16-Day Egypt & Sinai Tour: Nile Cruise & Mount Sinai

A representative meets you at Cairo Airport and drives you to your hotel, about an hour away. Take the rest of the day easy. Later you are collected for a three-hour dinner cruise on the Nile: you board at golden hour, eat from an open buffet and watch a live show while the city lights slide by. A private vehicle brings you back afterward.

Your guide collects you at the hotel for a full eight-hour day. First comes the Giza Plateau, where the pyramids and the Great Sphinx stand; allow four to six hours for the whole visit. Lunch follows with a view. The afternoon belongs to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Your Egyptologist guide, the entrance fees and the air-conditioned vehicle are all included.

A gentler day, about six hours, in the medieval and early Christian city. You see the Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifa'i mosques, then climb to Saladin's Citadel and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali. After a lunch break in Old Cairo you visit the Hanging Church and the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus. Your private Egyptologist, the vehicle and the mosque and Citadel fees are included.

You transfer to Cairo Airport for the short flight south to Aswan. A driver meets you there and takes you to the river. The cruise sightseeing starts the same day with Philae Temple, the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. You then join your ship, settle into your cabin and eat dinner on board. The Egyptologist guide, entrance fees and transport for the sightseeing are included.

This is a very early start. A road trip to Abu Simbel leaves from the moored ship, so you see the two great rock temples of Ramesses II in the morning light. It is a full excursion, and you are back on board for lunch. The ship then casts off and sails north, and you visit the double temple of Kom Ombo. Guide, entrance fees and transport are included.

Today's first stop is the Temple of Edfu, dedicated to Horus. Further along the river you reach Luxor, where your guide shows you Luxor Temple and Karnak, including the Sacred Lake. It is a packed day with a lot of walking on stone. You sleep on the ship for the last time. Entrance fees, the guide and transport are covered.

After breakfast you leave the ship and cross to the West Bank. There you see the Valley of the Kings, with three tombs included, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon. Your guide, the fees and the transport are included. In the afternoon a transfer takes you into downtown Luxor and your hotel.

A half-day drive north takes you to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, about six hours in all with the road, with lunch at a local restaurant. Your private Egyptologist and vehicle come with you. Back in Luxor, the museum visit is the second half of the day: a calm hour or two among statues and objects from the temples you have seen.

This is a travel day. You transfer from Luxor to the airport and fly to Cairo, then on to Sharm El Sheikh. Flight times follow the airline schedule, so we plan nothing else for the day. A private transfer takes you from Sharm airport to your hotel, where you stay for the next seven nights. Your bags are included on both flights.

A minibus shared with other guests collects you for the drive to Ras Mohammed National Park at the tip of Sinai. The trip lasts about six hours. You swim and snorkel, with mask and snorkel provided, and visit the Magic Lake. A picnic lunch with water is included, and so is the park fee. An English-speaking guide goes with you.

This is the hardest day of the tour, about 17 hours, and it is the only thing planned. You leave in the night and climb Mount Sinai in the dark and cold for about three hours, with a Bedouin mountain guide. The last 750 steps are cut into the rock and are done on foot. You watch the sun come up, walk down, have breakfast, then visit St Catherine's Monastery. You get back late and tired.

After the Sinai night, nothing is early today. Sleep in and have a slow breakfast. Later in the day a minibus takes you to the harbor for a semi-submarine and glass-bottom boat trip, about three hours in total, with roughly 90 minutes on the water over the reef. A soft drink and water are included. The rest of the day is yours.

A long jeep day of about 11 hours, and the only plan for today. You ride in a shared jeep with a driver and an English-speaking guide. A Bedouin guide leads you through the Colored Canyon. Then come the Blue Hole and Dahab, with mask and snorkel provided and lunch at a restaurant on the shore. Roads are rough in places, so wear shoes you can walk in.

Dahab was a long day, so today begins late. Use the morning at the hotel pool or the beach. In the late afternoon a minibus takes you on a four-hour city tour: the Old Market, the Al Sahaba Mosque and SOHO Square. A local English-speaking guide comes with you, and bottled water is provided.

A boat shared with other guests takes you across the strait to Tiran Island for about eight hours on and off the water. A snorkeling guide leads the swims, and mask, snorkel and fins are provided. Lunch is served on board with soft drinks and water. Marine park fees are covered. It is a good last day by the sea.