Day 4. Cairo - Luxor
Overnight - Sofitel Winter Palace
In the mid-morning, after rush hour, you will be assisted with your check-out and you will now proceed to one of two museums. We do not expect the oft-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum to open until the end of 2023. It will be the one you visit if it is open by the time you travel.
Grand Egyptian Museum Option: You are driven to the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum, which, at 5.2 million sq. feet, is the largest archaeological museum on our planet. This incredible collection of 50,000 antiquities includes the vast and amazing Tutankhamun Collection, a 3200-year-old 83 ton and 32.8-foot-tall red granite statue of Ramses II, as well as a plethora of artifacts that have never been displayed before. Viewing all the treasures in the museum would take many days and so your Egyptologist Tour Director will tell you about the possible highlights and, based on your preferences, design your visit accordingly. Just as during the rest of your tour, your Tour Director will regale you with fascinating tales about the major exhibits that you are experiencing. Lunch at one of the restaurants at the museum is recommended at a time of your choice.
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization Option: This new museum was inaugurated in April of 2021 with a widely promoted made for TV event which included a spectacle filled procession as many of the best treasures in the iconic Egyptian Museum were transported to their new home in this new museum. Although the biggest draw will be the 22 mummies of the greatest Pharaohs and their collections of treasures, this museum is unique because it displays a holistic view of the awe-inspiring history of Egyptian Civilization, ranging from Predynastic times to the 2000 year long Pharaonic period to Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and contemporary times. What you experience during your visit to the museum will be based on your preferences as relayed to your Egyptologist Tour Director. You will break for a late lunch after exploring the museum.
You are driven to the airport where you are assisted with your check-in to your early evening flight to Luxor. Arrive at Luxor and you are driven to your beautiful historic hotel where you are assisted with your check-in. Welcome to ancient Thebes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your boutique luxury hotel has played host to various members of royalty and other dignitaries. Agatha Christie also stayed here and wrote part of Death on the Nile while she was in residence. The famous guests who stayed at your lodging a long time ago obviously did not expect central heating and were fine with the cold hallways, common areas and dining venues at the historic hotel. Today’s luxury travelers are not, so we caution you about the fact that the hotel can be very cold during winter, especially December through February. Egyptian guidelines for historic buildings make the possibility of the hotel operators adding heating a prohibitively expensive proposition with limited benefits. We caution our guests to have ample warm clothing for their stays at these hotels during winter.
In the mid-morning, after rush hour, you will be assisted with your check-out and you will now proceed to one of two museums. We do not expect the oft-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum to open until the end of 2023. It will be the one you visit if it is open by the time you travel.
Grand Egyptian Museum Option: You are driven to the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum, which, at 5.2 million sq. feet, is the largest archaeological museum on our planet. This incredible collection of 50,000 antiquities includes the vast and amazing Tutankhamun Collection, a 3200-year-old 83 ton and 32.8-foot-tall red granite statue of Ramses II, as well as a plethora of artifacts that have never been displayed before. Viewing all the treasures in the museum would take many days and so your Egyptologist Tour Director will tell you about the possible highlights and, based on your preferences, design your visit accordingly. Just as during the rest of your tour, your Tour Director will regale you with fascinating tales about the major exhibits that you are experiencing. Lunch at one of the restaurants at the museum is recommended at a time of your choice.
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization Option: This new museum was inaugurated in April of 2021 with a widely promoted made for TV event which included a spectacle filled procession as many of the best treasures in the iconic Egyptian Museum were transported to their new home in this new museum. Although the biggest draw will be the 22 mummies of the greatest Pharaohs and their collections of treasures, this museum is unique because it displays a holistic view of the awe-inspiring history of Egyptian Civilization, ranging from Predynastic times to the 2000 year long Pharaonic period to Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and contemporary times. What you experience during your visit to the museum will be based on your preferences as relayed to your Egyptologist Tour Director. You will break for a late lunch after exploring the museum.
You are driven to the airport where you are assisted with your check-in to your early evening flight to Luxor. Arrive at Luxor and you are driven to your beautiful historic hotel where you are assisted with your check-in. Welcome to ancient Thebes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your boutique luxury hotel has played host to various members of royalty and other dignitaries. Agatha Christie also stayed here and wrote part of Death on the Nile while she was in residence. The famous guests who stayed at your lodging a long time ago obviously did not expect central heating and were fine with the cold hallways, common areas and dining venues at the historic hotel. Today’s luxury travelers are not, so we caution you about the fact that the hotel can be very cold during winter, especially December through February. Egyptian guidelines for historic buildings make the possibility of the hotel operators adding heating a prohibitively expensive proposition with limited benefits. We caution our guests to have ample warm clothing for their stays at these hotels during winter.