DAY 1: Tue - Departure from USA
- Depart the USA for Athens in Greece. Your international flight includes meals, drinks, and in-flight entertainment.
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DAY 2: Wed - Arrive Athens
- Arrive in Athens, the classical capital of Greece, transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure to discover the ancient wonders of this city known as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy.
- Overnight: Athens
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DAY 3: Thu - Athens Private City Tour
- Wander the landmarks of Historic Athens including the Acropolis and the New Acropolis Museum focused on the findings from the Acropolis.
- Ancient yet modern, classic yet creative, traditional yet constantly changing Athens is a city of memorable contrasts. The past and the present of Athens unfolds before your eyes while we drive around the citys highlight spots and monuments like the Temple of Zeus, the Old Stadium, Syntagma square, the Parliament and the Tomb to the Unknown soldier, the Academy, the Library, and the National Gardens. On the natural fortress of the Acropolis, reinforced by the hand of man, stand the Propylaea, the temple of the Winged Victory, Erechtheion with the Porch of the Caryatids and, towering overall, and the majestic Parthenon. A winding path leads to the treasure of antiquity. Visible are the relics of the civilization of which we are the proud inheritors. A few meters away from the Acropolis entrance and the Ancient Theatre of Dionysos, the New Acropolis Museum, built on pedestrian walkway of Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, looks like hanging between the past and the present of Athens. Designed by Bernard Tschumi and Mihalis Fotiades, the new Acropolis Museum has a total area of 25,000 square meters, with exhibition space of over 14,000 square meters. Made of stainless steel, glass, marble and concrete, materials typical of the Athenian environment, the new museum has a direct view of the Acropolis. With bioclimatic planning, which gives ideal lighting and heating conditions, the New Museum offers all the amenities expected in an international museum of the 21st century.
- Overnight: Athens
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 4: Fri - Sightseeing en route to Olympia
- Depart Athens via the scenic coastal road to the mighty Corinth Canal, dividing the Peloponnese from mainland Greece. Continue via Nauplion to Mycenae, the heartland of Greek mythology. Visit the Acropolis of Mycenae and the Tomb of Atreus, built around 1250 B.C. From here, drive through the Central Peloponnese Peninsula, whose major cities in classical times were Corinth and Sparta. Continue to Olympia, birthplace of the first Olympic Games
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight: Olympia
- Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
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DAY 5: Sat - Tour the Olympia Archaeological Site
- Morning visit to the archaeological site of Olympia, including the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, and the ancient stadium where the Olympic Games were first held in 776 B.C. Visit a local store, where you will have a chance to taste local olive oil and spices. Continue to Olympias Archaeological Museum containing significant exhibitions of the ancient world and artwork dating back thousands of years. Then, drive north through the plains of Eliad and Achaia, crossing the Corinth Strait via a cabled bridge from Rion to Antirion. Pass the town of Nafpaktos en route to Delphi, home of the ruins of the Tholos Temple
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight: Delphi
- Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
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DAY 6: Sun - Archaeological Tour of Delphi, Travel to Kalambaka
- Tour the excavated site of Delphi and the archaeological Museum, perched on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Considered one of the most significant places in Greek history, its stunning setting and ancient ruins are truly inspirational. Walk the Sacred Way to the imposing 4th century B.C. Temple of Apollo, site of the most important oracle in the classical world. Then travel over the Pourmaraki Pass towards the small town of Kalambaka, situated amidst smooth sandstone cliffs in the foothills of Meteora
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight: Kalambaka
- Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
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DAY 7: Mon - Meteora Sightseeing, Return to Athens
- Visit Meteora, meaning "suspended in the air", with its mystical Eastern Orthodox monasteries incredibly nestled perilously close to the edge of bizarre rock formations. Admire the exquisite specimens of Byzantine art and the panoramic vistas over the Peneios Valley. Stop at a workshop of Byzantine icons and souvenirs. Browse the stores vast collection of icons, created using old traditional methods. Afterward, a scenic drive takes you along the coast, past Thermopylae. Arrive in Athens in the early evening
- Overnight: Athens
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 8: Tue - Depart Greece - Arrive Cairo
- After breakfast, transfer to Athens Airport according to your flight to Cairo.
- Arrival in the Land of the Pharaohs, at Cairo International airport, Right Travel Representative will be waiting for you after you get your luggage and clear customs and will be holding the Right Travel Sign, then will transfer you to your hotel.
- Overnight: Cairo
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 9: Wed - Cairo, Pyramids Tour
- Drive to Sakkara site, Sakkara is one section of the great necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, and the kings of the 1st Dynasty as well as that of the 2nd Dynasty. are mostly buried in this section of the Memphis necropolis. It has been of constant interest to Egyptologists. Three major discoveries have recently been made at Sakkara, including a prime minister tomb, a queen&rsquos pyramid, and the tomb of the son of a dynasty-founding king. Each discovery has a fascinating story, with many adventures for the archaeologists as they revealed the secrets of the past.
- Continue to Memphis. Founded around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Early on, Memphis was more likely a fortress from which Menes controlled the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the Third Dynasty, the building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city
- Stop for Lunch at local restaurant, and proceed to the Giza Plateau, home of Egypt signature attractions, the Great Pyramids, proclaimed by the Greeks to be among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The largest among these is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, probably built more than 2,600 years before the time of Christ. Standing 480 feet tall this is the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world that still standing. Little is known of Cheops, you`ll also see the inscrutable and mysterious Sphinx, known in Arabic as Abu al-Hol ("the Father of Terror") and carved almost entirely from one piece of limestone.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 10: Thu – Cairo, City Tour
- Start your day with a visit to the Egyptian Museum you`ll stroll through the halls highlighting each historical period of this ancient land, Marvel at the glittering treasures of King Tutankhamen, unparalleled in their variety, exquisite beauty, and sheer weight in gold. Seeing this treasure of more than 1,700 fabulous items buried with a young and relatively unimportant king, who can even imagine what the tombs of great and long-lived pharaohs must have contained.
- Continue to the Old Cairo explore some of the early religious monuments of the city. You`ll visit the El Muallaqa Church, dating to the late fourth and early fifth century. This basilica was named for its location on top of the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Muallaqa means suspended or hanging. Destroyed in a ninth-century earthquake, the church became the center of the Coptic (or Christian) Church of Egypt from the time it was rebuilt in the eleventh century until the 14th century. Make a stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built sometime between the sixth and ninth centuries AD. The temple contains a Jewish Heritage Library, containing documents found here in 1896 that describe the economic and social conditions of Jews under Arab rule as well as descriptions of relations between various Jewish sects.
- Lunch at local restaurant
- End the day at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, a large museum in the ancient city of Fustat, now part of Cairo, Egypt. The museum partially opened in February 2017 and will display a collection of 50,000 artefacts, presenting Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 11: Fri - Cairo, Aswan, Cruise Sightseeing
- Early morning transfer to Cairo airport, for your flight to Aswan.
- Upon arrival you will be escorted to your luxury cruise ship where you will spend the next 3 nights / 4 days relaxing and enjoy the sailing from Aswan to Luxor. After Lunch, the Nile cruise shore excursion will start. Visit the High Dam, located near Aswan, the world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam built by the British between 1898 and 1902`, 6km down river, wonderful views for visitors. From the top of the two-Mile-long High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nassar, the huge reservoir created when it was built.
- Overnight in Aswan.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 12: Sat - Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Luxor
- Early Sail to Kom Ombo and visit Kom Ombo Temple (the Ptolemaic Temple of Sobek & Haroeries). Located in the town of Kom-Ombo, about 28 miles north of Aswan, the Temple, dating to the Ptolemies, is built on a high dune overlooking the Nile. The actual temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC. Ptolemy XIII built the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC, and are mostly gone. There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the vicinity of Kom-Ombo village.
- Sail to Edfu to Visit Edfu Temple. Dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, it was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes. This is not only the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt, but the second largest after Karnak. It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. Hence, the current temple was but the last in a long series of temples build on this location.
- After that Sail to luxor via Esna for dinner and overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 13: Sun - Luxor, Cruise, Sightseeing East Bank
- After breakfast, transfer from your hotel to your luxury Nile Cruise where you will spend the next 4 nights / 5 days. After Lunch, visit Karnak Temple, in ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak is three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometers north of Luxor, Egypt situated on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is the sites modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places". This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen-hundred-year period. The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls.
- Proceed to visit the Temple of Luxor, built by the two pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Ancient Thebes was a center of festivals, and the Temple of Luxor was the setting for the most important-the festival of Opet, designed to merge the ruler`s human and divine aspects. The temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra, whose marriage to Mut was celebrated annually, when the sacred procession moved by boat from Karnak to Luxor Temple.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 14: Mon - Luxor, West Bank Tour, (Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride), Cairo
- (Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor). As the sun rises over Luxor, so can you, aboard an optional hot-air balloon ride. The sights, sounds, and sheer spectacle of seeing these antiquities from the sky will surely make for a morning you will remember forever.
- After breakfast, check out from your Nile Cruise, then you will have the following program today. Visit the West Bank, starting with Valley of the Kings, with its many tombs chiseled deep into the Cliffside. From the 18th to the 20th Dynasty, the Memphis area and pyramid-style tombs were abandoned in favor of the West Bank of the Nile in Thebes. Several great leaders as well as many less important rulers are buried here, and more tombs are being discovered even today. This is where Howard Carter discovered the treasures of Tutankhamen and was struck dumb with amazement when he be held its wonderful things in 1922.
- Proceed to the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari. The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatically situated in the world. The queen&rsquos architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the Lover of Silence where the goddess who presided over the necropolis lived.
- Last stop will be at the Colossi of Memnon. Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meters (75 ft.) high, one thousand-ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive, back to the cruise for lunch, rest of the day to relax on your boat, overnight in Luxor.
- Transfer to Luxor airport for your flight back to Cairo. Arrival and transfer to your hotel.
- The rest of the day free at your leisure.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 15: Tue - Departure
- After early breakfast, transfer to Cairo airport for your international flight back to USA.
- Meal: Breakfast
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