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★ Hosted by Jeff and Emily Cavins

Catholic Pilgrimage · 11 Days · Egypt

Christian Egypt with Jeff and Emily Cavins

Join Jeff and Emily Cavins on a pilgrimage to Egypt including a 4-night Nile River Cruise. Visit Cairo, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Aswan, and more!

Dates

January 8-18, 2026

Departs Chicago or New York JFK

Duration

11 Days

Trip code 26JA01EGJC

From

$4,395

The Pilgrimage

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Join Jeff and Emily Cavins on a pilgrimage to Egypt including a 4-night Nile River Cruise. Visit Cairo, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Aswan, and more!

Highlights at a glance

This trips visits: Cairo, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Aswan, and more!
Luxor – Esna
Edfu – Kom Ombo – Aswan
Aswan
Aswan – Abu Simbel – Cairo
The Pyramids – Cairo
Christian Cairo – St. Simon – Grand Museum
Excursion To Wadi Natrun Desert Monasteries – Sound And Light Show

Activity Level 3 of 4 Expect regular walking, stairs, slopes, cobblestones, and uneven surfaces. Review the brochure and prepare by walking before departure.

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Your Host

Jeff and Emily Cavins

Catholic authors, educators, and pilgrimage leaders

Jeff and Emily Cavins are Catholic authors, educators, and experienced pilgrimage leaders. Jeff created The Great Adventure Bible Study and is a nationally known speaker, author, television host, and podcaster; he also serves as Director Emeritus and a teacher at the Catechetical Institute. Emily studied Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, participated in archaeological work in Israel, and has written books and resources for Catholic adults and children. Together, they help pilgrims understand Scripture through the history, geography, and living faith of the places they visit.

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Know Before You Go

What's included

✓ Included

✓Round-trip group airfare from Chicago or NY/JFK to Cairo
✓Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
✓Group flights from Cairo to Luxor and from Aswan to Cairo
✓Five-star Cairo hotel accommodations for 5 nights
✓Five-star Nile cruise for 4 nights on the Nile Quest or the Nile Treasure
✓Service charges and hotel taxes
✓Buffet breakfast daily
✓Lunch and dinner daily
✓All transfers by a private A/C motor coach as per the itinerary
✓Professional English-speaking tour guide throughout
✓Entrance fees are included for sites specifically listed (outside view means no entrance is included), including the Grand Museum
✓Visit to the Pyramids and the Sphinx
✓The Sound and the Light Show
✓Luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person in/out)
✓Confirmation of private Mass
✓Egyptian Entry Visa
✓Whisper sets
✓Water on the bus
✓For your convenience, a tip fund of $180.00 will be added to your invoice and collected ahead
✓Accommodations for 5 nights (Egypt and Jordan)
✓Ferry crossing from Egypt to Jordan
✓Jordanian entry visa
✓Breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (except on the ferry)
✓Jeep ride in the desert
✓Entrance to Petra
✓Donation to St. Catherine’s Monastery and entrance to the church, and the museum
✓Local Taxes
✓Transportation by private buses
✓English-speaking tour managers
✓Sinai Tax
✓For your convenience, a tip fund of $95.00 will be added to your invoice and collected ahead

× Not included

×Personal expenses
×Travel and Medical Insurance (required but not included in the price of the trip)
×Church donations
×Any items not explicitly mentioned in the list of inclusions
×Beverages at meals
×Baggage handling on the ferry and at the St. Catherine Monastery hotel
×Any airline baggage charges
×Baggage handling at train stations, airports, and hotels in excess of one suitcase per person
×Any charges incurred due to excessive luggage including the cost of an additional baggage vehicle or porterage charges

For your convenience, a tip fund of $180.00 will be added to your invoice and collected ahead; For your convenience, a tip fund of $95.00 will be added to your invoice and collected ahead.

Day by Day

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Tap any day to explore. Meals: B breakfast · L lunch · D dinner.

Day 1January 8, 2026

DEPART USA TO CAIRO

Depart the USA on an overnight flight to Cairo. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Enjoy your flight as you look forward to your incredible pilgrimage journey. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request and will be provided starting 120 days before departure. Group air restrictions (for ten passengers traveling together) do not permit specific seating requests on flights. We recommend purchasing your own airline tickets and the land-only package with us if seat confirmation is an essential part of your trip. Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact your trip Account Manager, who will be happy to assist you.

Day 2January 9, 2026

ARRIVAL IN CAIRO, EGYPT

Welcome to Egypt! We are met and assisted at the airport by our tour guide. Transfer to our hotel for a well-deserved night of rest. We gather for a welcome by our group leaders before our dinner at the hotel. Overnight at the hotel in Cairo.

Day 3January 10, 2026

FLIGHT FROM CAIRO TO LUXOR – NILE CRUISE EMBARKATION

Following check-out, we transfer to the airport for our flight from Cairo to Luxor. We visit the Temple of Karnak, the world’s second-largest ancient religious site after Angkor Wat. The Great Hypostyle Hall is comprised of columns in 16 rows that soar 80 feet into the air. As we wander among the 134 Columns, we’ll be astounded at the details of carved hieroglyphs visible after thousands of years! Continue to the Temple of Luxor, where it is said that many of the Kings of Egypt were crowned. The boy King Tutankhamun and Ramses II built parts of the temple. Later this afternoon, we board our deluxe riverboat, which will be our home for the next four nights for our Nile Cruise. We are docked in Luxor overnight, so there is time to explore the city of Luxor and the markets lining the Nile this afternoon and evening. Dinner and overnight on the ship. Mass will be celebrated.

BLD

Day 4January 11, 2026

LUXOR – ESNA

This morning, we visit the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile, then proceed to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and on the way back to the ship, stop at the Colossi of Memnon, to see the two famous statues at the entrance of the temple of Amenhotep III. Our ship sails to Esna, where we watch as the ship passes the magnificent Dam on the Nile. Mass will be celebrated. Overnight on board the ship.

BLD

Day 5January 12, 2026

EDFU – KOM OMBO – ASWAN

We sail to Edfu this morning, and upon arrival, we visit the Temple of Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. Dedicated to the falcon god Horus, it was buried under nearly 40 feet of drifting sand over the centuries. In 1860, a French Egyptologist began the work of freeing Edfu, resulting in it being nearly intact! Return to the boat and sail to the temple of Kom-Ombo, a unique double temple. Half is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, and the other to the falcon god Horus. Continue our Nile cruise sailing to Aswan. No Mass will be celebrated today. Dinner and overnight on the ship.

BLD

Day 6January 13, 2026

ASWAN

Today, we visit the High Dam of Aswan and the Temple of Philae. The Aswan Dam was built during the 1960s. Before being built, the Nile River overflowed its banks yearly, and the dam protects the area from the flood/drought cycle and generates hydroelectric power. We then visit Philae, an island downstream from the Aswan Dam. Relocated before the dam was completed, the Temple of Isis was flooded for six months every year and was disassembled stone by stone and reconstructed. Return to the boat for lunch. Later this afternoon, sail the Nile on a traditional felucca used for centuries by the Nubian people of Egypt. Enjoy a visit to the Aswan Spice market this evening after our farewell dinner onboard the ship. Mass will be celebrated.

BLD

Day 7January 14, 2026

ASWAN – ABU SIMBEL – CAIRO

This morning, we say goodbye to the ship’s crew, who took excellent care of us. We enjoy a tour of the Temples of Abu Simbel before we board our flight to Cairo, where we check into our hotel, which will be our home for the next 4 nights. Mass will be celebrated.

BLD

Day 8January 15, 2026

THE PYRAMIDS – CAIRO

After breakfast, we visit Sakkara, the home of Egypt’s oldest pyramid, constructed around 2,650 BC. Admire this incredible stepped structure as we learn how it was built for the Pharaoh Djoser, and enjoy time to explore at leisure. Following lunch in a local restaurant, we visit the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers’ village, and an industrial complex. We have time to shop in the local bazaar before returning to our hotel. Mass will be celebrated in St. Joseph’s Church. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Cairo.

BLD

Day 9January 16, 2026

CHRISTIAN CAIRO – ST. SIMON – GRAND MUSEUM

This morning we begin our tour of Cairo. Our visit focuses on Egypt’s often overlooked, rich Christian history. Our guide will take us on a tour of Old Coptic Cairo, including the Hanging Church, the Apparition Church, the Holy Crypt, and the Abu Serga Church. We also visit the monastery of St. Simon el Mokkattam. In the afternoon, we explore sections of the newly renovated and reopened Grand Museum, the world’s largest museum. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Cairo.

BLD

Day 10January 17, 2026

EXCURSION TO WADI NATRUN DESERT MONASTERIES – SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW

Today, we drive to Wadi Natrun. We visit ancient monasteries with beautiful frescoes and icons, meet with monks, and explore the traditions of Egyptian monasticism. We have lunch in the area and drive back to the hotel. In the evening, after dinner, we enjoy the Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids. Dinner and overnight in Cairo. Mass will be celebrated.

BLD

Day 11January 18, 2026

CAIRO – DEPARTURE

After breakfast this morning, we are transferred to the airport for our flight home.

Day 11January 18, 2026

ST. CATHERINE’S MONASTERY

Following breakfast, we check out of our hotel and drive to St. Catherine’s Monastery, taking the Moses Exodus Route through the Sinai Desert. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight at St. Catherine’s Monastery (simple accommodations).

BLD

Day 12January 19, 2026

MT. SINAI – TABA

Early this morning, we climb up to Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. We see the possible site of the Burning Bush where the Lord spoke to Moses, and enjoy a spectacular moment as we watch the sun rise over Mt. Sinai. We descend the mountain for breakfast at the hotel before visiting St. Catherine’s Monastery and Museum. The monastery was dedicated to St. Catherine, who was tortured to death because she became a Christian. Our two-hour drive takes us to the seaside resort of Taba. Check into our hotel and enjoy the rest of the day on the shores of the Red Sea. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Taba.

BLD

Day 13January 20, 2026

TABA – AQABA – WADI RUM, JORDAN

We check out of our hotel and are transferred to the ferry, which takes us from Taba, Egypt, to Aqaba in Jordan, where we meet our Jordanian guide and bus. We explore the ruins of the Aqaba Church, a historic 3rd-century church unearthed in 1998 by a group of American archaeologists. It is considered to be the world’s oldest-known purpose-built Christian church. Adventure awaits us in Wadi Rum, where we enjoy a jeep ride in the desert and an overnight in tents under the stars. Mass will be celebrated. Overnight in the desert.

Day 14January 21, 2026

WADI RUM – THE DEAD SEA

This morning, we depart for the Dead Sea. We visit Mt. Nebo, the place where Prophet Moses gazed at the Promised Land before he died, and is alleged to be his burial place. We see the Plains of Moab to the north, the area where the tribes of Israel camped before crossing the Jordan River, and view Bethany beyond. We also visit the Baptismal site on the River Jordan, where tradition tells us Jesus was baptized. Then we visit the town of Madaba, where we find the famous 6th-century mosaic map of Palestine in St. George’s Church. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight at the Dead Sea.

BLD

Day 15January 22, 2026

PETRA

We drive on the King’s Highway to Petra, where we enjoy a sightseeing tour of magnificent Petra, one of the wonders of the world. A visit to this ancient Nabatean City, carved out of red rose rock, includes the Treasury, Monastery, and Theatre. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Amman.

BLD

Day 16January 23, 2026

RETURN TO USA

We are transferred to the airport for our flight home to the USA.

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This pilgrimage has ended

Completed

This departure has ended. Registration is closed.

Christian Egypt with Jeff and Emily Cavins

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Jeff and Emily Cavins

What's included

✓ Included

× Not included

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Choose how you travel

Everything else for this trip

Travel Protection

Terms & Conditions

Visas & Entry

Know Before You Go

Two-Minute Travel Tips

FAQ

This pilgrimage has ended

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