Day 1 Depart from London Heathrow to Tripoli. Transfer to the Hotel Yosser or the El-Khan Hotel, about 15 minutes’ walk from the old town, for four nights.
Day 2 Visit Sabratha, once a wealthy trading port, abandoned early in its history following a series of earthquakes. Its theatre has been skilfully reconstructed and its museum contains many fine mosaics. Return to Tripoli via Janzour and visit the Punic catacombs.
Day 3 Visit the National Museum and the old town of Tripoli with time for individual exploration or to visit the souks. Dinner at a local fish restaurant.
Day 4 Visit the major sights of Leptis Magna, once the largest city in Africa and the second city of the Roman Empire.
Day 5 Fly to Benghazi and continue to Susa, via 4th-century Ptolemais, for a two-night stay at the Hotel Manara next to the Apollonia site.
Day 6 A full day visiting both the sites of Cyrene and Apollonia.
Day 7 Visit the site of Qasr Libya, the excavations of a 6th-century church with 50 marvellously preserved mosaic panels, before transferring to the airport for the flight to Tripoli and an overnight stay at the Yosser Hotel or the El-Khan Hotel.
Day 8 Travel south into the highlands of the Jebel Nafusa visiting the ancient granaries of Qasr El Haj and the abandoned Berber village of Tormisa situated on the brink of a precipice and formerly accessed via a drawbridge. Continue to the traditional village of Ruhaybat for overnight at the Yfren Hotel.
Day 9 Drive to Ghadames visiting en route the fortified grain stores of Kabaw. Two nights at the Dar Ghadames Hotel.
Day 10 Full day visiting this World Heritage site celebrated for its beautiful and inventive architecture, designed to combat the Saharan climate, with houses built from mud, lime and palm trunks, fitting together like a jigsaw. Lunch in a local house in the old town.
Day 11 Return to Tripoli via the old village of Nalut, spectacularly situated on an escarpment with views to the east. Visit the walled grain store, originally built in about 1300, olive press and ancient mosque, still in use today. Overnight at Hotel Yosser or El-Khan Hotel.
Day 12 Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
Extension – Cairo
This extension includes four nights at the 5-star InterContinental Hotel in Cairo, including breakfast, transfers and two halfday excursions: the Pyramids and Great Sphinx and a guided visit to the Egyptian Museum. Optional excursions include the Citadel, Mohammed Ali Mosque & Khan el- Khalili (inc. lunch) – £26; Memphis & Saqqara (inc. lunch) – £26; Pyramids Sound & Light – £21.
