Egypt Small Group Tour: 14-Day Middle Egypt, Nile & Alexandria

Begin at Saqqara with the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first great stone building in history. Then enter the Tomb of Wahtye, a Fifth Dynasty priest's tomb closed to the public, its painted walls and statues as vivid as the day they were finished. After lunch, return to Giza. As the plateau closes to visitors, enter the Great Pyramid's Queen's and Subterranean Chambers and stand between the paws of the Sphinx at sunset.

A full day at the Grand Egyptian Museum, the largest museum in the world devoted to a single civilisation. Climb the Grand Staircase lined with royal statues, then spend unhurried time in the Tutankhamun galleries, where more than five thousand objects from the boy king's tomb are shown together for the first time, including his golden mask. End with the 4,500-year-old Khufu Solar Boat, restored in its own hall. Lunch is served at the museum before a free evening.

Drive south along the Nile valley into Middle Egypt, a region few visitors ever reach. At Beni Hassan, climb to a row of rock-cut tombs of Middle Kingdom governors, painted 4,000 years ago with scenes of wrestlers, hunters, farmers and craftsmen that are among the liveliest in Egypt. Continue to Minya, on the banks of the Nile, for a quiet dinner and the night at the Grand Aton Hotel. The drive is long, with a stop for lunch along the way.

Visit Tuna el-Gebel, where underground galleries hold thousands of mummified ibis and baboons sacred to Thoth, and the elegant tomb of the priest Petosiris. Cross the river to Tell el-Amarna, the city Akhenaten built for the sun god Aten, with tombs whose naturalistic reliefs broke centuries of tradition. In the evening, continue south to Abydos, where the House of Life looks out over the desert near the temple. Dinner is served at the lodge, with views across the desert.

Start at the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, famed for the finest reliefs in Egypt and the King List naming seventy-six pharaohs. Continue north to Dendera for the Temple of Hathor, with its painted astronomical ceiling and rooftop chapels. Reach Luxor in the afternoon and board MS Le Fayan, where your cabin and a relaxed dinner on the river await after a long and rewarding day. Lunch is served in a local restaurant between the two temples.

Enter the Valley of the Kings privately, with time inside the royal tombs before they fill, including the tomb of Tutankhamun, where the young king still rests in his burial chamber. Continue to the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut. In the afternoon, explore Karnak and its Great Hypostyle Hall of 134 columns, then Luxor Temple, before the ship sets sail south through the Esna Lock towards Edfu. Lunch is served on board between the morning and afternoon visits.

Ride by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best preserved temple in Egypt. Sail on to Kom Ombo for its double temple shared by Sobek and Haroeris, and the Crocodile Museum with its mummified crocodiles. Spend the afternoon on the sun deck as the ship continues towards Aswan. In the evening, dress in a traditional galabeya for a festive Egyptian night on board. Lunch is served on board as the ship sails between the two temples.

Take a short boat ride to the island Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis and rebuilt stone by stone on Agilkia Island to save it from the rising Nile. After lunch on board, a motorboat carries you through the granite islands of the First Cataract to a Nubian village, where you visit a family home and a local school. The evening brings Nubian music and dance on board. The ship remains moored in Aswan for the night.

Leave the ship after breakfast and fly to Abu Simbel, where Ramses II carved his great temple and a smaller one for Queen Nefertari into the mountainside, moved block by block in the 1960s to escape Lake Nasser. Fly back to Aswan, then on to Alexandria via Cairo, arriving in the evening at the Four Seasons at San Stefano, right on the Mediterranean shore. Dinner is served at the hotel, with time to rest after a full day of travel.

Discover the city founded by Alexander the Great. Descend into the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, where Egyptian and Roman art meet underground, and visit the Roman Amphitheatre, the only one of its kind in Egypt. After a seafood lunch by the sea, see the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern tribute to the ancient Library, and the Citadel of Qaitbay, built on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse. The evening is free to walk the seafront Corniche or dine at the hotel.

Drive west along the coast to Taposiris Magna, a temple of Osiris where archaeologists continue the search for the tomb of Cleopatra, and walk the site beside its ancient lighthouse tower. Return to Cairo in the afternoon and check in to the Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis. In the evening, celebrate the journey with your group at a farewell dinner in Cairo. The drive from the coast to Cairo takes about three hours.

A last full day in Cairo. Visit the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where the Royal Mummies Hall holds more than twenty kings and queens, including Ramses II and Hatshepsut, in quiet, softly lit galleries. After lunch, spend the afternoon in Khan el-Khalili, the bazaar of lanterns, spices and silver, with time for shopping and coffee in the old lanes before a free evening. Your guide can suggest the best stalls for perfume, textiles and jewellery.

Your Egypt small group tour ends with a slow breakfast in Cairo and time to pack at leisure, or a last walk along the Corniche if your flight leaves later in the day. A private transfer then takes you to Cairo International Airport, where our team assists you through check-in and security. Your trip concierge remains available until you are on board, should anything change with your flight. We hope to welcome you back to Egypt soon.