ANCIENT KINGDOMS TOUR

18 days/ 17 nights including
Egypt: Cairo, Luxor, Aswan with a 5 day/4 night Deluxe Nile cruise
Israel: Tel Aviv, Massada, Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth
Jordan: Jerash, Dead Sea, Mataba, Mt. Nebo, Keruk, Petra

The perfect tour for history lovers. You will learn, experience and enjoy 5000 years of history in only 18 days!

The Program:

Day 01: (Saturday) Arrive Cairo, clear immigration and customs then staff will transfer you to the Le Meridien Pyramids hotel (A Travel & Leisure 500 property). Overnight Cairo (breakfast on the flight)

VISAS: All travelers to Egypt must have a visa. USA citizens can obtain one on arrival. Please let us know what passport you are traveling with and we will confirm whether you can get yours on arrival.

Day 02: (Sunday) Enjoy an international buffet breakfast before starting the day at the Pyramids of Giza, home of the 7th wonder of the world, the Great Pyramid. Visit the inscrutable Sphinx and the Solar Boat museum. Staff transfers you to the airport, assists with checking in and you fly to Luxor. Arriving staff transfers you to the Sonesta Luxor Hotel. Overnight Luxor (B)

Day 03: (Monday) Buffet breakfast, check out of the hotel, staff transfers you to board your Nile cruiser, The M/S Amarco I or the M/S Royal Viking. On both ships cabins have individual air conditioning controls. Amenities include plasma or LCD televisions, DVD players, mini bar, mini fridge, and private safes. Also, the bathrooms feature showers and bath tubs and hair dryers. The dress is casual to country club casual. Ala carte dinners are also available as is laundry service. Lunch on board. Following lunch visit Luxor’s East Bank, which contains the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. Return to the ship for dinner. Overnight Luxor (B, L, D)
Optional Tour of West bank sites not included in cruise: $95 per person (includes the Valley of the Queens, the tombs of the nobles and artisans, Medinet Habu, Ramessium, temple of Seti 1)

Day 04: (Tuesday) Breakfast in the morning followed by a visit to Luxor's West Bank, where you will visit the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at El Deir El Bahari and the Colossi Memnon. After touring return to the ship for lunch. Sail to Esna. Dinner on board. Overnight Esna (B, L, D)

Day 05: (Wednesday) Breakfast while sailing to Edfu. Lunch and visit the Temple of Horus. Sail to Kom Ombo. Overnight Kom Ombo (B, L, D)

Day 06: (Thursday) Breakfast then visit the Temple of Kom Ombo . Sail to Aswan. Lunch on board before visiting the Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae. Dinner on board. Overnight Aswan (B, L, D)

Day 07: (Friday) Breakfast, disembark, staff transfers you to the airport, assists with checking in and you fly to Cairo. Arriving staff transfers you to the Fairmont Heliopolis or the Radisson Blu. Overnight Cairo (B)
NOTE optional tour to Abu Simbel to visit the famous temples of Ramses available this morning. Cost is $250 per traveler including transfers, flights, guide, entry fees, service charges and taxes.

Day 08: (Saturday) Visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities featuring King Tut's treasures plus Old Cairo with it's famous churches and synagogue. Enjoy shopping at the famous Khan el Khalili bazaar where travelers have been finding bargains since the middle ages. Overnight Cairo (B)
OPTIONAL TOUR: enjoy a morning tour of Sakkarra with the famous stepped pyramid and Dahshur with the first of the stone pyramids. $55 per person

Day 09: (Sunday) Buffet breakfast, check out, staff transfers you to the airport, assists with exit formalities and checking in for your flight to Tel Aviv. Arriving clear immigration and customs then meet our staff in the terminal. They will transfer you to your hotel. Overnight Tel Aviv

VISAS: All travelers to Israel must have a visa. USA citizens can obtain one on arrival. Please let us know what passport you are traveling with and we will confirm whether you can get yours on arrival.

Day 10: (Monday) Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Arad, Massada, Jerusalem
Breakfast, check out, then depart Tel Aviv - via Ashdod - Ashkelon - Beersheba. A short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Massada. Ascend by cable car to the fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod's palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, etc. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend for a possible "float" in the in the salty water of the world's lowest place. Via Ein Gedi proceed to Jerusalem for overnight. Overnight Jerusalem (B)

Day 11: (Tuesday) Jerusalem - sightseeing of the new city
After breakfast drive to Mt. Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. Continue on to the Israel Museum to visit the Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea Scrolls and the beautifully renovated Model of Herodian Jerusalem, depicting the city at the time of the Second Temple. Continue to Yad VaShem, Israel's national memorial holocaust. Afternoon visit the Hadassah medical center's synagogue, with Marc Chagall stained glass windows. Return to hotel via Ein Kerem (the birthplace of John the Baptist). Overnight Jerusalem (B)

Day 12: (Wednesday) Jerusalem - (Old City) - Bethlehem
After breakfast walk through one of the Gates to the walled Old City: the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the Temple Mount area; the colorful bazaars and the Via Dolorosa ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Drive to Mt. Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. Afternoon continue to Bethlehem* to visit Rachel's Tomb and the Church of the Nativity. Return to Jerusalem for overnight. Overnight Jerusalem (B)

Day 13: (Thursday) Beit Shean - Tiberias - Galilee
After breakfast, check out, leaving Jerusalem drive north via Jericho*, the oldest city in the world through the Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautifully preserved Roman City. Proceed to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue to a Kibbutz hotel for overnight. Overnight Tiberias (B)

Day 14: (Friday) Upper Galilee and Golan Heights - Nazareth
Breakfast then drive to the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications, and the Druze villages, Via Banias, source of the Jordan River. Proceed via the Hula Valley to Safed, city of the Kabala, to visit a synagogue and the artists' colony and then to Nazareth to visit the Christian Holy Sites. Return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight. Overnight Tiberias (B)

Day 15: (Saturday) After Breakfast, check out, staff transfers you to the border crossing at Beit Shean, assists with exit formalities and you cross to Jordan. Arriving staff assists with clearing immigration and customs then enjoy a tour to Jerash, the best preserved of all the Roman Decapolis cities. Continue to the shore of the Dead Sea where you will overnight at the Marriott Jordan Valley resort. Overnight Jordan (B)

VISAS: All travelers to Jordan must have a visa. USA citizens can obtain one on arrival. Please let us know what passport you are traveling with and we will confirm whether you can get your's on arrival.

Day 16: (Sunday) After your buffet breakfast check out and drive along the 5,000 year old Kings Highway to Madaba (the city of Mosaics) and Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked on the promised land. Continue to Keruk to see the Crusader castle then on to Petra to overnight. Overnight Petra (B)

Day 17: (Monday) Buffet breakfast then a full day to enjoy Petra and surrounding sites. Overnight Petra (B)

Day 18: (Tuesday) Staff will transfer you to the Amman airport, assist with exit formalities and checking in for your international departure. (meals on the flight)

TOURS INCLUDE: WEEKLY DEPARTURES GUARANTEED TO OPERATE WITH NO MINIMUM AND A MAXIMUM OF 16 TRAVELERS IN THE GROUP. Domestic flights in Egypt in economy class. All transfers by air-conditioned vehicle relating to the tour program starting with arrival to Cairo. Baggage handling of no more than 1 piece of luggage per person however baggage and personal effects are at the owner's risk at all time during the tour (baggage handling does NOT include tips for bellmen, porters, etc.). Hotels (based on double occupancy). 5 star Deluxe Nile cruise with outside Nile view cabin, private bath, individually controlled air-conditioning. Meals as outlined by B for breakfast, L for lunch and D for dinner. Fees for visiting antiquity sites and museums. Services of an English speaking licensed Egyptologist in Egypt and a licensed guide in Israel and Jordan. International flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv on Air Sinai (Egyptair) in economy class. Service charges and taxes.
NOTE: During any of our small group tours people may join or leave at various times, however at no time would any group be larger than 16 travelers. We can provide private tours with an additional supplement. The cost depends on the tour chosen.

NOT included are: International air except CAI-TLV one way in economy class, items of a personal nature such as tips, entry visas, entry or departure taxes, phone calls, laundry, beverages, any items not specifically covered in the included items.

Round trip air from JFK starting at $966

Tours must be booked at least 45 days prior to arrival.
Prices and itinerary subject to change without notice.

Single Price is for Single occupancy hotel rooms and cruise cabins based on a minimum of two travelers. Single travelers (one person on the tour) would have additional cost.

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