This tour is the only Luxury-level package at Traviaz that combines Alexandria with a full day at Abu Simbel without a Nile cruise. Nine days begin in Cairo with the Giza Pyramids, Saqqara, Memphis, and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then head by air to Aswan to visit Philae, the High Dam, and Abu Simbel. After that, a comfortable first-class train carries you from Aswan to Luxor in about three and a half hours along the Nile, to explore Karnak, Luxor Temple, and the Valley of the Kings. The trip concludes with a return flight to Cairo and visits to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and Khan El-Khalili, then a full day in Alexandria.
Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, your Traviaz Egyptology specialist meets you and assists with arrival and baggage. You then transfer by private air-conditioned vehicle to your luxury hotel in Cairo.
Meals: No meals. Accommodation: 5-Star Hotel in Cairo.
After breakfast you begin a day that brings together three sites which illustrate the stages of ancient Egyptian civilization's development, before your domestic flight to Aswan in the evening.
The Giza Plateau covers a royal funerary complex of the Fourth Dynasty, containing three main pyramids, valley temples, and ceremonial causeways.
The complex extends over more than 16,000 hectares, reflecting the scale of funerary planning in that period. The Pyramid of Khufu was built between 2580 and 2560 BC using six million tons of limestone and granite.
The pyramid remained the tallest structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.
The Great Sphinx was carved from a single block of limestone and measures 73 meters in length and 20 meters in height. The statue faces east toward the sunrise during the spring and autumn equinoxes, and was built around 2500 BC.
The Step Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser is the first pyramid in human history and the first large-scale stone structure in the world. It was built between 2667 and 2648 BC and designed by the architect Imhotep, who was later deified for wisdom and medicine. Visiting the pyramid places the Giza Pyramids within their proper historical context.
Memphis was the first unified capital of Egypt, founded by King Menes around 3100 BC. Its open-air museum holds the massive limestone statue of Ramesses II, which exceeds 10 meters in length.
It also contains the Alabaster Sphinx, carved from a single block of alabaster and weighing approximately 80 tons. In the evening you fly to Aswan.
After breakfast you begin with your Traviaz guide a tour exploring Aswan's most prominent historical landmarks.
The High Dam was completed in 1970 and controls the annual Nile flood while generating approximately 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
The project also led to the creation of Lake Nasser, which stretches over 500 kilometers in length.
Queen Hatshepsut ordered the construction of the Unfinished Obelisk in the ancient granite quarries of Aswan, with a planned length of 42 meters.
Cracks appeared in the rock during the work, so the workers left it half-carved without completion. The obelisk today reveals the details of pharaonic stone-carving techniques in a way that is difficult to see at other sites.
Philae Temple, built on Agilkia Island, dates back to the fourth century BC and is dedicated to the goddess Isis. UNESCO, together with 50 countries, led a rescue operation that involved dismantling more than 40,000 stone blocks, transferring the temple, and reassembling it in its original orientation. Access to the temple is by boat across the waters of the Nile.
You depart before dawn by private air-conditioned vehicle, and the trip takes about three hours south of Aswan to Abu Simbel. The early departure allows arrival before the heat intensifies and before visitor numbers increase.
Ramesses II built the Abu Simbel temples on the western bank of Lake Nasser between 1264 and 1244 BC inside the rock face. Four massive statues of Ramesses stand before the Great Temple, each reaching 20 meters in height.
Inside it a 60-meter corridor extends into the rock, decorated with inscriptions of the Battle of Kadesh, which was later linked to the first written peace treaty in history. The temple was designed according to precise astronomical calculations, so sunlight enters it twice a year on February 22 and October 22.
Next to it stands the Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Ramesses's wife and the goddess Hathor, where statues of the queen appear at the same scale as statues of the pharaoh.
After returning to Aswan you board the first-class air-conditioned train to Luxor, and the trip takes about three and a half hours along the Nile. This journey gives you a different and more comfortable experience compared to road travel.
After breakfast you set off with your Traviaz guide to explore the most prominent landmarks of Luxor's east bank.
The Karnak Temple complex extends over 247 acres and is considered the largest religious structure built in the ancient world.
Its construction continued for about two thousand years in honor of the god Amun-Ra, and each pharaoh added a gateway, hall, or obelisk to demonstrate his devotion.
The Great Hypostyle Hall covers 5,000 square meters and holds 134 sandstone columns. The tallest 12 columns reach 21 meters in height, while traces of the original colors have survived on some bases for 3,000 years.
The Avenue of Sphinxes connects Karnak to Luxor Temple over 2.7 kilometers, and it once witnessed the annual Opet Festival procession.
Luxor Temple sits on the east bank of the Nile and was built around 1400 BC during the reign of Amenhotep III. Ramesses II later added sections to it, and it was not dedicated to a specific god but was instead associated with the renewal of kingship and divine authority.
Visiting it after sunset becomes a different experience, as the lighting brings out the columns and statues and reveals the details of the inscriptions and colors.
After breakfast you head with your Traviaz guide to the west bank of the Nile to explore its main landmarks.
The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari was built during the fifteenth century BC with three ascending colonnades in front of the rocky slopes.
Hatshepsut dedicated it to the god Amun, and its inscriptions tell of a trade expedition to the Land of Punt, which is among the oldest documentation of long-distance trade relations.
The Valley of the Kings holds 63 tombs carved into the rock for the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, which ran approximately from 1550 to 1069 BC.
The standard ticket allows entry to three tombs from the open rotation, while Tutankhamun's tomb requires a separate ticket.
Religious texts and scenes covering the tomb walls describe the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife in exceptional detail.
Two massive statues of Amenhotep III, carved from quartzite and each standing 18 meters tall, have remained on the Theban plain for more than three thousand years, while most of the massive funerary temple that once stood behind them has disappeared.
After breakfast you fly to Cairo, where your Traviaz guide accompanies you through a full day exploring Cairo's most prominent historical landmarks.
The Grand Egyptian Museum officially opened in November 2025 and sits two kilometers from the Giza Plateau. It displays the complete Tutankhamun collection, which contains 5,398 artifacts for the first time in a single sequence inside a wing covering 7,500 square meters.
The entrance hall welcomes visitors with the 82-ton statue of Ramesses II, and behind it the grand staircase is flanked by 87 large statues of pharaohs.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization opened at Fustat in 2021 and covers the history of Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times through the modern era.
The Royal Mummies Hall holds 22 mummies of New Kingdom pharaohs and queens, including Ramesses II, Seti I, Hatshepsut, and Thutmose III.
The mummies were transferred to the museum in April 2021 during a ceremonial procession broadcast live to millions of viewers. This hall became their permanent home.
The Old Cairo tour includes the Hanging Church, one of the oldest Christian churches in Egypt and built above two towers of the Roman Babylon Fortress.
The tour also includes the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the oldest preserved Jewish site in Cairo, and the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque built in Egypt and Africa during the seventh century AD.
Khan El-Khalili is Cairo's historic market, built during the fourteenth century. Its network of alleyways extends through Islamic Cairo and holds shops selling antiques, jewelry, spices, and textiles.
After breakfast you set off by private air-conditioned vehicle to Alexandria, and the trip takes about three hours via the North Coast road.
The Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa lie underground and were built during the second century AD, and they are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
They consist of three levels reaching a depth of 35 meters and contain more than 300 tombs. The site brings together three cultures within a cohesive structure: ancient Egyptian decorations, Greek architecture, and Roman sculpture.
The catacombs were discovered by accident in 1900 after a donkey fell through the hidden entrance opening.
Pompey's Pillar is one of the largest single standing columns in the ancient world, reaching 27 meters in height and 9 meters in circumference.
The column was carved from a single piece of granite and built in 297 AD in honor of Emperor Diocletian, not Pompey. It stands amid the remains of the Serapeum Temple, which was one of the greatest temples of the Hellenistic world.
The Citadel of Qaitbay was built in 1477 AD by order of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay, with the aim of protecting Alexandria from Ottoman threats.
It is distinguished by its location above the exact site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The lighthouse's stones were used in its construction after earthquakes destroyed it during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The citadel's walls offer a direct view of the Mediterranean Sea and the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina on the opposite side. In the evening you return to Cairo.
After the final breakfast at the hotel, a Traviaz representative transfers you by private air-conditioned vehicle to Cairo International Airport. The service includes assistance with departure procedures until the journey is complete.
Explore Cairo, Aswan, and Luxor in 6 days, visiting the Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum, Philae Temple, Valley of the Kings, and Karnak Temple. Includes 5-star hotels and a private guide.
Experience Egypt’s highlights in 5 days with luxury hotels and a private guide. Visit the Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara, Luxor, Aswan, and Philae Temple.
Enjoy a luxury Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, with stops at Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel, and Nubian villages. Experience Egypt’s top archaeological sites and the Nile in one journey.
