The best time to visit Egypt, month by month and place by place
The short answer: October to April suits the temples: Luxor and Aswan average above 39 °C at midday from May to September. The Red Sea is a year-round coast, Alexandria is the one place with a real winter rain, and the desert nights are cold from December to February.
Choose your month
Open a month to see the average daily high and low in six places. The coloured band is our judgement of what that heat means for a day of sightseeing, computed from the average high; the numbers are the 1991–2020 WMO climate normals published by NOAA.
Average daily high and low, °C, 1991–2020
January
- Cairo18.9 / 10.1 °CMild
- Luxor22.8 / 7.1 °CMild
- Aswan23.2 / 10 °CMild
- Hurghada (Red Sea)22.2 / 11.6 °CMild
- Siwa19.8 / 6.1 °CMild
- Alexandria18.4 / 9.5 °CMild
February
- Cairo20.5 / 11 °CMild
- Luxor25.3 / 8.9 °CMild
- Aswan25.9 / 11.7 °CMild
- Hurghada (Red Sea)23.5 / 12.4 °CMild
- Siwa22.1 / 7.3 °CMild
- Alexandria19 / 9.7 °CMild
March
- Cairo23.8 / 13.2 °CMild
- Luxor29.7 / 12.8 °CWarm
- Aswan30.3 / 15.5 °CWarm
- Hurghada (Red Sea)26.2 / 15.1 °CWarm
- Siwa26.2 / 10.9 °CWarm
- Alexandria21.1 / 11.8 °CMild
April
- Cairo28.1 / 15.9 °CWarm
- Luxor35 / 17.5 °CHot: sightsee early
- Aswan35.5 / 20.1 °CHot: sightsee early
- Hurghada (Red Sea)29.9 / 18.7 °CWarm
- Siwa31.6 / 14.8 °CWarm
- Alexandria24.1 / 14.3 °CMild
May
- Cairo32.2 / 19.3 °CHot: sightsee early
- Luxor39.1 / 22.1 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Aswan39.5 / 24.6 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Hurghada (Red Sea)33.7 / 23.1 °CHot: sightsee early
- Siwa36.1 / 19.3 °CHot: sightsee early
- Alexandria26.9 / 17.8 °CWarm
June
- Cairo34.6 / 22.2 °CHot: sightsee early
- Luxor41.2 / 25 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Aswan41.6 / 26.7 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Hurghada (Red Sea)36.3 / 26.1 °CHot: sightsee early
- Siwa39.7 / 22.6 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Alexandria29.1 / 21.7 °CWarm
July
- Cairo35 / 23.8 °CHot: sightsee early
- Luxor41.4 / 25.7 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Aswan41.9 / 27.8 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Hurghada (Red Sea)37.4 / 27.8 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Siwa40.2 / 24.3 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Alexandria30.5 / 23.9 °CWarm
August
- Cairo34.9 / 24.3 °CHot: sightsee early
- Luxor41.2 / 25.6 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Aswan41.9 / 27.9 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Hurghada (Red Sea)37.5 / 28 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Siwa40.4 / 24.6 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Alexandria31 / 24.4 °CWarm
September
- Cairo33.4 / 22.7 °CHot: sightsee early
- Luxor39.3 / 23.3 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Aswan40 / 25.5 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Hurghada (Red Sea)35.3 / 25.6 °CHot: sightsee early
- Siwa37.3 / 21.8 °CVery hot: dawn and late afternoon
- Alexandria30.2 / 22.5 °CWarm
October
- Cairo30 / 20 °CWarm
- Luxor35.5 / 19.6 °CHot: sightsee early
- Aswan36.4 / 22.3 °CHot: sightsee early
- Hurghada (Red Sea)32.1 / 22.2 °CHot: sightsee early
- Siwa32.8 / 17.2 °CHot: sightsee early
- Alexandria27.8 / 19.3 °CWarm
November
- Cairo24.9 / 15.6 °CMild
- Luxor29.1 / 13.4 °CWarm
- Aswan29.8 / 16.2 °CWarm
- Hurghada (Red Sea)27.8 / 17.7 °CWarm
- Siwa26.3 / 12.1 °CWarm
- Alexandria24 / 15.1 °CMild
December
- Cairo20.5 / 11.7 °CMild
- Luxor24.2 / 8.6 °CMild
- Aswan24.5 / 11.4 °CMild
- Hurghada (Red Sea)23.8 / 13.4 °CMild
- Siwa21.2 / 7.8 °CMild
- Alexandria20.1 / 11.1 °CMild
Every month in one table (mean daily maximum, °C)
| Month | Cairo | Luxor | Aswan | Hurghada (Red Sea) | Siwa | Alexandria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18.9 | 22.8 | 23.2 | 22.2 | 19.8 | 18.4 |
| Feb | 20.5 | 25.3 | 25.9 | 23.5 | 22.1 | 19 |
| Mar | 23.8 | 29.7 | 30.3 | 26.2 | 26.2 | 21.1 |
| Apr | 28.1 | 35 | 35.5 | 29.9 | 31.6 | 24.1 |
| May | 32.2 | 39.1 | 39.5 | 33.7 | 36.1 | 26.9 |
| Jun | 34.6 | 41.2 | 41.6 | 36.3 | 39.7 | 29.1 |
| Jul | 35 | 41.4 | 41.9 | 37.4 | 40.2 | 30.5 |
| Aug | 34.9 | 41.2 | 41.9 | 37.5 | 40.4 | 31 |
| Sep | 33.4 | 39.3 | 40 | 35.3 | 37.3 | 30.2 |
| Oct | 30 | 35.5 | 36.4 | 32.1 | 32.8 | 27.8 |
| Nov | 24.9 | 29.1 | 29.8 | 27.8 | 26.3 | 24 |
| Dec | 20.5 | 24.2 | 24.5 | 23.8 | 21.2 | 20.1 |
Stations: Cairo International Airport, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada International Airport, Siwa and Alexandria El Nouzha Airport, as tabulated from the NOAA normals in each city's climate table. Averages hide heatwaves and cold snaps.
What the numbers mean
October to April: the temple months
Luxor's average high stays between 22.8 °C in January and 35.5 °C in October. Mornings are cool enough to spend in the Valley of the Kings, and nights in January fall to about 7 °C.
May to September: the heat
Luxor and Aswan average above 39 °C at midday from May to September. Sightseeing moves to dawn and late afternoon, and the middle of the day belongs to shade and water.
The Red Sea all year
Hurghada averages 22.2 °C in January and 37.5 °C in August. Our judgement: winter is warm enough for the beach on most days, and summer is hot on land.
Alexandria's winter
Alexandria is the mildest in summer, with an August high of 31.0 °C, and the one place here with real winter rain: about 61 mm in January.
Dates that change a trip
- 22 February and 22 October: the sun enters the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. See our Abu Simbel sun festival guide.
- Ramadan 2027: expected to begin on about 8 February 2027, subject to the sighting of the new moon (Gulf News). Our judgement: sites stay open, but daytime pace slows and evenings come alive.
- 2 August 2027: a total solar eclipse crosses Egypt. See the eclipse page.
- March to May: the khamsin, a hot, dry, sandy wind, can blow for a few hours at a time, most often in April (Wikipedia).
What we would choose (our judgement)
- A first trip to the classic sites: late October to November, or February to March. Warm days, cool mornings, and the Nile Valley at its most comfortable.
- A Nile boat: October to April for the heat; a winter sailing needs a warm layer on deck at night.
- The Red Sea for diving or rest: any month. Pick spring or autumn if you want warm water without summer heat on land.
- The desert (Siwa, the White Desert): October to April. From December to February bring real warmth for the night: Siwa's January low averages 6.1 °C.
Where to go from here
Sources and review
Reviewed on by Deluxe Trips Egypt. Official statements are attributed to their source; where we give a judgement, we say so. This guide names no school, boat or hotel.
- NOAA NCEI, WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991–2020
- Wikipedia, Cairo climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia, Luxor climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia, Aswan climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia, Hurghada climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia, Siwa Oasis climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia, Alexandria climate table (NOAA 1991–2020)
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Abu Simbel
- Gulf News, Ramadan 2027 expected dates
- Wikipedia, Khamsin
