Imperial and Pharaonic Adventure Tour Detail Page

Touch down at Cairo International Airport where your private English-speaking guide and driver will be waiting to greet you and transfer you in comfort to your luxury hotel. Cairo is one of the great cities of the world — vast, ancient, overwhelming and utterly magnificent, a metropolis of 20 million people built on the banks of a river that has sustained human civilisation for seven thousand years. The contrast between the ancient and the modern here is more dramatic than anywhere else on earth. This evening is yours to settle in, take in your first views of the Nile and enjoy dinner at your hotel. Tomorrow, the ancient world begins.

After a luxurious breakfast, your private guide collects you for the most iconic day in travel — a morning at the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, the last surviving wonder of the ancient world and still utterly breathtaking in scale and mystery. Your guide brings the history to life in extraordinary depth. After lunch at a fine local restaurant, the afternoon is dedicated to the Egyptian Museum — home to the greatest collection of ancient artefacts on earth, including the golden treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb. The day concludes with a wander through the atmospheric Khan el-Khalili bazaar, Cairo's ancient spice and gold market. Dinner at your hotel.

After breakfast, your private driver transfers you to Cairo Airport for your domestic flight south to Luxor — the ancient city Homer called the City of a Hundred Gates and one of the greatest open-air museums on earth. As you descend towards the Nile Valley, the scale of the temples visible from the air is astonishing. Your private guide meets you on arrival and begins an afternoon orientation of this extraordinary city — 3,000 years of continuous civilisation compressed into a relatively small stretch of the Nile's east bank. Check in to your luxury hotel, enjoy a sunset over the river and prepare for two extraordinary days ahead.

A full day exploring the wonders of Luxor with your private guide. The morning crosses to the West Bank and the legendary Valley of the Kings — the burial ground of Egypt's New Kingdom pharaohs, where over 60 royal tombs are cut deep into the limestone cliffs. Visit the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon before returning across the Nile. The afternoon explores the East Bank — the vast temple complex of Karnak, one of the largest religious buildings ever constructed, and the elegant Luxor Temple, illuminated at dusk in a way that stops you completely in your tracks. Dinner at your hotel.

After breakfast, your private driver transfers you to Aswan — Egypt's most beautiful and relaxed city, set on a spectacular bend of the Nile where the river narrows between granite boulders and Nubian desert. The contrast with Cairo and Luxor is immediate and welcome — Aswan is quieter, warmer and more intimate, a city that moves at the pace of the river itself. Your private guide takes you on an afternoon exploration of the city, with a traditional felucca sailing trip around Elephantine Island as the light softens over the Nile. The views of the desert, the river and the Nubian villages from the water are simply magnificent.

After breakfast, your private guide takes you to the magnificent Temple of Philae — a stunning island temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, relocated stone by stone to its current position to save it from the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam. One of the most beautifully situated ancient monuments in Egypt, it is best appreciated in the soft morning light. Visit the High Dam itself for remarkable views over Lake Nasser before crossing the Nile to spend time in a traditional Nubian village — one of the most vibrant and colourful communities in Egypt, with a warmth and hospitality that is entirely its own. Dinner at your hotel.

An early start for the most dramatic excursion of the Egyptian chapter — the journey south by private vehicle to Abu Simbel, where the two colossal rock temples of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari stand sentinel above the shores of Lake Nasser in an act of architectural and engineering genius that defies comprehension. Carved directly into the cliff face over 3,000 years ago and relocated in a legendary UNESCO rescue operation in the 1960s, they are among the most extraordinary sights on earth. Return to Aswan, then transfer to the airport for your evening flight via Cairo, onwards to Casablanca. A breathtaking final chapter in Egypt

Arrive in Casablanca and feel the shift immediately — from the ancient Nile Valley to the great Atlantic coast of North Africa, from pharaohs and hieroglyphs to minarets and medinas. Your private English-speaking guide and driver are waiting to greet you and transfer you seamlessly into the city. Begin with a visit to the magnificent Hassan II Mosque — the second largest mosque in Africa, with the world's tallest minaret soaring 210 metres above the Atlantic, its laser beam directed nightly towards Mecca. Continue to the charming Habous district before beginning the drive south to Marrakech. Check in to your luxury hotel and enjoy dinner.

A full day with your private guide to immerse yourself in Marrakech — the Pearl of the South and Morocco's second oldest imperial city, founded by the Almoravids at the end of the 11th century. The morning takes in the iconic Koutoubia Mosque, the tranquil Ménara Gardens, the haunting Saadian Tombs — sealed for centuries before their rediscovery in 1917 — and the lavish Bahia Palace, constructed to be the grandest palace of its era. Lunch is at your leisure. The afternoon plunges deep into the ancient souks and craftsmen's quarter before the magnificent, electric spectacle of Djemaa El Fna square brings the day to an unforgettable close. Dinner at your hotel.

After breakfast, your private guide and driver head into the Atlas foothills along the lush Ourika Valley — a vivid world of terraced hillsides, rushing streams and traditional Berber villages clinging to the mountainsides above. The road leads to Setti Fatma, a place of genuine natural beauty renowned for its seven cascading waterfalls, dramatic cliffs and intensely green valleys. Hike with your guide to the first waterfall, taking in the extraordinary views of the surrounding Atlas peaks and valley below. Lunch is at a mountain restaurant with sweeping panoramic views over the landscape. Return to Marrakech by early evening with time to rest before dinner. A day of pure natural beauty. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast, your private guide and driver head west along the Atlantic coast to the extraordinary city of Essaouira — one of Morocco's most beguiling destinations and a place quite unlike anywhere else in the country. Known as the Wind City of Africa for its constant Atlantic breeze, Essaouira has been shaped by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Portuguese and Berbers, each leaving their mark on a city that has remained intimate, authentic and deeply charming throughout the centuries. Its UNESCO-listed medina, blue fishing boats, rampart walls above crashing waves and vibrant artisan quarter make for a deeply rewarding day. Return to Marrakech in the late afternoon. Dinner at your hotel.