Cairo & Alexandria, 5 Days

Arrival in Cairo, welcome at the airport and private transfer to your hotel.

Meals: picnic lunch · dinner at leisure.

Morning at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the monumental new museum facing the Giza pyramids behind a striking façade of glass and alabaster. Beyond its countless statues and works of art, the museum presents the complete funerary treasure of Tutankhamun — more than 5,000 objects displayed together for the first time, including the celebrated golden mask of the young pharaoh.

In the afternoon, continue to Islamic Cairo to visit Al-Azhar Mosque and the famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar, whose alleys are lined with workshops and stalls selling cotton, copper, perfumes, leather, silver, gold and antiques.

Overnight in Cairo.

Meals: breakfast at the hotel · picnic lunch · dinner at leisure.

After breakfast, a short drive takes you to the Giza Plateau and the great pyramids of Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren) and Menkaure (Mycerinus), built around 2500 BC. Continue to the Great Sphinx, the lion-bodied guardian whose face is traditionally attributed to Pharaoh Khafre.

In the afternoon, travel south in your private vehicle, through palm groves and irrigation canals, to Saqqara. Here the Step Pyramid of Djoser rises from the sand in six tiers — the oldest monumental stone building on Earth and the first pyramid ever built. Visit the Pyramid of Unas, the first to be inscribed with hieroglyphic texts beneath its star-painted ceiling, and the mastabas of high court officials, whose reliefs of daily life in ancient Egypt still keep their original colours. Overnight in Cairo.

Meals: breakfast at the hotel · picnic lunch · dinner at leisure.

A full day in Alexandria, the Mediterranean city founded by Alexander the Great. After pick-up from your hotel in Cairo or Giza, drive north to the coast (about three hours), with a stop along the way for a coffee break.

Begin with the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, a 2nd-century AD necropolis where Egyptian, Greek and Roman art meet, often counted among the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

Continue to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern heir to the ancient Library of Alexandria, designed to hold up to eight million books. Explore its open plaza, guarded by statues of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I, and the Impressions of Alexandria and President Sadat museums inside, then stop for photographs at Pompey’s Pillar.

End the day at the Citadel of Qaitbay, built on the site of the ancient Pharos lighthouse, before returning to Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.

Meals: packed breakfast · picnic lunch · dinner at leisure.

Breakfast and check-out with your luggage.

Morning at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), whose collections trace the development of Egyptian civilisation and include the famous Royal Mummies Hall.

In the afternoon, explore Coptic Cairo within the walls of the Babylon Fortress, built around AD 300: the Church of St George, the Hanging Church, the Church of St Sergius (Abu Serga), the Church of St Barbara and the ancient Ben Ezra Synagogue. Nearby stands the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque built in Egypt.

Transfer to Cairo International Airport or Sphinx Airport for your departure flight.

Meals: breakfast at the hotel · picnic lunch.