JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF

Welcome to Europamundo! Upon arriving at the airport, we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. Check the information boards in the hotel reception area for details of the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travelers.

JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF

Breakfast. Excursion to visit the New City of Jerusalem, seeing the Shrine of the Book in the Museum of Israel, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed, and the model that represents the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. We will go through the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then going toward Ein Karen, a picturesque neighborhood on the outskirts of the city to visit the Shrine of Saint John the Baptist. We will also see Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum and Memorial. In the afternoon, we will travel to BETHLEHEM, located behind the wall built in recent years to separate the two communities. We will take a Palestinian guide to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Grotto of the Manger and the Shepherds’ Field. Return to Jerusalem and accommodation.

JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF

We include a visit to the old city of Jerusalem. Excursion by Mount Scopus toward the Mount of Olives. There is an extraordinary view of the walled Holy City from the top. We then continue to Gethsemane, the Basilica of the Agony. Departure toward the Old City. Visit to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). We will continue along the Via Dolorosa to arrive at Calvary, the place where Christ was crucified, and to see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We then go onward to Mount Zion to visit the Tomb of King David, the Cenacle (Hall of the Last Supper) and the Abbey of the Dormition. Accommodation in Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF - RIVER JORDAN - MOUNT OF BEATITUDES - TABGHA 79ºF - 82ºF - CAPERNAUM - NAZARETH 73ºF - 77ºF

Breakfast. Departure from Jerusalem through the Judean desert. We will travel north through the Jordan River Valley, skirt the oasis of Jericho, in the distance we can see the Mount of Temptation and the Dead Sea. We will visit the Mount of Beatitudes, where "The Sermon on the Mount" took place, TABGHA, the place of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and CAPERNAUM, where the House of St. Peter and the ruins of the ancient Synagogue are located. At the end of the day, boat trip on the Sea of Galilee. We will continue to NAZARETH. Dinner included. Accommodation.

NAZARETH 73ºF - 77ºF

Breakfast. We will start the day with the visit of Nazareth where we will visit the Church of the Annunciation, the Carpentry of Saint Joseph, and the Fountain of the Virgin. We will continue to the MOUNT OF THE PRECIPICE, from where we can admire a beautiful panoramic view of Nazareth and its surroundings. We continue to visit MAGDALA, where we will see remains of the town and its synagogue and visit the modern church. We will end the day with a visit to CANA OF GALILEE, where took place the first miracle of Jesus. Return to Nazareth. Dinner included. Accommodation.

NAZARETH 73ºF - 77ºF - ROSH HANIKRA 77ºF - 81ºF - HAIFA 77ºF - 81ºF - CESAREA 73ºF - 77ºF - TEL AVIV 77ºF - 81ºF

Breakfast. Departure to Rosh Hanikra to see the border with Lebanon and descend by cable car to the grottoes. After that we stop in HAIFA, the third largest city in Israel, and its main port; on the slopes of Mount Carmel, where the Grotto of the Prophet Elijah is located and where we will contemplate the Bahai Temple and its Persian Gardens and have a panoramic view of the city and the port. Later, visit of CESAREA, a city built in honor of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. We continue our journey to Yaffo, the old port of Israel, today an artists´ quarter. Visit to the Church of Saint Peter. Arrival in TEL AVIV. Accommodation.

TEL AVIV 77ºF - 81ºF

Breakfast. We include a visit to the city of Tel Aviv. We will pass by its modern Port, the elegant Rotschlid Avenue, the Mann Auditory, Nahalat Binyamin Street, the Dizengof House and the Hall of Independence, the Bialik House and the Meir Garden. We will take a walk through the White City, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, where we will enjoy its Bauhaus-style buildings. A stop at the lively Sarona Market before continuing to the Neve Tzedek ward, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city with its oriental architecture and recent restoration works. We will also visit the Florentine ward that has become a center of the bohemian lifestyle. We will walk through the beautiful streets of this neighborhood with its peculiar restaurants, cafes, and markets. We will get to know the impressive street art scene that exists here. Return to the hotel and accommodation.

TEL AVIV 77ºF - 81ºF - QUMRAN - JERICHO 72ºF - 75ºF - JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF

Departure to the east of Israel, towards the Judean Desert and Palestinian Lands. Visit of QUMRAN where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Later, departure to JERICHO, the oldest city in the world with its extensive biblical legacy. Climb by funicular to the Monastery of Temptation. Accompanied by a monk, we will visit the cave where Jesus spent those 40 days and 40 nights avoiding the temptations of the Devil. Later we will visit the archaeological site of Tel es Sultan or Tel Jericho, the ancient city and a World Heritage Site by Unesco, as well as the Palace of Hisham, from the Umayyad period. Back in Jerusalem, we will visit NABI MUSA, for Muslims the place where Moses is buried. Our next stop will be at KHAN AL-HATRURI (INN OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN) where the remains of a monastery commemorate the place of the much-loved biblical parable and where today some beautiful Byzantine mosaics are preserved. Arrival in Jerusalem at the end of the day. Accommodation.

JERUSALEM 63ºF - 63ºF - EILAT 86ºF - 86ºF - SAINT CATHERINE 79ºF - 79ºF

After breakfast we leave for the south of Israel. We will skirt the Dead Sea and traverse the beautiful landscapes of the Negev Desert. Arrival at EILAT, a modern and touristic city with its excellent beaches. A relaxing time for lunch and walking. After lunch departure to the border of EGYPT. Passage to Sinai, on our route we photograph the island of the pharaoh with the powerful fortress of Saladin. Continuation to SAINT CATHERINE -Arrival, dinner included and accommodation. NOTE: In the passage from Israel to Egypt, entry / exit taxes must be paid by the traveler in the different countries. Israel: 32 $ (exit tax), Egypt: Entrance fee to Taba: 25$, Entry visa: 45$ (which is actually 25$ visa + 20$ processing fee)

SAINT CATHERINE 79ºF - 79ºF - MOSES WELL - CAIRO 68ºF - 68ºF

At the foot of Mount Sinai, we visit the impressive walled monastery of SAINT CATHERINE. According to tradition, this is where Moses saw “the Burning Bush that burned without being consumed”. The monastery, which is a sacred place for Jews, Christians and Muslims, belongs to the Orthodox Church and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We then continue on through the Sinai Desert’s picturesque landscapes. Lunch included in route. Stop at the WELL OF MOSES, a biblical site that looks like a small oasis. We will leave Sinai through the tunnel under the SUEZ CANAL. Arrival in CAIRO at the end of the afternoon. Accommodation.

CAIRO 68ºF - 68ºF

Full day visit where we explore the famous Pyramids of Cheops, Kefren and Micerinos (tickets to go inside the pyramids are not included), and also the impressive Sphinx, which is sculpted from rock. Visit to the Egyptian Museum with its ancient art and where the treasure of the Lost Tomb of Tutankhamen is kept. Lunch included. Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque. We will take a walk through the Coptic neighborhood where we visit the Hanging Church built above a Roman fortress.

CAIRO 68ºF - 68ºF - MEIDUM - FAIYUM OASIS - WADI EL RAYAN - WADI AL HITAN - MINYA 64ºF - 64ºF

We will leave Cairo early, we will get to know an Egypt that you probably had never imagined: a country of great lakes in the middle of the desert! Stop (entrance included) at the PYRAMID OF MEIDUM, considered as the first pyramid that the ancient Egyptians tried to build, 2600 years before Christ, we are surprised by its stepped structure. We can climb to the door that gives access to the burial chamber (after descending 75 meters) and see the large mastabas that house the tombs of some relatives of the pharaoh.After that we visit the Oasis of Al Faiyum, we outline the great QARUM LAKE that allows the irrigation of the entire oasis making this area "the garden of Egypt". The shores of the lake have numerous leisure points for Egyptians. Al Fayoum is also known for "the Al Fayoum portraits", the oldest portraits in the world (today we can see them in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo). We will stop and have lunch at TUNIS village, a nice place with great ceramic crafts, lunch included. Afterwards we enter among magnificent desert landscapes, we stop at WADI RAYYAN, a saltwater lake where rare species of birds and gazelles live, an area declared a National Park. Time for a walk next to the small falls. We continue entering the desert, we travel to the enclosure of WADI AL HITTAN -the valley of the whales-, declared by Unesco a World Heritage Site. The number, concentration, and quality of the fossils, as well as their location in a protected landscape of great beauty, make the site an exceptional place. We get to visit the museum with fossilized whales (where we get to see their skeletons) and get to know about climate change.Continue to MENIA, a city of 300,000 inhabitants by the Nile, active and pleasant walk along the river. Dinner included.

MINYA 64ºF - 64ºF - BENI HASSAN 72ºF - 72ºF - MALLAWI 84ºF - 84ºF - DEIR EL MUHARRAQ - MEER GRAVES - ASYUT 82ºF - 82ºF

We start another exciting day in the center of the Nile Valley. Leaving Menia we stop at ZAWIYYET SULTAN, place of the dead, at the foot of a small pharaonic necropolis an immense cemetery with a very peculiar architecture of vaulted adobe mausoleums leads us to feel "in another world". After that we visit BENI HASSAN, the necropolis stands on cliffs above the Nile valley, 39 tombs (four are visited) dating from 2125 to 1795 years before Christ and offer us a fascinating idea of the daily life of that time. Lunch included.Following the Nile valley we stop at the TOMBS OF MIR, with its nine tombs of the Old and Middle Kingdom open to the visit. The solitude of the place is impressive (practically without tourism). Next to the tombs we visit DEIR AL MUHARRAQ, monastery and place of Coptic pilgrimage, the monks indicate that Mary and Jesus inhabited a cave in this place for six months after fleeing from Herod; according to tradition the church was built around the year 60 "the oldest Christian church in the world".Continuation to ASSIUT, provincial capital. Dinner included.

ASYUT 82ºF - 82ºF - SUHAQ - ABYDOS - LUXOR 84ºF - 84ºF

We leave Assiut for SOHAG, we are in one of the main Coptic areas of Egypt. We visit the WHITE MONASTERY, built in the fourth century (several times destroyed) and powerfully walled, in its construction stone was used that came from pharaonic temples and some blocks still show ancient Gods and hieroglyphics, at the time housed the largest library in Egypt. After that we visit the RED MONASTERY, one of the most impressive Christian buildings in Egypt, its ancient chapel of the fourth century, have most of its surface covered with frescoes (restored) that give us an idea of what religious buildings were like at the end of antiquity. We continue our route to ABYDOS, lunch included, the most important place of worship of Osiris -God of the dead-, was a place of pilgrimage and necropolis for over 4500 years (from years 4000 BC to 600 AD), there are still many tombs unexcavated. The impressive temple of Seti stands out, one of the most complete and beautiful in Egypt.Continuation to LUXOR. Arrival at the end of the day.

LUXOR 84ºF - 84ºF

During our stay in Luxor we will get to know one of the most impressive ancient cities on the planet. Early, from our hotel we will take a private boat to cross the Nile River, with its peace and breathtaking views early in the morning, we pass to the west bank. We visit the "Valley of the Artisans" Deir el-Medina, a place that is not visited often, here lived and are currently located the tombs of great builders and craftsmen who built and decorated the royal tombs of ancient Egypt; we will visit three tombs, their paintings show scenes of daily life of that time. Subsequently, transfer to the ship, boarding procedures on the cruise and accommodation. Full board on the ship. In the afternoon, visit to the impressive temple complex of Luxor and Karnark. Accommodation on board.

LUXOR 84ºF - 84ºF - ESNA 84ºF - 84ºF

Today you will be able to admire the Necropolis of Thebes, visiting the famous VALLEY OF THE KINGS, where are hidden the tombs of the main pharaohs. Composed of several rooms and corridors that lead to the burial chambers, are among others, Ramses III, Seti I and Amenhotep II. You will also visit the Colossae of Memnon, two impressive statues of Amenophis II, as well as the Temple of Queen Hatsepsut (Deir el Bahari) and the Temple of Medinet Habu. During this day we can enjoy the beauty of the Nile riverbanks. You could do different activities on the boat and at evening enjoy the music at the disco. Full board. Night on board, navigating to ESNA.

ESNA 84ºF - 84ºF - EDFU - KOM OMBO 88ºF - 88ºF - ASWAN 90ºF - 90ºF

Arrival to EDFU and visit the Temple of Horus (God represented by a Falcon), which in the past was partially covered by lime during the periodic flooding of the river Nile. The rescue and restoration work complete, we now have one of the most beautiful temples of Ptolemaic times, in an exceptional state of preservation. Navigation to KOM OMBO. Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, the only temple dedicated to two gods, Sobek and Haroesis, where we find a Nilometer (former system for measuring the level of the Nile River) and a mummified crocodile. During the evening you will be able to enjoy the Chilaba’s party, local typical outfit (on route you could economically acquire them at local markets). Full board. Accommodation on board, navigating to ASWAN.

ASWAN 90ºF - 90ºF

Arrival to ASWAN. Possibility of getting the optional tour to Abu Simbel (visit NOT included in the itinerary), located two hundred and eighty kilometers from Aswam, visit the western desert and the temples carved on the cliff by Ramses II during the twelfth century BC, with 20 meters high statues, dedicated to the god Amon Ra, and the Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to the goddess Hathor. Visit the Red Granite quarry where is the famous 41 meters high Unfinished Obelisk. We will also visit the Aswan Dam, one of the largest in the world, which created Lake Nasser with a length of more than 500 km. We will visit the beautiful Temple of Philae dedicated to the goddess Isis and located on a small island that can only be accessed by boat. In the afternoon, a felucca cruise on the Nile, typical sailing boats in the area, heading to the island of Kitchener where the Botanical Garden is located. Full board. Accommodation on board.

ASWAN 90ºF - 90ºF

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of our services.