From Cairo: Pyramids, Valley of the Whales & Fayoum
4-Day Private Tour with English-Speaking Egyptologist

Your English-speaking Egyptologist meets you at Cairo International Airport or your hotel with a sign bearing your name. First stop: the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) — one of the world's largest museums, with over 100,000 artefacts including the legendary complete Tutankhamun collection of more than 5,000 objects discovered in 1922.

After lunch at a local restaurant, head into Islamic Cairo: the vibrant Khan El Khalili Bazaar — Cairo's ancient market dating to the 14th century — and the historic Al-Muizz Street, one of the world's finest medieval Islamic thoroughfares lined with mosques, caravanserais and Mamluk mansions.

Transfer to hotel and overnight stay.

• Grand Egyptian Museum GEM — Tutankhamun collection
• Khan El Khalili — 14th-century Cairo bazaar
• Al-Muizz Street — medieval Islamic Cairo
• Lunch + overnight at pyramid-view hotel

The highlight of the trip for many travellers: private vehicle departure to Fayoum Oasis, roughly 100 km southwest of Cairo. First stop: the Valley of the Whales (Wadi El Hitan) — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's most significant palaeontological sites.

Here lie 45-million-year-old fossils of primitive whales (Archaeocetes) — evidence for the evolution of marine mammals — embedded in desert rock. An open-air museum unlike anything else, that most Egypt tourists never get to see.

Then: Wadi El Rayan with its natural waterfalls (42 m below sea level), the Fossil & Climate Change Museum, and the majestic Qarun Lake — one of Egypt's oldest natural lakes.

• Wadi El Hitan (Valley of the Whales) — UNESCO
• Fossil & Climate Change Museum
• Wadi El Rayan — waterfalls & nature reserve
• Qarun Lake — Egypt's oldest lake
• Lunch + return & overnight in Cairo

The iconic day: your guide takes you to the Giza Plateau for the Great Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos — the only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Great Pyramid stands 137 metres tall and contains around 2.3 million stone blocks. Plus the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple.

In the afternoon, visit Saqqara: the Step Pyramid of Djoser — the first pyramid ever built in Egypt (c. 2,650 BC), designed by the architect Imhotep — and its vast funerary complex spanning nearly 16 hectares.

• Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren & Mykerinos
• Great Sphinx & Valley Temple of Giza
• Step Pyramid of Saqqara (Djoser)
• Lunch + overnight at hotel

The final day begins at the Saladin Citadel — the medieval fortress on the Muqattam Hills with panoramic views across all of Cairo. Inside, the magnificent Alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali, a masterpiece of 19th-century Ottoman architecture.

Then the Coptic Quarter — one of the world's oldest Christian neighbourhoods. The Hanging Church (Al-Mu'allaqa), built in 690 AD, houses 110 ebony wood icons, some dating to the 8th century. After lunch, transfer to Cairo International Airport — end of tour.

• Saladin Citadel — panoramic view over Cairo
• Alabaster Mosque (Muhammad Ali)
• Coptic Quarter & Hanging Church Al-Mu'allaqa
• Lunch + transfer to Cairo Airport