Egypt from South to North with Dendera & Abydos

Arrival in Luxor and transfer to your hotel. In the evening we gather for a relaxed picnic-style dinner, a first chance to meet your guide and go over the days ahead.

A full day north of Luxor, on a route few groups take. At Abydos, the temple of Seti I holds some of the finest reliefs in Egypt and the King List, a carved record of the pharaohs who ruled before him. At Dendera, the temple of Hathor keeps its painted astronomical ceiling and a portrait of Cleopatra. Lunch on the way and return to Luxor.

Check out of the hotel and board your Nile ship. In the afternoon, visit Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, and the Temple of Luxor at dusk. Dinner on board.

Crossing to the West Bank, the city of the dead. You visit three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Back on board, the ship passes through the Esna lock and sails on to Edfu.

Optional: sunrise balloon flight over the Theban necropolis.

A horse-drawn carriage takes you to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most complete temple in Egypt, with its roof and pylon still standing. Lunch while sailing past palm groves and mud-brick villages, then a sunset visit to Kom Ombo, the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris, and its small museum of mummified crocodiles. The ship continues to Aswan.

A very early start (around 04:00) for the road to Abu Simbel, about three and a half hours south through the Nubian desert, with a packed breakfast on the way. Two hours with the colossal temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari, rescued from Lake Nasser in the 1960s. Back in Aswan, an afternoon visit to the temple of Philae and the High Dam. Overnight on board.

Breakfast on board and disembarkation. Transfer to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo, where our team takes you to your hotel. Free evening; Khan el-Khalili and its cafés are a good place to start.

The day you have been waiting for. Your guide takes you to the plateau of Giza to see the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure up close, then to the panoramic viewpoint where all three line up against the desert. Finish at the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple of Khafre. Afternoon free.

Optional: entry inside a pyramid (extra ticket) or an afternoon at Saqqara and Memphis.

South of Cairo lies the cradle of pyramid building. At Saqqara stands the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest large stone monument in the world. At Memphis, the first capital of united Egypt, a colossal statue of Ramses II lies in an open-air museum. If time allows, continue to Dahshur for the Red and Bent pyramids.

A day in the old city. Start at the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster mosque of Muhammad Ali, with views across the minarets. Continue to Coptic Cairo, home of the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue, and finish in the lanes of Khan el-Khalili, where coppersmiths and spice sellers have traded since the 14th century.

Breakfast and, depending on your flight time, a last coffee in the city. Transfer to Cairo airport with assistance for your flight home.