Splendors of Egypt with Jordan

Passengers who purchase flights will depart 1 day before the tour starts and return on the same day as the tour ends.

For flight details, see Before You Depart.

Welcome to Egypt’s capital and largest city. Travelers who purchased our air-inclusive package will be met at Cairo International Airport, and assisted through customs and formalities before transferring to your hotel. Take some time to relax and get settled before joining fellow travelers at a welcome dinner.

Our destination today: the wondrous Pyramids of Giza. Built during the Third and Fourth Dynasties, these monuments stand as testimony to the skill and strength of their builders. We’ll get up close to study the Great Pyramid, as well as see the Pyramids of Khefren and Mycerinus in the distance. Nearby, we’ll gaze at the mythical Sphinx of Giza, which famously combines a reclining lion with the head of an Egyptian king. After these amazing sights, we’ll lunch like the Egyptians do at a local Cairo restaurant.

Today you’ll be picked up at your hotel and we’ll fly from Cairo to Aswan. Upon arrival you can either hop on another short flight for an optional tour to the Abu Simbel Temples or head to the hotel and start exploring Aswan at your leisure. Later we will all join together to sail on the Nile by a motorboat to the Nubian Village that is located on the West Bank of the River Nile. This fantastic tour to the Nubian Village lets you meet a Nubian family, have a drink in their home, while learning about their lifestyle, culture, and traditions.

In the morning, visit a modern-day architectural wonder, the Aswan High Dam, as well as Philae’s Temple of Isis, which was nearly lost to rising water in the 1960s until the dam was built. Afterwards, you’ll board your Nile cruise ship to depart on a three-night journey from Upper to Lower Egypt.

We’ll cruise to Kom Ombo to visit an unusual double temple, built in the Ptolemaic period and dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon-head god Horus. After exploring Kom Ombo, we’ll sail on to Edfu, an Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile River. Our day continues with a tour of the immense, well-preserved Temple of Edfu, built between 237 and 57 B.C. and also dedicated to Horus. Legend says that this was the site where Horus avenged his father’s murder by his uncle, the god Seth. Back on board our ship, we’ll sail past Esna to Luxor.

Often considered the most extraordinary open-air museum in the world, Luxor boasts an imposing array of ruins and monuments. The modern name for Thebes (the “city of palaces”), Luxor is also the inspiration for the word luxury, and we’ll see quite a bit of architectural extravagance today. The graceful Temple of Luxor was built over several centuries by Amenhopis III, Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Alexander the Great and features an avenue of sphinxes. We’ll also tour the ancient temple complex of Karnak. The immense wealth of Thebes was spent embellishing and building temples in honor of Amun-Ra, the most important and powerful of ancient Egyptian gods. The balance of the day is at your leisure.

After breakfast, we’ll say farewell to our ship and continue our exploration of Luxor and the Nile’s west bank. We’ll visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s second confirmed female Pharaoh and regarded as one of its most successful rulers, as well as royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The afternoon is free to relax or investigate exhibits at the Luxor Museum.

Enjoy this free day at leisure in Luxor to explore further or relax by the pool.

A morning flight takes us back to Cairo and our last hotel. Today, we’ll explore the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which houses the world’s largest collection of artifacts from the era of the pharaohs, including some belonging to King Tut. Afterward, we’ll wander through the bustling, colorful Khan El Khalili Bazaar. We’ll end the day by sharing memories of our amazing travels through Egypt at dinner before we leave for Jordan tomorrow.

This morning, we'll depart Egypt by plane for Jordan. After we arrive in Jordan, we'll visit Madaba, "the City of Mosaics", where we'll see the St. George Greek Orthodox Church, known for housing the Madaba Map. This map is a floor mosaic depicting Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Afterward, we'll travel ten minutes west to Mount Nebo—the presumed site of Moses' death and burial place. After our visit, we'll continue to Petra where we'll check in at our hotel and enjoy dinner.

Prepare for an extraordinary day! After breakfast today, we'll drive to Petra where we'll take a tour of the breathtaking "rose-red" city (by horseback and foot), which begins at the "Siq", a winding canyon road. At the end of the passage, we'll see Petra's most beautiful monument—the Treasury—carved out of the solid rock from the side of the mountain. Beyond the Treasury, we'll discover soaring temples, elaborate royal tombs, a theatre, burial chambers, and water channels. Next, we'll drive to Little Petra, the suburb of Petra in ancient time. Here, we'll see more awe-inspiring ruins on our short walk.

Note: This day may be more taxing as this is a full day of walking on uneven surfaces.

Today we'll get a glimpse into the life of a Jordanian farmer and her family. We'll learn how to bake whole wheat Saj bread, pick free-range eggs, feed a baby goat, and more before we sample fresh food from the farm under a 400-year-old oak tree. Next, we'll visit the site of John the Baptist's settlement at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, believed to be the Baptismal Site of Jesus Christ. Located on the east bank of the Jordan River in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, it is being systematically surveyed, excavated, and restored to receive pilgrims and visitors. The Bethany area sites form part of the early Christian pilgrimage route between Jerusalem, the Jordan River, and Mount Nebo. After our visit, we'll continue to our hotel on the Dead Sea.

After breakfast at our hotel, we can enjoy a relaxing day at the Dead Sea, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. At your leisure, float in the clear blue, mineral-rich water, soak up some sun, and even try the invigorating full-body mud mask that cleanses the skin. We may also consider an optional tour of Amman, the capital of Jordan (see optional tours for more details).

After breakfast, we'll leave Jordan behind as we fly back to Cairo. This evening, we'll share a farewell dinner with our fellow travelers.

Our tour comes to an end after breakfast today. Travelers who purchased our air-inclusive program will transfer to the airport for our return flight to the U.S. early this morning (a boxed breakfast will be provided for our early morning flight. For tour-only travelers, the tour comes to an end after breakfast at our hotel.