Day 1: Friday - Depart US

En Route

Depart this evening on your overnight flight to Cairo.

Day 2: Saturday - Arrive Cairo

Conrad International

On arrival in Cairo, Egypt, the "cradle of ancient civilization", you are met and assisted through customs formalities. You will be thrilled by the dazzling array of exotic sounds and sights as you drive to your first night's accommodations. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Day 3: Sunday - Cairo

Conrad International

This morning transfer to the Giza Plateau where you begin your day's sightseeing with a visit to the old Pharaonic capital of Memphis, seeing the lucent Alabaster Sphinx and the giant reclining statue of Ramses the Great. Continue to Sakkara and tour the first stone structure ever built, King Zoser's famous Step Pyramid, and the tombs of nobles covered with colorful hieroglyphs depicting the daily lives of the ancient Egyptians. After lunch at the Mena House, tour the Great Pyramids of Giza - Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos. Your tour ends at the foot of the inscrutable Sphinx, the giant man/beast which has puzzled men for generations. (B,L)

Day 4: Monday - Cairo

Conrad International

This morning's tour of the incomparable Egyptian Museum of Antiquities will be a highlight of your tour. It is the greatest repository of ancient artifacts in the world, from the famed treasure of King Tutankhamon to the multitude of exquisitely carved statues and sarcophagi dating from the 1st Dynasty. Continue to the Khan el Khalili Bazaar for lunch in the heart of Old Cairo. Afterwards, visit the looming Citadel, the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali and Sultan Hassan Mosque, the finest example of Islamic architecture in Egypt. (B,L)

Day 5: Tuesday - Cairo/Abu Simbel/Aswan

Sonesta Nile Cruise

After an early breakfast, fly to Abu Simbel. Try to sit on the left side of the aircraft for excellent views of the temples during landing. Visit the great temples of Ramses II and his favorite wife Nefertari, saved from inundation by the monumental efforts of UNESCO and the world community. Return to Abu Simbel Airport for your EgyptAir flight to Aswan. Upon arrival you are met and transferred to the luxurious Sonesta Nile Cruise ship, your floating hotel for the next four nights. This afternoon, transfer to a much smaller Nile sailing boat, the felucca, for a sail across the Nile past Elephantine and Kitchener's Islands. Return to your ship in time for afternoon tea to relax and unwind before getting ready for an evening of dinner and dancing. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Wednesday - Aswan/Edfu

Sonesta Nile Cruise

After breakfast visit the High Dam built in 1960, which took ten years to complete. It created the second largest artificial lake in the world, increased the amount of cultivable land and doubled the country's electricity supply. Visit beautiful Philae Temple, threatened by the rising waters caused first by the old Aswan Dam and later by the High Dam. Like Abu Simbel, Philae was dismantled and reassembled on the higher ground of Agilkia Island. The main sanctuary on the island is dedicated to the Goddess Isis and her son Horus. The Kiosk of Trajan is the most beautiful monument at Philae. Egyptians thought Isis was the Goddess of Magic, when she wept the Nile flooded and the first people were created from her tears.
 
Sail to the city of Kom Ombo, known as "Ombos" in ancient times. Its location on the Nile, where it could control the routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, gave it strategic importance. The town became prosperous when the temple was built in the Ptolemaic era. The temple is divided into two symmetrical halves; the left side is dedicated to the falcon-headed God "Haroeris" and the right side to the crocodile God "Sobek". Reliefs of Ptolemaic Pharaohs are found in the portico and the rest of the temple consists of a crypt, chapels, Roman wells where sacred crocodiles may have been kept, and the remains of a birth house. Cruise to Edfu, mid-way between Luxor and Aswan for overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 7: Thursday - Edfu/Luxor

Sonesta Nile Cruise

Standing on the western end of Edfu is the best-preserved temple in Egypt. The sandstone temple of Horus (the Sun God) was built under the Ptolemies and completed by the mid first century B.C. See the impressive colonnaded court and the pair of falcon statues representing the god Horus. A series of smaller chambers lead you to the inner sanctuary of the God, the Holy of Holies, lit by three openings in the ceiling. Ceremonies, celebration and war scenes are shown on the walls of the temple. Sail to Esna to transit the lock, and on to Luxor for overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 8: Friday - Luxor

Sonesta Nile Cruise

This morning cross the Nile to Luxor's West Bank, best known by its Greek name, Thebes. During the 18th and 19th dynasties, Thebes was at its peak because of victories in war and its strategic position between the Delta and the Nile Cataracts to the south. It was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom and became the permanent residence of the Pharaohs during that period. An amazing number of beautiful temples are still in remarkably good condition.
 
On the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor and Karnak, is the Theban Necropolis where the Pharaohs were buried -- there are at least 900 tombs carved in the rock. One tomb took about 6 years to finish and workers decorated them with polychromatic scenes and hieroglyphic inscriptions to guarantee the safe passage of the dead into the next world. Most experts say the reliefs in the tomb of Seti I are the most beautiful with the most famous being the tomb of Tutankhamun.
 
This morning cross the Nile to Luxor's West Bank, best known by its Greek name, Thebes. During the 18th and 19th dynasties, Thebes was at its peak because of victories in war and its strategic position between the Delta and the Nile Cataracts to the south. It was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom and became the permanent residence of the Pharaohs during that period. An amazing number of beautiful temples are still in remarkably good condition.
 
On the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor and Karnak, is the Theban Necropolis where the Pharaohs were buried -- there are at least 900 tombs carved in the rock. One tomb took about 6 years to finish and workers decorated them with polychromatic scenes and hieroglyphic inscriptions to guarantee the safe passage of the dead into the next world. Most experts say the reliefs in the tomb of Seti I are the most beautiful with the most famous being the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Day 9: Saturday - Luxor

Old Winter Palace

Disembark your Nile cruise boat after an early breakfast and travel to the West Bank to visit Nefertari's Tomb. Recently restored by the Getty Museum and reputed to be the most beautiful of all the tombs, the spectacular tomb of Queen Nerfertari in the Valley of the Queens will simply astound you. Continue to the Ramasseum to see the enormous broken statue of Ramses II. Return to the East Bank and check-in to your hotel. The balance of the day is free for additional exploration of the East and West Banks of Luxor -- you can visit Luxor Museum, Chicago House, the open-air museum at Karnak Temple, and numerous archaeological sites on the West Bank. -- or simply to enjoy the beautiful gardens and pool at the Old Winter Palace or go to the excellent local bazaar for final shopping. This evening is the Sound & Light Performance at Karnak Temple, a veritable walking tour through Egypt's Pharonic history. (B)

Day 10: Sunday - Luxor/Cairo

Heliopolis Sheraton

The morning is free to explore the city and the narrow streets of the Luxor Market. In the afternoon, transfer to Luxor Airport to fly back to Cairo and a nearby airport hotel, where a dayroom is available for your use until late this evening. (B)

Day 11: Monday - Depart Cairo/Nairobi/Aberdares

The Ark

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: Luggage restrictions for flights within Kenya is 33 pounds per person (including photographic equipment). Pack in a soft bag and be prepared to store all excess. This restriction is rigidly enforced**
 
**Hard sided and/or overweight luggage cannot be accepted on LIGHT aircraft**
 
Depart after midnight on Egypt Air non-stop flight to Nairobi. A spectacular African sunrise greets your arrival into Nairobi, Africa's ³Green City in the Sun². Jambo na Karibu! Hello and welcome to Kenya's colorful capital city.After clearing customs, your safari begins as you drive to the Aberdare Country Club nestled on the slopes of Mweiga Hill, in the Aberdare Mountains. It is home to a diverse range of forest animals: elephant and rhino; the pig family comprising warthog, giant forest hog and bushpig; many antelope - waterbuck, suni, dik-dik, reedbuck, eland, bushbuck and the shy bongo. The cats are here too - lion (rather more hairy than on the plains), leopard, genet and serval cats - as are a spectacular array of colorful birdlife. You have the opportunity to see nature close-up on an afternoon walking "safari". After packing an overnight bag you'll be transferred to The Ark. The Ark is built like the upswept bow of the biblical sanctuary for animals, and is Kenya's ship of the forest carrying 79 human passengers (two by two, or singly) whilst the animals of the forest remain outside! It overlooks a glade with an eventful waterhole and salt lick frequented by elephant, buffalo, rhino, giant forest hog and other animals. At night spotlights illuminate the nocturnal activity and each room has a special buzzer to summon guests when an especially interesting species makes an appearance. (B,L,D)

Day 12: Tuesday - Aberdares/Samburu

Larsens Tented Camp

Transfer this morning to the airstrip at Nanyuki for your flight to Samburu. Stretching to the horizon and occasionally broken by mountains, Samburu is an arid and exciting land of scrub and semi-desert, sparsely populated by proud nomadic people. Physically and faunally dramatic, for most of the year Samburu is dry under the harsh equatorial sun, but relief comes from the Uaso Nyiro River rising in the Aberdares to the west and vanishing into the Lorian swamp. The Uaso Nyiro River is particularly rich in birds of prey with over fifty species recorded, of these Martial eagle, African hawk eagle, pale chanting goshawk, pygmy falcon and bat hawk are all frequently seen. The riverbank, clustered with doum palm, provides the lifeline for the abundant herds. Crocodiles bask on sandbars while saddlebilled storks and other aquatic birds hunt frogs or fish. Waterbuck feed on the riverbed grasses and vervet monkeys and baboons forage nearby. Elephants enjoy the shade of the forest's acacia trees, and no finer experience can be had at Samburu than to witness the arrival of elephants at the river. Herds of up to a hundred emerge from the desert scrub, enthusiastically bathing and drinking in a daily ritual. This area is noted for lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and for cheetah, lesser kudu and animals typical of the drier northern regions such as the fine-stripped Grevy zebra, the graceful long-necked gerenuk, reticulated giraffe and the Somali ostrich.
 
Larsen's Camp is one of Kenya's most sophisticated tented camps. It is magnificently located on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River, close to a traditional elephant crossing, in a shady glade fronted by grassy banks down to the river. All tents have toilet and shower ensuite, and boast comfortable and specially designed furniture. In true camping tradition, sundowners are served in the evening around a campfire, and the cuisines is unforgettable. Tranquility and nature embrace you the minute you enter Larsens. The river is the perfect stage for an endless pageant of wildlife. Elephant rolling and trumpeting in the shallows, timid impala nervously drinking, baboon and vervet monkeys swinging through the canopy of trees and the magnificent birdlife is an ornithologists utopia. (B,L,D)

Day 13: Wednesday - Samburu

Larsens Tented Camp

Enjoy a full day of game viewing activities. Birdwatching is but one of the joys of spending an entire day in this reserve. Perhaps a cheetah and her cubs will cross your path or a family of ostrich running through the grass will be forever captured on film. (B,L,D)

Day 14: Thursday - Samburu/Ol Pejeta Ranch

Sweetwaters Tented Camp

Continue your safari as you drive back to Nanyuki and on to Ol Pejeta Ranch and Sweetwaters Game Reserve. Sweetwaters is the name adopted by the local people of this area for the fresh sweet water tapped from the ground. The Reserve is located in typical savannah grasslands interrupted by the ŒWhistling Thorn' shrubs, Acacia trees and lush green vegetation along the Uaso Nyiro River.
 
Ol Pejeta Ranch is a private game reserve and the game viewing is among some of the most secluded in Kenya Resident fauna include giraffe, zebra, eland, oryx, waterbuck, Grants gazelle, Thompsons gazelle, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, lion, silver-backed jackals, ostrich, hartebeest, baboon and rhino and many species of nocturnal animals. There are also hundreds of bird species to be observed.
 
Upon arrival at Sweetwaters, relax before departing on an afternoon game drive with a stop to see Sweetwaters special rhino ³Morani². Morani is a tame black rhino that has been a resident since 1974. He was brought to the ranch as an orphan after his mother was killed by poachers.
 
Enjoy a rare opportunity this afternoon as you travel by boat to the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee sanctuary. More than 27 chimps including the first baby to be born in the sanctuary are now residing in Sweetwater's 200-acre sanctuary. The aim of the project is to set up a colony where chimps can be introduced, rehabilitated and taught to fend for themselves in an area similar to their natural living conditions. Priority is given to orphaned and abused chimps.
 
Because this is private game reserve, a night game drive will be taken and you can view animals not normally seen during daylight hours. All sorts of nocturnal animals such as aardvark, porcupine, silver-backed hyena, and leopard can be seen. There is a thrill of excitement at the sighting of the first set of glowing amber eyes in the darkness. (B,L,D)

Day 15: Friday - Ol Pejeta Ranch/Masaai Mara

Mara Safari Club

This morning you are transferred to the airport at Nanyuki for your flight to the fabulous Masai Mara, Kenya's premier game reserve. Based in an area of over 1500 square kilometers in Kenya, Masai Mara country is a mixture of savannah plains and riverine forest. The Mara supports a huge variety of wildlife including herds of plains game, black-maned lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, rhino and large numbers of elephant, along with several areas of dense hippo and crocodile populations in the bends of the traversing Mara River. It is also the home of over 450 bird species among which you will find vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, crowned-cranes and eagles.
 
Upon arrival, there is time to enjoy afternoon tea before departing in the Club's Land Cruisers on your first game viewing drive of this magnificent area teeming with wildlife.
 
Your base for your Masai Mara adventure is the Mara Safari Club, lying in the northwest corner of the Masai Mara, at the foot of the Aitong Hills. The camp is positioned on an oxbow of the Mara River and all the tents, each with en suite facilities, have a view of the hippo-filled river. The dining area is located in the main building offering a cosmopolitan combination of European, African and Asian dishes made from the abundance of fresh Kenyan produce. The swimming pool allowed you to relax between game drives, or you can spend time at the camp's Hippo Observation Platform photographing enjoying the spectacular wildlife. The library contains books on wildlife, maps and board games. Talk to the resident Naturalist who can answer your questions about the environment. Nightly activities of wildlife slide-shows on the habitat and animals in the Mara, wildlife videos, traditional Masai dancing and talks on Masai culture, combined with your game viewing ventures, all make your experience in the Masai Mara excitingly unique and luxurious. (B,L,D)

Day 16: Saturday - Masaai Mara

Mara Safari Club

Enjoy a full day of game viewing activities. Your camp is in a secluded part of the Mara allowing undisturbed game viewing. When not game viewing, you may relax by the swimming pool or sip a cool drink on your private verandah while watching hippo cavorting in the river. At days end, return to camp to relax in the lounge and enjoy one of the nightly shows before dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 17: Sunday - Masai Mara/Nairobi

Norfolk Hotel

Take a final game run this morning to imprint the images of Africa in your mind. Then return by air to Nairobi. The afternoon is free for last minute shopping or to just relax at your hotel. The famous Norfolk, first built in 1904 and now known as the "country hotel" of the city has been linked with Kenya's history since the very beginnings of "Enkare Nyarobe - the place of the cool waters". The hunting safaris of Winston Churchill and U.S. President, "Teddy" Roosevelt, left from the Norfolk verandah, a meeting place still frequented by adventurers from all walks of life. Yet for all its ghosts and flamboyant past, the Norfolk remains as delightful as ever. It stands in its own private tropical gardens on the same site upon which it was first built, just a five minute walk from the city center. All rooms and suites have air-conditioning, satellite television, radio, mini-bar, telephone, overhead showers and/or bath-tubs, and guest safes. With four dining venues to choose from, the Norfolk has something to offer all guests. The Ibis Grill offers an a la Carte menu featuring international gourmet cuisine. The Lord Delamere Restaurant has its own small, private garden terrace offering buffet breakfast, buffet lunch with a different theme each day, and for dinner, a selection of grills cooked in view of diners. It has been a popular meeting place since 1904 and has been patronized by almost all the first European pioneer settlers. Hotel recreation facilities include a heated swimming pool, a modern health and fitness center featuring a well-equipped gym, and the services of fully qualified health experts and masseurs. (B)
 
PLEASE NOTE: Cholera inoculation may be required for entry into Egypt from Kenya. Please check with your local health officials for the updated entry requirements.

Day 18: Monday - Nairobi/Cairo

Heliopolis Sheraton

Bid farewell to Kenya this morning as you depart on your flight back to Cairo. On arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel where dayroom accommodations are reserved. The remainder of the day is at leisure for independent activities, shopping (the Khan el Khalili is just a short taxi ride away!) or just relaxing at your hotel. Late this evening transfer to the airport for your international departure flight. (B)

Day 19: Tuesday - Depart Cairo

En Route

Depart early this morning on your flight home. Bon Voyage!

INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

• Accommodations as detailed in the itinerary. • Meals per the itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner). • Internal flights in Egypt & Kenya as required by itinerary. • Services of a professional Egyptologist in Cairo and the boat Egyptologist during the Nile cruise. • All required transfers in Egypt by private air-conditioned vehicles. • All game viewing activities while on safari including park entrance fees. • All transfers and game viewing in Kenya as specified in the itinerary in specially fitted minibuses or 4X4 vehicles with photographic hatch. • All park fees for touring and game viewing. • Meet & greet services at all airports for arrivals and departures. • Gratuities for two pieces of luggage per person.

SORRY, NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

• Cost of visas and departure taxes for Egypt and Kenya. • Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, incidental expenses at hotel and aboard ship, etc. • Gratuities for Egyptologists, guides, drivers, hotel/lodge/boat staff.