurant and swimming pool. In Cairo, your hotel is the deluxe Cairo Marriott, built around a 19th century palace on an island in the Nile River - an oasis of peace in the heart of the city!

Fellow Passengers
Being the perfect blend of touring, cruising and city stay, this tour really appeals to a broad cross section of people. However, like all visitors to Egypt, your fellow passengers are lured by the mystery of this ancient land, its ancient buildings and its thousands of years of history.

Highlights
All who come to Egypt yearn for their first glimpse of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. However, many are surprised by the equally impressive temple complex of Karnak. Picture the hunt for King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings and then witness the treasure itself in the Egyptian Museum.

Enjoy our Premium Highlights plus these extra tour features

Insight's Nile Cruising

• 4 night Nile cruise on MS Medea or MS Sapphire (or similar)with all cruise boat gratuities included
• Deluxe hotel with all service charges, taxes and porterage
• Scheduled air travel Cairo/Luxor and Aswan/CairoSightseeing by air-conditioned coach
• Insight’s professional multi-lingual Egyptologist/Tour Director accompanies youServices of Insight’s Representative in Egypt
• Insight Traveler document wallet, map book journal and information pack

Excursions & Sights

• See the colossal statue of Rameses II & great alabaster sphinx in Memphis
• View the Step Pyramid of King Zoser in Sakkara, the oldest in the world
• Tour the Temple complex of Karnak with its vast Hypostyle Hall
• Photo opportunity at the towering Colossi of Memnon
• Visit the Temple of Sobek at Kom Ombo and the Temple of Horus at Edfu
• Sail by traditional ‘felucca’ around the Botanical Gardens in Aswan
• Visit the unfinished obelisk in the granite quarries and see the Aswan High Dam
• Visit Mohammed Ali Mosque and enjoy views over Cairo from the Citadel

Guided City Tours

• In-depth sightseeing tour with audio headset in Cairo. Orientation tour in Luxor & Aswan

Complimentary Transfers

• Complimentary arrival and departure transfers between Cairo airport and your Insight tour hotel

Quality Dining & Entertainment

• Egyptian dinner and Galabea Party with entertainment (HD)
• 8 Buffet Breakfasts (BB), 4 Lunches (L) and 3 Dinners (D), plus bottled water or tea or coffee with included lunches and dinners whilst cruising

10 Days ~ Egypt

Tour Pace
A perfect balance of touring, cruising and Cairo sightseeing. A two-night stay in Cairo at the beginning of the tour allows you time to adjust to your new surroundings. Then four fabulous nights relaxing on your Nile cruise, before disembarking for two more nights back in Cairo to complete your sightseeing.

DAY 1 – WED – DEPART USA
Overnight flight to Cairo.

DAY 2 – THU – CAIRO AT LEISURE
Welcome to Egypt! You are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel.
Hotel: Marriott.

DAY 3 – FRI – CAIRO SIGHTSEEING
After breakfast and a detailed pre-tour briefing with your Tour Director, commence your sightseeing in Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom, where a colossal statue of Rameses II and a great alabaster sphinx awaits. Nearby at Sakkara, view the Step Pyramid of Zoser I; dating from 2686BC, it’s the oldest in the world. Now enjoy a guided tour of Giza where you will see the enigmatic Sphinx and the magnificent Pyramids with a highlight visit inside one of these extraordinary creations! Later return for the magical Sound & Light Show which literally illuminates the ancient history of Giza! (BB)

DAY 4 – SAT – CAIRO – LUXOR – CRUISING
Fly to Luxor, the former capital of the New Kingdom. In private moorings near the edge of town, your cruise boat awaits. Board in time for lunch and then enjoy a horse and carriage ride to Luxor Temple which provides an unforgettable introduction to ancient Egypt. Now tour the awe inspiring temple complex of Karnak with its vast Hypostyle Hall, and avenues of sphinxes.
Ship: MS Medea/MS Sapphire. (BB,L,D)

DAY 5 – SUN – CRUISING – EDFU
After breakfast, cross to the west bank of the Nile and stop for a photo of the towering Colossi of Memnon. These two giant seated figures are all that is left of Amon-Ofis III mortuary temple. Visit the amazing Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, blending into the cliff face above. Continue to the Valley of the Kings, the burial place of many of the New Kingdom Pharaohs, before cruising south to Esna (see Esna Lock closure, below) and Edfu. (BB,L,D)

DAY 6 – MON – CRUISING – KOM OMBO
This morning visit the beautifully preserved Temple of Horus, (the Falcon God) possibly the most complete in Egypt. Continue to Kom Ombo to visit the Temple of Sobek, the crocodile god, conveniently situated on the river bank. Celebrate in true Egyptian style at an Oriental Dinner and Galabea Party. (BB,L,HD)

DAY 7 – TUE – CRUISING – ASWAN
Cruise to exotic Aswan in the cool of early morning. Visit the Aswan High Dam and also the ancient Granite Quarries to see the enormous unfinished obelisk. Take a motorboat to the Temple of Isis, rising from the waters of the Nile on the Island of Philae. Later, return to Aswan and sail in a traditional Nile felucca around Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. (BB,L,D)

DAY 8 – WED – ASWAN – CAIRO
This morning, why not join an optional excursion to the temples of Abu Simbel, carved out of the rock by Rameses II and later rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser (see right). Otherwise, spend the morning in Aswan as you wish, before your transfer to the airport for your return flight to Cairo.
Hotel: Marriott. (BB)

DAY 9 – THU – CAIRO SIGHTSEEING
Visit the Citadel for a breathtaking view of the city of Cairo. Salah El Din started the Citadel in the 12th century, but it owes its present outline to Mohammed Ali, whose great Mosque you will visit next. Later, enjoy a highlight visit to the famous Egyptian Museum. Here, among the many thousands of artifacts on display, view Tutankhamun’s splendid treasures, including his splendid burial mask. Do you believe in the curse of the ‘boy king’? (BB)

DAY 10 – FRI – RETURN TO USA
The tour ends with transfers to the airport. (BB)

Itinerary Variations
Certain Nile cruises operate in reverse, from Aswan to Luxor. Due to the unreliability of domestic air scheduling, religious festivals and other unforeseen circumstances, the order of this itinerary may need to change at short notice. On occasions an alternative cruise boat of equal standard may be used.

Esna Lock Closure
The Esna Lock will be closed from 01-30 Jun & 01-16 Dec 2008, and cruise boats will not be permitted to travel between Luxor and Esna at this time. On tours spanning these dates, Luxor sightseeing as featured in the itinerary will be operated by coach from Esna instead of by boat.

Abu Simbel Optional Tour
(available with Egypt tours)

This immensely popular excursion, visiting the awe-inspiring Temples of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, should be booked at the same time as your tour to avoid disappointment.

Abu Simbel is the most beautiful and imaginative construction of the greatest and most whimsical Pharaoh in Egyptian history – Rameses II. The facade consists of four colossal statues of the Pharaoh seated on his throne. Each statue is 20 metres high, measures four metres from ear to ear and one metre along the line of the lips.

To the Pharaoh’s architects, the temple represented a tremendous challenge which, two thousand years later, was to be taken up again by the engineers of the world in order to save it from the waters of the Nile.

Tour Code: X884.

Hotels
Cruise the Nile in style aboard your traditional Nile cruiser with its spacious cabins, bars, shops, lounge, restaurant and swimming pool. In Cairo, your hotel is the deluxe Cairo Marriott, built around a 19th century palace on an island in the Nile River - an oasis of peace in the heart of the city!

Fellow Passengers
Being the perfect blend of touring, cruising and city stay, this tour really appeals to a broad cross section of people. However, like all visitors to Egypt, your fellow passengers are lured by the mystery of this ancient land, its ancient buildings and its thousands of years of history.

Highlights
All who come to Egypt yearn for their first glimpse of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. However, many are surprised by the equally impressive temple complex of Karnak. Picture the hunt for King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings and then witness the treasure itself in the Egyptian Museum.

Enjoy our Premium Highlights plus these extra tour features

Insight's Nile Cruising

• 4 night Nile cruise on MS Medea or MS Sapphire (or similar)with all cruise boat gratuities included
• Deluxe hotel with all service charges, taxes and porterage
• Scheduled air travel Cairo/Luxor and Aswan/CairoSightseeing by air-conditioned coach
• Insight’s professional multi-lingual Egyptologist/Tour Director accompanies youServices of Insight’s Representative in Egypt
• Insight Traveler document wallet, map book journal and information pack

Excursions & Sights

• See the colossal statue of Rameses II & great alabaster sphinx in Memphis
• View the Step Pyramid of King Zoser in Sakkara, the oldest in the world
• Tour the Temple complex of Karnak with its vast Hypostyle Hall
• Photo opportunity at the towering Colossi of Memnon
• Visit the Temple of Sobek at Kom Ombo and the Temple of Horus at Edfu
• Sail by traditional ‘felucca’ around the Botanical Gardens in Aswan
• Visit the unfinished obelisk in the granite quarries and see the Aswan High Dam
• Visit Mohammed Ali Mosque and enjoy views over Cairo from the Citadel

Guided City Tours

• In-depth sightseeing tour with audio headset in Cairo. Orientation tour in Luxor & Aswan

Complimentary Transfers

• Complimentary arrival and departure transfers between Cairo airport and your Insight tour hotel

Quality Dining & Entertainment

• Egyptian dinner and Galabea Party with entertainment (HD)
• 8 Buffet Breakfasts (BB), 4 Lunches (L) and 3 Dinners (D), plus bottled water or tea or coffee with included lunches and dinners whilst cruising