Day 1 – Otopeni – Cairo
Meeting at Otopeni Airport with the Cocktail Holidays group escort and boarding flight RO101 for departure to Cairo after midnight.
Day 2 – Cairo – Old City Tour Included
Departure from Otopeni at 00:45. Arrival in Cairo at 03:30 local time. Transfer and check-in at a 5* hotel in Cairo. Breakfast. After a rest break, we start exploring Cairo, where we will have the chance to discover the Citadel, which dates back to 1176 when a fortress was built by Sultan Ayyubid Saladin, including the royal palace, towers, and a thick defensive wall. Over the years, the buildings were damaged, rebuilt, and expanded with new monuments, including the 19th-century Alabaster Mosque, the most beautiful religious building in the Egyptian capital, located within the Salah El Din Citadel (Old City). Also in this area, we visit one of the largest mosques in the world, the Madrassa Mosque, built by Sultan Hassan. Next, we take a brief detour to Khan El Khalili Bazaar, a labyrinth of bustling, noisy, colorful streets where the scent of spices envelops you, offering everything from soap and spices to gold and semi-precious stones, toy camels, and alabaster pyramids. In the evening, dinner and accommodation at a 5* hotel in Cairo.
Day 3 – Cairo – Visit to the Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptology Museum or Egyptian Civilization Museum
Breakfast at the hotel. The day starts with an exterior visit to the Pyramids of Giza. The fascinating history of ancient Egypt takes us back 2750 years before Christ to explore the grandiose monuments: the Pyramids of Cheops, Khafre, and Mykerinos (exterior) or the Sphinx with the Mortuary Temple. The day continues with a traditional visit to the Perfume Palace, where we will enjoy the scents specific to ancient Egypt (lotus, papyrus, desert secrets, etc.) and can purchase beautiful vials and precious containers for preserving the scents. We continue with a visit to the Papyrus Workshop to discover how this ancient writing medium was made. Here, you have the chance to purchase painted papyrus, typical of ancient Egyptian art. In the afternoon, we return in time, visiting the Egyptology Museum, which houses Tutankhamun's treasure, or the Egyptian Civilization Museum, which houses 22 mummies, the most important and representative of ancient Egypt. The visit will be according to the museum schedules. Dinner and accommodation at a 5* hotel in Cairo.
Day 4 – Cairo – Optional Excursion to Alexandria or Saqqara
Breakfast at the hotel. Optionally, a 1-day excursion to Alexandria. The second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Alexandria is also known as the “Pearl of the Mediterranean.” A flourishing city and capital of Egypt during the Greco-Roman period, it was also a renowned commercial and cultural center. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, the city housed the famous library, the largest of antiquity, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the tallest building of that era (135 m), no longer existing but historically known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Although today Alexandria of ancient Egypt is only slightly visible, the city is still shrouded in mystery. We will have the opportunity to admire Pompey’s Pillars and the Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mursi Mosque. Alternatively, you can choose the optional excursion to Saqqara to admire the wonder of the oldest pyramid. The pyramids of Saqqara stretch over a unique plateau, where the most interesting is the famous stepped pyramid built by Imhotep for Pharaoh Zoser. In the evening, dinner and accommodation at a 5* hotel in Cairo.
Day 5 – Cairo – Aswan – Visits in Aswan to Philae Temple and Elephantine Island with Botanical Garden – Optional: if visiting time permits, a brief visit to the High Dam and Unfinished Obelisk
Breakfast at the hotel in Cairo early in the morning and transfer to Cairo airport for the internal Cairo-Aswan flight. Arrival in Aswan and embarkation on the cruise ship. On this day, we have the opportunity to visit Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, located on the Agilica Island, saved from flooding with the help of UNESCO, through the participation of over 50 countries. With the construction of the Aswan Dam, Lake Nasser was created, located on the border between Egypt and Sudan. We also visit the Botanical Garden in Aswan, where various plant species from Africa, Asia, and Europe can be admired. The garden is on an island inhabited until 1899 by Nubian residents and is unique in northern Africa, hosting over 400 species of subtropical and exotic plants. The program may continue with an optional visit to the High Dam in Aswan, built in 1960, and the Unfinished Obelisk, the largest obelisk ever constructed in Egypt. It is known to be 37m and estimated to weigh 1000 – 1200 tons. Lunch and dinner on the 5* cruise ship.
Day 6 – Aswan – Excursion to Abu Simbel – Kom Ombo - Edfu
Breakfast on the ship. Optionally, an excursion to the most important temple in Egypt - Abu Simbel - built during the 19th Dynasty by Ramses II. Abu Simbel is included in UNESCO Heritage and is remarkable primarily for the massive stone statues of Ramses and his wife, Nefertari. It is a unique temple due to how the sun penetrates the interior of the sacred chamber, only on two days of the year: February 21 – Pharaoh’s Day and October 22 – Coronation Day. Return to the ship, and after lunch, the ship sails to Kom Ombo, where the Temple of Sobek and Horus is visited. Kom Ombo, in ancient hieroglyphics, means “golden land” – the name is related to the fact that 70 km from the west bank of the Nile, there is a gold mine. The ship continues sailing to Edfu. In the evening, dinner and “Galabia Party” on the ship. We will have the chance to discover traditional Egyptian music and costumes.
Day 7 – Edfu – Esna Lock – Luxor – Luxor and Karnak Temples
Early in the morning, we visit the Temple of Horus Behdet, translated as “Horus the Warrior.” On the wall of this important temple is inscribed the legend of the battle between the god Horus and the god Set (Horus’s uncle), the reason for the battle being Horus’s revenge on Set for killing his father Osiris. It should be noted that this legend is the origin of ancient Egyptian religion. Transfer to the temple is by horse-drawn carriages. We return to the cruise ship for breakfast. On our way to Luxor, we pass through the Esna Lock – an achievement of Roman builders. Lunch is served on the cruise ship. After arriving in Luxor in the evening, we will have a unique experience visiting the East Bank of the Nile, the Luxor Temple, with its beautiful columns, the birth chamber of Amenhotep III, the stories of Ramses's battles, or the avenue with sphinxes linking the Luxor Temple to Karnak. We will continue visiting the Karnak Temple Complex, dedicated to the god Amon-Ra. The ancient name of the city was Ipetisut ("most chosen of places"), and its dimensions are impressive. Lunch and dinner on the cruise ship.