Lively Luxor and Luxurious Liveaboards: Diving Across the Northern Red Sea

Begin at the Valley of the Queens, a burial site for Ancient Egypt's royal women. As you wander among the sandstone, be sure to stop and admire the vibrant paintings at the Tomb of Nefertari, dedicated to the eponymous queen.

Next, continue to Deir el-Medina (or 'Valley of the Artisans'), where the craftsmen who worked on the royal tombs were laid to rest, before heading to Deir el-Bahari, famous for the grand Temple of Hatshepsut.

After a tasty lunch at a local restaurant, finish the tour with a visit to Luxor Temple. Built under Amenhotep III and expanded by Ramesses II, this remarkably preserved temple complex boasts grand statues, towering obelisks and an almost two-mile-long avenue lined with over 1,000 sphinx statues. Talk about a royal send-off…

Your first stop is the village of Hassan Fathy. Designed by and named after the famous Egyptian architect, this now-deserted village mirrors ancient Egyptian buildings, complete with a mosque, souq, amphitheatre and museum.

After you've explored, you'll have the chance to meet local artisans, watch craftsmen construct furniture from palm wood and visit Luxor Pottery School, an initiative that aims to revive ancient Egyptian pottery traditions while helping local homeless children off the street. Continuing the theme, head to Luxor Art Gallery, which showcases the work of Egyptian artists, before sitting down to a delicious lunch in Marsam.

The rest of the day is yours to enjoy, whether you'd rather continue exploring or simply lounge poolside.

When you arrive, grab your bags and board the Red Sea Aggressor II, your luxurious floating home for the next week. Spend a couple of hours settling into your comfortable cabin before enjoying a delicious dinner on deck - accompanied with a sundowner, of course.

Spend your surface interval soaking up the sun on deck as the boat drifts north to Abu Nuhas. With a whopping seven wrecks, this unusual reef has earned the nickname 'the reef of seven deaths', and this afternoon you'll be diving Giannis D, a sunken cargo ship home to myriad marine life and colourful coral.

As if that wasn't enough, today's schedule also includes a night dive on the reef. Look out for Spanish dancers - ruby-red nudibranchs common in this region - as well as cuttlefish, octopus and hunting lionfish.

For dive number two, explore one of the oldest wrecks in the northern Red Sea, the Carnatic. Sunk in 1869, this British steam-powered clipper ship was carrying both passengers and cargo, including copper sheeting, cotton bales, Royal Mail and £40,000 worth of unfinished gold coins - so keep your eyes peeled for any glittering remains among the vibrant soft corals and tunicates.

While you enjoy lunch, the boat will cruise to Gubal Island. Here, you'll dive a barge wreck home to plentiful marine life, from blue spotted rays and crocodilefish to two huge moray eels named George and Georgina (yes, really…)

Enjoy a refuelling breakfast as you cruise to Sha'ab Ali reef, home to the world's most famous wrecks, the Thistlegorm. A World War II British Navy ship, the Thistlegorm was carrying supplies to Alexandria in 1941 when she was hit by German bombers.

Today, you'll be treated to four dives on this legendary wreck, the first of which is all about navigating the outside. Swim to the sea floor to spot two massive locomotives thrown from the ship during the explosion, then head back up to the deck to see anti-aircraft and machine guns.

The second dive is all about the ship's cargo hold, which spans two levels and boasts stores of well-preserved rifles, aircraft pieces, trucks, motorbikes and even rubber boots.

During today's night dive, look out for lionfish patrolling the wreck as well as a resident turtle that likes to sleep hidden away on the deck.

Your first stop is Shark and Yolanda reef, named for its proximity to the Yolanda wreck. Mask up and dive down to the kaleidoscopic reef, which is carpeted in hard and soft corals and boasts shoals of fish of every colour of the rainbow.

Next, cruise to Gordon's Reef on Tiran Island, where you'll dive the Amphitheatre site. As you glide along this impressive coral-cloaked plateau, look out for resident large Napoleon Wrasse and distinctive blue-spotted rays.

Spend your surface interval relaxing on deck before descending back onto Gordon's reef for a night dive, keeping an eye out for octopus, hunting rays, more Spanish dancers and cuttlefish.

Enjoy a leisurely lounge in the sun as you cruise back to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley, a dive site chock-full of iridescent jackfish. The site also boasts a cave lit by beams of light that shine through cracks in the ceiling above, making for an almost otherworldly diving experience.

Spend the afternoon and evening diving around Beacon Rock on Sha'ab Mahmoud reef, where you'll find a beautiful coral garden and lots of fish, eels and rays - including the endangered feathertail ray.

For your final dive aboard the Red Sea Aggressor II, head to Dolphin House on the Sha'ab El Erg reef. This reef, as the name suggests, is home to a pod of playful dolphins, and you'll have the chance to experience the slightly odd spectacle of seeing them drift with only one eye open and the other closed, which they do to rest one half of their brains at a time.

Back on deck, sip on sundowner cocktails and watch a video recap of the week's diving as you head back to Hurghada. When you reach El Foley Marina, enjoy a delicious dinner on land before heading back to the boat for one last night rocked to sleep by the waves.

This morning, meet your friendly driver at the marina for the private transfer to the Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh, about 30 minutes away. Once you've checked in, the rest of the day is yours for the taking - sunbathe on the sand, lounge poolside with your holiday read or indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa. Although your flight tomorrow rules out any diving, the Oberoi boasts a thriving house reef perfect for snorkelling, so head out into the sparkling sea to spot sea turtles, rays and reef fish.

Come evening, enjoy a tasty dinner al fresco, toasting to your exhilarating adventures on the Red Sea.

Enjoy a quick stopover in the capital - the perfect amount of time to stretch your legs and pick up any last-minute souvenirs - before boarding your flight back to the UK. You'll be in the air for just over five hours, so sit back, relax and start dreaming up your next underwater adventure…