Classic Egypt tours of Cairo are frequently split, with part at the beginning and part at the end of the trip. For example, a tour might cover the
Giza Pyramids (Great Pyramid), as well as
Saqqara (Step Pyramid), and even the Egyptian Antiquities museum on the first day of the tour. Then, after travelling to Luxor and Aswan and returning to Cairo, classic Egypt tours might visit the
Citadel and
Khan el-Khalili, an Islamic market in Cairo, and the
churches and Coptic museum of Old Cairo. Understand, these types of tours might be in any order, not necessarily as described here. After the first day or two in Cairo, such tours usually move on to either
Luxor or
Aswan. Generally tourists travel by air, but trains can be arranged as well. In fact, you can even arrange for other modes of travel, including buses. In this case, be advised that your bus will likely pause at antiquity sites along the way, such as some of those near the
Fayyum Oasis. This is often followed by a leg beginning in Aswan or Luxor.
Luxor makes for a perfect one or two day tour. In the morning, or day one of a two-day stay, you will visit the West Bank where there are many monuments and tombs, some among the finest to be found in Egypt. These tours usually take advantage of the morning's respite from the heat.Then, that afternoon or on day two, you'll be off to the east bank, where the
Luxor and
Karnak temples are located, as well as the wonderful Luxor museum. There are other activities available too, for instance a visit to the local bazaar.
For
Aswan further south in Egypt, most folks find a single day tour to be sufficient sufficient. Such a tour may include visits to Elephantine Island, St. Simeon's Monastery, the unfinished Obelisk, the Nubian Museum, the High Dam and Philae Island, although sometimes all cannot be included due to lack of time.
Nonetheless,
a frequent add-on to the standard classical tour are the temples at Abu Simbel. This choice will usually add a day to the Aswan tour. You will most likely fly to Abu Simbel and back in one day, leaving a bit of time to visit a few other Aswan sites. Other, less common tours include a bus trip to Abu Simbel, including even a stay in a local hotel, if you'd like.
If your tour first moves from Cairo to Luxor, you may rest assurred the next stop will be Aswan, or vice-versa. Transportation is via tour buses or a or
Nile Cruise boat. While you can take a train or even fly between the two sites, this is usually not done due to the fascinating antiquity sites, like the temples of
Kom Ombo and
Edfu, which are located in between.
Religious, Classic Egypt Tours
One might say that
there are four different types of Religious Egypt Tours. The first would be Islamic tours, but these are generally outside the scope of most "westernised" tours. Yes, some westerners choose to visit a sampling of the ancient mosques, but they don't usually plan an entire tour around
Islamic monuments. The other three types of Religious Egypt tours are the Holy Family Route, the Exodus Route and unstructured religious tours.
The unstructured religious Egypt tours simply have no grand plan, such as following the Holy Family or Exodus Route. Nonetheless, they can present a more balanced survey of all the various religious sites in the country, both those of both the Holy Family and Exodus Routes. The Holy Family and Exodus tours follow the routes of these holy journeys, while
unstructured religious Egypt tours may cover a wide range of religious sites including those on
both the Holy Family Route and Exodus Route.
In any event,
many religious Egypt tours often include visits to the most important pharaonic sites such as the Pyramids and the Egyptian Antiquity museum. Also, unstructured religious tours and the Exodus Egypt tours often include the
Mount Sinai, so even a short
beach stay might be included, if you're so inclined.
For more on Classic Egypt Tours I recommend viewing these newly added
Egypt Travel Videos.
26-07-2008, 07:04 PM
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