The classic first visit
Five nights in Cairo, four on the Nile, and domestic flights so the days go to the sites.
10 days
Ten days that follow the whole story of how Egypt kept reimagining eternity. Giza shows kings who built to be seen. Luxor shows kings who built to be hidden, and the temples where they spoke to the gods. Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae show the last chapter, temples built under Greek kings and Roman emperors in the old forms, and Abu Simbel, if you add it, shows power carved into a cliff. Between them, Islamic and Coptic Cairo show what later Egypt made of it all.
Day 1
Meet at the airport and transfer to your hotel.
Airport reference photograph from 2017; terminal and flight are confirmed separately.
Photo: Ovedc · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Day 2
The pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum. Begin with the first chapter: kings who built to be seen.
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Giza Plateau: Three generations of kings built here; the plateau asks who did the building, and how they lived.
Day 3
The Citadel and Mohamed Ali Mosque, the Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue and Khan el-Khalili. Later Egypt looked back too: in Salah al-Din's reign, stone from the Giza pyramids went into new building.
Photo: Ahmed Al.Badawy · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized for display.
Cairo Citadel: A medieval fortress above the whole of Cairo, and the seat of Egypt's rulers for more than six centuries.
Khan el-Khalili: Cairo's great bazaar, grown from a Mamluk caravanserai of 1382.
Day 4
Karnak and Luxor Temple, then embark on the Nile cruise: Amun's great sanctuary, and the temple he travelled to every year.
Illustrative Nile cruise ship; the booked vessel is named in your quote.
Photo: Marc Ryckaert · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Karnak: Not a temple. A temple city.
Day 5
Valley of the Kings, temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon: kings who built to be hidden. Sail to Esna.
Photo: Zezinho68 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Valley of the Kings: The royal cemetery of the New Kingdom, cut into a dry valley beneath a pyramid-shaped peak.
Colossi of Memnon: Two seated colossi of Amenhotep III, the gatekeepers of a temple the flood once filled.
Day 6
The Temple of Horus and the double temple of Kom Ombo: the last chapter, built under the Ptolemies.
Photo: Warren LeMay · CC0. Resized for display.
Edfu Temple: The temple of Horus, whose walls are a library turned outwards.
Day 7
Philae; the High Dam, whose waters forced it to move; and the Unfinished Obelisk, which shows how an obelisk was cut.
Photo: Mohammed Moussa · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Philae: The island that was moved.
Day 8
Optional Abu Simbel before the flight: power carved into a cliff.
Terminal 2 reference photograph from 2020; your terminal is confirmed separately.
Photo: Amsguc · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Day 9
Or an optional day in Alexandria.
Photo: Peter Astbury · CC BY 3.0. Resized for display.
Day 10
Transfer to Cairo International Airport.
Cairo setting; pickup and return locations are confirmed separately.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0. Resized for display.
Day and time labels describe the planned sequence, not confirmed departures. Your written quote confirms pickup, flights, sailing and return times for your date.
Why go
This 10-day Egypt tour covers the classic route with the time it needs: five nights in Cairo, four on a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, and domestic flights so none of the days is spent on the road.
In Cairo, a private Egyptologist takes you to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, and to the Egyptian Museum. A second day explores the Citadel of Salah el-Din and the Mohamed Ali Mosque, the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue in Coptic Cairo, and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.
On day 4 you fly to Luxor, visit Karnak and Luxor Temple, and board your cruise ship, the Blue Shadow. The next days follow the river: the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, then Edfu and Kom Ombo, then Philae, the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan. On day 8 you disembark, with Abu Simbel available as an optional extra, and fly back to Cairo. Day 9 is free, or can be spent on an optional trip to Alexandria, before you leave on day 10.
Hotels, the cruise with full board, domestic flights, private transfers, guided tours and all entrance fees are included.
Our tip
Flying the long legs is what makes this route work: the days go to the sites, not the road.
Also consider: Add the Grand Egyptian Museum to your free day in Cairo.
The details
Before you go
Questions
Yes: Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Cairo.
The Blue Shadow, for four nights with full board.
$1,950 per person for two or more travellers, or $3,190 for one person travelling alone, in US dollars.
Yes. Tell us in advance about vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or other needs.
Add to the day
Sea & waterA felucca at sunset in AswanThe Nile at Aswan, around Elephantine Islandfrom USD 25 per boat
Desert & sandSaqqara by quad and dirt bikeThe desert edge at Saqqara, south of Gizafrom USD 100
Sky & stoneA tandem skydive over EgyptThe drop zone east of Cairo; Giza and El Gouna on event datesfrom USD 280
Sky & stoneDown inside the Red PyramidDahshur, south of Cairofrom USD 120Sky & stoneThe tomb robbed twiceLuxor West Bankfrom USD 150
City & peopleA Nubian village by boatGharb Soheil, on the Nile's west bank near Aswanfrom USD 40Pairs well with
The river, then the reefCairo, the Nile and Sharm el-Sheikh
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Deluxe Trips Egypt
Send your dates and party size here. We reply with a written quote: the price for your party, what is included and the terms. Nothing is booked until you accept it.
Prefer to talk? WhatsApp us
KennyOMG, CC BY-SA 4.0; Ahmed Al.Badawy, CC BY-SA 2.0; Zezinho68, CC BY-SA 4.0; Mohammed Moussa, CC BY-SA 4.0; Ovedc, CC BY-SA 4.0; Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0; Amsguc, CC BY-SA 4.0; Peter Astbury, CC BY 3.0; Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0; Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0; Berthold Werner, CC BY 3.0; U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Erin Dunkleberger, Public domain; Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0; Mgalal20, CC BY-SA 4.0; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0; Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0. Resized and cropped for display.
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