Home

Trips

About

Newsletter

Contact

Mystical EGYPT: A Unique New Perspective

Experience the trip of a lifetime in both

Lower and Upper Egypt including 5 days cruising the legendry Nile Cairo, Aswan & Luxor

                         C/O Ellie Leinaweaver and escorted by Hamdy Nossair

     April 16 – 27, 2009
     12 Days / 11 Nights

$4, 395.00 per person in double from New York (JFK)
Inclusion of air New York/Denver/New York available at later date
$869.00 for single supplement
Minimum 15 passengers

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:

MEALS:

• Buffet breakfast daily in Cairo & Aswan Hotels
• One (1) lunch in Cairo during tours
• Three (3) meals daily on cruise – starting with lunch or dinner and ending with breakfast or lunch.
• Welcome dinner at local seafood restaurant in Giza.

• Four (4) transfers in Cairo
• Two (2) transfers in Aswan
• One (1) transfers in Luxor
• All transfers by A/C private coach with driver & English speaking HLO Tours representative.
TOURS:
• Two (2) full day tours in Cairo as per the enclosed itinerary
• Nile Cruise program includes visit to: Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna & Luxor (subject to change without notice)
• All entrance fees including fees to the Solar Boat Museum at the Pyramids, the Mummies room at the Egyptian Museum and King Tut’s Tomb at the Valley of the Kings
• All tours by private A/C coach with driver and English speaking guide.

AIR TRANSPORTATION ON EGYPT AIR:

Apr 16	New York (JFK) / Cairo	Egypt Air # 986	6:30pm – 11:30AM
Apr 20	Cairo / Aswan	Egypt Air # 135	6:15AM – 8:40AM
Apr 25	Luxor / Cairo	Egypt Air # 334	12:40PM – 1:47PM
Apr 27	Cairo / New York (JFK)	Egypt Air # 985	9:15AM – 3:15pm

 (Air schedule & flight number are subject to change without prior notice)

 

Day 01 Thu Apr 16	USA / CAIRO, EGYPT Depart the USA from New York to connect with Egypt Air non -stop to Cairo, Egypt. Overnight onboard the airplane.  Dinner and breakfast served en-route.  Meals on board You need to be - at JFK airport international departure, East wing, Terminal 4E - at least three hours before Egypt Air flight time. Those who arrive early will have better opportunity for seats choices.
Day 02 Fri Apr 17	CAIRO 11:45PM: On arrival at Cairo International Airport you will be met and transferred to the Meridien Pyramids hotel to spend the next three nights in Giza.  PM: At leisure Eve: Welcome dinner at Chresto seafood local restaurant. (Please have your passport and the arrival card available to be handed to the immigration officer upon walking inside the terminal in Cairo airport) Cairo has beenthe largest city in Africa for centuries. Modern Cairo encompasses many former cities & their monuments. Five thousand years of culture are concentrated here in a city that is a living index to ancient civilization.
Day 03 Sat Apr 18 Day 04 Sun Apr 19	CAIRO:  Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara & Dahshur (Full day tour) 6:30AM: Buffet breakfast, tea and coffee 8:00AM: After breakfast, your Egyptian adventure begins in Giza, where you will proceed with your Egyptologist English Speaking guide for a visit to the the three Great Pyramids of Giza – one of the seven and only remaining wonders of the ancient world.  Enjoy your ride experience as a group camel caravan from one of the viewpoint stop at Giza Plateau, to MacurenusPyramid. Then proceed to visit the Solar Boat Museum: a cedar woodcraft boat, built to take the Pharaoh through his journey to the afterworld.  You will also visit the legendary Sphinx, a sacred symbol of the union of the strongest physical with the highest intellectual power on earth. Before lunch we will have a stop at a “Papyrus Institute” for a demonstration and an opportunity for those who are interested in Gold, Silver, cotton, artifacts and papyrus shopping. PM: After lunch at a countryside restaurant, get ready for your journey into the Western Sahara Desert to enjoy the spectacular site of the Step Pyramids of King ZOSER, history’s first stone building, in SAKKARA.  Here you will learn how the ancient Egyptian build their structures to project power and energy.  After our visit to SAKKARA we will proceed to DAHSHUR to visit the recently reopened “BENT & THE RED PYRAMIDS” and its companion’s pyramids, second only to the pyramid complex at Giza but having the benefit of being in largely unspoiled desert, away from traffic. Later in the afternoon we return to our hotel for overnight.   BB, L CAIRO:   Egyptian Museum and The Citadel & Khan El Khalili Bazaars AM: Following a leisurely buffet breakfast, your day begins with a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, one of the world’s most famous museums. The magnificent collections of antiquities include 27 Mummies, Sarcophagi, and 250,000 objects of art, and date as far back as 5000 years. PM: After lunch on your own, you will proceed to tour Saladin’s Citadel Fortress, site of the magnificent Mohammed Ali Mosque and other Islamic architecture.  Then continue to the exotic Khan El Khalili Bazaar for a taste of modern Egyptian artifacts.  Khan El Khalili is one of the world’s best-known oriental bazaars, a bazaar largely unchanged since the 14th century. Spices, perfumes, Gold & Silver, carpets, brass & copperware, leatherwork, glass and mashrabia are still fashioned by craftsmen practicing skills passed down from generation to generation.  Overnight in Cairo.  BB
Day 05 Mon Apr 20	CAIRO / ASWAN  - OLD CATARACT or MOVENPICK hotel AM: Transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Aswan. Arrive to Aswan where you will be met & transferred by private bus & driver to Old Cataract  hotel - which, opened its doors in 1899 and has become legendary. Agatha Christie immortalized the hotel in her novel Death on the Nile and lived there during its writing.  Among the hotel’s other famous guests: Agha Khan III, who spent his honeymoon there, Czar Nicholas II, Sir Winston Churchill, US President Jimmy Carter, Lady Margaret Thatcher and French President Francois Mitterand. The Old Cataract Hotel has the most beautiful setting on the Nile, especially from the terrace bar while enjoying your favorite cocktail at sunset. Today is yours to enjoy at leisure in Aswan, often called “Pearl of the Nile”.  Aswan is small enough to walk around during your free time or even just relax around the pool.  During your free day you may choose to, explore the souk and the spice market full of scents and colors, where you may buy perfume oils, scarves and baskets. Overnight in Aswan. BB
Day 06 Tue Apr 21	ASWAN – Abu Simbel Optional Extension by air / NILE CRUISE AM: Buffet breakfast. Morning at leisure or optional visit to Abu Simbel.  Please review the Abu Simbel optional Extension information at the end of the itinerary, thank you.
	Mid-morning you will be transferred the luxury Nile cruise boat to spend the next 4 nights / 5 days on board. The cruise program – Subject to change - will be as follows: Lunch upon boarding your cruise boat followed by an afternoon visit to the Agha Khan Mausoleum and the botanical gardens by feluccas (small sailing boats).  Afternoon Tea. Dinner & overnight in Aswan on board.    BB, L, D
Day 07 Wed Apr 22	NILE CRUISE (Aswan – Kom Ombo (Ancient Priests and Physicians) – Edfu. AM: Visit the High Dam and the Granite Quarries & Philae Temple.  Sail to Kom Ombo.  Lunch on board.  After lunch, you will get off the boat, walking on foot - for very short distance - to visit the twin Temple known as the shrine of ancient Priests and Physicians. Here, where in Kom Ombo honors the ancient deity with the head of crocodile, as well as Horus, God of daylight, you will get together with your guide for your healing rituals. Return to the boat. Afternoon tea. Late afternoon sail to Edfu.  Dinner. Overnight in Edfu on board. BB, L, D
Day 08 Thu Apr 23	NILE CRUISE (Edfu – Esna – Luxor) AM: After your buffet breakfast, you will get off the ship into your carriage 15 minutes ride through the city of Edfu, to visit the Temple of Horus. This is site where, HATHOR, the Goddess of love & Beauty, music and dance visit her husband HORUS, once a year where, sacred marriage took place. HORUS TEMPLE is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. Return to the ship.  Sail to Esna in the afternoon. Lunch. Afternoon tea.  Go through the Esna locks and then sail to Luxor. Overnight in Luxor on board. BB, L, D Luxor: is the world’sgreatest open-air museum, filled with awe-inspiring monuments of ancient civilization.  As Weset it was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom; as Thebes it was described as “The hundred – gate city”.  Later, it was named Al Oksor, meaning “City of the Palaces”.  Testaments to a desire for immortality, built for eternity in sandstone and granite, the temples, tombs, and palaces still stand, surrounded by souks.  Rest of the day at leisure.
Day 09 Fri Apr 24	NILE CRUISE     (Luxor) AM: After breakfast; then you will proceed to cross to the western bank of the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings including King Tut’s Tomb and Valley of the Queens. (If it’s open) and the Tomb of the Nobles.  This was where the fabulous treasure of Tutankhamen, which fascinated the world, was discovered.  Also visit the Ramesuem at Medinet Habu, where Ramses 111’s mortuary temple. It said that Ramses 111 found himself alone in the Afterlife. By using the correct “Passwords” from the book of the dead he is able to proceed through the gates of the underworld and join OSIRIS in paradise. Finally, he is reborn and becomes one of the “imperishable stars”.      NOTE: Morning disembarkation - please settle your personal tabs on the cruise boat tonight before you retire. Overnight on board.     BB, L, D
Day 10 Sat Apr 25	NILE CRUISE (Luxor) / Cairo AM: Visit to Karnak Temple which consists of several temples of great beauty.  Luxor and Karnak were once linked by an avenue of ram headed Sphinx. Your visit includes stop at temple of PTAH, the creator of Memphis, and OSIRIS the King and Judge of the Underworld. Here at the Temple of Man. After your visit, you will be transferred to Luxor International airport for our 50-minute flight to Cairo. Arrive to Cairo where you will be met and transferred to your hotel to spend the next two nights in Cairo.   BB
Day 11 Sun Apr 26	CAIRO – Day at leisure or optional activities  AM: Buffet breakfast. Day at leisure or optional day tours to Alexandria including lunch ($75.00 per person) or optional day visit -including comp lunch- to one of the Egyptian villages located in the Delta North of Cairo where you will meet farmers in their homes and have tea with them ($45.00 per person, only the cost of the bus. Lunch is provided by Hamdy’s family). Eve: Farwell Dinner & belly dancing show in Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.  BB, D
Day 12 Mon Apr 27	Cairo / USA 4:45AM - Wake Up Call 5:30AM - Luggage outside your room door & buffet breakfast at the coffee shop. 6:15AM - Departure transfer to Cairo airport for your Egypt Air 10:10AM flight to New York (JFK). 3:00PM – Arrive JFK where you will connect with your domestic flight home.   Welcome Home with a lifetime of memories from Egypt!!!

ABU SIMBEL OPTIONAL EXTENSION - $240.00 per person

On Tuesday, April 21,  we are offering an optional visit to Ramses 11 and his beloved wife Nefertari’s Temples in Abu Simbel area. Please review the optional visit information below and if you are interested in participating in this breathtaking extension, please so indicate on your tour reservation form (See pages following Abu Simbel description). Air reservation from and to Aswan to Abu Simbel are always booked, but we will do our best to secure seats as long as we know at least 6 month in advance.

For more information, contact Ellie Leinaweaver.