Desert tombs
Desert tombs Featuring a desert jeep safari and camp, and a looping drive through the Oases of Baharya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga, this tour gets away from the main tourist trail and right out into the barren and beautiful Egyptian Western desert.
In Luxor, we visit some of the most important Pharaonic sites before returning to Cairo and then heading into the Sinai desert where we spend a few days relaxing by the blue waters of the Red Sea at Dahab.
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itinerary Desert tombs
- Day 1: Arrive in Cairo.
We greet you on your arrival into Cairo airport, and transfer you straight to your hotel where you can settle in before starting the main tour tomorrow morning.
Day 2: Cairo – Pyramids & Museum tour
Our first tour today takes in Cairo’s most impressive, important and famous sites, the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, and the Egyptian Museum in the center of the city.
Day 3: Drive to Bahariya
We leave Cairo today and drive out through barren and rocky flat desert to the villages in the Bahariya Oasis depression.
- Day 4: Bahariya Oasis & desert safari
This morning we tour the oasis, visiting several interesting sites including a pyramid shaped mountain.
We then leave Bahariya by 4×4 jeep and start our main desert safari.
This takes us through the Black Desert and past some huge sand dunes and spectacular cliff and sand scenery to the flat expanses of the White Desert, filled with strange rock formations that have been eroded by years of wind and sand.
We make a basic but comfortable camp here and sleep under the stars.
Day 5: Farafra and Dakhla Oasis
We drive out of the White Desert this morning and leave our jeeps at the Farafra Oasis, one of the smallest and most traditional in the Western Desert. Here we may enjoy a welcome bathe in one of the hot water springs before driving on to one of Egypt’s most remote Oases, Dakhla, where we tour the main oasis town of Mut, the Islamic village of Al Qasr and the restored Roman temple of Deir al Haggar.
- Day 6: Dakhla & Kharga Oases – Drive to Luxor
We leave Dakhla this morning and drive on to Kharga Oasis where we stop to visit the Temple of Hibis, Deir-al-Kashef monastery, and Al-Bagawat necropolis. We then drive on through the desert and into the Nile Valley and the city of Luxor, home to the greatest concentration of Pharaonic historical monuments and sites in the whole of Egypt. This evening you have the option of visiting the huge temple complex at Karnak for a Sound & Light show.
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Day 7: Luxor – West bank tour. Free time. Sleeper train to Cairo
We rise early this morning and tour the West Bank of the Nile, including stops at the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatchepsut and Medinat Habu temples, and the Colossi of Memnon.
In the afternoon you can visit Luxor temple in the middle of town, explore Luxor’s markets, take a felucca sailboat trip on the Nile, or visit the Mummification Museum, before we board the overnight sleeper train for the journey back to Cairo.
There is also an option available this morning for a spectacular hot air balloon flight.
- Day 8: Cairo – Free day
After arriving back in Cairo this morning, your day is free to explore the city a little more, perhaps visiting the ancient churches in Coptic Cairo, the mosques and palaces of the Citadel of Saladin, and the busy Khan-el-Khalili bazaar on an optional city tour. We can also arrange day trips to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, or to the World Heritage Site of the Valley of the Whales in the Fayoum region close to Cairo.
Day 9: Drive to Dahab
We leave Cairo early this morning for the drive to Dahab. The afternoon is free to relax by the hotel pool or beach or head to the bay area to enjoy the unique feel of this friendly village.
Days 10-12: Dahab – Various activities available
The next few days are free for you to enjoy the laid back atmosphere of this unique beach resort. You can try a number of activities including snorkelling at the Blue Hole, a sunset camel ride, climbing nearby Mount Sinai, quad biking or scuba diving.
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Day 13: Drive to Cairo – Free time
We depart Dahab this morning and arrive back in Cairo early in the afternoon where the rest of the day is free for you to do some final shopping or sightseeing. Options to enjoy a dinner cruise on the Nile, or see the spectacular sound and light show at the pyramids are available locally.
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Day 14: Cairo. Tour ends. Transfer to airport
Your time is free in Cairo today until we transfer you to the airport for your flight home.
Extra nights in Cairo are available if you would like to extend the tour.
Tour description
Featuring a desert jeep safari and camp, and a looping drive through the Oases of Baharya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga, this tour gets away from the main tourist trail and right out into the barren and beautiful Egyptian Western desert.
In Luxor, we visit some of the most important Pharaonic sites before returning to Cairo and then heading into the Sinai desert where we spend a few days relaxing by the blue waters of the Red Sea at Dahab.The tour starts in Cairo with a visit to the ancient Pyramids and Sphinx at Gisa.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Pyramids above all stand as a symbol of Egypt. We also visit the famous Egyptian Museum in the centre of the city, and learn more here about
Egyptian and Pharaonic history,
as well as seeing the golden mask of Tutankhamun and many other exhibits.Leaving Cairo, we head out into the desert and the lush green oasis of Bahariya. After a chance to take in the tranquil beauty of the oasis we board jeeps and head out into the White Desert with its strange, unearthly rock formations and vast open plains. Its scenery is more reminiscent of the Moon than of the Earth.
After visiting the Crystal Mountain you can help set-up camp and enjoy a night under the stars. Before we reach the Farafra Oasis you can stop at the Black Desert to see the famous “flowers of the desert”.
In Farafra,
the smallest and most peaceful of the desert oases, we see traditional houses and an ancient way of life.
You continue through the desert, stopping at the larger oasis towns of Dahkla and Kharga to tour Roman ruins, Islamic villages and ruined forts, before arriving in Luxor.
Here we tour the Valley of the Kings and other sites on the west bank of the Nile and you can enjoy an optional sound and light show at Karnak temple, and a spectacular sunrise hot air balloon flight if you wish.
After heading back to Cairo for a day,
we travel to the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea at Dahab.
The tour spends the next few days relaxing in Dahab, and we offer various options including a snorkeling trip to the Blue Hole, and a sunset camel ride.
There is plenty of free time to relax, and you can do more snorkelling, or try some scuba-diving (there is time to fit in the PADI Open Water Course).
You also have the chance to visit Mt. Sinai and St Catherine’s monastery.The tour then returns to Cairo to finish your adventure.
Note: We have two other tours that run alongside this trip. Our Deserts Tombs tour returns straight to Cairo from Luxor, missing out the Red Sea, while our Deserts, Tombs & Jordan tour, continues from Dahab into Jordan, and finishes in Amman, rather than returning to Cairo.