Elegance of the Nile

Dining Summary

• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 7 Lunch (L)
• 7 Dinner (D)

Choice Highlights

Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Luxor: Meet the boat captain in his engine cabin and learn about how he sails through the Nile and how knowledge has been passed down through generations.
• Luxor: While cruising participate in a relaxing yoga class on the sundeck as you pass by Luxor temples.
Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Kitchener's Island: Cruise on the Nile in an elegant wooden felucca as the winds ease you around the botanical vistas of Kitchener's Island. Admire the lush greenery of the Island of Plants as your drift through the afternoon aboard your traditional vessel.
• Aswan: Visit the lively Aswan Market and shop for local products. Traders sell a wide variety of Egyptian and African goods such as dried hibiscus flowers, Ancient Egyptian souvenirs, spices and carpets.
Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Kom Ombo: Learn about the roles of powerful women in Egypt’s history from an Egyptologist, including famous leaders such as Queen Cleopatra, Queen Hatshpsut and Nefertiti.
• Kom Ombo: Relax on the sundeck for a cocktail demonstration and sample a delicious drink made from local herbs and ingredients, some of which have been used since the time of the pharaohs such as Sugar Cane Juice and Roselle.

Additional Included Highlights

• Enjoy seamless personal assistance throughout your journey. From securing exclusive reservations, to organising transportation, your Travel Concierge ensures every aspect of your travel is tailored to your tastes and preferences.
• In select destinations, our network of Local Expert Guides will illuminate your journey on a deeper level.
• Included at all hotels.
• Hotel taxes, porterage and tips, as well as tips for included dining experiences, are included.
• Enjoy breakfast every morning, and an array of incredible dining options throughout your journey, infused with discovery and adventure.
• On days where a Relaxed Start (RS) is indicated, you can select to indulge in breakfast in bed.
• Enjoy complimentary hotel WiFi. And, on select coaches, onboard WiFi may also be available.
• Transfers are included on your journey start and end dates, and where additional accommodation has been booked in advance through Luxury Gold. Transfers to train stations or alternate hotels, in the same start or end city as the itinerary, may be requested.

Curated Experiences

• Luxor: Approach the Temple of Luxor along the Avenue of Sphinxes and see the ancient stones on your special after-hours visit. Look to the top of the remaining Pylon of Ramses II and step into the ancient monument.

Exceptional Dining

• Luxor: Visit a family home and witness the making of authentic Egyptian sun bread.
• Don your finest traditional Nile Valley galabeya for a night of dancing and games on the river. Enjoy a relaxed Egyptian dinner and take the opportunity to unwind and spend an informal evening with your Travel Concierge and cruise companions.
• Aswan: Enjoy afternoon tea on the shaded terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel as you gaze over the waters of the Nile River. Soak up the afternoon as Winston Churchill, Princess Diana, and Agatha Christie have done before you.

Magnificent Stays

• Cairo: For the ultimate in luxury and refinement, set sail onboard the deluxe all-suite River Tosca. Experience old world elegance blended with modern amenities and comfort. The spacious suites are tastefully designed with marble bathrooms. Outside on the sun deck, the pool and shaded cabanas offer an oasis of calm to relax and enjoy the ever-changing scenery.

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER

• Aswan: In Aswan, meet the women of a local women-owned co-operative whose mission is to support vulnerable women from the local villages to learn new skills and become financially independent. The organization provides a hub of support and comfort for over 300 women who may live in poverty or suffer from loneliness and want to become financially independent. Thanks to their newly learnt skills, the women are now able to provide the main source of income for their family. The co-op also strives to reduce waste with a secondary mission to ensure a garbage-free world by using waste and natural material like bamboo or palm trees to create fine handicrafts. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience advances United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality.

Passport Moments

• Giza: Join your Egyptologist to explore the impressive city of Giza, where you meet the enigmatic Sphinx and proceed deep inside one of the Pyramids. Admire the hieroglyphs etched on the walls and the covert chambers where great pharaohs met their gods.
• Saqqara Necropolis: Accompany your Egyptologist to see the Step Pyramid of Zoser, the first pyramid that the Egyptians built, more than 4,700 years ago. It was designed by the architect, Imhotep, to honor his much-respected King, whom it is named after.
• Karnak: Stand amid a vast forest of columns in the largest temple complex known to man. The most important place of worship in Egypt for nearly 800 years, Karnak is an extraordinary sight, presided over by the archaeologically magnificent Temple of Amun.
• Dendera: Visit the magnificent Temple of Hathor, one of the best preserved temples in all Egypt. Explore the complex to see rare images of Cleopatra VII and Caesarian and witness the Dendera Light, which some historians believe depicts an ancient electric lightbulb.
• West Bank: Pause to view the spectacular Colossi of Memnon. These enormous twin statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III sit 60 feet above the plain and dominate the landscape with their 720-tonne masses. Gaze upon the breathtaking scene they create.
• Valley of the Kings: Venture to the Necropolis with your Egyptologist and discover the resting place of many Pharaohs. See the royal tombs and visit the Temple of Hatshepsut with its pillared porticoes and vibrant reliefs, making it one of the world’s most striking architectural masterpieces.
• Valley of the Kings: Follow in the footsteps of the Pharaohs as you walk into the Valley of the Kings and explore the magnificent burial chambers of Egypt’s ancient rulers.
• Kom Ombo: Arrive at Kom Ombo on the banks of the Nile, a unique double temple that is dedicated to two gods. See the mummified crocodiles that were in honor of Sobek and the identical temple made for Horus, the falcon-headed god.
• Aswan: Marvel at the monumental engineering of Egypt, ancient and modern. See the 3500-year-old unfinished obelisk of Hatshepsut, an unrivaled example of the advanced construction of the Pharaohs, and take in the Aswan High Dam, responsible for creating the enormous Lake Nasser.
• Philae Island: Cross the Nile by motorboat and visit the immaculately preserved Philae temple complex. Walk amidst the ancient columns of this Nubian monument site, rescued from devastation by UNESCO when it was moved stone by stone from the flood plains of the Aswan High Dam.
• Temple of Philae: Watch in wonder as the Temple of Philae is brought to life against the night sky by a mesmerizing presentation of sound and light.
• Esna: Visit the well preserved Esna Temple, dedicated to the god of creation, the ram-headed Khnum. Parts of the temple were built during different eras and it appears this was the first shrine built during the reign of Thuthmosis III.
• Cairo: Go sightseeing with your Travel Concierge to visit the medieval citadel and Muhammed Ali Pasha's distinctive Alabaster Mosque. Then venture into the dazzling Khan El Halili bazaar, where stained glass lamps sit alongside handmade carpets and the aroma of traditional spices fills the air.
• Cairo: Walk through the Egyptian Museum in the company of your Travel Concierge, a knowledgeable Egyptologist, who will guide you through the most extensive collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world, including the priceless ancient treasures from the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

Personalise your day

• Luxor: Meet the boat captain in his engine cabin and learn about how he sails through the Nile and how knowledge has been passed down through generations.
• Luxor: While cruising participate in a relaxing yoga class on the sundeck as you pass by Luxor temples.
• Kitchener's Island: Cruise on the Nile in an elegant wooden felucca as the winds ease you around the botanical vistas of Kitchener's Island. Admire the lush greenery of the Island of Plants as your drift through the afternoon aboard your traditional vessel.
• Aswan: Visit the lively Aswan Market and shop for local products. Traders sell a wide variety of Egyptian and African goods such as dried hibiscus flowers, Ancient Egyptian souvenirs, spices and carpets.
• Kom Ombo: Learn about the roles of powerful women in Egypt’s history from an Egyptologist, including famous leaders such as Queen Cleopatra, Queen Hatshpsut and Nefertiti.
• Kom Ombo: Relax on the sundeck for a cocktail demonstration and sample a delicious drink made from local herbs and ingredients, some of which have been used since the time of the pharaohs such as Sugar Cane Juice and Roselle.