The Highlights of Greece and Egypt

            12 Days/10 Nights

Day 1 – Departure

Depart your home city today for Greece.

Day 2 - Athens

Welcome to Greece! Upon arrival your Learning Through Travel guide will greet you and assist you with your transfer to the hotel. Enjoy some leisure time exploring the streets of Athens. This evening wander through the Plaka and enjoy a welcome dinner at a taverna. 

Day 3 – Athens

Enjoy a morning tour of Athens visiting the famed Parthenon and Acropolis Museum, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Royal Palace, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Panathenian Stadium and the flea market. This afternoon is at your leisure, or you can choose an optional tour to the Temple of Poseidon.  

Day 4 – Athens/Cairo

The morning is at your leisure. A late afternoon transfer to the airport for a short flight to Cairo, Egypt.

Welcome to Egypt, Land of the Pharaohs!

Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, your tour representative will greet you, collect your passport to obtain your Egypt Visa, and assist you with Custom formalities. Transfer to the hotel.

Day 5 – Cairo/ Giza

This morning meet with your Learning Through Travel representative to discuss the exciting days ahead. Visit the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Kephren and Mycerinos; which more than 100,000 workers and over 20 years to complete. A short distance from the pyramids stands the Sphinx built around 2650 BC, a magnificent structure with the head of a man and body of a lion. After lunch we will visit Memphis, the first capital of United Upper and Lower Egypt. The day ends with a drive to the Sakkara site of the first Pyramid, the Step of Zoser. 

Day 6 – Cairo City Tour

This morning your guide introduces you to the masterpieces of ancient art in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities including the treasures found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen. After lunch visit the Mohammed Ali Mosque. There will be time to shop at the Khan El Khalili Bazaaar known for its narrow alleys. Hundreds of shops sell jewelry, cottons, perfumes copperware and other Egyptian handicrafts. This evening you may enjoy a Sound and Light Show presentation at the Great Pyramid.

Day 7 – Cairo/Luxor

After a buffet breakfast, transfer to the airport for the flight to Luxor. Upon arrival you will be met by your Learning Through Travel guide and transferred to the Nile cruise ship. In ancient days Luxor was known by its Greek name Thebes and in the 18th & 19th Dynasty was the capital of Egypt in the New Kingdom. It became the permanent residence of the Pharaohs during that period. With its colorful souks, enormous temples, Valley of the Kings and Queens that house the tombs of the pharaohs, Luxor is a memorable site.  After lunch, the afternoon will be devoted to the spectacular Karnak & Luxor Temples. It was built primarily by Amenophis III in the 18th Dynasty to demonstrate the power of this New Kingdom's Pharaoh. Major additions to the temple were made by Ramses II in the 19th Dynasty. Continue to the Karnak Temple which is a complex of temples, obelisks, pylons, courts, colonnades, halls, reliefs and sanctuaries built to worship the sun God Amun. It covers an enormous area which was once restricted to priests and pharaohs. The most famous part is the Hypostyle Hall, which contains 134 columns. The Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty made Karnak the principle sanctuary in the land. This evening you may enjoy a Sound & Light Show presentation at the Karnak Temple. 

Day 8 – Luxor/Esna

Cross the Nile early this morning to visit the mysterious Western Thebes. Here, in what was the Necropolis of Thebes, see the Valley of the Kings, including the Tomb of Tutankhamen, the imposing Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Many Egyptologist believe that the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir EL Bahari is the finest building in Egypt and one of the most impressive in the world. This afternoon your ship sails south for Esna. 

Day 9 – Esna/Edfu/Kom Ombo

This morning visit the Temple of Esna before continuing to Edfu. At Edfu see the mighty temple of the Falcon Headed God Horus. This is the best-preserved temple in Egypt. It stands on the western end of Edfu, mid way between Luxor and Aswan. The sandstone temple of Horus (the sun God) was built under the Ptolemies and completed by the mid first century B.C. Return to your ship to sail to Kom Ombo, enjoy dinner and cruise activities. Overnight will be in Kom Ombo.

Day 10 - Kom Ombo/Aswan

At Kom Ombo explore the enchanting Twin Temple of the Crocodile Headed God Sobek and the Falcon Headed God Heroeris. This temple was built in the Ptolemaic era and is divided into two symmetrical halves. The left side is dedicated to the falcon Headed God Heroeris and the right side to the crocodile God Sobek. Relief’s of Ptolemaic Pharaohs are found in the porch and the rest of the temple consists of a crypt, chapels, Roman wells where sacred crocodiles may have been kept and remains of a birth house. Continue cruising down the Nile to the delightful resort of Aswan which is famous for its quarries of pink granite and the high Dam constructed in 1960. The dam created the second largest artificial lake in the world. Aswan was a major trading center where goods were brought in from the west of Africa. Take a tour of Aswan and its environs, including the historical High Dam, an ancient granite quarry containing the mysterious unfinished Obelisk. This obelisk was never finished because of a flaw found in the stone.  If it had been cut from the bedrock, it would have been the largest piece of stone carved by man. We continue to the captivating Temples of Philae. This temple complex was dismantled and re-assembled on the higher ground of Agilkia Island. The main sanctuary on the island is dedicated to the Goddess Isis and her son Horus. The Kiosk of Trajan is the most beautiful monument at Philae. Egyptian thought Isis was the Goddess of Magic, when she wept the Nile flooded and the first people were created from her tears.  In the evening your guide takes you on a felucca down the River Nile past the Elephantine Island to view the Agha Khan Mausoleum. Continue to the Nubian Museum to enjoy some tea. 

Day 11 – Aswan/Cairo

Disembark after breakfast. An optional tour will be offered to visit Abu Simbel, the Temple of Ramses II. Say farewell to Aswan as we transfer to the airport for the flight to Cairo. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to our hotel.  The remainder the day is at your leisure. A farewell dinner is offered this evening.

Day 12 – Departure

Farewell to Greece and Egypt as you transfer to the Airport for your return. Arrive home, your heart and mind filled with many happy memories of Greece and Egypt. 

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• International Air New York Athens/Cairo/Athens/New York
  

• Domestic Air within Egypt
  

• 2 nights accommodation in Athens at a 4-star hotel
  

• 4 nights accommodation in Cairo at a 5-star hotel
  

• 5 day/4 night Nile cruise on board a 5-star deluxe Nile cruise ship
  

• Half day tour of Athens
  

• Full day tour: Pyramids/Sphinx-Memphis/Sakkara including lunch
  

• Full day tour: Egyptian Museum-Citadel/Mosque/Bazaar including lunch
  

• All shore excursion and entrance fees during Nile Cruise
  

• Transfers: Athens/Cairo/Luxor/Aswan
  

• 10 breakfast,6 lunches and 6 dinners
  

• English speaking guide in Greece
  

• English speaking Egyptologist throughout Egypt
  

• Hotel taxes and service charges
  

• Portage of 1 piece of luggage per person
  

NOT INCLUDED

• U.S. Departure Tax & Airport Security Fees
  

• Greece Departure Tax
  

• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, mineral water, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, tips for drivers, guides and transfer personnel, travel insurance, visa and passport fees, etc.
  

PLEASE NOTE ITINERARY SEQUENCE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.