Grand Tour of Egypt & Five-Star Nile Cruise

Our journey begins at London Heathrow where we meet the Tour Manager and the rest of our group before a flight to Cairo. On arrival we transfer to the five-star Cairo Sheraton, a modern riverfront hotel, where we have dinner and spend our first night. Over dinner we meet our specialist tour guide, an Egyptologist, who will guide us throughout our holiday adventure as we visit Egypt's many sensational sights.

• Dinner

After an early breakfast we travel by First Class rail to the port city of Alexandria where we are transferred to our Hilton hotel. Next we set out on a sightseeing tour with our specialist guide, who shows us the highlights and hidden gems of Alexandria - the city's ancient catacombs, the Alexandria lighthouse, Roman theatre and the impressive monolith, Pompey's Pillar.

We stop for lunch at the Fish Market, a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, renowned for its fresh seafood. Our next visit is the impressive Library of Alexandria, the world's most famous library of Classical antiquity. Regarded as a cultural epicentre of the ancient world, the library is outstanding not only for its priceless collection of Classical literature but also for its architecture. Returning to our hotel this afternoon, the rest of your day and evening is free to relax, explore and dine independently.

• Breakfast, Lunch

This morning we leave Alexandria and drive to the historical site of El Alamein Battlefield, regarded as one of the significant British victories of World War II. After time to reflect at El Alamein, our excursion continues towards Cairo, stopping for a guided tour of the beautiful village of Wadi El-Natrun enroute.

Wadi El-Natrun is a desert valley and village with twelve lakes and a fascinating history which our guide describes to us. This was an important site in ancient Egypt as the area was rich in mineral salts which were widely used in the mummification process. Later it became a sanctuary for Christians fleeing Roman persecution and a monastic order was formed. Of the dozens of original monasteries here, only four have survived.

Arriving into the city this afternoon we are transferred to our five-star hotel in West Cairo, within a few miles of the Great Pyramids. This evening you are free over dinnertime, and besides a choice of local eateries, the hotel has four restaurants which offer Asian, Mediterranean and International cuisine.

• Breakfast

Today brings another highlight of our tour as we set out on a full day of touring Egypt's phenomenal pyramids, the city of Cairo and the Great Egyptian Museum. The most well-known is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to have survived modernity and remain largely intact.

Our expert Egyptologist guide shares their knowledge of this spectacular tomb, and about the Great Sphinx - one of the most recognisable statues in the world which stands beside the iconic pyramids it was created to guard.

Today's tour ends with a visit to the new Grand Egyptian Museum where, with entrance included, you are free to explore the many breathtaking treasures. This long-awaited archaeological museum is set to be the largest in the world and will house important artifacts of ancient Egypt, in particular it will showcase the entire Tutankhamun collection. We transfer back to our hotel in the afternoon and the evening ahead is at leisure.

• Breakfast

Leaving our hotel after an early breakfast this morning, we embark on a train journey through the heart of Egypt from Cairo to Luxor, in Upper Egypt, arriving in the evening. With a picnic lunch provided, from the train windows we gain an insight into daily life along the Nile as we pass through bustling towns and view fertile fields and low-lying hills.

Luxor has a rich history, with some of Egypt's most important monuments, and was the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. On arrival, we check into our five-star hotel on the east bank of the Nile, overlooking the evocative river.

Featuring excellent facilities including an outdoor pool, our hotel has a restaurant which offers Middle Eastern and international cuisine. If you'd like to explore the city this evening, Luxor's restaurants, shops and cafés are only a short taxi ride away.

• Breakfast, Lunch

Today marks the start of our splendid four-night cruise along the Nile and, after breakfast, we transfer from the hotel to our cruise ship, which combines comfort with a touch of luxury. We set sail along this historic river for the next part of our tour, a cruise which takes us to significant landmarks of the Nile on our journey from Luxor to Aswan.

After lunch on board we disembark to explore the West Bank of the Nile by coach, beginning with a guided tour of the spectacular Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a beautiful mortuary temple dedicated to the longest ruling female of Ancient Egypt. We continue to see the Seti I Tomb, the burial place of Pharoah Seti I, where entrance is included. This magnificent site is considered one of the finest examples of Ancient Egyptian art and one of the most extensively decorated. Following free time to look around, we return to our ship where we are served dinner this evening.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is a relaxing day of cruising down the Nile, with breakfast, lunch and dinner on board. Our morning is dedicated to visiting two of Egypt's most important sites on the East Bank. Constructed nearly 2,000 years ago, the ancient Karnak Temple complex is the largest temple complex in Egypt and was one of Ancient Egypt's most sacred sites during the rule of several Pharaohs. We also visit the striking Luxor Temple, built by the pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, which is in the heart of the modern town. One of the temple's most impressive features is the Avenue of Sphinxes, now fully excavated, which linked the site with the temples at Karnak, 3km to the north.

After our guided tour we return to our ship before lunch. This afternoon is a chance to relax and soak up the atmosphere of the Nile before another sumptuous dinner on board, after which we set sail to Edfu via Esna, travelling overnight.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast on board we arrive in the town of Edfu in Upper Egypt. Here we tour the beautiful Temple of Edfu, also known as the Temple of Horus (the falcon-headed God) who the Ancient Greeks later identified as their Apollo. We hear more about this fascinating site and the creation myth associated with the temple, from our specialist guide. The second largest and one of Egypt's best preserved, Edfu was uncovered from the sand by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in the 1860s.

We return to our ship for lunch followed by an afternoon excursion to the Kom Ombo Temple, an extraordinary double temple which is completely symmetrical. We return to our boat in the afternoon with time to relax on the spacious deck before dinner is served on board.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

During breakfast this morning we sail to Aswan, enjoying views of the riverbanks from our ship. On arrival after lunch, we tour the impressive High Dam, the fascinating Philae Temple which dates back to the cult of Isis, and the Unfinished Obelisk, an example of the incredible stone masonry of the ancient Egyptians.

Later this afternoon we board a traditional wooden sailing boat, known as a felucca, for a relaxing trip to Kitchener Island, which was presented to Lord Kitchener in the 1890s as a reward for leading the Egyptian army's successful campaigns in Sudan. Lord Kitchener made this small island his home and filled it with exotic flowers and rare plants from as far as India and Malaysia.

We return to our ship before sitting down to a final dinner on board the Movenpick MS Sunray.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The penultimate day of our tour features another very special highlight. Abu Simbel is one of Egypt's most famous landmarks, and today we visit this remarkable temple complex, carved during the reign of Pharoah Ramesses II to immortalise himself and honour the gods. To avoid the crowds, the midday heat and a long journey by road, we leave our cruise ship early this morning for a short flight directly to Abu Simbel.

On arrival, we visit the colossal twin temples, situated on Lake Nasser. These ancient monuments were discovered just over 200 years ago and, in 1963, were rescued from destruction in the largest heritage operation in history thanks to the efforts of UNESCO and many countries across the world. Interestingly, the most recent adaptation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile features Abu Simbel, although the historic site we visit was recreated in a studio in Surrey. After touring this unforgettable site we fly back to Cairo where we are transferred by coach to our first hotel, the central Cairo Sheraton.

• Breakfast

Back in Egypt's buzzing capital, Cairo, today we are taken on a full-day guided tour of the city. We visit the Coptic museum, which contains the world's largest collection of Coptic Christian artifacts and traces the history of Egypt. We also visit the intriguing Coptic Hanging church - also known as the Suspended Church - and the Jewish Synagogue. According to local folklore, the synagogue is located on the site where baby Moses was found.

Returning to our hotel at the end of today's excursion, after time to refresh we are taken by coach to a restaurant overlooking the Nile, which specialises in chargrilled Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, for a final dinner with our group.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Our five-star tour of Egypt has taken us from the historic capital of Cairo, where we saw major landmarks including the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx, to the archaeological treasures of the Mediterranean port of Alexandria and the site of El Alamein. On our opulent cruise ship we have witnessed many gems along the Nile - the glorious temple complex of Abu Simbel and the beautifully-preserved temples of Edfu, Kom Ombo, Karnak and Luxor. After an early breakfast we transfer to Cairo's international airport for our flight back to London Heathrow.