Start the day at the Temple of Karnak built, over more than a thousand years, by generations of Pharaohs. Transfer to your 5-star deluxe Nile cruise boat where you will be welcomed by the reception staff. Lunch will be served on board followed by a visit to the West Bank of Luxor to explore the Valley of the Kings. You will also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens and visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the river Nile, you will pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn.

Breakfast buffet on board while you cruise northwards to Qena. Enjoy a morning visit to the Ptolemaic Temple of Goddess Hathor in Denderah, complete with a massive stone roof, dark chambers, underground passages and towering columns inscribed with hieroglyphs. Hathor was the goddess or pleasure and of love, usually associating her with Aphrodite. Return on board for lunch whilst sailing back to Luxor.

Afternoon tea will be served on board, from which your Egyptologist will guide you on a tour of the East Bank of Luxor, to the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor dedicated to the God Amun. Dinner will be a Gourmet menu on board followed by a belly dancer, accompanied by a whirling dervish show.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Breakfast buffet on board while you cruise to Edfu with a morning visit to explore the extraordinary Temple of Horus. Enjoy lunch and afternoon tea on board, while you continue cruising to Edfu. There will also be an Egyptian cooking lesson presented on board. In the afternoon visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank.

Tonight’s dinner on board will be an “Egyptian Night” costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyya”. Dinner will be a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialities, followed by oriental music and dancing for everyone.Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Breakfast buffet on board whilst sailing to Aswan followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika. Next we proceed to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still hold a huge unfinished obelisk.

Lunch will be on board. In the afternoon (weather permitting) take a ride on a felucca, a typical Egyptian sail boat, around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (life jackets will be provided).

Enjoy your afternoon tea served in the lounge and tonight’s farewell dinner will be a gala dinner (jacket required), with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine.Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III