Day 1 02/04 Milan/Luxor

Arrival in Luxor. Issuance of consular visa. Transfer to Hotel, overnight stay. In the afternoon, visit the extraordinary temples of Luxor and Karnak. The first is located on the bank of the Nile and surrounded by modern buildings, built by Ramses II and Amenhotep III: the beautiful avenue of the Sphinxes gives access to the temple and the monumental pylon, which heralds the two grandiose colonnaded courtyards that introduce the actual sanctuary, dominated by the hypostyle hall and the sancta sanctorum. The Sanctuary of Karnak, located a few kilometers away, is probably the most grandiose monumental complex ever built, with a development that continued for 1500 years: it is a succession of courtyards, sacred enclosures, statues, spectacular colonnaded halls, temples dedicated to different deities, practically a summa of the architecture and art of Ancient Egypt. Return to the ship, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2 03/04 Luxor/Esna

Breakfast. Morning dedicated to visiting the necropolises of ancient Thebes, located on the west bank of the Nile: it begins with the Colossi of Memnon, two granite colossi depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which the Greeks mistook for the divine Memnon; it continues with a visit to some tombs in the Valley of the Kings, a series of rock-cut tombs set in an arid landscape between steep, rocky walls where the relics of the greatest pharaohs and queens in Egyptian history were hidden. The morning concludes with a visit to the spectacular temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari, characterized by a series of colonnaded terraces. Return to the ship and lunch. At 2:30 PM, navigation for 6 hours towards Esna. Dinner and overnight stay on board before the Esna lock. rock-cut tombs set in an arid landscape between steep, rocky walls where the relics of the greatest pharaohs and queens in Egyptian history were hidden. The morning concludes with a visit to the spectacular temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari, characterized by a series of colonnaded terraces. Return to the ship and lunch. At 2:30 PM, navigation for 6 hours towards Esna. Dinner and overnight stay on board before the Esna lock.

Day 3 04/04 Luxor / Esna / El Kab / Edfu / Ramadi Island             At 4:30 AM, after passing the Esna lock, navigation towards El Kab. Breakfast, visit to El Kab around 10:00 AM. Lunch on board, continuation of navigation for 3 hours to reach Edfu. Arrival in Edfu and visit to the Temple of Horus at 3:00 PM, one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in the country, built in the Greco-Roman era: extraordinary are the grandiose monumental pylon and two splendid hypostyle halls. Continuation of navigation towards El Selsela. Dinner and overnight stay on board at Ramadi Island before El Selsela.

Day 4 05/04 Ramadi Island / El Selsela / Har Diab
Navigation towards El Selsela, arrival and visit to El Selsela at 9:00 AM. Navigation towards Kom Ombo and lunch on board. In the afternoon, visit to the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek and Haroeris. Built in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, it is dedicated to two deities and characterized by its beautiful hypostyle hall with eight large columns with lotus-shaped capitals. Dinner and overnight stay on board at Har Diab Island.

Day 5 06/04 Har Diab / Aswan Early morning navigation towards Aswan. Breakfast and lunch on board. In the afternoon, visit to the Ptolemaic temple of Philae: consecrated to the goddess Isis, it is one of the most beautiful and scenic temples, dismantled and rebuilt on a small island to protect it after the construction of the Aswan Dam. The highly spectacular complex, in addition to the Temple of Isis, includes other monuments such as the small temple of Nectanebo and the elegant kiosk of Trajan. Felucca ride on the Nile. Dinner and overnight stay on board.

Day 6 07/04 Aswan / Abu Simbel / Aswan / Cairo Departure at 4 AM for the bus excursion to Abu Simbel, with a visit to the extraordinary rock-cut temples erected in honor of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari: it is one of the most famous and spectacular sites of ancient Egypt, characterized by two rock-cut temples, the grandest of which is dedicated to the great pharaoh. Lunch at a restaurant. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport and departure for Cairo, arrival, assistance, and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7 08/04 Cairo Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, visit to the Egyptian Museum, the largest and most extraordinary collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world, housing over 120,000 pieces that, in a chronological path, illustrate the life and incomparable art of artifacts ranging from monumental statuary to works of the highest goldsmithing; do not miss the visit to Tutankhamun's amazing funerary collection. Lunch. In the afternoon, departure for the nearby Giza plateau, on the west bank of the Nile. It is the site of the great monumental burials of three pharaohs of the Old Kingdom belonging to the IV Dynasty, the famous Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure who, with their immense pyramids built around 2500 BC, have indelibly made Egypt a mythical and mysterious place. Visit the Sphinx, the fantastic animal with the head depicting Pharaoh Khafre. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8 09/04 Cairo / Milan Breakfast, check-out, and free morning. Transfer to the airport around 12:30 PM and departure for Italy