Day 1: Marsaalam - Luxor

Luxor Temple - Early in the morning, you’ll be picked up from your hotel in Marsa Alam by a private air-conditioned car and transferred to Luxor for an overnight trip. Upon arrival, you’ll meet your private tour guide who will accompany you to visit:

Karnak Temple: No site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders and pharaohs. The Temple of Karnak is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples situated on 247 acres of land.
Luxor Temple: The Temple of Luxor was the center of the most important festival, the festival of Opet. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Rameses II, the temple’s purpose was as a setting for the rituals of the festival. The festival was to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office.
Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in Luxor with a view of the Nile, then you will check in to a 3-star hotel (you have the flexibility to change).
In the evening, you can enjoy an optional Sound and Light Show at Karnak: The show starts with a historical introduction covering the birth of the great city of Thebes and the erection of the Karnak Temple. The show narrates the glorious achievements of some great Pharaohs as you listen to a magnificent and poetic description of the artistic treasures and great legacy which the Karnak temple encloses.
Overnight at a 3-star hotel (you have the flexibility to change).

Madinat Habu Temple:

In ancient times, Madinat Habu was known as Djanet and according to ancient belief was the place where Amun first appeared. Both Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III built a temple dedicated to Amun here, and later Rameses III constructed his larger memorial temple on the site.

First Pylon – the temple of Rameses III: During his time, Djanet became the administrative center of Western Thebes. The whole temple complex was surrounded by a massive fortified enclosure wall, with an unusual gateway at the eastern entrance, known as the pavilion gate. This structure, a copy of Syrian migdol fortresses, is something you would not expect to see in Egypt. Rameses III, a military man, probably saw the virtue in such a structure. It is likely Rameses resided here from time to time because a royal palace was attached at the south of the open forecourt of this temple, while priests’ dwellings and administrative buildings lay on either side of the temple. Originally, a canal with a harbor outside the entrance connected the temple to the Nile, but this was obliterated by the desert long ago.

Madinat Habu Temple from the air

Ramesseum:

The Ramesseum is the funerary temple of Ramses II (1279–13 BC), erected on the west bank of the Nile River at Thebes in Upper Egypt. The temple, famous for its 57-foot (17-meter) seated statue of Ramses II (of which only fragments are left), was dedicated to the god Amon and the deceased king. The walls of the Ramesseum, which is only about half preserved, are decorated with reliefs, including scenes depicting the Battle of Kadesh, the Syrian wars, and the Festival of Min.

Deir El Madina:

The main cemetery of the royal workmen at Deir el-Medina is situated to the west of the village, on the slope of the Theban hills. Most of the tombs were built during the 19th dynasty. Some of them are impressive in their decoration and size. By the time of the 20th dynasty, the tombs had been turned into family tombs in which the descendants of the original owners were buried. Little alterations were made apart from the addition of another subterranean burial chamber. The lower courses of the eastern hill of Qurnet Murai were the site of burials of babies and children. More than a hundred children were buried in common domestic pottery jars or amphorae, in baskets, even fish baskets, in chests, boxes, or in proper coffins there. The poorest burials were those of still-born babies. They contained no jewelry or amulets, only small vessels filled with food for the afterlife. The adults’ graves were situated higher up. Many of these graves date from the 18th dynasty.

Lunch during the tour.

The Valley of the Queens:

The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim, Biban el-Sultanat, and Wadi el-Melikat, is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning ‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties (1550-1070 BCE), many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests who performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility.

The valley is located near the better-known Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor). This barren area in the western hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to the capital.

The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), now chose to be buried in rock-cut tombs.

This necropolis is said to hold more than seventy tombs, many of which are stylish and lavishly decorated. An example of this is the resting place carved out of the rock for Queen Nefertari (1290-1224 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty. The polychrome reliefs in her tomb are still intact.

The ancient Egyptians gave it the name Set Neferu, meaning “seat of beauty”. From 1903-1906, an Italian expedition discovered about eighty tombs, some of which belonged to children of royalty. Many were severely damaged, having been burned and/or reduced to being used as stables for donkeys and camels. One of the most well-known tombs is that of Nefertari, the best-loved of Ramesses II’s numerous wives. In her honor, he built a beautiful temple at Abu Simbel.

In the evening, you can enjoy an optional Sound and Light Show at Karnak:

The show starts with a historical introduction covering the birth of the great city of Thebes and the erection of the Karnak Temple. The show narrates the glorious achievements of some great Pharaohs as you listen to a magnificent and poetic description of the artistic treasures and great legacy which the Karnak temple encloses. Overnight at a 3-star hotel.

Day 2: Luxor - Hurghada

Luxor Temple - Day 2 Luxor to Marsa Alam
An early pickup time to the west bank of the Nile to enjoy the hot-air balloon trip with a breakfast box, then you will be accompanied by your private tour guide and a private air-conditioned vehicle to visit: Valley of the Kings:
The final resting place of Egypt’s rulers from the 18th to the 20th dynasty, it is home to tombs including the great pharaoh Ramses II and boy pharaoh Tutankhamen. The tombs were well stocked with all the material goods a ruler might need in the next world. Most of the decoration inside the tombs is still well preserved.
Hatshepsut Temple:
It is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved of all the temples of Ancient Egypt. The temple was built on three levels with two wide ramps in a central position joining the levels together.
Colossi of Memnon:
Two massive stone statues of king Amenhotep III are the only remains of a complete mortuary temple. The statues are made from blocks of quartzite sandstone which exist in Cairo then moved 700 KM to Luxor.
Have your lunch at a Nile view restaurant before we drive you back to your hotel in Marsa Alam.

We advise you to order a breakfast box from the hotel because of the early departure.

Kindly note that for hotels to the south of Marsa Alam City, there will be an extra charge.

• Lunch included
• Air-conditioned transport

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.