Beyond Giza: Djoser’s Step Pyramid and the painted tombs of Saqqara, then the Bent and Red Pyramids of Dahshur - you can climb inside the Red Pyramid. Lunch at a countryside restaurant.

Drive to the Mediterranean for the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, Pompey’s Pillar, the Roman Amphitheatre, the Qaitbay Citadel and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, with a seafood lunch by the sea.

Ride a quad bike across the desert edge behind the Giza Plateau with a safety briefing and an experienced leader, stopping for photos as the sun sets behind the Pyramids.

As night falls the Sphinx narrates 5,000 years of history while the Pyramids are lit in colour. Reserved seats, a five-minute walk from Vertex Hotel. Shows in English, Arabic and French.

Walk from Vertex Hotel to the Giza Plateau with an Egyptologist: the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, a 30-minute camel ride to the panorama point and the Great Sphinx and Valley Temple.

Explore the world’s largest archaeological museum, 2 km from the Pyramids: the Grand Staircase, the colossal statue of Ramses II and the complete Tutankhamun collection, with an Egyptologist.

Coptic Cairo’s Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Citadel and Mohamed Ali Mosque, a walk down Al-Muizz Street and time to bargain in Khan el-Khalili, with lunch at a local restaurant.

Visit Memphis, the first capital of united Egypt, with its fallen colossus of Ramses II and the alabaster sphinx, then Djoser’s Step Pyramid, the oldest stone building on earth.

Two hours on the Nile through illuminated Cairo with an open buffet of Egyptian and international dishes, live oriental music, a whirling Tanoura dervish and belly-dance show.

4x4 adventure to the Wadi El Rayan waterfalls, sandboarding on the Magic Lake dunes and the 40-million-year-old whale fossils of Wadi El Hitan, ending with a Bedouin barbecue at sunset.