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Things to do in Egypt: the wonders, the river, the sea and the desert
The short answer
Stand inside the Great Pyramid and before Tutankhamun's treasure at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Walk the Valley of the Kings and Karnak at Luxor, fly over them by balloon at sunrise, then sail the Nile to Aswan and on to Abu Simbel. Add a day on a Red Sea reef and a night under the stars in the White Desert, and you have seen Egypt whole.
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- Go inside the Great Pyramid: climb to the King's Chamber of the last of the Seven Wonders still standing. See Giza pyramids tickets.
- Meet Tutankhamun: all 5,398 objects from his tomb are shown together for the first time at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
- See where pyramids began: Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur.
- Walk a temple city: Karnak, then Luxor Temple in the evening light.
- Enter a royal tomb: the painted passages of the Valley of the Kings. See which tombs to choose.
- Stand before Ramses II: the four colossi of Abu Simbel, and the sun festival twice a year.
- Visit the island that was moved: the temple of Isis at Philae.
- Cruise between Luxor and Aswan: temples by day and the river between them. See dahabiya or Nile cruise.
- Fly over Luxor at sunrise: a hot air balloon above the West Bank.
- Sail a felucca at sunset: sail, not engine, among the granite islands of Aswan, on a felucca at sunset.
- Take tea in a Nubian home: by boat to Gharb Soheil.
- Walk medieval Cairo: al-Mu'izz Street, the Citadel and its skyline mosque. See Islamic Cairo.
- Meet the royal mummies: at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, on a half day with Old Cairo.
- Go down into Alexandria's catacombs: Kom el-Shoqafa, where Egyptian gods wear Roman dress.
- Take your first dive: in the Red Sea, with no licence needed and an instructor beside you.
- Dive a wreck: the Thistlegorm, a British supply ship sunk in 1941, for certified divers.
- Snorkel with dolphins: at Dolphin House or Sataya reef.
- Choose your coast: see Hurghada, Sharm, Marsa Alam or Dahab.
- Sleep in the White Desert: chalk towers at sunset and a night under the stars, on a two-day camp from Cairo.
- Watch the sunrise from Mount Sinai: the night climb and Saint Catherine's Monastery.
- Follow Alexander to Siwa: the oasis of the Oracle of Amun. See Siwa Oasis.
- See the sun go dark: the total eclipse over Luxor on 2 August 2027.
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Sources and review
Official statements are attributed to their source; our recommendations are editorial judgement.
Photo: Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and cropped for display.
