THE WONDERS OF EGYPT AND THE RED SEA

Day 1 – Monday – Departure

Depart your home city today for Egypt.

Day 2 – Tuesday – Cairo

Ahlan Wa Sahlan! Welcome to Egypt, Land of the Pharaohs! Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, your tour representative will greet you; collect your passport to obtain your Egypt Visa, and assist with Custom formalities. After check-in at the hotel and time to freshen up, meet with the Learning Through Travel representative to discuss the exciting days ahead. A welcome dinner this evening will introduce you to Egyptian cuisine.

ACCOMMODATIONS:  MARRIOTT PALACE HOTEL OR SIMILAR (D)

Day 3 – Wednesday - Cairo

Today visit the Giza Plateau where there are three Pyramids, the greatest being that of Cheops. It took 100,000 workers more than 20 years to construct. Entrance to one of the pyramids is included. Southeast of the Great Pyramids is the Sphinx, carved out of solid natural rock in about 2650 BC, a magnificent monument with the head of the Pharaoh and the body of a lion. Continue to visit the first Pyramid ever built, the Step Pyramid of Zoser, in the Sakkara Complex. When Memphis was the capital of Egypt, during the Old Kingdom period, Sakkara was its necropolis. Spread over seven kilometers of desert, Sakkara is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Before returning to the hotel, stop to see the remains in Memphis, the first capital of United Upper and Lower Egypt.

ACCOMMODATIONS:  MARRIOTT PALACE HOTEL OR SIMILAR (B, L)

Day 4 – Thursday – Cairo

This morning you are being introduced to the masterpieces of ancient art in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, including the Mummy Room. The museum is home to the vast findings of King Tutankhamen’s tomb and other important pieces of Egypt’s history. There will be time to visit the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, known for its narrow alleys. Hundreds of shops are selling all types of Egyptian handicrafts, silver and gold jewelry, cottons, copperware and perfumes.

ACCOMMODATIONS:  MARRIOTT PALACE HOTEL OR SIMILAR (B, L)

Day 5 – 11 - Friday – Thursday – Cairo/Hurghada

Today take a flight to Hurghada to embark your one week live aboard dive boat following the Classic Cruise.  Starting from Hurghada and sailing north, it offers a perfect combination of reef and wreck diving. The famous horseshoe shaped reef of Shaab El Erg is a perfect example of the reefs full of beautiful hard coral garden and the chance to see dolphins. Abu Nuhas has four well-known wrecks, Giannis D, Carnatic, The Lentil Wreck and The Tile Wreck, all offering spectacular dives and plenty of fish life. Night dives can be superb in this area as Gubal Island offers protected anchoring for the night. A small wreck at 8-10 meters makes for a spectacular night dive with lionfish, scorpion fish and its resident giant moray eel. A short ride across the straits of Gubal and you visit the most famous wreck of the Red Sea, the Thistlegorm! An awe-inspiring World War II British vessel, with a cargo full of armaments (Bedford trucks and BSA motorbikes) destined for the British troops in North Africa. Sunk by the German Luftwaffe now lies in 30 meters of water. Depending on divers' experience, weather and current conditions, we also try to offer a night dive here. Close by is the Ras Mohamed National Park, offering a morning dive at the 'Shark Reef', a sheer wall falling into the blue. The Ras Mohamed Park is usually the 'border', from here the boat heads back towards Hurghada.

ACCOMMODATIONS: EMPEROR SUPERIOR OR SIMILAR (B, L, D)

Day 12 – Friday – Hurghada/Luxor

You have just completed your under water discovery of the Red Sea, now it is time to discover the many wonders of Egypt. Leave Hurghada for Luxor, where this afternoon you explore the East Bank of the Nile including the Temple of Luxor. Here, the Avenue of Sphinxes, famous for its artistic degree of uniformity, leads to the entrance of the temple where you find a seated colossus of Ramses II and a towering Obelisk. Continue to the Karnak Temple, one of the most impressive monuments of ancient art and architecture in the world. The carvings, which adorn all of the walls, depict the history and conquests of many of Egypt’s Pharaohs. This evening you may join an optional excursion to the Karnak Temple for a spectacular Sound and Light Show. ACCOMMODATIONS: SONESTA ST. GEORGE HOTEL OR SIMILAR (B, D)

Day 13– Saturday – Luxor/Cairo

This morning cross the West Bank to explore the Valley of the Kings, housing 63 tombs belonging to the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, including the famous tomb of King Tutankhamen and tomb KV 63 found in 2005. KV 63 is the first tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings since King Tut’s KV 62 tomb in 1922. Many of the tombs, carved out of the bedrock, retain their original bright colors, fine relief’s and scenes, thought to guarantee the safe passage of the Ka to the after life. Afterwards, continue on to Deir El Bahri to visit the mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, considered being one of the finest buildings in Egypt. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as King for 20 years.  Return to Cairo this afternoon.

ACCOMMODATIONS: FAIRMONT HELIOPOLIS HOTEL OR SIMILAR (B, D)

Day 14 – Sunday – Departure

Farewell to Egypt as you transfer to the airport for your return flight to New York. Arrive home your heart and mind filled with happy memories of ancient and modern day Egypt. (B)

Please Note: Itinerary sequence subject to change without prior notice due to government regulations and hotel/cruise confirmations.

OPTIONAL ALEXANDRIA EXTENSION

Day 15/16 – Friday/Saturday - Cairo/Alexandria

Drive along the Pyramids Road to Alexandria, where you spend the next two days exploring the many sites of ancient and modern day Alexandria.  You have the opportunity to dive into history as you explore the ancient underwater city of Cleopatra and her Palace located inside the Eastern Harbor of Alexandria. The city collapsed and fell into the sea after several earthquakes. Dive the remains of Greco-Roman temples and the ancient Pharos Lighthouse which stood strong for 13 centuries as the one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.  You will have the late afternoon to tour the cosmopolitan riverfront of the Eastern Harbor known as the Corniche.  After a casual dinner in the Eastern Harbor and a relaxed morning, check into the dive shop for a second day of diving of Napoleonic era shipwrecks or World War II British wrecks.  Afterwards tour Fort Qait Bay, the former site of the Pharos Lighthouse and enjoy dinner overlooking both the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Harbor.

ACCOMMODATIONS: SOFITEL CECIL HOTEL OR SIMILAR (B, D)

Day 17 - Alexandria/Cairo

The morning is spent exploring the famous sites of Alexandria.  Visit the newly opened Alexandria Library, Pompeii Pillar, the Underground Catacombs, Roman Amphitheater, Montazah Garden, and the Greco-Roman Museum.  Visit open air museums where you can see artifacts on display from the underwater archeological exploration of the dive sites you visited the previous days.  After a light dinner in Alexandria, return to Cairo with an evening arrival to prepare for you trip home.

ACCOMMODATIONS: FAIRMONT HELIOPOLIS OR SIMILAR (B).

Day 18 – Monday – Departure

Farewell to Egypt as you transfer to the airport for your return flight to New York.  Arrive home your heart and minds filled with happy memories of ancient and modern day Egypt. (B)

Please Note: Itinerary sequence subject to change without prior notice due to government regulations and hotel/cruise confirmations

         TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• International air New York/Cairo/New York
  

• Domestic Air Cairo/Aswan-Hurghada/Cairo
  

• 3 nights accommodation in Cairo at the Marriott Palace Hotel or similar
  

• 7 nights Live Aboard Private Charter –Classic Cruise program
  

• 1 night accommodation in Cairo at the Heliopolis Fairmont Hotel or similar
  

• All transfers: Cairo/Luxor/Hurghada
  

• Transfer of dive equipment from Cairo to Hurghada
  

• Sightseeing and transfers by deluxe motor coach
  

• English speaking guide throughout Egypt
  

• Full day sightseeing Pyramids (entrance into 1 pyramid)/sphinx –Memphis/Sakkara
  

• Full day sightseeing Egyptian Museum of Antiquities including entrance into the Mummy Room-Citadel, Mosque & Bazaar
  

• All entrance fees and shore excursions on Nile Cruise
  

• 13 breakfasts, 11 lunches and 12 dinners
  

• Hotel taxes and service charges
  

• Porterage
  

• Luggage Tags, Travel Bag, Passport Wallet, First Aid Kit
  

     NOT INCLUDED

• U.S. Departure Taxes & Airport Security ($300.00 subject to change)
  

• Domestic air within the U.S.
  

• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, inter-net services, dive equipment, National Park fees, soft drinks, coffee, tea (except at breakfast), mineral water, alcoholic beverages, passport fees, gratuities for drivers, guides, transfer personnel, travel insurance, etc……