It’s impossible to look at this itinerary without a sense of awe and anticipation. Solo travellers – brace yourself for a journey back in time, thousands of years, to the sights that give the historians and archaeologists goosebumps. From the Great Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx, to the ‘Land of the Pharaohs’ and the ‘Valley of the Kings’, this escorted group tour to Egypt is one jaw-dropping moment after another. With our much-loved Tour Leader escorting you throughout, you’ll temple gaze from the River Nile, tread the desert sands and spend Arabian nights soaking up a place culture is in abundance. Test your taste for adventure with this trip of a lifetime!
Extras
Welcome to amazing Egypt! Upon arrival at Luxor Airport, we’ll proceed through immigration, collect our luggage and transfer to our ship on the Nile.
We will begin our sightseeing of some of the amazing East Bank sites. The wonderful Temple of Luxor with its giant columns, Avenue of Sphinxes and the enormous complex of Karnak, as seen in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ amongst many other films.
In the afternoon, we sail to Edfu via the Esna Lock.
This morning, we sail the Nile from Edfu to Kom Ombo. In the afternoon, we visit the temple of the Crocodile God Sobek, known as the Temple of Kom Ombo – dedicated to falcon and crocodile Gods. After the visit we will continue sailing to Aswan.
This morning, we have free time to explore the city of Aswan or book one of our optional tours. In the afternoon, we sail on a felucca boat. Feluccas are simple, traditional Egyptian sailboats that have been sailing on the mighty Nile since ancient times.
This morning is at leisure, or you can take an optional tour to Abu Simbel by land.
Today, we visit the Temple of Isis (Philae) and enjoy the view of the High Dam in Aswan. In the afternoon, we sail back to Luxor via Edfu & the Esna Lock.
Today is at leisure as we sail back to Luxor.
We check-out after breakfast and begin an early visit to the West Bank of Luxor, including the Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut and Colossi of Memnon.
In the afternoon, we transfer to Luxor Airport for our afternoon flight to Cairo.
We have an early breakfast before we start the tour of the Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx and the old Egyptian Museum.
The Giza Pyramids, built to endure an eternity, have done just that. The monumental tombs are relics of Egypt’s Old Kingdom era and were constructed some 4,600 years ago. The Sphinx is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. It stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza.
In the afternoon, we return to our hotel to freshen up before our farewell dinner.
We have a free morning before we journey to Cairo Airport for our flight home.
All boats have 55 air-conditioned comfortable cabins on board. Sit back and relax as you enjoy the service and the views on board.
Extensive facilities to enjoy when we are not out sightseeing include a bar and lounge, restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, sun deck with swimming pool, table tennis, jewellery and gift shop, massage, laundry service and internet (charges may apply for some services). Afternoon tea is also served on the sun deck during Sailing days. There is no WIFI on the ship but the front desk offers sim cards for sale for approximately GBP 20 with 3GB of included data, please note that the mobile phone needs to be unlocked to be able to use a local sim card.
Our cabins are located on the main deck and all feature outside windows, private facilities, air-conditioning, satellite TV, mini fridge and safe. There are no hairdryers in the cabins so if you do need one, please take your own.
For light sleepers – it’s highly recommended to bring ear plugs with you.
Higher Deck cabins are also available – please note higher deck supplements will guarantee you a higher deck should higher deck cabins not be auto allocated.
Our hotel is located East of Cairo, in the Suburb of Heliopolis.
At the hotel you can enjoy the swimming pool, multiple on-site dining and entertainment venues. Free WIFI may be available.
All rooms feature private bathroom and comfortable furnishings. Every room is fitted with air conditioning, hairdryer, mini bar and a flat-screen TV.
Visas
British passport holders travelling to Egypt normally need a visa.
Visa on Arrival (recommended)
You can get a visa on arrival by payment in Sterling, US Dollars or Euros; the visa fee is US$25 at approved bank kiosks within airport arrival halls, before reaching immigration counters. Visas granted on arrival are valid for a maximum of 30 days. There’s no need to buy a visa from an agent. In many cases agents will charge more than US$25 for a visa. If you’re harassed by an agent, report the incident to the tourist police in the airport terminal.
You may also get a visa from an Egyptian Consulate outside of Egypt before you travel.
British nationals travelling to Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts for up to 15 days receive a free entry permission stamp upon arrival. If you intend to travel out of these areas or stay longer than 15 days, you must get a visa.
If you have travelled to one of the South Sinai Red Sea resorts, entered without a visa and your plans have changed, you can normally purchase a visa at Sharm el Sheikh Airport to allow you to travel elsewhere.
Applications for visa extensions should be made at Egyptian Passport and Immigration Offices. You may have difficulties leaving Egypt with an out of date visa. You will not normally be allowed to leave without paying a fine if your visa is out of date by more than 14 days.
For further information and enquiries, contact the Egyptian Consulate in London.
Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your sole responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant embassies and/or consulates of the countries in which you are planning to travel.
Visa Online
You can get a visa online at Visa2Egypt. Tourist visas granted using the e-visa system are valid for a maximum of 3 months.
The contact details of your host are as follows:
Host name – Corsini Travel
Host phone number – 00 202 33777073
Host fax number – 00 202 33777073
Host email – temostar@hotmail.com
Host address – 20B Hadayek El Ehram Street, Giza, Cairo
Passport validity
Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into Egypt.
The transfer time for the main tour between Luxor Airport and the ship is approximately 30 minutes, depending on the traffic.
Egyptian Pound
Some shops accept credit cards or Sterling for larger purchases. There is a surcharge in most places for using a credit card of 3% to 5%, throughout Egypt. In the bazaars, and smaller shops, dollars or Egyptian pounds cash will only be taken.
For ease we recommend that you pay by cash for any optional excursions. Credit cards are NOT accepted.
US dollars, Sterling and Egyptian pounds can be used at the Duty Free shop. We also recommend you bring with you a good amount of cash Sterling as cash point machines are not easy to find especially during the Nile Cruise. Cash money can be easily exchanged to Egyptian pounds in Egypt and you get a better exchange for the sterling in Egypt. You can pay cash (any currency) or by card on board.
We recommend that when travelling to Egypt you call your bank or credit card company to inform them of your trip so they do not block your cards.
We suggest a Group Collection to cover guides, transfer drivers, and hotel staff of minimum £50.00 per person. Your Tour Leader will collect this on your behalf at the beginning of the trip and distribute it accordingly, thus relieving you of the burden of who, when and how much to tip. The tipping of housekeeping will be left to your individual discretion (a small amount left in your room on departure should cover this and would be much appreciated). As is customary, ‘the hat’ will be passed around for the driver and guide on all optional excursions. For any meals that are not included in your itinerary, or taxi fares, your Tour Leader can advise of an appropriate % to add on.
A sightseeing programme is included in your touring package. Please bring with you wired earphones if available to use with Tour guide system provided when needed.
Please note
A reasonable level of fitness/mobility is required as we include plenty of sightseeing/travelling, some with early starts.
The order of the itinerary and events and ship and hotel may be subject to change.
The dress code is casual. Comfortable shoes for walking and sightseeing are recommended.
All information about the optional tours will be given during welcome meeting. Please note that for optional excursions you can pay in cash Sterling/Dollars/EGP
All optional trips are offered during welcome meeting and they can be booked on board. Minimum number required for any of the trips (4 Pax)
An example of excursions;
Month(s) | Highest temperature | Lowest temperature |
---|---|---|
January | 19 °C | 10 °C |
February | 21 °C | 11 °C |
March | 24 °C | 13 °C |
April | 29 °C | 16 °C |
May | 33 °C | 19 °C |
June - August | 35 °C | 23 °C |
September | 34 °C | 22 °C |
October | 30 °C | 19 °C |
November | 25 °C | 15 °C |
December | 21 °C | 11 °C |
“I’m sure you will enjoy it, I have been on three solos holidays to date and the people I’ve met have been great.”
“I’ve been travelling with Solos for nearly 20 years, on and off. The reason is for exactly what you want – you meet like minded people… and have loads of fun!”
“I’ve been on loads of trips with Solos over the years and can honestly say you will not regret booking your 1st one!”
“The feeling you have once you go away on your own is worth all the nerves before! I was so very anxious the first time but now having done it 4 times, I love it!”