Siwa - 3 days, 2 nights

Siwa is a remote oasis more than seven hundred kilometres from Cairo, on the edge of the Libyan Desert, a few dozen kilometres from the border. The first day covers the town: ruins of the mud-brick fortress of Shali, the temple of Amun that tradition says was consulted by Alexander the Great, a museum of Siwan costumes and jewellery, then a swim in Cleopatra's Bath.

The second day shifts to the landscapes: a salt lake with turquoise waters, palm groves and a date tasting, then a 4x4 expedition into the Great Sand Sea. This is the highlight of the trip, with sandboarding down the dunes, a hot spring in the middle of the desert and a sunset atop a ridge. The third day covers the tombs of the Mountain of the Dead and local crafts before the return.