CAPTIVATING CAIRO

Meet & assist at Cairo airport and escorted to hotel

Overnight: Fairmont Nile City Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast

Start your journey in sight of the 4,500 year old Pyramids on the Giza Plateau. Behold the Grand Pyramid, the only survivor of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World", and stand in awe of the legendary Sphinx, acting as the guardian of the Pharaoh's enormous funerary monument in the Valley Temple nearby.

Lunch at a local restaurant in Giza.

Optional Camel Ride and entry to Cheops Pyramid (extra cost)

Visit the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) complex, a cultural hub that includes one of the largest museums in the world, displaying the diverse heritage of a single civilisation. Upon entering the museum, the colossal statue of King Ramses II and the 87 huge royal artifacts exhibited at the grand staircase leading up to an impressive 28-meter-high glass facade overlooking the pyramids of Giza will amaze you. The museum contains over 100,000 artefacts reflecting Egypt's past from prehistory up to the Greek and Roman periods. See the exhibit of the boy-King Tutankhamun which houses over 5,000 artifacts recovered from his tomb, including his gold mask.

Overnight: Fairmont Nile City Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at a local restaurant in Giza

Alexandria, just a two to three hour drive from Cairo, feels like a different chapter of Egypt's story altogether. Alexandria, unlike ancient and frenetic Cairo, offers a layered and coastal experience, with its history influenced by the Greeks and Romans as well as the pharaohs.

Begin underground at the Catacombs of Kom El Shugafa, the largest Roman burial site in Egypt. Carved into bedrock in the second century, the tombs descend 35 metres through massive tiers where more than 300 individuals were laid to rest. What makes them extraordinary is the artistry: the craftsmen wove ancient Egyptian motifs together with Greco-Roman imagery in a style found nowhere else in the world.

Above ground, Pompey's Pillar rises 25 metres from the ruins of the Serapeum, the great temple razed when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity. Cut from Aswan pink granite, it is the only structure still standing, and despite the Crusader name, it dates from the reign of Diocletian.

The Alexandria National Museum occupies a 1928 Italian-style palace and traces the full sweep of the city's past, from papyrus scrolls and mummy cases to classical Greek statuary, with Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic and Islamic pieces all gathered under one roof.

The day ends at El Muntazah, an elegant coastal district east of the city, where the shoreline is quieter and the Muntazah Palace grounds make a pleasant place to watch the Mediterranean light fade before the drive back to Cairo.

Overnight: Fairmont Nile City Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at a local restaurant in Alexandria

Visit the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC), tracing the country's heritage through artefacts and immersive exhibits spanning every era of its history. The highlight is the Royal Mummies Hall, where Egypt's most powerful pharaohs and royals lie in state, a rare and intimate window into ancient rituals of mummification and the lives behind Egypt's most potent historical figures.

Old Cairo begins with the Fortress of Babylon, built by Emperor Trajan in AD 100 to defend the frontiers of his empire. Within its walls stands the Church of St Sergius, believed to have been built by Roman soldiers in the third or fourth century before being converted into a Coptic church. Soldier-saints Sergius and Bacchus inspired the dedication of the church, which marks the spot where Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus supposedly rested during their flight into Egypt. Much rebuilt and restored since mediaeval times, it remains a fine example of early Coptic architecture. Nearby, the Hanging Church takes its name from its position suspended above the gatehouse of the fortress. Thought to originate in the seventh century, this basilica-style church was once the seat of the Coptic Patriarchate.

Round off your day in old Cairo with a visit to Khan El-Khalili, reputedly the largest bazaar in the Middle East. Founded in the 14th century as a caravanserai watering spot, it has since grown into a vast labyrinth of narrow lanes lined with workshops and stalls selling woodwork, glassware, leather, perfumes, fabrics, and Pharaonic curiosities. This is the ideal place to find the perfect keepsake to remember your trip to Cairo.

Overnight: Fairmont Nile City Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at local restaurant in Cairo

The Fayoum desert, a couple of hours southwest of Cairo, offers a day that feels worlds away from the city's ancient monuments. This is Egypt at its most elemental, a landscape of fossil beds, hidden lakes, and wind-sculpted dunes.

The first stop is Wadi Al-Hitan, known as Whale Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that tells one of natural history's most extraordinary stories. Scattered across the desert floor are the fossilised remains of whales from a time when these creatures still walked on land. The site traces their evolution from land-based animals into the ocean-going mammals we know today, and the sheer scale of what is visible here is quietly astonishing.

From there, the route continues to Wadi El Rayan, a protected depression in the desert some 65 kilometres from Fayoum. Two lakes sit at its heart, fed by drainage water and connected by waterfalls, rare enough in Egypt to feel like a genuine surprise. Sulphur springs, rolling sand dunes and a remarkable variety of birdlife make this one of the more unexpected corners of the country. It is also one of the few places in the world where you might spot the slender-horned gazelle, a critically endangered species found almost nowhere else.

The day ends at Magic Lake, tucked among the dunes of Fayoum. Its colours shift through the day with the changing light, and the surrounding landscape of golden sand and open desert sky makes it a quietly memorable place to pause before the drive back to Cairo.

Overnight: Fairmont Nile City Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at local restaurant in Fayoum

Your tour ends and the transport takes you to the airport to connect with your flight.

Meals: Breakfast at hotel