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2023 Egypt Live Aboard, Nile Cruise and Cairo Tour

  • 05 Oct 2023
  • 22 Oct 2023
  • Egypt

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Rainbow Divers in Egypt


Emperor Elite Live Aboard

"Simply The Best"

Oct 5-12 2023

+

Nile Cruise and Cairo Tour

Oct 12-22 2023


Our Egypt tour and Red Sea Live Aboard are open for registration, using the waitlist feature. If booking as a couple you'll be confirmed almost immediately. If traveling solo and you want us to room you with someone we'll match the singles and then confirm. We'll have a week aboard the fantastic Emperor Elite and a week and a half tour hitting the hottest spots in Egypt - tombs, pyramids, sphynx, museums and a very special Nile river cruise. If your non diving partner or family members would like to join the tour, go ahead and have them fill out the registration, then I'll modify the invoice to reflect just the tour portion. 


Diving highlights:

  • The top 3 sites in the southern Red Sea: Brothers, Daedalus Reef and Elphinstone
  • Sheer walls draped in colorful soft corals and gorgonian forests.
  • Wrecks of Aida II and Numidia richly covered with soft and hard corals.
  • Strong currents bring a diverse range of marine life such as tuna, barracuda, jacks and reef sharks. Occasional hammerheads, silky and oceanic white tips, dolphins and mantas.

These are the best of the Red Sea but require advance dive skills, including back roll negative entry off a zodiac, then getting back on in choppy waters. Be comfortable diving in currents and ascent and safety stop without a reference. If you are concerned the trip may be too advanced for you we may have a few spaces on an optional post-land tour liveaboard. Contacting me if interested. 



The Egypt Tour:

After diving the fantastic Red Sea, experience the wonders of Ancient Egypt on our exclusive private LGBTQ+ Nile cruise aboard the historic and unique S.S. Karim steamship!

From our Emperor Elite dive week, we'll be transferred across the desert to Luxor, where you'll be amazed by the Temple of Karnak, the Valley of Kings, and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. There we'll board an authentic steamship, the S.S. Karim, for a seven-night adventure up the Nile accompanied by our own English-speaking Egyptologist, stopping along the way at stunning temples built on the banks of the river. This steamship was the private yacht of Egypt's former King Farouk. After our cruise, you'll return to Cairo to visit the Giza Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, and Islamic Cairo

"All Egypt is the gift of the Nile." - Herodotus

Travel with us to experience Egypt in comfort, safety, and style!

Luxor to Aswan Nile Cruise Highlights:

The Temple of Karnak

Built in the 20th century B.C., it is the biggest of the ancient Egyptian temples and was the seat of the god Amun, and the administrative capital of the country. A visit to the temple begins at the sacred quay, decorated with a Nilometer showing flood levels of the Nile and then passes through an avenue, bordered by statues of ram-headed sphinxes, to the temple itself. Inside the temple there is an open courtyard with a smaller temple on the left-hand side. Then there is a large hypostyle hall, built during the reigns of Seti I and Rameses II, containing 134 pillars, twelve of which are topped with capitals in the form of open papyrus flowers.

The Luxor Temple

Built by Amenhotep III as a private residence for god Amun, but Rameses II later added statues of himself to either side of the temple: two seated and two standing. Inside there is an open coutyard built by Rameses II, comprising a pillared colonnade; and a second courtyard by Amenhotep III with pillars decorated with papyrus designs. The Luxor Museum contains a remarkable collection of ancient Egyptian sculpture found during the course of restoration at the Karnak and Luxor temples.

UnderseaX @ LuxorThe Valley of the Kings

This site contains a large number of tombs of the Kings and Pharoahs, including the tombs of: Seti I, Rameses II, Horemheb and Tutankhamun, which was the only tomb to be discovered intact.

The Temple of Edfu

This temple dates to the Ptolemaic period and is the largest and most complete of the different temples situated along the banks of the Nile. It is located in the city of Edfu. It was a center of the cult of Horus.

The Temple of Kom Ombo

The double temple dates to the Ptolemaic period and its inscriptions contain references to the Ptolemies and to the Roman Emperors, Domitian, Trajan, and Caracalla.

Optional Abu Simbel:
Visit the stunning temple of Abu Simbel, an entire mountain face moved above the rising waters of Lake Nasser after the completion of the Aswan High Dam.

Followed by Cairo Highlights:

  • The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) – The Great Pyramid is situated in Giza and is one of the Seven Wonders on the World. Cheops, the second Pharaoh of the IVth Dynasty, built it. It once rose to a height of 146 meters. Owing to natural wear and tear, however, its present height is 137 m.
  • The Sphinx – The Sphinx is one of the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt. It stands as a guardian of the ancient necropolis.
  • The Egyptian Museum, including the golden mask of King Tutankhamen

Live Aboard Prices

  • Lower Deck Cabin Dbl or Twin Share $1750 pp
  • Upper Deck Cabin Dbl or Twin Share $1875 pp
  • Executive Suite Dbl or Twin Share $2100 pp
  • $500 Deposit, $1000 Dec 31, Balance Mar 31             

Egypt Tour Prices

  • Deluxe cabin, Double or Twin share $3995 pp
  • Balcony Cabin, if available, Double $4595 pp
  • $500 Deposit, Balance March 2023

Included

  • Accommodation & most meals
  • Tea, coffee, bottled water, tea-time snacks
  • Tanks, weights and air fills

Not included

  • Optional dive gear rental
  • Transfers
  • Fuel surcharges if applicable
  • Port fees or reef fees payable onboard
  • International or domestic flights
  • Airport taxes and departures fees
  • Visa and entry fees
  • Gratuities
  • Any items of a personal nature
  • Travel or dive accident insurance

Arrival/Boarding/Departure info 

European divers have air connections directly to Hurghada (HRG) from multiple gateways. Please arrive no later than the morning of October 5, preferably a day early. Once the ship departs port, no delayed passengers or luggage can be brought on board.

North American divers can fly to Cairo (CAI) non-stop from JFK on EgyptAir, or to Hurghada or Cairo via connections in Europe. Please plan to arrive at least one day early. You can relax overnight from travel at the Marriott Hurghada, or we're happy to arrange a stay at a resort with diving.

You can depart from Hurghada around noon on October 12, which is 24 hours after our last scheduled dive. If you join our Nile Cruise and Land Tour, please plan to depart Cairo on Sunday, October 22.

Due to Port Authority regulations, late arrivals cannot be boarded after our scheduled 6 am departure from Hurghada on October 6. Please purchase travel insurance to cover you in case of delay or cancellation.

About Rainbow Divers

Rainbow Divers is a 501(c)7 non-profit mutual benefit organization, and can only organize activities and trips for its members. Trips are priced to break even. Excess cash flow is rebated to divers. Membership is cheap and comes with a bunch of new lifelong friends at no extra charge. So if you’d like to participate in this trip, please join us.

Payments are generally non-refundable. If you sign up and your plans change there may or may not be someone interested in taking your spot. If you cancel without having made all payments it is your responsibility to find someone to pay your obligation in full. It is a very good idea to carry trip insurance to cover such an eventuality.

Trip payments may be made by Zelle, by personal check or by credit card.

All divers on this trip should be comfortable diving in currents and have good buoyancy skills.  Divers are required to carry valid, in-force dive accident insurance, such as Divers' Alert Network (DAN).

Divers must agree to NCRD's Event Terms and Conditions to participate in this trip. Follow these links please:

Event Terms and Conditions

Rainbow Divers Liability Release



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