Arrive in Cairo and transfer to a Giza hotel. Over three days, visit the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the ancient capital of Memphis, and the Grand Egyptian Museum. A papyrus workshop and optional carpet school visits are included.

Drive four hours to the Bahariya Oasis and begin two days of 4x4 desert exploration. Highlights include hot sulfur springs, sand dunes, Crystal Mountain, Moon Cave, and the dramatic white rock formations of the White Desert. Nights are spent at a desert hotel and in a Bedouin camp.

Drive to El Minia, known as the Bride of Upper Egypt and once the capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Visit the painted noble tombs of Amarna, whose vivid scenes of daily life have survived intact for thousands of years.

Travel south to Abydos, the most sacred site in ancient Egypt, then to the Greek-era temple of Hathor at Dendera before arriving in Luxor. Spend three days visiting the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, Karnak, and Luxor Temple.

Drive from Luxor to Edfu to see the best-preserved temple in Egypt, dedicated to the falcon god Horus. Continue to the dual temple of Kom Ombo, with its crocodile mummy museum, before arriving in Aswan to check in to a Nubian guest house.

Visit the island temple of Philae and an essential oil workshop in Aswan. Board the overnight sleeper train from Aswan to Giza, arriving back in Cairo on the final morning for transfer to the airport or your accommodation.