DAY 1 UK/Cairo

We fly to Cairo and transfer to our hotel for three nights on a bed and breakfast basis.

DAY 2 The Pyramids, Memphis & Saqqara

Bustling, colourful, fascinating and at times, mystifying, Cairo is the largest city on the African continent. We drive through the teeming streets today and out to the Giza plateau to see the three Great Pyramids, perhaps the most iconic symbol of the ancient world, guarded by the colossal and enigmatic figure of the Sphinx. Gaze up at the Great Pyramid of Cheops and wonder at its construction and how two-and-a-half million hand-carved limestone blocks were raised to a height of 450 feet, where they have stood the test of time. Then we drive to Saqqara, where the ziggurat-like step pyramid of Zozer, perhaps the prototype for the later Giza pyramids, has kept watch over the desert since 2700 BC. At Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom, we see the recumbent Colossus of Ramses II, one of a pair whose twin now stands outside Cairo railway station.

DAY 3 Cairo

Our day begins in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, a treasure house of Pharaonic sculpture, art, artefacts and mummies. Not least among them are the fabled contents of the tomb of Tutankhamun, including the boy-king’s beautiful gold funerary mask and bejewelled throne. Cairo is overlaid with millennia of history and this afternoon we’ll explore the mediaeval city and the Citadel of Saladin, a massive fortress dating back to 1176 and the home of Egypt’s rulers until the 19th century. It’s now dominated by the alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali, built in the 1840s. Then it’s time for shopping in the Khan-el-Khalili Bazaar, a fragrant labyrinth of stores, stalls, coffee houses and teashops, which first opened for business in 1382.

DAY 4 Luxor & Karnak

We fly south today, following the course of the Nile to Upper Egypt and the town of Luxor, where we board our 5-star Nile cruiser for four nights on a full board basis. Knowledgeable Egyptian guides sail with us, bringing life to the ancient sites and monuments we’re about to discover, beginning with the Nile-side Temple of Luxor, dedicated to sun god Amun, with its gigantic statues of Ramses II. Three miles away, explore the Temple of Karnak, a vast and awe-inspiring complex of pillared halls – one with 134 gigantic columns, towering pylons, sacred lakes, obelisks and sculptures, including an avenue of curious ram-headed sphinxes.

DAY 5 Valley of the Kings & Esna

Cross the Nile to the west bank, where the sun sets over a backdrop of arid mountains and where ancient Egyptians chose to bury the dead. We enter the Valley of the Kings, where the final resting places of the Pharaohs were hewn from the solid stone valley walls. We’ll descend into some of the finest tombs, their corridors and chambers a marvel of complexity and their painted walls depicting sacred texts and scenes from the Book of the Dead as vibrant as the day they were painted. Continue to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the only woman to have ruled as Pharaoh; built on a monumental scale, its terraces and columns are carved with finely detailed reliefs. Make a stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two huge seated statues that marked the entrance to the long-vanished Temple of Amenophis III, before returning to our cruiser. Set sail this afternoon, cruising south through the Nile locks to Esna, where we moor tonight.

DAY 6 Edfu & Kom Ombo

Discover the Egypt of the Ptolemies as we visit the imposing and extremely well-preserved Temple of Horus, begun in 237 BC. We climb to the top of the 118-foot-high richly carved pylon for an impressive view over the halls and sacred antechambers; then see the fine granite statues of Horus, the falcon-headed god to whom the temple is dedicated.

Enjoy lunch on board and be sure to be on deck as the cruiser approaches Kom Ombo Temple, set high on a bluff in a bend of the Nile. It epitomises the romance of an Egyptian temple and is fascinating to explore. It has twin entrances, two pillared halls and two sanctuaries, one dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god, the second to Haroeris, the great winged solar disc.

DAY 7 Aswan

As the cruiser approaches Aswan and the conclusion of our cruise, the scenery changes. Flat and fertile fields give way to rocky banks and steep desert slopes rise from the water’s edge. We’ll spend another night on board in Aswan, so there’s ample time to explore the city, starting with a visit to the famous High Dam, whose 364-feet-high walls hold back the 300- mile-long Lake Nasser, the world’s largest reservoir. Take a boat to Philae Island to see the distinctive Temple of Isis and gain an insight into the quarrying techniques of the ancients at the Unfinished Obelisk.

An afternoon cruise by traditional felucca sailing boat takes us out to Elephantine Island, the botanical gardens on Kitchener’s Island and across to the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan.

DAY 8 Abu Simbel & Cairo

One of the most thrilling sights of Egypt is Abu Simbel’s Great Temple of Ramses II, guarded by four colossal figures of the king himself. Experience its ancient majesty, and the modern-day miracle that saw it moved up the mountainside to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, on an optional morning tour. Fly back to Cairo later today for our final night on a bed and breakfast basis.

DAY 9 Cairo/UK

Today we fly home to the UK.