Treasures of Egypt and 5-Star Nile Cruise

Our journey starts at London Heathrow where we fly to Cairo. On arrival we transfer to our hotel, the five-star riverfront Cairo Sheraton, where we have dinner and spend the night. We are introduced to our tour guide, an Egyptologist, who will guide us as we visit Egypt's many sensational sights.

After an early breakfast we travel by train in VIP class to the port city of Alexandria and transfer to our hotel. Our guide shows us the highlights of Alexandria, and we visit the catacombs, the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse, Roman theatre and the impressive monolith, Pompey's Pillar. We enjoy lunch at the city's lively fishmarket then visit the ancient Library of Alexandria, the world's most famous library of Classical antiquity. The building is extraordinary, not only for its priceless collection of Classical literature, but also for its incredible architecture.

This morning we leave Alexandria and travel by coach to the site of El Alamein Battlefield, regarded as one of the significant victories of World War Two. We continue by coach towards Cairo, visiting the beautiful village of Wadi El-Natrun enroute, where we have a guided tour. Wadi El-Natrun is a desert valley and village with twelve lakes and a fascinating history which our guide describes. The site was an important in ancient Egypt as the area was rich in mineral salts, used in the mummification process. Later it became a sanctuary for Christians fleeing Roman persecution and a monastic order was formed - of the dozens of original monasteries here, only four have survived. We stay in West Cairo, close to the Great pyramids.

After breakfast we set out on a full day of touring the extraordinary pyramids, the city of Cairo and the Great Egyptian Museum. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the most well-known - the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to have survived modernity, remaining largely intact.

Our Egyptologist guide shares their knowledge of this spectacular tomb, and about the exquisite Great Sphinx - one of the most recognisable statues in the world - which stands next to the pyramids it was built to protect. Our tour includes a visit to the new Great Egyptian Museum, whose long-anticipated opening is expected in 2023. The archaeological museum is set to be the largest in the world and will house important artifacts of ancient Egypt - in particular, the entire Tutankhamun collection.

Today we take the morning train from Cairo to Luxor, arriving in the early evening. We travel in VIP class and a packed lunch is provided for your journey. We arrive into Luxor and check into our 5-star hotel, overlooking the Nile, for one night. The hotel is in a secluded and peaceful location with excellent facilities including an outdoor pool. The restaurant offers a good range of Middle Eastern and international cuisine - and, if you'd like to explore the city, Luxor's restaurants, shops and cafés are only a short taxi ride away.

We are transferred to our 5-star cruise ship after breakfast this morning to embark on a four night, full board (excluding drinks) cruise, from Luxor to Aswan. After lunch, we explore the West Bank of the Nile and our first excursions are to the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a beautiful mortuary temple dedicated to the longest ruling female of Ancient Egypt. After our guided tour we enjoy dinner aboard our cruise ship.

During another relaxing day on our ship with breakfast, lunch and dinner on board, we sail to Edfu, visiting two of Egypt's most important sites on the East Bank of the Nile along the way. The ancient Karnak Temples complex is Egypt's largest and one of its most sacred sites, constructed nearly 2,000 years ago under the rule of several Pharaohs. The fantastic Luxor Temple is in the middle of the city.

After breakfast on board this morning we arrive in the town of Edfu in Upper Egypt. Here we tour the beautiful Temple of Edfu, also known as the Temple of Horus (the falcon-headed God) with our specialist guide. The temple is a mixture of traditional Egyptian construction combined with Greek influences. We return to our ship for lunch then take an afternoon excursion, to the Kom Ombo Temple, an unusual double temple which is completely symmetrical. Dinner is served on board.

During breakfast this morning we sail to Aswan, enjoying views of the riverbanks from our ship. On arrival we tour the impressive High Dam, the fascinating Philae Temple which dates back to the cult of Isis, and the Unfinished Obelisk, an example of the incredible stone masonry of the ancient Egyptians. We return to enjoy a leisurely lunch on our cruise ship. This afternoon we join a traditional wooden sailing boat, known as a felucca, for a relaxing trip to Kitchener Island - a gift to Lord Horatio Kitchener - whose wild botanical gardens we view from the water. We enjoy a last dinner on board the MS Steigenberger Minerva.

We leave our luxury cruise ship early this morning, taking a breakfast box for our journey, for a short flight to the magnificent site of Abu Simbel. There we take a sightseeing coach tour of the colossal twin temples, cut from rock and situated on Lake Nasser. The temples were originally carved during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II and are a lasting monument to this ancient Egyptian king. After our tour we return to the airport for a flight to Cairo where we return to our first hotel, the central Cairo Sheraton.

Back in the buzzing capital, Cairo, we enjoy a final guided tour of the city sights. We visit the Coptic museum, which contains the world's largest collection of Coptic Christian artifacts and traces the history of Egypt. We also visit the intriguing Coptic Hanging church - also known as the Suspended Church - and the Jewish Synagogue. According to local folklore, the synagogue is located on the site where baby Moses was found. This evening we are welcomed into the home of an Egyptian family for dinner.

After a morning at leisure we take an afternoon flight back to London Heathrow.