Along the Nile in Luxury

Upon arrival, you’ll be met by our Cairo-based staff inside Passport Control who will assist you with all the immigration formalities – from obtaining your visa through passport control, baggage claim and customs. You’ll be chauffeured from the airport into the city in about 45 minutes. In Cairo, on the Giza bank of the Nile, you’ll check in to the luxury Four Seasons First Residence Hotel. This stylish and intimate boutique property overlooks the river and offers the largest guestrooms in the city. Alongside the Botanical Gardens, the Four Seasons is well situated for walking to local restaurants and shopping.  Settle into your accommodations for your four-night stay and enjoy the rest of this day at leisure.

After an extensive buffet breakfast at the Four Seasons, meet our expert Egyptologist in the lobby to set out and engage the ancient world of Egypt. We begin our journey with a complete exploration of the Great Pyramids on the Giza Plateau and the Sphinx #WHS#.    We’ll break for lunch at a delightful restaurant overlooking Cairo before heading back to the Four Seasons to relax before dinner tonight along the Nile.  Meals B+L+D

Following breakfast, we’ll join our guide to visit Cairo’s newest city-center showplace, the beautifully designed National Museum of Egyptian Civilization that opened in 2021.  Not to be confused with the still un-opened Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, this museum is dedicated to the mummies and sarcophagi of the twenty greatest pharaohs during the golden age of Egyptian antiquity, including Ramses II and Queen Hatshepsut. Underground like the tombs you’ll soon see in the Valley of the Kings, each mummy and sarcophagus is dramatically lit and displayed in its own room with a description of major events during their reigns. It’s very impressive.   We continue on to the monumental Refaai Mosque near the Citadel in Old Cairo #WHS#. Purpose built as a magnificent mosque and a mausoleum for Egyptian royalty, we’ll be guided to visit the tomb chambers of the last Egyptian monarch, King Farouk, and the last Shah of Iran who could not be returned to Iran following his expulsion during the Revolution. We’ll continue to explore Old Cairo before enjoying a fine lunch at one of our favorite restaurants along the Nile. Our guide can assist with your plans for dining this evening.  Meals B+L

After another fine breakfast, our Egyptologist will take you to Memphis #WHS# on the outskirts of Cairo, the site of Egypt’s ancient capital. Marvel at the formidable Colossus of Ramses II, on display in its own small museum dedicated to this ancient wonder, and then see the beautiful Alabaster Sphinx, discovered just a century ago. At nearby Sakkara, still an active archeological site, you’ll see the world’s oldest standing stone structure, the impressive Step Pyramid of King Zoser. You’ll also be among the few to admire the vibrant drawings and inscriptions in the 4,000-year-old Tomb of Mehu, a wealthy ancient merchant – uncrowded and opened for specially arranged visitors in recent years.   Following lunch, we’ll return to central Cairo to visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, mid-afternoon being a good time to avoid crowds of visitors.  You’ll be guided through the largest repository of ancient artifacts in the world, including the fabulous collection of those from the tomb of King Tut. (When the Grand Egyptian Museum opens, we’ll see an even greater collection of artifacts.) We’ll return to the hotel in late afternoon with the evening free to dine as you wish. Your Egyptologist will be on-hand to offer suggestions and assistance.  Meals B+L  

After an early breakfast, you’ll be chauffeured with our guide to the airport for your flight to Luxor to board the luxurious and intimate Zahra, docked privately away from other ships. Settle in to your spacious and stylish stateroom and then join your fellow passengers for an a la carte lunch in the ship’s inviting restaurant.   In mid-afternoon, you’ll go ashore to visit one of Egypt’s celebrated sites of antiquity, the great Karnak Temple #WHS#. With our skilled Egyptologist leading the way, you’ll stand before its massive pillars and admire the grand Hypostyle Hall; encompassing more than 50,000 square feet, this is the largest hall of any temple in the world. Your sightseeing continues at the nearby Luxor Museum before returning to the ship for Tea in the Lounge, with time to refresh before this evening’s welcome cocktail reception and a la carte dinner.  Meals B+L+D  

The Zahra enjoys privileged private docking facilities along the Nile, allowing you to step off efficiently and easily - going ashore apart from the cluster of other ships and their passengers.   Focusing on the amazing sites of the West Bank, you’ll begin your exploration early this morning in the fabled Valley of Kings #WHS#. Here, the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty abandoned the pyramid tradition of Dahshur and Giza in favor of tombs built deep in the mountainside. Each pharaoh also constructed a mortuary temple at the edge of the valley, some distance away from the actual tombs. Sixty four ancient Egyptian rulers are buried here, but only a handful of the temples remain, including Madinat Habu - the tomb of Ramses III with its impressive exterior walls. The fabled final resting place of King Tutankhamen and the fabulously decorated tomb of Ramses VI are also among the highlights awaiting our exploration here in the Valley.  We’ll also admire the Colossi of Memnon, two towering statues of Amenhotep III that stand like guards along the road to the Valley of the Kings.   Your morning sightseeing also includes the Colossi of Memnon, two towering statues of Amenhotep III that stand like guards along the road to the Valley of Kings. We return to the ship at midday and enjoy lunch onboard.   This afternoon, you might wish to join another excursion to the Temple of Dendera or enjoy the amenities on board. The temple complex of Dendera is one of the best preserved in Egypt and was in use for nearly 3,000 years, from early pharaonic times to the Greco-Roman era. We’ll return to the ship in time for dinner this evening.  Meals B+L+D  

After breakfast this morning, we return to the West Bank to explore the ancient Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina. More than 3,000 years ago during the New Kingdom period, this community was home to the thousands of artisans and laborers who constructed the tombs and temples in the Valley of Kings. In addition to this unusual archaeological site, your morning sightseeing also includes the Valley of Nobles and most importantly, the magnificent Temple of Hatshepsut, perhaps ancient Egypt’s most important female pharaoh whose mummy you will have seen in Cairo.  We return to the ship for lunch onboard.   This afternoon, we’ll visit Luxor Temple #WHS#, built in the 14th century BC and connected to the Karnak complex by the awe-inspiring, newly restored Avenue of Sphinxes. The temple walls of Luxor are embellished with skillful carvings of the Gods of Karnak accompanied by a festival procession of priests, musicians, dancers and sacred cows. With keen insight from our Egyptologist, today’s sightseeing offers a fascinating look into the culture and beliefs of ancient Egypt. Return to the ship for Tea in the Lounge, with time to refresh before this evening’s cocktails and entertainment before dinner.  Meals B+L+D

Before breakfast, the Zahra sails for Edfu. Enroute, try to be on deck as the ship traverses through the Esna Lock and enjoy the passing scene of bucolic Nile Valley landscapes with their small hamlets and timeless scenes of life.    We’ll enjoy lunch and by mid-afternoon will join our engaging Egyptologist ashore in Edfu to explore the Temple of Horus, considered by many scholars to be the best-preserved cult temple in all of Egypt. Built in the Ptolemaic era between 237 and 57 BCE, later than many of the other sites along the Nile, it is still a stunning example of traditional Pharaonic architecture and ranks as the second largest temple in Egypt – after the great Karnak Temple which we’ve already visited. Rich in design, intricate in detail and ingenious in its massive construction, the extraordinary quality of every element here attests to the paramount importance of the falcon-headed Horus.  We’ll be back onboard for Tea and a lovely dinner.   Meals B+L+D  

This morning, we sail south to Aswan arriving about midday. Following lunch, we’ll begin our exploration with a contrast to the ancient wonders of Cairo and the Nile, the remarkable High Dam at Aswan which is an achievement belonging to modern Egypt. With enriching insight and narration, we’ll explore this engineering marvel; completed in 1970 at a cost of about $1 billion, it spans more than 2 miles and towers 300 feet. This afternoon’s excursion also includes a visit by boat to the Temple of Philae #WHS#, rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser after the completion of the High Dam. Now situated on a lovely island, the earliest elements of this impressive complex include a small temple built around 370 BCE and dedicated to the Goddess Isis. We return to the Zahra for Tea and dinner.   Meals B+L+D  

We sail north this morning and, following breakfast, will step off our ship for a guided visit to the Temple of Kom Ombo. Built on a picturesque bend in the Nile, where crocodiles used to sun themselves, this unusual dual-deity temple of the Ptolemaic Period is dedicated to both Haroeris (one of the oldest forms of the falcon-headed God Horus) and, appropriately enough, the fearsome Crocodile God Sobek. We’ll return to ship in time for lunch as we sail back to Aswan.   Mid-afternoon, we’ll visit Aswan’s lovely Botanical Garden and, following Tea onboard, will return in the evening twilight to the Philae Temple for an atmospheric sound and light show. A fine dinner will complete the evening.   Meals B+L+D

Following breakfast, we’ll join our Egyptologist for a comfortable drive across the Egyptian Desert on a new highway heading to one of the most impressive sights of antiquity, the temples of Ramses II #WHS#. We’ll enjoy a fine lunch at a family-run restaurant on the shore of Lake Nasser and then walk a short distance to a small boat that will take us along the shoreline to see these majestic temples from the water. We’ll then explore them by land.   With our expert Egyptologist, you’ll behold 67-foot-high figures of the King and his wife, Nefertari, and hear the dramatic story of how they were moved 200 feet above their original site to protect them from the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. This engineering feat by UNESCO to relocate and protect this architectural wonder was so successful and precise that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, the rays of the rising sun pierce the temple entrance and reach deep into the heart of the temple – just 24 hours later than the original plan! In addition to its famous statues, the interior hall is decorated with amazing relief carvings that depict a great battle won by Ramses.   Following our exploration, we’ll return to our Nile cruiser for cocktails, entertainment and dinner.  Meals B+L+D  

You’ll disembark this morning after breakfast and be escorted to the airport for a return to Cairo and an overnight stay in Club Rooms at the stylish Le Meridien Hotel.  Meals B+L

You’ll be chauffeured to check-in for your onward flight.  Meals B