Classical Egypt & Israel

Cairo, Egypt to Tel Aviv, Israel

from AU$6,084.00

Day 1: Cairo

Arrive at Cairo airport where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight Cairo.

Full day tour of Cairo including the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel of Salah Din and the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali. End with a visit to Khan El Khalili, the oldest bazaar in Cairo, where you can shop for souvenirs. Overnight Cairo. (B)

Day 3: Cairo - Luxor

Transfer to Cairo airport for your flight to Luxor (flight included). Transfer to the port to embark on your cruise. Afternoon visit to the East Bank including Luxor and Karnak Temples. Overnight onboard. (B,L,D)

Day 4: Luxor - Esna - Edfu

After breakfast visit the West Bank including the Valley of the Kings, Temple of Queen Hatchepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Sail along the River Nile and to Edfu via Esna Lock. Overnight onboard. (B,L,D)

Day 5: Edfu - Kom Ombo - Aswan

In Edfu, take a tour by horse-drawn carriage to visit the Temple of Horus. Sail to Kom Ombo, visit the Temples of Sobek and Horus before sailing onto Aswan. Overnight onboard. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Aswan

Tour of Aswan visiting the High Dam and Philae Temple. After that you will experience the short adventure trip in the Nile by a Felucca (small boat) sailing around the islands where you will view Elephantine Island and the Aga Khan Mausoleum with a visit to the Botanical Garden. Overnight onboard. (B,L,D)

Day 7: Aswan - Cairo

Disembark and transfer to Aswan airport for your flight to Cairo (flight included). Arrive and transfer to your hotel. Overnight Cairo. (B)

Day 8: Cairo

Full day tour of Cairo including visits to Memphis and Sakkara following which we will have lunch at one of Cairo’s restaurants. After lunch, visit Pyramids of Giza and the famous Sphinx. Overnight Cairo. (B,L)

Day 9: Cairo - Tel Aviv

Transfer to Cairo airport for your flight to Tel Aviv (flight included). Transfer to your hotel. Overnight Tel Aviv. (B)

Day 10: Tel Aviv - Beersheba - Arad - Masada - Jerusalem

Leave Tel Aviv – via Ashdod – Ashkelon – Beersheba. A short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Masada. 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 and bathhouse. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend for a possible “float” in the salty water of the Dead Sea. Proceed to Jerusalem via Ein Gedi and Kalya. Overnight Jerusalem. (B)

Day 11: Jerusalem (New City)

Drive to Mt Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. On to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. Continue to Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, then a visit to the beautifully renovated Model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem, dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Continue to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Afternoon visit the Hadassah medical centre’s synagogue, with Marc Chagall stained glass windows, via Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist). Overnight Jerusalem. (B)

Day 12: Jerusalem (Old City) - Bethlehem - Jerusalem

Walk through one of the Gates to the walled Old City: the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the Temple area; the colourful bazaars; Via Dolorosa and the stations of the cross ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 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. Overnight Jerusalem. (B)

Day 13: Jerusalem – Jericho – Beit Shean – Tiberias – Capernaum – Galilee

Leave Jerusalem, and drive north via Jericho, the
oldest city in the world. Travel through Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautiful preserved Roman City. Proceed to Tiberias, the old centre 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. (B)

Day 14: Galilee – Golan Heights – Banias – Safed – Nazareth – Galilee

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.Overnight Kibbutz Hotel. (B)

Day 15: Galilee – Acre – Haifa – Caesarea – Tel Aviv

Drive west to Acre for a visit of the old, famous Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications. Continue to Haifa, sightseeing tour of Haifa, including the Bahai Shrine, Persian Garden and Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of the city and the bay. Proceed along the coast to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theatre and the Crusader fortress. End the day with a short city tour of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Overnight Tel Aviv. (B)