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15 days · Classic Egypt
Cairo, Luxor and a Nile cruise: a 15 day Egypt itinerary
Fifteen days of the ancient sites without a beach stop: Cairo, two days of Luxor on land, four nights sailing to Aswan, a Nubian village, then back to Cairo for Alexandria, Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,985 / per person
- Length
- 15 days
- Pace
- Easy
- Type
- Classic Egypt
- Style
- Private
- Where
- Cairo
- From
- from US$3,985 pp
About this trip
What this 15 day Egypt itinerary is like
Fifteen days of the ancient sites without a beach stop: Cairo, two days of Luxor on land, four nights sailing to Aswan, a Nubian village, then back to Cairo for Alexandria, Saqqara and Dahshur.
This is a classic egypt route through Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Alexandria, 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$3,985
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Flamenco Hotel or similar
- 7 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Iberotel Luxor or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- MS Radamis II or similar
- 4 nights, full board
- Aswan
- Citymax Hotel or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
Comfort
US$5,325
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir or similar
- 7 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Sonesta St. George Hotel or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Movenpick Royal Lily or similar
- 4 nights, full board
- Aswan
- Tolip Aswan or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
Luxury
US$6,765
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Four Seasons First Residence or similar
- 7 nights, breakfast
- Luxor
- Steigenberger Nile Palace or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Sonesta St. George Nile Cruise or similar
- 4 nights, full board
- Aswan
- Mövenpick Elephantine Island or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
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
Your tour leader meets you at Cairo International, takes you to the hotel, sees you through check-in and goes through the itinerary to fix pick-up times for each day.Read the full day →
Your tour leader meets you at Cairo International, takes you to the hotel, sees you through check-in and goes through the itinerary to fix pick-up times for each day.
- Day 2
Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum
The Pyramids and the Sphinx, with a short camel ride included, then lunch at a local restaurant. The afternoon is the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Tutankhamun collection.Read the full day →
The Pyramids and the Sphinx, with a short camel ride included, then lunch at a local restaurant. The afternoon is the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Tutankhamun collection.
Day 3Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Old Cairo
The Egyptian Museum, lunch in Cairo, then the Saladin Citadel with the Mohamed Ali alabaster mosque inside it, and Coptic Cairo for the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.Read the full day →
The Egyptian Museum, lunch in Cairo, then the Saladin Citadel with the Mohamed Ali alabaster mosque inside it, and Coptic Cairo for the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Day 4Fly to Luxor: the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum
Transfer to Cairo airport for the flight to Luxor, which is included. Met on arrival and taken to the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, with lunch at a local restaurant. Overnight at a Luxor hotel.Read the full day →
Transfer to Cairo airport for the flight to Luxor, which is included. Met on arrival and taken to the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, with lunch at a local restaurant. Overnight at a Luxor hotel.
Day 5Dendera and Abydos
A full day out to the two temples most Nile itineraries never reach, with lunch at a local restaurant. Back to the same Luxor hotel for the night.Read the full day →
A full day out to the two temples most Nile itineraries never reach, with lunch at a local restaurant. Back to the same Luxor hotel for the night.
Day 6Board the cruise: Karnak and Luxor temples
Collected after breakfast and taken aboard, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Lunch, dinner and the night on board. A hot air balloon is offered as an optional tour.Read the full day →
Collected after breakfast and taken aboard, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Lunch, dinner and the night on board. A hot air balloon is offered as an optional tour.
Day 7The West Bank
Breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →
Breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.
Day 8Edfu and Kom Ombo
Sail to Edfu for the Temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo, lunch aboard, and the temple shared between Sobek and Haeroris. Dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →
Sail to Edfu for the Temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo, lunch aboard, and the temple shared between Sobek and Haeroris. Dinner and the night on board.
Day 9Aswan: the quarries and Philae
Sail to Aswan, breakfast on board, then the granite quarries and the Temple of Philae before returning to the boat. Lunch, dinner and the last night on the river.Read the full day →
Sail to Aswan, breakfast on board, then the granite quarries and the Temple of Philae before returning to the boat. Lunch, dinner and the last night on the river.
Day 10Disembark at Aswan
Breakfast aboard, then off the boat and across to an Aswan hotel. The rest of the day is unscheduled. Abu Simbel is offered as an optional tour.Read the full day →
Breakfast aboard, then off the boat and across to an Aswan hotel. The rest of the day is unscheduled. Abu Simbel is offered as an optional tour.
Day 11Kalabsha, a Nubian village, then fly to Cairo
Kalabsha Temple in the morning, then out by motorboat to a Nubian village for lunch with a Nubian family. Afterwards the transfer to Aswan airport for the included flight to Cairo, where you are met and taken to your hotel.Read the full day →
Kalabsha Temple in the morning, then out by motorboat to a Nubian village for lunch with a Nubian family. Afterwards the transfer to Aswan airport for the included flight to Cairo, where you are met and taken to your hotel.
Day 12National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation and Khan el-Khalili
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, including the mummies hall, lunch at a local restaurant, then the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.Read the full day →
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, including the mummies hall, lunch at a local restaurant, then the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.
- Day 13
Alexandria in a day
Breakfast in Cairo, then the drive north for Pompey's Pillar, the library, the Qaitbay citadel and the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, with lunch at a fish restaurant. Back to the Cairo hotel in the evening.Read the full day →
Breakfast in Cairo, then the drive north for Pompey's Pillar, the library, the Qaitbay citadel and the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, with lunch at a fish restaurant. Back to the Cairo hotel in the evening.
Day 14Saqqara and Dahshur
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, then the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. The day is spent in the rural area around Dahshur, with lunch at a local family's home. Back to Cairo for the last night.Read the full day →
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, then the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. The day is spent in the rural area around Dahshur, with lunch at a local family's home. Back to Cairo for the last night.
- Day 15
Departure
Breakfast, then the transfer to Cairo International for your flight home.Read the full day →
Breakfast, then the 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 15-day plan. We send it before you commit to anything.
Included
What the price covers
- ✓Meet and greet by a representative at the airports
- ✓A guest relations contact during your stay
- ✓All transfers in a private air-conditioned vehicle
- ✓Domestic flights Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Cairo
- ✓Accommodation on the plan you choose, as listed above
- ✓All Cairo sightseeing in the itinerary, as private tours
- ✓All cruise sightseeing, shared with the rest of the cruise group
- ✓A short camel ride at Giza on day two
- ✓An English-speaking guide on your tours
- ✓Bottled water in the car during your tours
- ✓Meals as listed in the day-by-day plan
- ✓Portage where needed
- ✓All service charges and taxes
Not included
What to budget separately
- —International flights
- —The Egypt entry visa
- —Extra meals and drinks
- —Optional tours, including the Luxor balloon and Abu Simbel
- —Tipping
- —Additional entry tickets, such as going inside one of the Pyramids or Tutankhamun's tomb
Good to know
Questions about this trip
Is the Nile cruise private or a group?+
The Cairo touring is private, with your own guide and vehicle. The sightseeing during the four cruise nights is not: Karnak, the West Bank, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae are run as excursions for the whole boat, so you see them with the rest of the cruise group.
Are domestic flights included?+
Yes, two: Cairo to Luxor on day four and Aswan to Cairo on day eleven. International flights into and out of Egypt are not included, and neither is the entry visa.
Why fifteen days and no Red Sea?+
Because the extra days go into sites rather than a beach. Dendera and Abydos, Kalabsha and a Nubian village, Alexandria, Saqqara and Dahshur are all in here, and none of them fit an eight day trip. If you want a week of ancient Egypt and then somewhere to stop moving, the Hurghada itineraries are the ones to look at instead.
How much walking is there?+
A lot, spread over a fortnight. Giza, the West Bank, Karnak, Dendera, Abydos, Alexandria and Dahshur are each a few hours on uneven ground, usually in heat. Nothing is technical and the vehicle is always close, but there is no rest day built into the fifteen: day ten at Aswan is the only afternoon with nothing in it.
Which nights are on the boat?+
Four, days six to nine, boarding at Luxor and leaving at Aswan on the morning of day ten. The other ten nights are hotels: seven in Cairo, two in Luxor and one in Aswan. Both the hotels and the boat change with the plan you pick.
What is not included in the price?+
International flights, the Egypt entry visa, extra meals and drinks, optional tours such as the Luxor balloon on day six or Abu Simbel from Aswan, tipping, and additional entry tickets at the sites. Going inside one of the Pyramids or into Tutankhamun's tomb is charged separately at the gate.
How much should we budget for tipping?+
Tipping is excluded from the price and is expected. Budget roughly US$10 to 15 per person per day for your guide, about US$5 a day for the driver, and US$5 to 10 per person per night into the communal crew box on the cruise. Over fifteen days that adds up, so draw the cash in Cairo rather than hunting an ATM on the river.
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$3,985 / per person
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15 days · Classic Egypt
from US$3,985 · per person