August 20, 2003 -- The folks at Friendly Planet say they haven't seen prices to Egypt as low as this in the 22 years they've been operating tours there. "This" is a package costing from just $899 per person, including air from New York, for eight days and six nights.
That's the cost for the "Pyramid Express" package, giving you roundtrip airfare on Egypt Air, six nights' lodging, big buffet breakfast daily, transfers, a full-day Cairo tour and the services of a tour director and local guides. Regular cost of the package is from $1,099 to $1,499, depending on departure date, but the discount if you purchase by September 15, 2003, is $200. Your hotel in Cairo is the luxurious Sheraton Cairo Hotel, Towers & Casino, on the banks of the Nile. The full-day tour includes the Egyptian Museum and the Great Pyramids of Giza, as well as the Old City.
Packages are available from September 16, 2003 through April 13, 2004, including holiday departures over Thanksgiving and New Year's, with departures at least once a month still available. You can extend your stay, too, if you have the time.
For those with the time and budget to see more of Egypt, Friendly Planet has two other packages worth considering: a Pyramids Express & Nile Cruise, also eight days, from $1,099 (after discount for early booking); and a Pyramids Express & Red Sea Adventure (same number of days, same price). The Nile Cruise package includes, after Cairo, a flight to Aswan, and boat cruise to Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna and Luxor, from which you return by air to Cairo.
The Red Sea Adventure plan includes, after a Cairo stay, a flight to Sharm El Sheikh, on the Red Sea, where you stay at the Conrad International Hotel and spend three nights at one of the best diving spots in the world before returning to Cairo.
If you want to have everything, you can take the Pyramids Express & Nile Cruise package with a special Red Sea Extension, ranging from an additional $299 per person and up for this 12-day (ten-night) total package.
For more information or to make reservations, phone 800/555-5765 or check out www.friendlyplanet.com (click on Pyramids button).
For another option, be sure to check out Grand Circle Travel (800/959-0405, www.gct.com), which is currently offering a complete package (air of out of NYC, a Nile cruise on the MS River Anuket, lodgings, meals and more) lasting 15 days and starting from $1,795. This package can be extended as well with optional stays in Israel and Jordan.
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