Evening departure. Meals and refreshments are served on board.

Upon arrival in Cairo, you'll be met and taken to your hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure.

Full day city sightseeing including the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, with the world's largest collection of pharaonic artifacts and treasures from Tutankhamen's tomb. Subsequently drive to the Citadel to view wonderful Islamic structures, including the Muhammad Ali Mosque. In Old Cairo, we visit Al Moallaka Church (Hanging Church) and Ben Ezra Synagogue. End this city tour at Khan el-Khalili, Cairo's labyrinthine shopping mecca. Best buys: gold, silver, papyrus, slippers, galabiyas, t-shirts, perfumes, antiques, spices, lanterns, famous Egyptian cotton, and everything under the Egyptian sun! Lunch is included during tour. (B,L)

This full day guided tour takes you to the Giza complex, including the Pyramid of Khufu (the Great Pyramid), the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and Great Sphinx. After Giza precede to Memphis, where we tour the 'open air museum', site of the Colossus of Ramses the Second and the Alabaster Sphinx. The visit to Sakkara will include the Step Pyramid, the first pyramid ever built. You will subsequently view the Pyramid of Teti. Time permitting we will stop at a school of carpet weaving. Lunch is included during tour. (B,L)

After a short flight you will arrive in Aswan, where you will be met and transferred to the pier and assisted during embarkation on the M/S Sonesta Nile Goddess. Enjoy a morning tour of the High Dam, an outstanding water project undertaken with the aim of preventing the Nile River's flooding. Also stop at the Granite Quarries, which in antiquity furnished the stone for the monolithal, colossal statues, obelisks, and shrines which are found throughout Egypt. See the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis, Goddess of Magic. The temple had to be relocated block by block to its current location because of the rising waters caused by the dams built on the Nile. Lunch will be served on board. Sail for Kom Ombo where you will visit the temples of Sobek and of Haroeris. You will resume sailing and arrive in Edfu where you will overnight on board ship. (B,L,D)

Travel by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus, the Falcon God. The temple is known as the major Ptolemaic temple, built between 237 B.C. to 57 B.C., up to the reign of Cleopatra VII. Of all the temples that remain in Egypt, the Temple of Horus is the most completely preserved. In Edfu there are also the remains of ancient pyramids. Sail by the Esna Lock on your way to Luxor, where you will spend the night on board ship. (B,L,D)

Visit the necropolis on the Nile West Bank that includes the Valley of the Kings & Queens, a vast City of the Dead where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rocks. These tombs were richly decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife of generations of Pharaohs. You will also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (ancient Egypt's only female Pharaoh) rises out of the desert plain in a succession of terraces, merging with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it, as if nature herself had built this extraordinary monument. On the way back to the river Nile, your road passes by the famed Colossi of Memnon. Overnight in Luxor on board ship. (B,L,D)

Morning tour to visit Temple of Karnak, built over more than a thousand years by generations of Pharaohs. The great 'Hypostyle Hall' is an incredible forest of giant pillars, covering a vast area. Proceed to the Temple of Luxor, famous for its pillars that take the form of a bundle of papyri. This temple, dedicated to Amun?Ra, was celebrated annually. Disembark from your boat and transfer to Luxor Airport for a short flight to Cairo. Upon arrival in Cairo, transfer to your hotel and balance of the day at leisure. You have an opportunity for a last visit to a shopping bazaar and to enjoy Cairo's exciting nightlife. (B)

Morning transfer to Cairo International Airport for your return flight home. Meals and refreshments are served aloft. This is sample itinerary. The route of two ships may have slight variations, however all the sites and monuments described will be seen. (B)