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12 days · Classic Egypt
Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise: a 12 day Egypt itinerary
The standard Cairo-and-cruise route with two extra nights in a Luxor hotel before boarding, which is what buys you the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and a day out to Dendera and Abydos.
from US$3,160 / per person
- Length
- 12 days
- Pace
- Easy
- Type
- Classic Egypt
- Style
- Private
- Where
- Cairo
- From
- from US$3,160 pp
About this trip
What this 12 day Egypt itinerary is like
The standard Cairo-and-cruise route with two extra nights in a Luxor hotel before boarding, which is what buys you the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and a day out to Dendera and Abydos.
This is a classic egypt route through Cairo · Luxor · Aswan, run privately unless you pick a group departure. Your guide is a licensed Egyptologist who lives on the route rather than flying in with the group.
Nothing here is fixed. Days can be added, dropped or reordered, and we will tell you honestly which optional sites are worth the extra ticket.
Accommodation and price
Three ways to travel this route
The route is the same in all three. What changes is where you sleep, and on a Nile trip that is most of the difference in price: the boat is the hotel for half the journey. Prices are per person, land only, and exclude international flights.
Standard
US$3,160
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Flamenco Hotel or similar
- 5 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Iberotel Luxor or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- MS Radamis II or similar
- 4 nights, full board
Comfort
US$4,335
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir or similar
- 5 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Sonesta St. George Hotel or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Movenpick Royal Lily or similar
- 4 nights, full board
Luxury
US$5,620
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Four Seasons First Residence or similar
- 5 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Steigenberger Nile Palace or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Sonesta St. George Nile Cruise or similar
- 4 nights, full board
Hotels and boats are the ones our partner books on this route and are named so you know what you are buying. A specific boat can be swapped for an equivalent in the same category when it is dry-docked or full, which is why each one says or similar. You are told which boat you are on before you pay.
Your trip
Day by day
Open any day for the full description. Every day can be changed before anything is booked.
Day 1Arrive in Cairo
Met at Cairo airport by your tour leader, taken to the hotel and checked in. They go through the itinerary with you and fix the pick-up time for each day. Overnight in Cairo.Read the full day →
Met at Cairo airport by your tour leader, taken to the hotel and checked in. They go through the itinerary with you and fix the pick-up time for each day. Overnight in Cairo.
- Day 2
Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum
The Pyramids and the Sphinx in the morning, lunch at a local restaurant, then the Grand Egyptian Museum for the Tutankhamun treasures. A short camel ride is included. Breakfast and lunch.Read the full day →
The Pyramids and the Sphinx in the morning, lunch at a local restaurant, then the Grand Egyptian Museum for the Tutankhamun treasures. A short camel ride is included. Breakfast and lunch.
Day 3Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Old Cairo
The Egyptian Museum first, lunch in town, then the Saladin Citadel with the Mohamed Ali alabaster mosque inside it. Coptic Cairo after that: the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Breakfast and lunch.Read the full day →
The Egyptian Museum first, lunch in town, then the Saladin Citadel with the Mohamed Ali alabaster mosque inside it. Coptic Cairo after that: the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Breakfast and lunch.
Day 4Fly to Luxor: the Valley of the Queens
Collected from the hotel and flown south — the flight is in the price. Met at Luxor and straight out to the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, with lunch at a local restaurant. Then to your Luxor hotel, not the boat. Breakfast and lunch.Read the full day →
Collected from the hotel and flown south — the flight is in the price. Met at Luxor and straight out to the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, with lunch at a local restaurant. Then to your Luxor hotel, not the boat. Breakfast and lunch.
Day 5Dendera and Abydos
A full day north of Luxor by road to two temples the standard cruise programme never reaches: Dendera, with its painted ceiling, and Abydos. Lunch at a local restaurant, then back to the Luxor hotel. Breakfast and lunch.Read the full day →
A full day north of Luxor by road to two temples the standard cruise programme never reaches: Dendera, with its painted ceiling, and Abydos. Lunch at a local restaurant, then back to the Luxor hotel. Breakfast and lunch.
Day 6Board the boat: Karnak and Luxor temples
Off to the boat after breakfast, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional extra. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →
Off to the boat after breakfast, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional extra. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.
Day 7The West Bank
Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, then back to the boat. Full board on board.Read the full day →
Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, then back to the boat. Full board on board.
Day 8Edfu and Kom Ombo
Sail to Edfu for the temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo — lunch on board first, then the temple the two gods Sobek and Haroeris share. Full board on board.Read the full day →
Sail to Edfu for the temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo — lunch on board first, then the temple the two gods Sobek and Haroeris share. Full board on board.
Day 9Aswan: the Granite Quarries and Philae
Sail to Aswan, breakfast aboard, then the granite quarries and the temple of Philae on its island before returning to the boat. Full board on board.Read the full day →
Sail to Aswan, breakfast aboard, then the granite quarries and the temple of Philae on its island before returning to the boat. Full board on board.
Day 10Disembark and fly back to Cairo
Breakfast aboard, then off the boat and out to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo. Met on arrival and taken to your hotel. Abu Simbel is offered as an optional extra on this day, at your own cost. Breakfast only.Read the full day →
Breakfast aboard, then off the boat and out to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo. Met on arrival and taken to your hotel. Abu Simbel is offered as an optional extra on this day, at your own cost. Breakfast only.
Day 11The National Museum and Khan el-Khalili
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, including the Royal Mummies hall, then lunch and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Breakfast and lunch.Read the full day →
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, including the Royal Mummies hall, then lunch and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Breakfast and lunch.
Day 12Departure
Breakfast, then a transfer to Cairo International for your flight home.Read the full day →
Breakfast, then a transfer to Cairo International for your flight home.
Want this written up for your dates — travel times, what each day asks of you and where you would sleep? Ask us for the full 12-day plan. We send it before you commit to anything.
Included
What the price covers
- ✓Meet and greet by the operator's representatives at the airports
- ✓Guest relations support throughout the stay
- ✓All transfers in a private air-conditioned vehicle
- ✓Domestic flights Cairo–Luxor and Aswan–Cairo
- ✓Eleven nights as listed in the plan you choose: five in Cairo, two in Luxor, four on the boat
- ✓All Cairo sightseeing, and part of the Luxor sightseeing, as private tours
- ✓All sightseeing from the boat, shared with the cruise group
- ✓English-speaking guide during the tours
- ✓Bottled water in the car while touring
- ✓Meals as listed day by day
- ✓Portage where needed
- ✓All service charges and taxes
Not included
What to budget separately
- —International flights
- —Egypt entry visa
- —Extra meals and drinks
- —Optional tours, including Abu Simbel and the hot air balloon at Luxor
- —Tipping
- —Additional entry tickets — going inside one of the pyramids, or the tomb of Tutankhamun, for example
Good to know
Questions about this trip
What do the two extra Luxor nights actually buy?+
Four sites the standard cruise itinerary leaves out. Day 4 is the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum; day 5 is Dendera and Abydos. You sleep in a Luxor hotel for both, and only board the boat on day 6. If you have already done Egypt once, this is the difference worth paying for.
How long is the Dendera and Abydos day?+
It is the longest day of the trip — a drive north out of Luxor and back, with lunch at a local restaurant in between. The operator does not publish a driving time, so treat it as a full day out rather than a morning excursion. Abydos in particular is a long way for one temple, and worth it.
Is the Nile cruise private or a group?+
The Cairo touring and part of the Luxor touring are private — your party, your guide, your vehicle. Once you are on the boat, the sightseeing is shared with the rest of the cruise group. That is how the operator sells it, and it is the one part of the trip you do not have to yourselves.
Are the domestic flights included?+
Yes. Cairo to Luxor on day 4 and Aswan to Cairo on day 10 are both in the price. International flights into and out of Egypt are not, and neither is the entry visa.
Which boat will we be on?+
It depends on the plan. Standard is the MS Radamis II, Comfort the Movenpick Royal Lily, Luxury the Sonesta St. George. The operator notes that changes may occur, so a boat can be swapped for a comparable one — confirm yours at the time of booking.
What is not included in the price?+
International flights, the Egypt entry visa, tipping, drinks and any extra meals, optional tours such as Abu Simbel and the Luxor balloon, and additional entry tickets. Going inside one of the pyramids or into the tomb of Tutankhamun is a separate ticket bought on the day.
How much should we budget for tipping?+
Tipping is excluded from the price and is expected. Reckon on US$10–15 per person per day for the guide, about US$5 a day for the driver, and US$5–10 per person per night into the crew box on the boat. On a twelve day trip that adds up, so plan for it in small notes.
Official sources
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
- Egypt e-visa portal ↗The official government application site. Fees and eligibility change here first.
- UK FCDO travel advice for Egypt ↗It updates continuously, and most UK travel insurance follows it.
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities ↗The ministry lists which tombs and temples currently open.
What this trip looks like
Before you travel
What you can hold us to
No middlemen taking a cut
You are quoted by the local company that runs the trip. No booking fee and no surcharge at the airport.
A licensed Egyptologist, every site
Not a tour escort with a flag. Our partner uses guides who have spent twenty years on the same temples.
We say when something is not worth it
Some tickets are. Some are a queue in the heat. We will tell you which before you pay for them.
Private unless it says group
Your guide, your driver, your pace. Group departures are labelled clearly on the card and the page.
Someone answers the phone
Our partner is in Egypt, in Egyptian hours, and you are put in touch with them directly rather than through a chain.
Change it before you commit
Every itinerary is a starting point. Add days, drop sites, reorder — nothing is fixed until you say so.
Pace
How hard is easy?
Short walks on level ground, a few flights of temple steps, and air-conditioned transport between sites. Suitable for most ages.
Plan this trip
Tell us your dates and we will price it
A real itinerary with prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
from US$3,160 / per person
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12 days · Classic Egypt
from US$3,160 · per person