1^st Day:

We will pick you up directly from the entrance door of your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh; you will recognize our driver by a sign with your name in his hand. He will take you to Sharm El Sheikh Airport where you will enter your plane to Cairo.

After your arrival in Cairo your guide will wait for you at the airport and accompany you first of all to the Egyptian Museum which contains a huge collection of artifacts, jewelry, statues, sarcophagi, mummies and many more items. Discover the treasures of Pharaonic Egypt and plunge into the history of a fascinating civilization. Against an extra payment you can enter the ‘Mummy Room’ and find yourself face to face with the mummies of famous ancient Egyptian Royals.

In the afternoon you will be taken to the well preserved Salah El Din Citadel, the heart of Islamic Cairo, created by one of the greatest Arabic rulers, known in Europe as ‘Saladin’, a successful conqueror and clever statesman who built this large and impressive fortress to protect the city from the European crusaders. Inside the fortification’s walls you will furthermore find the Mohamed Ali Mosque, also known as the Alabaster Mosque. The huge mosque, looking down on the city from its hill, is a beautiful piece of ottoman-inspired architecture with a wonderful courtyard, covered with alabaster.

Then have a walk through the Sultan Hassan Mosque with its extravagant interior, the architectural innovations and the fantastic size, regarding the time of its construction in the Middle-Age. This mosque was not only created for prayer, but also as a madrassa, an educational institution for religious studies. After this visit you will have lunch in a local restaurant.

In the afternoon you will finally visit Egypt’s most famous landmark: the gigantic Pyramids of Giza. Be impressed by this last surviving of the Seven Wonders of the World, built more than 4.500 years ago as everlasting monumental graves for the Pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos and still an architectonic secret. And share a smile with the mystique Sphinx, mixture of a Pharaoh’s head and a lion’s body.

If you like, you can optionally ride on a camel, enter a pyramid or visit the ‘Solar Boat Museum’ – near the Great Pyramid you can visit the huge legendary ‘Solar Boat’, a piece of extraordinary engineering art, in which Pharaoh Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid, wanted to sail through the underworld.

In the evening you have time to have a walk on the famous Khan el Khalili Bazaar to buy some souvenirs and try a typical element of Arabic culture – bargaining. Afterwards you can discover Cairo on your own by walking along the River Nile, relaxing in a café or shopping in one of the numerous malls. If you like, join a Felucca trip and sail over the River Nile, take the chance to have a luxury dinner on a cruise boat or go to Giza to see the Sound and Light Show at the pyramids where you can surrender to the magic of an enchanting spectacle for eyes, ears and mind on a mystique place (all three against supplement!).

2^nd Day:

After an early breakfast our driver will pick you up at you hotel and you will drive to Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city, a beautiful place with a great mixture of Mediterranean and Arabic flair, located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Alexandria was founded by the conqueror Alexander the Great, and it was particularly famous for its ancient library which was considered to be the largest in the world, and for the Lighthouse on Pharos Island, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Both are no longer existing, but still you can follow their traces up to today.

After the glorious ancient lighthouse had collapsed after several earthquakes, the Mameluke Sultan Qaitbay decided to use its place – and the materials of its remains – to build up a fortress, today known as the Citadel of Qaitbay or the Fort of Qaitbay. It was constructed around 1480 AD and must be considered as one of the most important defense strongholds all around the Mediterranean Sea, and due to several restoration works it is still greatly preserved.

Now enter a unique piece of modern architecture housing a priceless collection of knowledge: the new Alexandrian library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, that is meant to step into its ancient processor’s shoes. It contains among others a collection of old manuscripts and a lot of digitalized books, and you can find here the largest reading room in the world, offering 2,000 seats for interested visitors.

After this visit you will walk along the Corniche (the water front) for some time to enjoy the unique Alexandrian flair, and have lunch in a local restaurant before you will visit a quite romantic sight – the Montazah Palace. Built in 1932 as a summer residence for the Egyptian royal family, it is nowadays partly a museum with a collection of royal belongings. It looks quite like a fairytale castle and presents an impressive mixture of Turkish and Florentine architecture. The palace is surrounded by the wonderful Montazah Gardens where countless plants, trees and flowers are blooming, situated on the coast and therefore even including beaches. Enjoy a silent oasis in the middle of a busy megacity.

Now you will step back in time and see a great relict of Alexandria’s time as a Roman province: Pompey’s Pillar, a Roman triumphal column built in 297 AD. It was carved out of the famous red Aswan granite in one piece, it is almost 27 meters high and its weight is estimated at around 285 tons! Therefore it is one of the largest monolithic columns that have ever been erected.

The last station of out trip might be a bit weird, but nevertheless more than fascinating: the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, an enormous widespread ancient necropolis where the Alexandrian people used to bury their dead. A circular staircase leads the visitors downstairs where he will discover tombs (some of them quite noble), statues and archaeological items, merging the old Pharaonic funeral cults with Hellenistic and Roman influences.

In the evening you will travel back to Cairo and from there take the plane to Sharm El Sheikh Airport, where our driver will wait for you to bring you back to your hotel.

By the way – the sooner you tell us that you need flight tickets, the better price we can obtain for you!

Included:

• All mentioned transfers in high-class vehicles with A/C
• Domestic flights Sharm el Sheikh – Cairo – Sharm El Sheikh
• Guided tours in your language
• Entrance fees for the above mentioned sights
• 1^st day and 2^nd day lunch in different local restaurants
• Mineral water and soft drinks
• One night hotel accommodation in Cairo (3, 4 or 5* – it’s up to you!)
• Dinner on the 1^st and breakfast on the 2^nd day in your hotel

Not included:

• Gratuity (tips) for drivers and tour guides
• Personal items, meals, drinks or services not mentioned
• International flights
• Visa

Additional activities we offer you upon request against supplement:

• Mummy Room in the Egyptian Museum
• Camel Ride around the pyramids
• Entrance to the Great Pyramid in Giza
• Entrance to the Small Pyramid in Giza
• Visit of the Solar Boat Museum in Giza
• Pyramids Sound and Light Show
• Dinner & Show on a cruise boat on the River Nile
• Felucca sail on the River Nile