Ancient Isles and Treasures

Cairo, Athens, Mykonos, and Rhodes
In a grand 12 day Mediterranean Tour

DAY 1 - CAIRO -Thursday - Weekly : April thru Nov
Our staff whisks you from the hubbub of Cairo's airport and through the city to your hotel . After you settle in, you're free to explore an unforgettable array of sights, sounds and aromas in this bustling metropolis. Visa fee is issued upon arrival at Cairo Airport on a complimentary basis for the following nationalities : EU , USA, Canada, Australia, NZ & Japan.

Visa will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops, at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign with the name you prefer to use for the sign .

Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal, our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel

DAY 3 - CAIRO - Saturday (BLD)
After a full American breakfast, we are off to the mysterious Sphinx, the Pyramids, and the Valley Temple. Taking a camel ride is entirely your own choice! After lunch at the Mena House Oberoi we head for Memphis, and Sakkara, including Zoser Pyramid.
Conclude a memorable day as we host you on a Nile dinner cruise : Hyatt Cruise o rsimilar complete with exotic Egyptian entertainment.

Private air conditioned vehicle - Private Chauffeur - Private Guide

DAY 4 - CAIRO - Fayoum - Sunday (BL)
On Desert Safari for the Day - Fayoum Oases - And you thought the Pyramids were old

The wilds of the desert begin right on the outskirts of Cairo, and continue for hundreds of miles to the east and west, through sands, rock, mountains, oases, and a surprising variety of scenery and inhabitants.

Join us for a day ranging across the desert like modern nomads. In place of camels, we’ll travel in comfortable, reliable four-by-four Toyota Land Cruisers. Your guide and drivers will meet you at your hotel, and soon you’ll leave bustling Cairo behind as you undertake the drive toward the Oasis of El Fayoum, 150 kilometers to the southwest. Hard as it is to believe, a great inland sea once covered these sands. It was a holy reserve of sacred crocodiles, symbolized by the god Sobek.

We’ll visit the temple of Kom Oshim, drive over ancient lake beds, and alongside the waters of today’s Fayoum Lake to reach the fishermen’s village of Chak Chouk. There we’ll stop for a lunch of fish caught fresh that morning. There will be time to wander the village lanes and discreetly watch the everyday activities of baking flatbread, irrigating crops from the lake’s waters, and bringing in the catch. We’ll also include the craft and pottery museum where the best works of local artisans are on display.

Then it’s into our four-by-fours again, for an off-road adventure! We’ll head alongside and across desert washes, between dunes, and over ancient lake beds for 35 kilometers to the Valley of the Whales ( In Arabic : Wadi-El-Hitan) . Incredibly, these great mammals once thrived - almost forty million years ago- in waters surrounded by sands. We’ll stop and gaze in amazement at their fossilized remains alongside smaller sea creatures that remain in stone.
This valley was discovered in 1936 , by the German geologist George Schweinfurth in the northwestern corner of Wadi El-Rayan.

The valley provides evidence of one of the major changes in this mammal evolution has been declared by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. It is believed that these land based whales once had feet that may have helped them somewhat while ashore . A team from the University of Michigan discovered in the late 80's that these Zeuglodon whales did have rudimentary feet , this was a startling discovery , suggesting that whales of Wadi -El-Hitan had recently started living in water as well , these whales were not related to any of the whales we have today , rather a more slender body and may grow up to 75 feet long. Several skeletons of whales are exposed in the sand. George Schweinfurth named this extinct specie the Zeuglodon Isis Whales .

In the evening, you’ll return to your hotel in Cairo. Land transportation in air-conditioned four-wheel-drive Toyota Land Cruiser with the services of driver and English-speaking driver. Lunch is included

Day 5- CAIRO TO ATHENS Monday (B)
Air fare is included in business class Cairo Athens, tax included.
Our staff arranges all details of your departure by air for Athens, where our local personnel escort you to your hotel. You'll have time on your own to explore the Greek capital, browse for treasures and curios, and venture to a terrace cafe or a fine meal in the old Plaka district.

DAY 6 - Private Tour - ATHENS Tuesday (BL)
A half-day private morning city tour will orient you to the high points of Athens. You'll visit Syntagma Square, at the very heart of the city; and culminate in a visit to the Acropolis. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Your afternoon is free for further exploring, shopping, or, perhaps, another visit to the Plaka.

DAY 7 - One Day GREEK ISLANDS CRUISE Wednesday (BLD)
We'll take you to the Trocadero Marina, where you'll embark for a cruise through the Saronic Gulf to the islands of Aegina, Poros, and Hydra. Back on shore, you're in for an evening of traditional entertainment, including Greek dancing, before your return to Athens and your hotel.

DAYS 8 AND 9- MYKONOS Thursday/ Friday (B)
You'll spend two full days on the fabled isle of windmills, beaches, cliffs and blue seas, where you can choose from several fine hotels. Your round-trip flight from Athens is included in your tour.

DAYS 10 AND 11 - RHODES Saturday / Sunday (B)
Continue for another two days to Rhodes, at the farthest reach of the Greek isles, site of the fabled ancient Colossus, a venerable Turkish quarter, and whitewashed villages set along stepped lanes.

DAY 12 RETURN HOME Monday (B)
Our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight to Athens, and then home.

Bon voyage and salaam . . . until your return!

RATES are per person In US $

Departures are weekly, May through October.

Easter-week departures carry a 15% holiday surcharge.

Rate is in US $ and is per person & includes:

• Air fare in Greece as well as air fare Athens/Cairo
• All transfers in Greece & Egypt as per itinerary.
• Hotel accommodations with tax & service charge as per itinerary
• Sightseeing with guide and entrance fees as indicated
• Meals as indicated, with pre-set menu (B = Breakfast, aB = full American breakfast, cB= Continental Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)
• Egyptian visa fee issued on a complimentary basis upon arrival at Cairo Airport for the following nationalities : Australian, NZ, Canadian, EU, US & Japanese citizens, passports must be valid for at least 6 month upon arrival

Add a Spa Experience to your stay in Turkey or Egypt or Greece