Turkey & Tutankhamun with Cruise - 16 days

Saturday. Hello Turkey! Arrive Istanbul and transfer to our hotel. Spend the afternoon at leisure consider heading out to explore the city.

Guided tour of the city that spans Europe and Asia. Tour the Hippodrome area, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Underground Cistern.

Istanbul – Gallipoli. Our first destination is Gallipoli where we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the historical battlefields, carefully tended cemeteries, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair memorials, and of course – ANZAC Cove.

Gallipoli – Kusadasi. Heading south, we enjoy a guided tour of Homer’s Troy, famed for the Trojan wooden horse and fabled Helen. Continuing to the Roman acropolis of Pergamum - the cultural and political capital of its time, we tour the impressive temple ruins, library and medical facilities. Afterwards we visit a local leather emporium for a spot of shopping, en route to coastal Kusadasi. Enjoy the hotel facilities.

Today, we explore legendary Ephesus and see the ruins of the great Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Ancient Wonders. Afterward, we stop by a local carpet manufacturing house.

Kusadasi - Pamukkale - Istanbul. Tour the ancient town of Hierapolis and the magnificent white calcium terraces of Pamukkale. You can walk barefoot along the terraces allowing the mineral rich waters to wash over your feet or opt for a dip in the hot springs renowned for their therapeutic powers since roman times. Continue to our hotel for an evening at leisure.

Friday. Pamukkale - Istanbul - Cairo. After breakfast and hotel check out we make our way to Denizli airport for our onward flight to Istanbul arriving at approx 8:50am where our representative will be waiting to meet you. You will now need to independently book your flight from Istanbul to Cairo, as is not included in the cost of this tour. Please only book a flight departing Istanbul later than 1pm. Turkish Airlines and Egyptair offer flights between Istanbul and Cairo, check the THY or Egyptair websites for more details.

Upon arrival at Cairo Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. At 7pm meet your Egyptian guide at the Welcome Meeting.

This morning we visit Egypt's most iconic site - the awe-inspiring pyramids and huge Sphinx at the Giza Plateau. You can also opt to enter Chephren or Mycerinus pyramids, depending upon which is open on the day. After we visit the necropolis of Saqqara - a myriad of ancient tombs and temples. the highlight is Zhoser’s step pyramid - constructed by Imhotep, the pharaoh’s chief architect in 2700 BC!

Cairo - Aswan. This morning we visit the Egyptian Museum for an informative guided tour. A mind-boggling array of relics and antiquities from almost every period of ancient Egyptian history are housed in the museum, making it one of the foremost in the world. Arguably the most famous exhibit is the solid gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamen. Opt to see also the Royal Mummies, if you wish. Note: the new Grand Egyptian Museum is set to open in 2020 (exact date yet to be released). Once open it will be visited in place of the current Egyptian Museum.

Leaving the museum, we visit a government supervised papyrus emporium where you can buy genuine papyrus at quite reasonable prices before returning to our hotel for free time. You may wish to have dinner or a swim in the pool before this evening's overnight train to Aswan.

Arrive into Aswan this morning and board your 5 star Nile Cruiser where you will spend the next three nights. In the afternoon enjoy a leisurely boat trip to Agilika Island for a guided tour of the romantic Philae Temple - dedicated to the goddess Isis. Upon returning to Aswan we visit a perfume oil emporium. The use of essential and perfumed oils in Egypt dates back to 2700BC. Perfumed oils were used by women, pharaohs and by temple priests for worship who offered a melange of 6 perfumes called Kyphi to the Sun God at dawn, noon and dusk.

As the sun sets, free time to shop in the colourful souqs and markets or simply relax and watch an amazing sunset in Egypt's southern most town straddling the River Nile.

Aswan - Nile cruise - Luxor. Optional early morning drive to Abu Simbel, the famous the rock-cut temple of King Ramses II. In the afternoon our Nile Cruiser departs Aswan and we cruise the River Nile to Kom Ombo where we disembark to visit the temple which is dedicated to the crocodile headed god - Sobek before returning to the cruiser.

The following day relax, enjoy a swim in the pool and chill out in the sun on deck. Let your troubles melt away as we cruise the River Nile to Luxor. Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year-old Luxor is ancient Egypt at its best. Arriving into Luxor in the afternoon the rest of the day is free to explore the city before we spend our final night aboard the cruiser.

This morning we disembark and check into our 5 star Luxor hotel. The day is free to relax and explore. Tonight, an optional visit is available to the Temple of Luxor.

Luxor - Cairo. Today we tour West Bank, visiting the Colossi of Memnon, Valleys of the Kings and the colonnaded Temple of Hatshepsut. After time for lunch, we explore the giant Temple of Karnak - a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, pylons, chapels, halls and obelisks, all dedicated to the Theban gods and to the greater glory of Egypt’s Middle and New Kingdom rulers. Tonight we return to Cairo by sleeper train.

Cairo. After arriving to Cairo this morning the day offers free time for you to relax, shop and explore. You may wish to join us on an optional visit Khan el-Khalili bazaar to pick up some last minute souvenirs.

Sunday - Cairo. Hotel check out and included onward departure transfer to airport.