I'd done a lot about early Egyptian history at university and had for a long time wanted to see the ancient monuments for myself. The Viking Ra itinerary was just what I needed to do that, while combining that with a relaxing cruise along the Nile. We first stayed in Cairo for a couple of nights. The hotel was great and we saw eg the Tutankhamun exhibition in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities which was fascinating. We went on to see the only Wonder of the Ancient World still standing, the Great Pyramids, and the Sphinx. Our guide throughout was extremely knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. Cairo itself is a filthy slum, rubbish everywhere, including masses of plastic bags and bottles, with half finished or fallen down buildings.

We then flew down to Luxor (Thebes) to start our cruise down the Nile as far as the Aswan Dam. It was so good to get onto the ship and relax. The highlights were the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens with special access into the tomb of Queen Nefertari. Sailing south we visited the temple complex of Dendera dating back to the 4th Century BC and the temple of Philae, the temple of Horus and Kom Ombo, all very interesting with an excellent commentary fro our guide.

It wasnt all ancient history. Other highlights were a sail on the river in a felucca, a visit to a market, a visit to a Nubian Village including being shown round a house where a family was actually living, a visit to a Nubian school where the children sang for us, a ride in a horse drawn carraige and a trip to the Aswan High Dam. Read more