Bonus Visit
Jim Berkeley can arrange for you to visit the otherwise closed tomb of Nefertari, the wonder of Luxor. It'll cost a princely sum-$4,250-and you'll be inside the tomb no longer than ten minutes, but if you can swing it, you won't be sorry. You would do this on Day 9 of your trip. For more details, see "The Fabulous 50" (December 2006).

Bonus Side Trip
If you can extend your stay in Sharm el-Sheikh by one day, plan to spend the extra time on an excursion that combines a predawn climb up Mount Sinai (where according to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim belief, God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses) and a visit to St. Catherine's, the world's oldest continuously functioning monastery, located in a stark valley at the foot of the mountain. You should book the excursion through Berkeley before your arrival in Egypt-it will cost at least $100 more per person if you arrange it through the Four Seasons upon check-in. (If you are planning on going up the mountain, be sure to pack a flashlight, a comfortable pair of sturdy walking shoes, socks, and a warm fleece jacket: Even in summer, it is bitter cold at the top of the mountain before the sun rises.)

Your bonus trip doesn't begin until late that evening, so spend the morning diving or snorkeling (see Day 12) and the afternoon resting on the beach or in your room. Have an early, preferably alcohol-free dinner (you'll need to feel as fresh as possible later on), and try to get at least a few hours sleep before 11 P.M., when you'll be expected to meet your guide in the lobby. You'll then board a small bus for the three-hour, 141-mile drive inland from Sharm el-Sheikh. An armed guard will most likely accompany you, sitting in the passenger seat beside the driver. Try to sleep if you possibly can. You will arrive at the high, dark, silent walls of St. Catherine's around 2 A.M. and immediately begin the ascent, accompanied by your guide and/or a local bedouin. Many climbers were on their own the night I made the ascent, but I found it comforting to have someone leading the way: You climb in total darkness-except for the brilliant stars in the pitch-black sky-and it can be disorienting at various times. Afraid your legs will give out? Don't worry: Bedouin voices keep shouting out from the edges of the narrow trail, "Camel? You want camel?" My recommendation? Know thyself. It is also your guide's job to make sure you reach the top of Mount Sinai before dawn; the trek can take from two to three hours, depending on how steady your progress is and how many times and for how long you stop at the little bedouin bars for a rest or a drink. Having come this far, you do not want to miss those magical minutes at the summit when the sun starts to rise. It is a ravishing spectacle: The giant red-orange orb slowly appears beyond the craggy, barren mountain chains, and what was velvet blackness dissolves and is replaced by shades of pink and ocher. Watching, you understand viscerally why the world's great monotheistic religions arose here and deemed the Sinai Peninsula sacred ground.