King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2025 - 13 days

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2025 - 13 days

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13 Days From

$2795

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2025 - 13 days

13 Days Starting and ending in Cairo

Visiting: Cairo, Pyramids of Giza, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Nile Cruising, Luxor, Hurghada

Tour operator:

On The Go Tours

Tour code:

2400/SNCH

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Group size:

2 - 24

Physical rating:

Low

Age range:

16 + if accompanied by an adult. Where a tour includes an overnight felucca the minimum age to travel by felucca is 18 yrs. An alternative for those aged 16+ would be to take the Nile Cruise upgrade, if offered for this section of the trip.

Special diets catered:

Vegetarians

Tour operated in:

English

Trip Styles:

Small Group, Special Events

From: $2795

NB: Prices correct on 25-Nov-2024 but subject to change.

This tour is no longer available, please see similar tours below or send an enquiry

Tour Overview

SUN FESTIVAL TOUR: Head to the spectacular temple of Abu Simbel for the February 2025 Sun Festival and take in the best of Egypt including the legendary Pyramids of Giza, the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple. Cruise the Nile from Aswan to Luxor on a 5-star Nile cruise and spend three days relaxing by the Red Sea. All this and more on an unforgettable 13 day tour of Egypt.

Highlights

  • Abu Simbel Sun Festival – Watch in awe as the rising sun illuminates the inner sanctum of this spectacular temple

  • Nile cruising - Spend 3 nights on board a 5 star Nile cruiser and cruise the River Nile from Aswan to Luxor

  • Hurghada – Swim in the tranquil Red Sea, relax on the beach or explore the shops as we spend three days at this coastal resort

  • Cairo - Marvel at the legendary Pyramids of Giza, explore the Necropolis of Saqqara and see King Tut's treasures at the vast Grand Egyptian Museum

  • Aswan - Take a leisurely boat trip to Agilika Island to explore romantic Philae Temple and wander around the colourful souqs

  • Luxor West Bank - Discover exquisite tombs at the Valley of the Kings, see the towering Colossi of Memnon and explore the beautiful Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

  • Luxor - Roam around the colossal Temple of Karnak and take an optional tour of the beautifully illuminated Luxor Temple at night

  • Kom Ombo - Visit the Nile side Temple of Kom Ombo

Places You'll See

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

King Ramses Sun Festival Feb 2023 - 14 Day Tour

Itinerary

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Day 1: Cairo

Location: Cairo

Tuesday 18 Feb 2025. Welcome to Egypt! Upon arrival at Cairo airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to spend at your own leisure. Tonight, your Welcome Meeting will be held at 7pm.

Day 2: Pyramids Of Giza

Location: Pyramids of Giza

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today visit to the legendary pyramids and iconic Sphinx at the Giza Plateau. Sole survivors from the ancient Greek-listed Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids are the planet’s oldest tourist attraction. Gaze in awe at Cheops (Khufu) - the largest of the three great pyramids. Constructed from over 2.5 million limestone blocks it is thought to have taken more than 20 years to construct. Continuing to Saqqara, we can explore the myriad tombs and temples at this site and see Zhoser’s step pyramid - constructed by Imhotep, the pharaoh’s chief architect in 2700 BC.

Day 3: Cairo

Location: Cairo

Accommodation Name: Overnight: Sleeper Train

Meals Included: Breakfast

This morning we join our guided tour of the incredible new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. This vast 490,000 sq.m complex showcases an astonishing collection of artefacts from nearly every period of ancient Egyptian history. Among the highlights are treasures of King Tutankhamun, with plans for his famous solid gold funerary mask to eventually be showcased here, alongside many items being exhibited for the first time.





Later, we make our way to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which remains home to a vast collection of statues, jewellery, and sarcophagi. Here, we’ll see the well-preserved mummies of Yuya and Thuyu, high-ranking nobles and the great-grandparents of King Tutankhamun. Some mummies are so well preserved they still have thick locks of hair and visible fingernails. Then there's time to relax back at the hotel before we board the night train to Aswan this evening.

Day 4: Aswan

Location: Aswan

Accommodation Name: Overnight: Nile Cruiser/Coach journey to Abu Simbel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Aswan - Abu Simbel - Nile Cruiser. This morning we arrive into Aswan and enjoy a short boat trip to Agilika Island for Philae Temple - dedicated to the goddess Isis. Upon returning to Aswan we visit a perfume oil emporium, then check-in on board the Nile Cruiser, home for the next three nights. There is free time to perhaps enjoy some shopping in the colourful souks and markets or simply relax in this attractive town which straddles the River Nile.





At midnight we board our coach to the Grand Temples of Abu Simbel (journey time, approximately 4 hours). Upon arrival we await the first rays of sunlight, which will signify the start of the Sun Festival of the mighty King Ramses II.

Day 5: Abu Simbel

Location: Abu Simbel

Accommodation Name: Overnight: Nile Cruiser

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

22 February. Abu Simbel - Aswan - Nile Cruiser. Possibly the most awe-inspiring temple in all ancient Egypt, the great Sun Temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel was constructed between 1290 and 1224 BC to revere the mighty pharaonic ruler himself. Ramses the Bold, Ramses the Great, Ramses the Narcissist are perhaps all apt titles for one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers.





Built by Ramses II to demonstrate his political clout and divine backing to the ancient Nubians, Abu Simbel is an incredible self-tribute. Guarding the entrance to the temple, hewn into the side of a mountain, are four colossal statues of the pharaoh himself. Over the centuries, the desert sands imperceptibly shifted until the temple was all but lost to humanity. It was rediscovered by chance in 1813 by a Swiss explorer called John Lewis Burkhardt. Only one of the heads of the pharaohs was showing and a small part of the rest of the temple peeked above the desert sands. It wasn’t until the British happened upon the temple and started excavating that the full glory of Abu Simbel was revealed to the modern world. The other rock cut temple at Abu Simbel is the Temple of Hathor, which is fronted by six massive standing statues. Four of them represent King Ramses II, whilst the other two are of his beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.





In a fit of precision and architectural egotism, Ramses II had the Great Temple carefully angled and oriented in order that the sun’s rays would align twice a year on the date of his ascension to the throne (21 February) and on his birthday (21 October) to illuminate the inner sanctum of the temple. This incredible phenomenon provides for a most spectacular sight, which has come to be referred to as the Sun Festival of King Ramses II. Crowds assemble in the temple before sunrise and watch the shafts of light slowly creep through the inner Hypostyle Hall and through to the Sanctuary. Significantly, the sun illuminates statues of Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ramses the god, whilst the statue of Ptah - the god of darkness, remains in the shadows.





Famously, the temple was re-located in a multi-million dollar operation in 1972, further up from the shoreline of Lake Nasser, which had threatened to erode the foundations of this monolithic temple complex. For this reason, the sun now strikes a day later than Ramses had originally planned, though the event this morning itself is no less stunning.





Returning to Aswan, our Nile Cruiser departs this afternoon and we cruise the River Nile to Kom Ombo where we disembark to visit the temple which is dedicated to the crocodile headed god - Sobek before returning to the cruiser for the night.

Day 6: Nile Cruising

Location: Nile Cruising

Accommodation Name: Overnight: Nile Cruiser

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Nile Cruiser - Luxor. Relax, enjoy a swim in the pool and chill out in the sun on deck this morning. Let your troubles melt away as we cruise the River Nile to Luxor. Home of the legendary Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, 4000 year-old Luxor is ancient Egypt at its best. Arriving into Luxor this afternoon the rest of the day is free to explore the city before we spend our final night aboard the cruiser.

Day 7: Luxor

Location: Luxor

Meals Included: Breakfast

This morning we disembark and check into our 5 star Luxor hotel. The day is free to relax and explore. Tonight, an optional visit available to the Temple of Luxor, stunningly illuminated by hundreds of lights.

Day 8: Luxor

Location: Luxor

Meals Included: Breakfast

This morning we explore the West Bank of the Nile and the legendary Valley of the Kings. Marvel at Colossi of Memnon, the massive stone remains of the temple of Amenophis III, and explore the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and surrounding tombs. After lunch we visit the Temple of Karnak, a spectacular religious complex built on a gigantic scale, where you can lose yourself wandering around the massive stone papyrus columns. Spend the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 9: Hurghada

Location: Hurghada

Meals Included: Breakfast

Luxor - Hurghada. Departing Luxor we head east to Hurghada part of the beautiful Red Sea Riviera for 3 days on the beach!

Day 10-11: Hurghada

Location: Hurghada

Meals Included: Breakfast

The next few days are free to independently explore Hurghada or simply relax. There is the option of going snorkelling on day 10 but the rest of the time it's up to you!





Hurghada is one of the Red Sea's most popular resorts and it is easy to see why. Hotels and expanded infrastructure provide holidaymakers with excellent aquatic facilities for sail boarding, yachting, deep-sea fishing, SCUBA diving and snorkelling. Hurghada’s central location provides a gateway to prime offshore reefs, some of which are of the finest in the world. For retail therapy, the town has lots of shops selling knock-off bags and tees, snorkelling gear and suchlike. Hurghada also offers plenty of good nightlife options to choose from. Just outside Hurghada is an ancient Roman quarry called Mons Porphyritis and Port Safarga – a famously windy place and windsurfer's paradise.

Day 12: Hurghada

Location: Hurghada

Meals Included: Breakfast

Hurghada - Cairo. We drive back to Cairo this morning, upon arrival we check into our hotel. The reminder of today is at your leisure, or you can opt to join our optional visit to the exotic Khan el Khalili Bazaar. It's a top spot to browse and bargain for authentic Egyptian souvenirs, from ornate free-standing tobacco pipes and pharaonic tat, to belly dancing costumes and spices and carpets.

Day 13: Cairo

Location: Cairo

Meals Included: Breakfast

Sunday 02 March 2025. Cairo - breakfast. Hotel check out and included onward transfer to airport.

What's Included

  • Accommodation
    4 - 5 star

  • Breakfast daily, 2 lunches and 3 dinners

  • 8 nights 4-5 star hotels, 3 nights aboard 5 star Nile Cruiser (en suite cabin)

  • 1 overnight train from Cairo to Aswan (Private 2 berth sleeper cabin)

  • Overnight bus journey (3.5 hrs) to Abu Simbel, with Nile Cruiser to freshen up and rest prior to the festival event

  • Guided visit to Abu Simbel at sunrise for the Sun Festival of King Ramses II including Abu Simbel and Sun Festival entrance fee

  • Airport arrival and departure transfer on day 1 and day 13

  • Touring - Cairo, Giza, Saqqara, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo and Luxor

  • 3 days in Hurghada by the Red Sea - Swim, snorkel and relax

  • Escorted by an Egyptian tour guide degree qualified in Egyptology

  • All relevant transfers and transportation in private modern air-conditioned vehicles

What's Not Included

  • International flights and visa

  • Tip for your tour guide. We recommend you allow USD$8 per day, per traveller. Tipping your guide is an entirely personal gesture

  • Entrance Fees: USD$100-120pp, paid in local currency

Age Policy

16 + if accompanied by an adult. Where a tour includes an overnight felucca the minimum age to travel by felucca is 18 yrs. An alternative for those aged 16+ would be to take the Nile Cruise upgrade, if offered for this section of the trip.

Check out our Q&As

  • What is the standard of the hotels on this tour?

    4 - 5 star

  • Are the local guides on the tour English speaking?

    Yes

  • Are airport transfers included in this tour?

    Airport arrival and departure transfer on day 1 and day 13

  • What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

    Ensuring our footprint is light and that the benefits of travelling reach the local communities you visit is paramount to us. We’re proud to say that when travelling with us, the large majority of your holiday funds remain within the countries you visit, supporting local economies at a grass roots level.

  • How long has the tour company been trading?

    Since 1998

  • Who will be my travelling companions on the tour?

    With English-speaking tours, it's not a huge surprise that most on our travellers are from English-speaking countries or have English as their second language. Our group tours cater for everyone from 18 years old to 70+

  • Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?

    Yes

Reviews of this operator

Nicola Hodgkinson (Google Reviewer)  

Recently returned from Greece, a...

07-May-2024

Recently returned from Greece, a 5 day tour with OTG. Unfortunately, I had a negative experience on day 2 where I needed local support to get me out of a tricky situation. Thank you to Alexandra Z from Hetco Tours in Athens for helping me continue on with the trip, to the Hotel Zafolia staffing team and to Danielle and team here in the UK for supporting me with the aftermath. Your kindness will not be forgotten and I will pay it forward. I've now booked 3 trips with yourselves and will continue to go back. Thank you all. Honestly, I am SO grateful. Blessings to you all. Nicola

Calvin  

Wonderful experience

05-Jan-2023

Jamal is our tour guide. Right from the start, he created a group chat in whatsapp and if any issues to make sure we contact him. He was on the ball with every issue thrown at him. Luggage being left behind, stragglers wondered off in a different path, hotel room etc. He explains the various site along our route to give us a better understanding of the local cultures. We had a great time, thanks to Jamal.

Trustpilot
Norma Sullivan  

Land of the Northern Lights 5 day tour of Iceland

10-Sep-2021

The Land of Northern Lights tour was a triumph! My tour of Southern Iceland was absolutely wonderful. The venues chosen, the timing allotted at each venue and the variety of things to experience was nearly perfect. Our guide, "Thor", was smart, amusing, full of history and anecdotal stories as well as being incredibly hospitable and helpful. This small group experience was my first, but not my last thanks to On the Go.

Trawls (Google Reviewer)  

On The Go Tours Sri...

05-Feb-2024

On The Go Tours Sri Lanka was an incredible experience that was made even better by our tour guide Akthar. He was incredibly knowledgeable about his country and he loved sharing it with us. The tour covers a wide range of activities so you can truly experience what Sri Lanka is all about. The beautiful 4-5 star hotels at the end of every day was an absolute bonus. Thanks for a great trip OTGT I’m sure this won’t be my last

Xtreme Floor Care (Google Reviewer)  

Traveled through Egypt with On...

30-Nov-2023

Traveled through Egypt with On the Go Tours, professional service, very informative and helpful tour guides. The choice of hotels was excellent... Definitely recommend this company

Gavin Harrigan  

King Tutankhamun 10 day tour of Egypt

16-Sep-2021

I have just returned from my tour with On The Go and it was an amazing trip! From arriving at the airport and meeting the OTG representative, everything was well organised and hassle free.  Our tour guide was Amir. He is awesome!! From the beginning he was so friendly and enthusiastic about showing us around Egypt, giving us loads of information at each place and time to explore ourselves. Learnt so much from him about this fascinating place, and he was always happy to answer more questions.   The trip itself was amazing. There's lots of travelling on this trip, but it's really not too bad, and the sights you see when you get to where you are going are worth it. I'm not a big fan of boats, but the Felluca ride across the Nile was pretty fun too.  On the first day I also did the optional tour of Cairo with Ahmed Helal - another excellent guide from OTG. It's worth doing this add on as you don't spend much time in Cairo, and you go to three very different places.  I'm so glad that I decided to do this trip. It was just ace.  If you're thinking about it too, you should probably just book it. And hopefully you get Amir as your guide.

Paul Kelly (Google Reviewer)  

TOTALLY MOROCCO We booked a 9...

26-Feb-2023

TOTALLY MOROCCO We booked a 9 day tour of Morocco visiting many main cities and places of interest. The coach was very comfortable and we felt safe with the driver Suliman. The guide was Hicham Touraouine and he was fantastic. He spoke perfect English as well as French, Arabic and Berber. He was so kind and considerate and made a good tour great. We particularly enjoyed ‘glamming in the Sahara Desert. So much to see and do and great food and company. We would definitely use On The Go Tours again, especially if Hicham was the guide. Paul & Penny

Joyce Heitler (Google Reviewer)  

I would give this tour...

09-May-2024

I would give this tour group no stars if possible. The tour was not guaranteed but they did not inform me when I booked and they did not have enough people. Way after I booked they said I needed a doctors letter because I was over 70. Also way after booking I was informed I needed travel insurance. They knew my age when I booked. They would not refund my tour even though it was 4 months away.

Sarah Paterson (Google Reviewer)  

Terrible tour of India. For...

27-Dec-2023

Terrible tour of India. For some reason On the Go hadn't realised that my room mate had booked her own room for the first night of tour. So the hotel in Delhi had tried to put me in her room after midnight, by wheeling in an extra bed. She went Crazy!! I then had to sit in hotel reception for hours. While the tour guide said he couldn't find me a room. Throughout the tour the guide consistently ask me and my room mate for money for my room, causing more friction between us. Don't book with this company had the worst experience ever. Go with Intrepid or G Adventure

brandy hoffman (Google Reviewer)  

I had used them once...

09-Aug-2023

I had used them once before and loved them. I decided to try them again for a Baltic tour not knowing that they put me on another Tour group- Baltic vision. Loved that tour but was not impressed they marked up the cost for me over 100%. I understand taking some for yourself because of paperwork, but over double the cost everyone else paid on the tour. Just double check before you book with them that you’re not over paying.

1 Select your preferred date

Tuesday - Sunday

Feb 18, 2025 - Mar 02, 2025
$2795

Book with Confidence

  • Low Deposit

    On The Go Tours requires a minimum deposit of 600 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 60 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of on the go tours charges.

    Up to 60 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 59 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.

    At 30 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.

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