12-Day Egypt & Africa Safari: Pyramids, Nile Cruise & Big Five Adventure

You're welcomed at Cairo International Airport and transferred to your hotel. Cairo is the gateway to ancient Egypt, and after the flight, the rest of the day is yours to rest and settle in before the sites begin in earnest tomorrow.
Meals: None specified (dinner on your own)
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After breakfast, you fly to Aswan, where your Nile cruise begins. You visit Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, and set on its own island, then the Unfinished Obelisk and the ancient granite quarries—a good look at just how the Egyptians actually built these things. You board your cruise ship for lunch, and in the evening you're out on a traditional felucca, sailing around the islands of the Nile as the river goes quiet.

You sail to Kom Ombo and visit its unusual double temple, dedicated jointly to Sobek the crocodile god and Horus, with carvings that include some of Egypt's oldest medical inscriptions. From there, you continue cruising toward Edfu, with the day otherwise given over to the river itself—meals on board and the Nile sliding past.

You visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples anywhere in Egypt, then continue sailing to Luxor. There, you explore the Karnak Temple complex—its columns alone are worth the trip—before an evening visit to Luxor Temple, lit up after dark in a way that changes the whole place.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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You disembark and spend the morning on Luxor's west bank, including the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs were buried, along with the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. From there, it's a transfer to Luxor airport for your flight back to Cairo and an overnight in the city.
 

After breakfast, you visit Memphis, Egypt's ancient capital, home to the imposing statue of Ramses II, then Sakkara for the Step Pyramid of Djoser—one of the oldest monumental stone structures on earth. From there, it's the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, including the Great Pyramid itself, before the day closes at the Egyptian Museum among the treasures of Tutankhamun. Later, you transfer to the airport for your flight to Nairobi, meet on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and take to your hotel on a bed-and-breakfast basis. 

An early 6:30am pickup starts the drive to the Maasai Mara, with a stop at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint along the way. You arrive in time for lunch, then head out on an afternoon game drive before dinner and the night at your lodge.

An early game drive at 6:30am, then a late breakfast and time to relax before heading out again at 3:30pm for the afternoon session—or, if you'd rather, a full day out with a packed lunch instead. Either way, you're back at the lodge for dinner and the night.

You leave the Mara and cross into Tanzania at the Isebania border, entering the world-famous Serengeti on the other side of the same ecosystem. It's a scenic drive through genuinely wildlife-rich country, and you arrive at your lodge in the evening for dinner.

A full day exploring the Serengeti's endless plains, known for some of the highest wildlife density anywhere in Africa, including lion and cheetah working the open ground. This is the day to slow down and just watch what's in front of you.

After breakfast, you travel to Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and descend onto the crater floor for a safari unlike anything else on this trip — a genuine shot at the Big Five within one compact, dramatic landscape.

After breakfast, you drive to Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your departure flight—twelve days closing out on Egypt's ancient wonders and Africa's wildlife in one trip.