Egypt 

Feluccas and Pharaohs · Active Single Parent Family Holiday

Your trip starts in Cairo with a visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx – even the younger children are overcome with awe at the sight of these wonders of the ancient world! Next it's the Egyptian Museum, where you'll learn about the mysteries of the mummies, and marvel at the treasure of the boy-king, Tutankhamun. Catching the overnight sleeper train to Aswan, you have time to explore its colourful bazaar or ride camels within sight of the Nile and enjoy a visit to a Nubian village to take dinner with a local family.

You sail down the Nile aboard feluccas – traditional Egyptian sailboats – stopping on your journey to visit the temple at Kom Ombo. You also drive to Luxor, home to the world's greatest collection of antiquities. As well as exploring the monumental temple at Karnak, you visit the tombs of the Pharaohs, hidden away in the Valley of the Kings. Then, a brief stay at Hurghada gives you a chance to swim & snorkel in the Red Sea before returning to Cairo.

In the summer (Mar-Oct), it is dry and hot during the day (average daytime temp. Cairo 30-36°C, higher in the south), and warm at night. There is hardly any rainfall at any time of year in the south, although Cairo does get some, generally short-lived, rain in winter.

Adventure Level

This trip has a very full itinerary but offers a pleasant balance between relaxation and activity – we don't overload children with too many sites. It is not a luxury trip – conditions on the felucca sailboats and the overnight train are very simple, but accommodation elsewhere is modest, clean and comfortable. There are some early starts on this trip. Please note some road journeys in Egypt are operated by the authorities in convoys. This means that travelling times will be fixed and arrival times into destinations may vary to those described here, with sightseeing adjusted accordingly.

Minimum age: 5 years.