Spring in Egypt Part 1 - Itinerary and details

Having a group of friends who love to travel as much as you do really make a difference in life. Last year on Black Friday, a friend invited me to join her on a trip to Egypt through Expat Explore. They had a ridiculous price at that time, offering a 9-day Egypt highlight tour for just under USD 300 (airfare not included). Well of course I was interested! However, this low price offers overnight ground transport from Cairo to Aswan and a few nights stay at a traditional Felucca boat. So we wanted to upgrade to a domestic flight and also a 5-star cruise on the Nile. That brought the price up to USD 735 per person which is their ongoing 'discounted' price. After the upgrades, the package is now called "Nile Jewel".

It so happened that the dates that the aforementioned friend wanted to go on did not match Miss Kiki's holiday dates, so I invited another friend to go with us during school's term break. There were supposed to be 5 of us going on that trip but there was a cancellation for personal reasons. We got lucky that we were able to take Miss Kiki, as the minimum age to join this tour was 10 years old.

Itinerary

Here is the paper itinerary we received at the beginning of our trip. You can also view a more readable version on their website.

Entrance tickets

TOUR ITINERARY (from Expat Explore)

Tour name Nile Jewel-9 Days
Travel dates 16 March 2018 to 24 March 2018

Accommodation We offer twin share accommodation. Single travellers are roomed with a fellow traveller of the same gender. You have the option to book a single room at an additional price.

Date	Day	Destination	Itinerary
16-Mar-18	1	Cairo	Upon your arrival at Cairo airport you will be met and assisted by our representative, who will help you through immigration, go through passport control and collecting your baggage. You will then be transferred to your hotel, where your Egytpologist tour guide, who will accompany you for the duration of the tour, will brief you about the tour package and the incredible experiences you will have over the following eight days.
17-Mar-18	2	Cairo	This morning you will experience the icons of ancient Egypt! Your Egyptologist guide will accompany you to the Giza pyramid complex, where you can see the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure, and the Great Sphinx. We'll then visit Sakkara to see the unique step pyramid of Zoser (also known as Djoser), the first ever pyramid, constructed of six tombs built on top of each other.
18-Mar-18	3	Aswan	Early this morning you will be transferred to the airport for a short internal flight down to Aswan. Upon arrival you will be transferred to our 5-star Nile cruise ship. After some time to freshen up we'll begin our Nile quest by visiting the High Dam of Aswan, where your guide will explain to you how the construction of the dam and subsequent creation of Lake Nasser required the relocation of the Nubian people and several important historical monuments, including Abu Simbel, which you have the opportunity to visit tomorrow. We'll then take a short boat ride to Agilkia Island to explore the Temple of Isis at Philae. Built during the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305 BC to 30 BC), the temple is dedicated to Isis, one of the oldest goddesses of ancient Egypt and worshipped as the paragon of motherly virtues. It is believed that the last Egyptian hieroglyph was written on the island of Philae in the late fourth century.
19-Mar-18	4	Aswan	This morning you will have the opportunity to join our optional excursion to the temples of Abu Simbel, two massive temples in southern Egypt. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", these iconic temples were carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The tour then continues with a visit to the Temple of Kom-Ombo, a unique 'double' temple dedicated to both the crocodile god Sobek, and the falcon god Haroeris (Horus). After some time to explore the temple, we'll head to Edfu. Also dedicated to Horus, this temple is more than 2,000 years old but was covered by sand until it was re- discovered by a French expedition in 1798. Because it was hidden for so long it is the most well preserved temple in Egypt. We'll then continue on to Luxor, where we'll spend the night onboard the 5-star cruise ship.
20-Mar-18	5	Luxor	After breakfast we will arrive in Luxor and tour the East Bank of Luxor. Experience the incredible Karnak temple complex, part of the ancient city of Thebes. Dedicated to the powerful ram-headed god Amun, it offers a vast mix of temples, chapels, statues and obelisks. We'll then explore Luxor temple, an place of worship that is dedicated to three gods: Amun, his wife Mut and his son Khons. Together these temples and gods are key players in the great Opet Festival which was held each year during the flood season.
21-Mar-18	6	Luxor	This morning we'll start our tour of the west bank with a visit to the World famous Valley of the Kings, where you can enter some of the incredible tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs, such as King Tutankhamen. We'll then get to experience the Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir El Bahary), the mortuary temple of the only Pharaoh Queen that ruled Egypt. The day will finish off with a visit to the great Colossi of Memnon, the last remains of Amenophis III’s temple. We'll then take our air-conditioned private bus to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast, where we'll be staying in an all-inclusive resort.

22-Mar-18	7	Hurghada	This is a free day for you to enjoy however you wish. The resort in Hurghada offers a large swimming pool complex, long sandy beaches and all inclusive food and drink; total relaxation awaits! Alternatively, you can choose to take part in any number of water sport activities, including full-day snorkelling and scuba diving excursions. The seas around Hurghada offer some of the best coral reef dive spots in the world, giving the opportunity to see many colorful fish species, including the Red Sea Clownfish, Emperor Angelfish, Picasso Trigger Fish and Moray Eels.
23-Mar-18	8	Hurghada- Cairo	This morning we'll take an air-conditioned private mini bus back to Cairo. After some time to freshen up at our hotel, we'll visit the Egyptian museum to learn more about the country's incredible ancient history, followed by the old city of Cairo where you can explore Khan El Khalili, a bazaar crammed with souvenir shops, cafés and shisha bars.
24-Mar-18	9	Departure	The tour ends after breakfast at our hotel in Cairo, with transfers included to take you to the airport for your flight home.

*Please note: These may be subject to change 

Visa

Canadians and Indonesians do need visa to enter Egypt. For Canadians and other countries listed here, online applications are available. Unfortunately for Indonesians the regular sticker-on-passport visa is required. Having found that Egyptian Embassy in Indonesia's website is not exactly information wealthy, we decided to use a travel agent to help with our visa processing. Both Vaya Tour and Dwidaya Tour offer this service.

Flight

From Jakarta to Cairo, we flew Oman Air with an overnight transit in Oman's capital city Muscat. That gave us a chance to do a half day tour in Muscat. I found that buying from the Oman Air website directly was considerably cheaper than through other sites.

Transport and Accommodations

All of our transportation and accommodations were included in our tour. However if you want to arrive early or extend your stay, there is Ritz-Carlton and Hilton near Cairo Museum (the museum is scheduled to relocate in 2020), or Mercure Hotel in Giza right across the Pyramid complex (and will be close to the new museum). To get around, Uber is available or you can rent a car from your hotel.

Conclusion

To be honest, I had never even planned to travel to Egypt at all. It was almost an impulse purchase and boy was I glad that we went. It was not luxurious nor was it relaxing, but it was educational, eye-opening, and all in all amazing. If you have the chance, you definitely should go and see for yourself! Miss Kiki also loved the trip. All the stories that she read in her books came to life. She was very excited throughout the trip and was eager to be my own personal tour guide. Lol...