6-Day Luxor Cairo and Alexandria Tour with Sleeper Train

• Meet your tour guide upon arrival at Luxor International Airport, where a representative will assist you with the arrival procedures and take you to your hotel. At the hotel, the tour manager will help with a smooth check-in and review your holiday itinerary with you to establish and confirm pick-up times for each tour.
• Enjoy an optional two-hour cruise on the Nile with dinner.

Overnight in Luxor.
Welcome drinks.

• Have breakfast on board and cross to the West Bank to visit the Valley of the Kings. It was created and used from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC and contains around 60 tombs, beginning with Thutmose I and ending with Ramses X or XI. The site's official name was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes, or the Great Field. The most famous tomb is KV62, the Tomb of King Tutankhamun. Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922, and it was the first royal tomb to be found still largely intact.
• Continue to visit the Hatshepsut Temple at El Deir El Bahary. This impressive temple was dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. It rises out of the desert in a series of terraces and merges with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it.
• Proceed to the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III. The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For 3,400 years, they have stood in the Theban necropolis across the River Nile from the city of Luxor. Their original function was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep's memorial or mortuary temple.
• Explore Karnak Temple, the largest place of worship ever built. In ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two-thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, as evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak consists of three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometres north of Luxor on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is the site's modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places."
• Move to Luxor Temple. Amenhotep III built it in the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom, and Ramesses II completed it during the 19th Dynasty. King Ramses II was the most famous king of the 19th Dynasty and ruled Egypt for about 67 years. The temple was dedicated to the great god Amun-Ra, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu, representing the Theban triad. Enjoy visiting the Obelisk of Ramses II in front of the 1st Pylon. It was called "Ipet resyt", the Southern Opet or the Place of the Seclusion of Amun-Re. It was directly connected to the temple of Karnak, the main cult centre of Amun-Re or Amun-Min, the sky god or the ithyphallic fertility god. Since its inception, Luxor Temple has always been a sacred site. After Egypt's pagan period, a Christian church and monastery were located here, and later a mosque, the 13th-century Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, was built and continues to be used today.

Overnight in Train.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner)

• Have breakfast and head to the Giza Plateau to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) - along with three small pyramids. Continue exploring the rest of the Giza Plateau, including the sight of Khafre's pyramid, Khufu's son and the second-largest pyramid on the Giza site, the remains of the funerary temple, the pyramid of Menkaure (Mykerinus), and three small pyramids.
• Proceed to visit the Great Sphinx, the head of a pharaoh with a lion's body, which dates from the time of Chephren.
• Visit the Valley Temple, which belongs to the pyramids of Chephren. This temple definitely served two functions: first, it was used for the purification of the mummy of the king before burial; second, it was used for carrying out the mummification process of the king. After visiting the pyramids, continue across the plateau for a photo of the three pyramids rising from the sands, with the Cairo skyline in the background. Have lunch at a local restaurant.
• Explore the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. It is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities dating back about 5,000 years of art and is considered the world's largest and most valuable collection of Egyptian art. More than 250,000 original artefacts are presented, with a representative amount on display while the rest are kept in storage. The Egyptian Museum is filled with thousands of pharaonic artefacts, including the golden treasures of King Tutankhamun. Fascinating objects such as jewels, headdresses, alabaster vases, and toys from ancient Egypt are all on display. Many priceless statues and artefacts were kept in his tomb for more than 3,500 years before their discovery in 1922, when the tomb was excavated, and these can also be seen in the museum. It is one of the first stops on most people's itineraries when travelling to Egypt. This distinctive museum, which houses a vast store of priceless objects from earlier times to the Greco-Roman period, is well worth seeing.
• Head to Old Cairo to visit fascinating wonders such as the Hanging Church, built in the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century in the Basilica style, the Abu Sirga Church, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which dates back to the beginning of the 15th century AD. It was built in the Basilica style above the cave where the Holy Family took refuge. End your tour in Cairo with a visit to Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque, the very first mosque built in Egypt.
• Transfer back to your hotel.

Overnight in Cairo
(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast and travel to Alexandria. Visit Montazah Palace and Gardens, and drive by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina with the possibility of stopping for a photo. See Montazah Palace and Gardens, including Salamlek Palace, Haramlek Palace, a garden of 317 acres filled with huge trees and flowers, and two 5-star hotels - Helnan and Salamlek.
• Drive to Pompey's Pillar. It was constructed in honour of Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 4th century. Originally from the Temple of Serapis, it was once part of a magnificent structure rivalling the Soma and the Caesarean.
• Visit the Catacombs, the largest Roman cemetery of three levels cut into the rock. Have lunch at a local restaurant in Alexandria.
• Drive along the Corniche to see the whole city, passing over Stanley Bridge, a landmark of modern Alexandria, and see the Qaitbay Citadel, which was built on the site of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria. Then continue to visit the best sites in Alexandria.
• Start with the new Library of Alexandria, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, now the biggest library in the world with 8 million books, and the site of the lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• Transfer to the train station for your overnight sleeper train to Luxor and have dinner on the train.

Overnight on the train.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner)

• Have breakfast on the train and transfer to the hotel for a free day.

Or

• Go for a Luxor day tour and visit the following places:
  • Dandara and Abydos Temples
  • Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples
  • Luxor Museum and Mummification Museum
  • Luxor city tour by horse carriage
  • Luxor hot air balloon ride
  • Sound and light show at Karnak Temples
  • Ramesseum Temple, Habu Temple, and Nobles Valley

Overnight in Luxor.
(Meals: breakfast)

• Have breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport for your onward destination.

(Meal: breakfast)