TUESDAY, AUGUST 3 — STEIGENBERGER (FOUR OPTIONS)
  1.     CRUISE TO CAIRO, or
  2.     CRUISE TO ASWAN, or
  3.     VISIT PETRA, and/or
  4.     SPEND UP TO FOUR NIGHTS IN CAIRO

Today you’ll tour Dendera and the Luxor Museum; then enjoy the Farewell Reception. Unless you extend your stay, you will fly home tomorrow (August 4). (You will check out on August 3, if you choose to cruise to Cairo — OPTION 1 below.)

TOUR DENDERA & LUXOR MUSEUM

Dendera (slide show) has been the home of worship of the god Hathor since at least 3000 BC. Today we’ll see Hathor’s temple, dating to Greco-Roman and Roman times. The structure has several astronomy-related features including an illustration of the surveying method (“the stretching of the cord”) used to orient the building to the rising of the constellation Meskhetiye (“The Plow”), a beautiful zodiac ceiling, and a feast calendar.

Returning to Luxor you’ll visit the Luxor Museum (slide show). Many of its treasures are from the region, and some are among the most beautiful of Egyptian Art. After the overwhelming detail of Dendera, the sculpture of Luxor Museum will be an elegant place to refresh your eyes.
 

OPTION 1:  CRUISE (north) TO CAIRO

Check out of the Steigenberger and check into the ms Darakum (we’ll move your luggage — right into your stateroom) for nine (9) additional nights (5-night cruise to Cairo followed by four (4) nights docked in Cairo)—including a dozen lectures/Q&As and a dozen-plus Ancient-site visits—using the Darakum as our Cairo hotel (trip overview) (schedule). Complete package price is $6,699 – $7,299 per person (pp) for the nine (9) nights (add 50% premium for singles).

Once in Cairo enjoy 3.5 days of touring Giza (the great Pyramid complex and Grand Egyptian Museum [slide show; PDF legend of the slide show]); Saqqara, home of Egypt’s oldest pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Djoser; the Egyptian Museum (slide show); and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (slide show).
 

OPTION 2:  CRUISE (south) TO ASWAN

Check out of the Steigenberger and check into the ms Tosca (we’ll move your luggage — right into your stateroom) for five (5) additional nights and enjoy a cruise to Aswan (trip overview) (schedule). Complete package price is $6,875 per person for a luxurious, ~324 sq-ft suite. (Price includes all tours, taxes/fees, gratuities, and transfers; add 90% premium for singles.)

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Details (PDF).

OPTION 3:  VISIT PETRA JORDAN

Two thousand years after Petra (slide show) became a trading hub, it’s still an adventure to get there. Close your eyes and imagine the Siq, a 3/4 mile long (1.2 km) narrow gorge that winds between 300–600 foot-high walls, leading you into the fabled rose red sandstone realm of Petra. Join the adventure after the solar eclipse in Luxor. You’ll fly out of Luxor, connect in Cairo to Amman, Jordan. After two nights in the Crowne Plaza Amman (perched on Amman’s highest peak) you’ll head south to Petra. You’ll visit Mount Nebo in the Abaram Mountains, long a place of pilgrimage for its association with Moses, and a popular panoramic viewpoint. Nearby Madaba is known as the city of mosaics, and you’ll visit the noted sixth-century CE Madaba Map, the earliest surviving map of the region spanning from Lebanon to the Nile Delta.

You’ll continue on to the Movenpick Resort Petra hotel in Wadi Musa, to rest and prepare for a full day exploring Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Mövenpick Resort Petra is located close to the Petra town centre in Jordan, and only 50 meters to the entrance of the visitor centre, Petra museum and main gate of the Petra archaeological site.)

Whether you lean toward history, local culture, bucket list progress, or movie location exploration at Petra, you’re sure to capture indelible desert memories.

Join us in Petra, Jordan and wrap up your eclipse experience on a high note.

$2,745 per person includes: four hotel nights with breakfast; three lunches in local restaurants; all taxes/fees; all transfers in modern, air-conditioned buses; entrance fees to all sites mentioned above; nightly cocktail party; accompanied your entire time by English-speaking guides (for five days); visa to Jordan; and, all gratuities (add 50% premium for singles).
 

OPTION 4:  ‘THE BEST OF’ CAIRO

Whether they are an appetizer or the icing on the cake, Giza’s iconic Pyramids play a role in many travelers’ feasts on Cairo’s history. Let Insight Cruises set the table for your Cairo adventures. You can choose to see the Pyramids, with or without our other cultural options, before or after your Eclipse of the Century events.

You have three options for exploring the Pyramids and the other wonders of Cairo with one-, two-, or three- day adventures staying in our carefully selected (email or call for details) 4.5-star hotels. For the one-day tour of the Giza Pyramids & Sphinx plus the world’s oldest pyramid, Saqqara, the airport hotel minimizes the fuss and muss. For our two- and three-day tours, our Giza Hotel is very convenient to the GEM Museum (slide show), The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (slide show), and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NEMC) (slide show).

Pricing includes very deluxe accommodations, “Meet and Greet” services in the Cairo Airport upon arrival, all transfers (including back to the Cairo airport at the end), all meals, and cocktail parties each evening. Also included are entrance to all touring sites, tour leaders throughout the trip, and professional guides in Giza.

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Full Details (PDF). NOTE: this event is available both prior to or after visiting Luxor. Complete, all-inclusive pakcage starts at $1,475 pp for two nights (pricing details).