Note: Our Egyptian Family Adventure is a longer 13-day version of this tour and runs alongside this itinerary for the first 8 days, but then heads from Luxor to the Red Sea for some snorkelling and relaxation before returning to Cairo.

 

Starting in Cairo, we visit the majestic pyramids and sphinx at Gisa and learn how Papyrus scrolls and paints are made. Another tour spends time in the famous Egyptian Museum with its mummy room and Tutankhamun exhibition, and explores the Pharaonic Village, an outdoor 'living museum' that brings some of the ancient Egypt we're learning about to life.

 

Leaving Cairo, we take the overnight sleeper train to Aswan where we head into the desert on board camels for a short trek to St. Simeon's monastery and some great photo opportunities, before visiting a local school and enjoying a traditional meal in a nearby Nubian village. We have some free time in Aswan to explore the markets, walk along the Nile, or relax by the pool in the hotel.  

 

The following morning we visit the beautiful Philae Temple by boat, and an extra option is available to fly over Lake Nasser and the desert to visit the Sun Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. These spectacular temples were painstakingly dismantled and rebuilt when the Aswan Dam was built and the lake flooded.

 

Our next highlight is a 2 day/1 night cruise on board a traditional felucca sailboat, heading downriver from Aswan towards Luxor. Watching rural Egyptian life pass by on the banks of the Nile as you relax on board a felucca is one of Egypt's most enjoyable activities. Our Nubian crew cook all our meals and entertain us in the evening as we sit around a campfire singing songs and telling stories before we fall asleep back on board the boat. The next morning we sail further on the Nile before driving to Luxor where we tour the West Bank of the Nile to see the pharaohs' tombs in the Valleys of the Kings, while on the East Bank, we travel by horse carriage to the huge temple complex at Karnak.

 

We return to Cairo on the sleeper train and visit the Citadel high on a hill overlooking the city, and explore the chaotic Khan-el-Khalili bazaar before enjoying a final taste of Egypt on a Nile dinner cruise with a sufi & belly dancing display.

 

The tour uses 4-star hotels with swimming pools and options are available to upgrade to a luxury cruise boat instead of the felucca sailboat trip, or to extend the tour with extra days in Cairo. Our group departures are on Saturdays, and you can shorten the tour by a day to fly home on Sunday afternoon if necessary to allow the children to start school again on Monday.

Check our family information page for more information about travelling with your children.

 

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