SEKEM Essential (+option)

Visit SEKEM Sustainable Development Project in Egypt & experience the energy.

SEKEM first started in 1977, and since then has become a role model for sustainable development in Egypt, the Middle East & North Africa region, as well as worldwide.

See firsthand this unique initiative in Egypt, whilst soaking up the surroundings of this unique location. In doing so, you would be supporting a worthwhile cause, and giving back to the local community. This is what we call 'ethical tourism', travelling responsibly, with a more positive contribution to the destination's nature and culture.

10 years ago SEKEM began to green 2,000 acres of desert in oasis Bahariya, an optional visit there is newly added.

SEKEM Essential Daily Itinerary - option SEKEM Wahat

DAY 1 – Sunday: Flight (not included) to Cairo, to be booked by SEKEM-Reisen, if wanted. Transfer from airport to SEKEM. Welcome and move in to your room. Meal according to your arrival time.

DAY 2 – Monday: Getting accustomed to the outstretched farm by a guided tour. Relax amidst this man-made paradise, kept alive and thriving by the traditional art of irrigating desert land. Enjoy walking in the shade of more than 1,000 date palms, Australian Pine trees (casuarina equisetifolia) neem- and orange-trees, caressed by the breeze. After lunch you will be taken to visit the SEKEM run HU (Heliopolis University) possibly enjoying an art-performance, if given. Dinner in SEKEM.

DAY 3 – Tuesday: Excursion to the famous and oldest of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World, the Giza Pyramids. Visit the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Continuing to the Step Pyramid of Sakkara and visit Mastabas with very well preserved wall paintings. Lunch in a shady restaurant (food and beverages at your own cost). Back to SEKEM for a relaxing evening dinner.

DAY 4 – Wednesday: A relaxed Cairo sight seeing day. Guided tour through the world-famous Egyptian Museum, which is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities and some of the world's most unique treasures, such as the golden masks of Tutankhamun, Grave Mask of king Amenemope, Mummy mask of Psusennes I, and Figurine of Khufu, mummies, hieroglyphics, among other.

Lunch at a nice restaurant (food and beverages at your own cost). After lunch you will have the opportunity to stroll along Cairo’s most famous Basar Khan-el-Khalili, with all the diverse and colourful offers. Accompanied by your guide to be sure the exhibition is not done alone, but the bargaining we leave to you! Dinner awaits for you back at the SEKEM farm.

Interesting to note: eating and drinking in Egypt is more than likely much cheaper than in your home country. Cost for food/drinks would likely be around 60 euro / 50 GBP / 70 USD for an entire week.

DAY 5 – Thursday: Comprehensive guided tour through some production lines of the SEKEM Farm, e.g. the workshops of Naturetex, where hundreds of people are sewing. You will participate at the weekly assembly of the school, where children of many classes show each other and the many ever present visitors what they’re actually learning. Enjoy a nice lunch. At about 4 p.m. you are invited to share in the weekend circle, together with about 800 SEKEM locals/employees, saying farewell to the Abouleish Family.

DAY 6 – Friday: Excursion to the Oasis Faiyum, the great garden of Egypt. Lake Karun has been fed by a canal from the Nile for about 3,000 years! You will have lunch at the lakeside residence of Egypt’s last king Faruk (food and beverages at your own cost). Due to frequent refurbishing, the Residence lunch might be in some other nice place in the vicinity. There are many date palm trees and widespread vegetable farms in the valley of Faiyum. You will have a cup of tea in the house of a local farmer cooperating with SEKEM. For dinner you’ll be back at SEKEM. Simple ball pens and/or bonbons are little gifts much welcomed. Dinner at the Farm.

DAY 7 – Saturday: After a relaxed breakfast you will drive downtown to visit the Coptic church St. Sergius, where the Holy Family is said to have been resting after their journey from Palestine. Lunch (food and beverages at your own cost). You’ll then visit the most famous of Cairo’s mosques, the Mohammad Ali or Alabaster Mosque. It is an impressive building with wonderful carpets under a huge dome, as well as great panning views of the megalopolis/mega-city that is Cairo. Hereafter, a short visit to Cairo’s oldest mosque Ibn Tulun from 9^th Century. Dinner back at the SEKEM farm.

DAY 8 – Sunday: Depending on your flight’s departure time, you will have some relaxed last moments on the farm. About three hours before departure you’ll be transferred to Cairo International Airport.

Note: the course of the programme may change due to local necessities

NEW: As an option you can visit SEKEM's greening the desert Initiative SEKEM Wahat in 350 km distant oasis Bahariya following the above shown program on from Sunday thru Monday plus overnight Monday to Tuesday in Cairo.

Tour available every Sunday throughout the year - (new option!)

Duration: 8 days / 7 Nights - Min number: 2 participants

Prices: 1,220 euro pp in DBL-Room – SGL-Room 1,325 euro pp

Booking Aspects

What's Included: Transfer CAI Intl. Airport to SEKEM. Complete care by SEKEM staff, fluent English speaking guides in SEKEM and Cairo. Transfers and all entrance fees to the sights, as mentioned in the itinerary; bio-dynamic Full Board menus at SEKEM (tea, coffee and non-alcoholic juices included), if not stated otherwise in the itinerary. Transfer to CAI Intl. Airport, fly home.

What's not Included: Flights from Int. Airports or other airports to Cairo. SEKEM Reisen can help book flights from/to any Intl. Airport you wish to depart/return to. We will book the flights with renowned airlines, in close coordination with you, preferring direct flights at decent times or flights with the least stops possible. The service charge for booking your flights will be 10 % pp.

Accommodation Options
SEKEM offers accommodation for visitors in fully equipped rooms. The 33 rooms on the farm are all double, two of them with adjoining doors, ideal for families or assistants. All rooms have a bathroom with shower and WC as well as mosquito nets. The rooms are either on the ground floor or on the first floor, facing the lawns and gardens in front and behind the building.

Travel Tips

Before traveling to any country its also always a good idea to do a little research and learn more about the destination; its climate, culture, and general environment. We've prepared an introduction to general practical information about travelling to Egypt

Travel insurance is always advisable. Either you can arrange speak to SEKEM Reisen for more information, or book itself yourself directly using the below link.

• Book travel insurance directly online
• Read more information on our partner travel insurance company

Booking Info

Tour prices 1,220 Euro pp in DBL-Room – SGL-Room 1,325 Euro p.p.

Prices during peak season (PS) 

22rd DEC 2024 thru 7th JAN 2025 and 12th thru 27th April 2025

1,340 euro pp in DBL-Room – SGL-Room 1,690 euro 

All tour prices valid/guaranteed until 31st AUG 2025

I make a voluntary CO2 compensation payment for 1 ton of CO2 from my flight emissions for the round trip from Germany/Switzerland/Austriato Cairo for the SEKEM project “Greening the Desert”, an overview can be found here:

https://sekem.com/en/offset-your-co2-footprint-with-sekem/

NEW

OPTION: Visiting SEKEM Wahat - Sunday: Appr. 5 h drive from SEKEM to SEKEM Wahat in oasis Bahariya, getting to know the greening the desert project, the newly built kindergarten and school - DBL-Room with bathroom, full board - Monday: Farmtour, lunch, driving back to SEKEM, overnight there, Tuesday transfer to your flight home. 

300 € pP in DBL Room or in SGL Room (330 € pP), incl. transfer, food, farmtour and all transfers. Minimum 2 participants.