Egypt
Pyramids, Desert & the Nile
Cairo & Giza · The Fayoum · Luxor · 11 Days · Two Rounds, a World of Wonders
Mosaico Travels
Curated Luxury · Exceptional Destinations
From the Giza Plateau
to the heart of the Nile
Egypt is the rare destination where the standard sights are themselves among the wonders of the world — and where, just beyond them, lie experiences almost no traveller ever finds. This Mosaic Journey is built around that contrast: the Pyramids and the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum, paired with a fossil desert of forty-million-year-old whales, a dawn balloon over the Valley of the Kings, and two of the finest golf courses in North Africa woven gently through.
You begin and end in Cairo, beneath the floodlit pyramids at the Marriott Mena House. Between them, the journey turns southwest into the Fayoum — Lake Qarun, the pottery village of Tunis, and the surreal Wadi El Hitan — before flying south to Luxor, the world's greatest open-air museum, for Karnak, the West Bank tombs, and the slow glide of a felucca at dusk. Two unhurried rounds bookend it all: Katameya Heights on arrival, Allegria on the way home.
- The Pyramids of Giza & the Sphinx — with the Grand Egyptian Museum, fully open since November 2025
- Wadi El Hitan — a UNESCO fossil desert of stranded prehistoric whales, reached by 4×4
- Sunrise hot-air balloon over the Theban necropolis and Valley of the Kings
- Saqqara, Dahshur & Memphis with a private Egyptologist
- Katameya Heights — Yves Bureau's 27-hole parkland, New Cairo
- Allegria — the first Greg Norman Signature course in Egypt, Troon-managed
The wonders, and the things beyond the wonders
Most of Egypt's visitors see Giza and Luxor and leave. This journey keeps both — and adds the country most of them miss: the green oasis and white desert of the Fayoum, an evening of horses and dunes behind the pyramids, a tomb interior opened just for you, and a balloon lifting over the necropolis as the sun comes up. The famous and the secret, held in the same eleven days.
Your Detailed Mosaic
Eleven days tracing three Egypts — the monumental, the wild, and the eternal — from the Giza Plateau through the Fayoum desert to the banks of the Nile.
The Route
Cairo → the Fayoum → Luxor
A single southward arc: four nights at the foot of the pyramids, two in the oasis, three on the Nile, and a final night back in Cairo for the closing round.
Giza · Cairo
Arrive Cairo · Marriott Mena House
Your Mosaico representative meets you on arrival at Cairo International and escorts you to the Marriott Mena House — the only hotel in the world set within walking distance of the Great Pyramid, surrounded by forty acres of gardens with the monuments rising directly beyond. Settle in, and gather for a relaxed welcome dinner as the pyramids are lit against the night sky. No early start; the journey begins gently.
The Giza Plateau
The Pyramids, the Sphinx & the Grand Egyptian Museum
A private morning on the Giza Plateau — the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, and the Sphinx — ahead of the crowds. After lunch, the Grand Egyptian Museum, fully open since November 2025: the world's largest museum devoted to a single civilisation, with the complete 5,398-piece Tutankhamun collection together for the first time and Khufu's restored solar boat. As the light softens, ride out by horseback through the dunes behind the plateau — the pyramids on the skyline, no fences, no buses, just the desert at golden hour.
New Cairo · Islamic Cairo
Round One — Katameya Heights · Old Cairo by Afternoon
A morning round at Katameya Heights, the 27-hole parkland course designed by Yves Bureau and long regarded as one of the finest in the country — rolling terrain, palm-lined corridors and fast, fair greens, a green oasis carved from the desert east of the city. In the afternoon, the other Cairo: the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali, then the lanes of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and the medieval heart of Islamic Cairo around Al-Azhar.
Saqqara · Dahshur · Memphis
The First Pyramids — with a Private Egyptologist
South to the necropolis that predates Giza. Saqqara's Step Pyramid of Djoser — the oldest large stone structure on earth — then Dahshur for the Bent and Red Pyramids, the first true smooth-sided pyramids, almost always blissfully quiet. At ancient Memphis, the colossus of Ramesses II reclines in its hall. Your private Egyptologist arranges a descent into a lesser-visited tomb interior, painted reliefs intact, that most group tours never reach.
Lake Qarun · Tunis Village
Into the Oasis — Lake Qarun & the Pottery Village
A two-hour drive southwest delivers you to the Fayoum, Egypt's great green-and-gold oasis. Lake Qarun shimmers below desert escarpments; the waterfalls of Wadi El Rayan break the silence of the sand. You settle at Lazib Inn, a red-walled boutique resort in the artists' village of Tunis, where infinity pools look out over the lake and the pottery studios line the lanes outside the door. A felucca at sunset, dinner at the Blue Donkey, and the quiet that the Fayoum is loved for.
Wadi El Hitan
The Valley of the Whales
A 4×4 carries you deep into the Western Desert to Wadi El Hitan — the Valley of the Whales — a UNESCO World Heritage site where the complete skeletons of forty-million-year-old whales lie exposed in the open sand, the single most important record on earth of whales' evolution from land to sea. A walking trail threads the fossils and the wind-carved rock; afterwards, sandboard the dunes and stand at the Magic Lake as the colours turn. Back at Lazib, the desert sky fills with stars.
Luxor · East Bank
Fly to Luxor — Karnak & the Temple by Night
A morning transfer to Cairo and a short flight south to Luxor, ancient Thebes — the greatest open-air museum in the world. You check in to the Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa, on the Nile's edge facing the West Bank, with infinity pools and a celebrated riverside spa. In the late afternoon, the vast forest of columns at Karnak; after dark, Luxor Temple illuminated, its avenue of sphinxes glowing against the night.
The West Bank
Sunrise Balloon · The Valley of the Kings
Before dawn, lift off by hot-air balloon over the Theban necropolis — the Nile, the green fields, the temples and the desert hills unfolding beneath you as the sun comes up. Back on the ground, the Valley of the Kings: the painted tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs, Hatshepsut's terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari rising from the cliffs, and the towering Colossi of Memnon. An afternoon to rest by the Nile, or to explore further with your guide.
The Nile
The River at Leisure
A gentler day on the Nile. Sail a private felucca or traditional dahabiya as the river drifts past banana groves and white-sailed boats; or take the optional excursion north to the extraordinarily preserved Temple of Hathor at Dendera. The afternoon is yours — the Hilton's Nile-view infinity pools and spa, or a final wander through Luxor's souk before a farewell evening on the river.
Sheikh Zayed · Cairo
Round Two — Allegria · Grand Farewell
An early flight returns you to Cairo and the Mena House for your final night. In the afternoon, the closing round at Allegria — the first Greg Norman Signature course in Egypt, managed by Troon, a lush parkland layout of lakes and undulating fairways in Sheikh Zayed west of the city, widely judged the best playing surface in the country. The evening brings a grand farewell dinner, the pyramids once more on the horizon.
Cairo
Departure
A leisurely final morning at the Mena House — a last breakfast in the garden with the pyramids beyond — before your private Mosaico transfer to Cairo International Airport and your onward flight. No round today; only the slow farewell that a journey like this deserves.
Golf, Lightly Woven In
Day 3 · New Cairo · Yves Bureau · 27 Holes, Par 72
Katameya Heights
Designed by French architect Yves Bureau and opened in 1997, Katameya Heights transformed desert ground into a lush, rolling parkland of lakes, palms and elevated tees — for decades the benchmark country club of Cairo, and a fine, unhurried opening round.
Day 10 · Sheikh Zayed · Greg Norman Signature · Troon-Managed
The Allegria
The first Greg Norman Signature design in Egypt, opened in 2010 and managed by Troon — a par-72 parkland course of 7,217 yards, lakes and sculpted bunkering, with greens widely held to be the finest in the country. The ideal closing round.
Beyond the Obvious
Sunset on horseback behind the plateau
A private tomb descent with your Egyptologist
The Grand Egyptian Museum
Sunrise balloon over the necropolis
A felucca at dusk
Karnak & Luxor Temple, illuminated
The Monumental
— and the Private
The Eternal River
at First Light
Days 5–6 · The Fayoum
The Valley of
the Whales
Between Cairo and the Nile lies the journey's quiet revelation. The Fayoum is Egypt's great oasis — Lake Qarun, the only natural waterfalls in the country, and the artists' village of Tunis with its celebrated pottery. At its desert edge sits Wadi El Hitan, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the complete skeletons of forty-million-year-old whales lie exposed in the open sand, the most important place on earth to witness the moment these creatures left the land for the sea. You reach it by 4×4, walk the fossil trail in near-silence, sandboard the dunes, and sleep beneath a desert sky thick with stars. It is the day travellers tend to remember most.
Three Exceptional Hotels
Marriott
Mena House
The most storied address in Egypt — a 19th-century palace hotel set in forty acres of gardens at the very foot of the Great Pyramid, where heads of state and royalty have stayed for over a century. Pyramid-view rooms, a heated pool framed by the monuments, four restaurants, and the rare privilege of breakfast with the pyramids beyond the lawn. Minutes from the Grand Egyptian Museum.
5-Star · At the Foot of the Pyramids
Lazib Inn
Resort & Spa
A 21-suite boutique retreat in the artists' village of Tunis, on the shore of Lake Qarun — vivid red walls, infinity pools over the water, a spa with a Turkish hammam, and the Blue Donkey, the Fayoum's finest table. Architecturally distinctive and deeply peaceful, it is the rare luxury base from which to explore Egypt's great oasis.
Boutique · Lake Qarun · Tunis Village
Hilton Luxor
Resort & Spa
On the Nile's edge facing the West Bank and the Valley of the Kings, with uninterrupted river views, two infinity pools and a multi-award-winning spa of twelve treatment rooms. Minutes from Karnak, a calm and contemporary sanctuary to return to after early starts among the temples and tombs.
5-Star · On the Nile · Award-Winning SpaEverything Taken Care Of
Ten Nights · Three Hotels
Five nights at the Marriott Mena House at the foot of the pyramids, two at Lazib Inn on Lake Qarun, and three at the Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa on the Nile — all with breakfast daily.
Two Championship Rounds
Green fees, cart and tee times at Katameya Heights (Day 3) and Allegria (Day 10), arranged and confirmed in advance by Mosaico.
Private Egyptologist & Guiding
A licensed private Egyptologist and dedicated driver throughout the touring days — Giza, the GEM, Saqqara, Dahshur, Memphis, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and the West Bank — with all entrance fees.
The Fayoum & Wadi El Hitan
The full oasis programme — Lake Qarun, Wadi El Rayan, the Tunis pottery village, and a 4×4 desert excursion to the Valley of the Whales with sandboarding.
Sunrise Balloon · Domestic Flights
The dawn hot-air balloon over the Theban necropolis, a private felucca sail, and return Cairo–Luxor domestic flights, all included.
Transfers · Dinners · Concierge
All private transfers and airport meet-and-greet, welcome and farewell dinners, and a dedicated Mosaico concierge throughout for every reservation and detail.
Package Pricing
Per-person starting-from rates. Includes ten nights across three hotels, private Egyptologist guiding and entrance fees, the Fayoum and Wadi El Hitan programme, the sunrise balloon, domestic flights, all transfers, and welcome and farewell dinners.
Starting From
per person · USD · two sharing
Full curated journey as above · both rounds at Katameya Heights & Allegria including green fees, carts & tee times · all guiding, experiences, flights, transfers & dinners
Starting From
per person · USD · two sharing
The same journey without the two rounds · golf days replaced with additional Cairo & Luxor experiences at your pace · all guiding, experiences, flights, transfers & dinners
"To see the Pyramids and Karnak is to see the wonders of the world. To see them and the Valley of the Whales, and the Nile at dawn from a balloon — that is to see Egypt."— The Mosaico Egypt Mosaic
Your Egypt
Mosaic Awaits
We warmly invite you to reach out — and would genuinely love to schedule time to walk you through every detail, from tee times to the balloon at dawn. The Mosaico Travels team is here, and we welcome the conversation.