After breakfast this morning, set out into the Egyptian capital for a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum, Africa’s largest museum and the first national museum in the Middle East. Founded in 1902, this grand building showcases an expansive collection of priceless relics and the world’s largest collection of pharaonic artefacts. 

Inside, you’ll discover four unique periods in the country’s history, stopping first at the museum’s Old Kingdom exhibit. Immerse yourself in the ‘Age of Pyramids’, before continuing to the Middle Kingdom, which saw Egypt reunited after decades of political conflict. A section dedicated to the New Kingdom follows, charting the peak of ancient Egypt’s power, before concluding with a glimpse into the age of Caesars and the nation’s Graeco-Roman period. Upstairs, you’ll have the chance to learn about the lives – and deaths – of the country’s most important pharaohs with a magnificent collection of mummies, carvings, and sarcophagi. If time permits, why not also pay the museum’s sphinx-strewn gardens a visit? 

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is currently under construction in Giza and is due to open within the next year. Once the GEM is open to for public admission, you’ll spend time exploring this magnificent new museum instead of the one in Cairo. 

Later you’ll return to the hotel, and you can enjoy a free evening in Cairo.  

Enjoy breakfast against the stunning backdrop of the Nile this morning, as you set sail on the first leg of your week-long river cruise. Crossing to the river’s west bank, moor at the entrance to the famous Valley of Kings, which houses the tomb of Egypt’s child pharaoh, Tutankhamun, and the temple of Hatshepsut, one of the country’s most celebrated queens. While exploring these two fascinating landmarks, look out for the striking Colossi of Memnon, two grand statues which guard the entrance to the Theban Necropolis’ largest temple.  

Afterwards, return to your ship for lunch before setting sail along the region’s timeless scenery towards Edfu where you’ll moor for the night.  

An escorted tour of Egypt’s best-preserved Pharaonic monuments awaits this morning starting with breakfast aboard your ship. Visit the intricately carved halls of the Temple of Horus, where ancient inscriptions and frescoed walls depict the dramatic battle between Horus and Seth.  

Reboarding your ship, you’ll then move on to Kom Ombo’s magnificent riverside temple with its impressive sandstone facades, hypostyle columns, and untouched burial grounds. Built in honour of the crocodile god, Sobek, and Haroeris (Horus the Elder), this incredible landmark offers a captivating dive into Ptolemaic culture and promises to be one of the highlights of your trip. 

Once you’re finished, enjoy lunch and dinner back aboard the Orient Sun Times before dropping anchor in verdant Aswan.  

Your first full day in Aswan will take you to the city’s extraordinary High Dam, which guards the meeting point between the Nile and expansive Lake Nasser. Take breakfast aboard before heading out on today’s excursion. Witness the vast nearby granite quarries from which many of Egypt’s ancient treasures were fashioned before crossing the Nile to Philae’s Temple of Isis. After a morning’s exploration on the island, board a traditional felucca and sail around Kitchener Island with its flourishing botanical gardens. 

Return to the ship this evening for dinner. 

Explore Aswan at your own pace, ticking off any remaining wish-list sights, or perhaps board a coach for an optional tour of Abu Simbel, a unique temple complex carved entirely out of a neighbouring mountainside.  

These staggering landmarks, dedicated to Rameses II and the Egyptian sky goddess, Hathor, were excavated in the early 19th Century. As you pass through the ornate halls of this remarkable complex, feast your eyes on the vast array of relics and artefacts held within.

Later on, enjoy a final evening in Aswan ahead of the return leg of your river cruise.

Bring an extraordinary tour of Egypt’s ancient past to a close with a return flight from Luxor (via Cairo).