EGYPTIAN TREASURES

Day 01: Feb 22, 2026: Depart North America     [IFM]
Depart North America on an overnight flight to Egypt.

Day 02: Feb 23, 2026: Cairo, Egypt  [IFM]
Arrive in Cairo where you will be greeted by a local guide for assistance with customs. Transfer to the hotel on the west side of Cairo.

Day 03: Feb 24, 2026: Cairo, Egypt [B/L/D]
We will start our historical visit with the Sakkara area that was the burial site during mainly the Old Kingdom (from 3650 b c) to see some of the oldest pyramids as well and most importantly visit the tombs of the Nobles with some beautiful scenes of agriculture in the pharaonic times. We then continue to a vegetable farm close by. This farm has been in the family since the 1880s and since the 1970s it has been famous for its experimental crops. Among their successes, was the introduction of Endive, a crop that grows in the northern part of Europe at very low temperatures! Farm is mainly growing vegetables but also berries and edible flowers. The farm is small, 10 hectares and situated on the fertile Nile mud area. We have lunch at the farm. In the afternoon we continue to the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Return to the hotel for a quick fresh up and then departure by bus for a real Egyptian dinner.

Day 04: Feb 25, 2026: Faiyum, Egypt       [B/L]
We check out after breakfast in the morning and drive northwards on Alexandria Desert Road. Here we will visit to one of Egypt’s largest export farms. This farm production area is over 3,000 acres with a wide range of fruits and vegetables being grown, including: table grapes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries strawberries, peaches, mangoes, melons, green beans, spring onions, snow peas, capsicums, chilies and Chinese cabbages. We will have light lunch & snacks in the farms. Around midday we continue further out through the desert. We drive through the flat stone and sand desert and arrive after around 2 h to the oasis of Fayoum. We check into our hotel situated on the brackish Qarun Lake, once upon a time filled with crocodiles, and have dinner. The main building of the hotel was in its golden days the hunting castle of King Farouk.

 Day 05: Feb 26, 2026: Faiyum - Cairo, Egypt [B/L]
After breakfast we check out and load our luggage into the bus and ourselves into 4x4 wheel cars. We drive along the Qarun lake through the fields of flowers (for perfumes and medicines) vegetables and fruits before turning into the desert and Valley of Whales. We will have possibility to see the small museum, walk around the skeletons and do some light dune bashing with our Bedouin drivers. We return into the oasis and then have lunch at the Fayoumi Cooking School and a walk around the village famous for its beautiful ceramic pottery schools and workshops. We return to Giza, check into the hotel.

Day 06: Feb 27, 2026: Cairo, Egypt [B/L]
We will start with the Gayer Anderson Museum. This house from 15th century, which had just been restored, was filled with his personal collection of art, furnishings, and carpets. The James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me was partially shot in the museum, in the ceremonial reception hall and the rooftop terrace. We then continue to one of the most magnificent mosques of Cairo, El Rifai, where we will learn more about Islam. The mosque is also the burial site of among others King Farouq and the last Shah of Iran. We end our tour in the very oriental bazaar district called Khan El Khalili. While walking through this famous bazaar we observe daily life and the oriental character of this place with its typical shops and cafés. We have lunch overlooking the 1000 minarets of Cairo, in the Al Azhar park.

Day 07: Feb 28, 2026: Cairo - Aswan  [B/L]
We check out in the morning and start our day with the most famous sight in Egypt, the Giza Pyramids at the Giza Plateau, dating back to 2500 B.C. One of the seven classic Wonders of the World, they are the oldest and the only remaining. The visit will take us to the highest point of the plateau to have a panoramic view of the area, to one of the two smaller of the three pyramids where those who wish may enter and we will pass by the mysterious Sphinx. We have our lunch with a view of the 9 Pyramids. Transfer to the airport and flight to Aswan. Meet & greet upon arrival and transfer to the hotel in Aswan.

 Day 08: Mar 01, 2026: Aswan          [B/L/]
Morning at leisure to enjoy the beautiful views of Aswan. (optional flight excursion to Abu Simbel temple - must be pre-booked). In the afternoon we make a visit in the home of the elderly gentleman Mohamed who took on himself to try to conserve the Nubian culture and built a little museum/ exhibition in his home. He or his daughter Fatima will take us around in his village and guide us through Nubia. We continue by boat to the jetty of the famous hotel Old Cataract where for instance Agatha Christie wrote some of her stories for a classic High Tea at the terrace of the hotel. Nubians are the ethnic people of Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan with a long history.

Day 09: Mar 02, 2026: Aswan - Lake Nasser Cruise   [B/L/D]
We check out late morning and transfer to our ship. We check in around noon and have lunch onboard. Today we will visit the Aswan High Dam, this wonder of the new world and learn a little about how it has changed life in the valley. We then continue to the Philae temple situated on a small island between the old Aswan Dam and the High Dam. Here the goddess Isis ruled, after she was left alone when her husband the god Osiris was murdered by her brother according to the ancient mythology. The unfinished obelisk in the granite quarry will be our last stop and one cannot help but to be fascinated by the enormity of projects done during a time when no real tools existed.

Day 10: Mar 03, 2026: Aswan - Kasr Ibrim - Amada [B/L/D]
The cruise ship will leave at dawn from the harbor in Aswan. (timing will be communicated during the cruise) First stop will be in the early morning at the Kom Ombo Temple situated right beside the Nile. Our cruise continues until after lunch when we make a stop at the almost intact temple in Edfu. After the visit the ship cruises the final stretch northwards through the Esna Dam and a lock until Luxor where we arrive late in the evening. Most of the day we will relax on the sundeck of the cruise ship and enjoy the panoramic view. Not much has changed in the Nile River valley since the time of the pharaohs and the farmer and all his family are working hard on the fields. The intensive green color stands in sharp contrast to the dry surrounding brown desert.

Day 11: Mar 04, 2026: Karnak Temple [B/D]
In the morning we go for a visit to the famous Karnak Temple, the Vatican of the Pharaonic Era. Here everything is large and some of the most impressive sights will be the monumental gates, enormous halls with pillars and beautiful wall carvings. Afternoon at leisure.

Day 12: Mar 05, 2026: Lake Nasser - Luxor, Egypt [B/D]
We check out in the morning and go to the west side of the river to see the Valley of Kings where among others the tomb of Tutankhamen´s was found almost intact in the 1920s. The texts and the pictures of the walls of the tombs are describing the thoughts and imagination of the transformation from life to death. Once totally clear to the pharaohs it is for us today to a great extent incomprehensible but oh, so fascinating. Approximately 10 of the 60 tombs are opened to the public and we will visit three of them together, among which Ramses VI, one of the most beautifully decorated and with few visitors due to its high entrance price. Deir el Medina is the village where the workers of pharaoh were living during the New Kingdom. The city with its narrow lanes is well preserved and so also the tombs of the workers with very vivid colors. Rest of day at leisure.

Day 13: Mar 06, 2026: Luxor, Egypt    [B/D]
Today is a day at leisure to enjoy the pools and the beautiful views of the hotel. In the early evening we will visit the illuminated Luxor Temple before having dinner in the hotel.
Optional excursion: This morning you have the option to be treated to incredible views with a breathtaking hot air balloon ride. Additional Cost: $235 CAD per person

Day 14: Mar 07, 2026: Luxor, Egypt   [B/L]
Excursion to the Valley of Queens, the tombs of the nobles as well as the home of Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. Here you will find his house as he left it, some of his drawings and more. We enjoy lunch overlooking the fields.

Day 15: Mar 08, 2026: Luxor, Egypt [B/D]
Morning at leisure. Boat trip on the Nile while enjoying an Egyptian brunch. We will make a small stop at a traditional farm, probably banana. Dinner in the hotel.

Day 16: Mar 09, 2026: Luxor - Flight to Canada [B/IFM]
All good things must come to an end. Transfer to the Luxor Airport for flight(s) back to Canada.