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8 days · Classic Egypt

Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise: an 8 day Cairo and Nile cruise package

The route most people take first, at the length it was built for: Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight to Luxor and four nights sailing down to Aswan.

from US$2,135 / per person
Length
8 days
Type
Classic Egypt
Style
Private
Where
Cairo
From
from US$2,135 pp

About this trip

What this 8 day Egypt itinerary is like

The route most people take first, at the length it was built for: Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight to Luxor and four nights sailing down to Aswan.

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.

Your trip

Day by day

Open any day for the full description. Every day can be changed before anything is booked.

  • Day 1 — Arrive in CairoDay 1

    Arrive in Cairo

    Met at Cairo international airport by your tour leader, taken to the hotel and walked through the plan for the week, including the pick-up time for each day. Nothing else is scheduled.Read the full day →

    Met at Cairo international airport by your tour leader, taken to the hotel and walked through the plan for the week, including the pick-up time for each day. Nothing else is scheduled.

  • Day 2 — Giza and the Grand Egyptian MuseumDay 2

    Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum

    The Pyramids and the Sphinx in the morning, with a short camel ride included, then lunch at a local restaurant. The afternoon goes to the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Tutankhamun treasures. Back to the hotel afterwards.Read the full day →

    The Pyramids and the Sphinx in the morning, with a short camel ride included, then lunch at a local restaurant. The afternoon goes to the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Tutankhamun treasures. Back to the hotel afterwards.

  • Day 3 — Fly to Luxor and boardDay 3

    Fly to Luxor and board

    Collected from the hotel and flown south to Luxor — that flight is in the price. Aboard the boat, then the east bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →

    Collected from the hotel and flown south to Luxor — that flight is in the price. Aboard the boat, then the east bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.

  • Day 4 — The west bankDay 4

    The west bank

    Breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Back aboard for lunch, dinner and the night. The boat does not move today.Read the full day →

    Breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Back aboard for lunch, dinner and the night. The boat does not move today.

  • Day 5 — Edfu and Kom OmboDay 5

    Edfu and Kom Ombo

    Sail to Edfu for the temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo after lunch and the double temple shared by Sobek and Haroeris. Both sit close to the mooring, so there is no long transfer either side.Read the full day →

    Sail to Edfu for the temple of Horus, then on to Kom Ombo after lunch and the double temple shared by Sobek and Haroeris. Both sit close to the mooring, so there is no long transfer either side.

  • Day 6 — AswanDay 6

    Aswan

    The boat sails to Aswan. Breakfast aboard, then the Unfinished Obelisk in its granite quarry and the Temple of Philae on its island, and back to the boat for lunch, dinner and your last night on the river.Read the full day →

    The boat sails to Aswan. Breakfast aboard, then the Unfinished Obelisk in its granite quarry and the Temple of Philae on its island, and back to the boat for lunch, dinner and your last night on the river.

  • Day 7 — Back to CairoDay 7

    Back to Cairo

    Breakfast on board, then off the boat and out to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo, which is included. Met at the other end and taken to your hotel. Abu Simbel is offered here as a paid optional excursion.Read the full day →

    Breakfast on board, then off the boat and out to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo, which is included. Met at the other end and taken to your hotel. Abu Simbel is offered here as a paid optional excursion.

  • Day 8 — DepartureDay 8

    Departure

    Breakfast, then a transfer to Cairo International whenever your flight goes.Read the full day →

    Breakfast, then a transfer to Cairo International whenever your flight goes.

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 8-day plan. We send it before you commit to anything.

Included

What the price covers

  • ✓Met at the airports by the operator’s own representatives
  • ✓Guest relations support for the length of your stay
  • ✓All transfers in a private air-conditioned vehicle
  • ✓Domestic flights Cairo–Luxor and Aswan–Cairo
  • ✓Seven nights: three in your Cairo hotel, four aboard the boat, at the plan level you choose
  • ✓All Cairo sightseeing as private tours
  • ✓All sightseeing on the cruise as a shared small group, around 15 people
  • ✓English-speaking guide on your tours
  • ✓Bottled water in the vehicle during touring
  • ✓Breakfast daily from day 2, lunch on the Cairo sightseeing day, and full board on the four cruise nights
  • ✓A short camel ride at Giza
  • ✓Porterage where needed
  • ✓All service charges and taxes

Not included

What to budget separately

  • —International flights
  • —Egypt entry visa
  • —Extra meals and drinks beyond the ones listed
  • —Optional tours, including the day trip to Abu Simbel
  • —Tipping
  • —Additional entry tickets — going inside one of the pyramids, or into the tomb of Tutankhamun, is paid at the gate

Good to know

Questions about this trip

Is the Nile cruise private or a group?+

It is split, and the operator is clear about it. Your Cairo days are private tours with your own guide and driver. The sightseeing from the boat — Karnak, the west bank, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae — is shared with a small group of around 15 people. If you want the temples to yourself as well, that is a different trip at a different price.

Are domestic flights included?+

Yes. Cairo to Luxor on day 3 and Aswan back to Cairo on day 7 are both inside the price, along with every airport transfer. International flights into and out of Egypt are not.

Can we add Abu Simbel?+

The operator offers it as an optional tour on day 7, the morning you leave the boat, and it is not in the price. It means a very early start from Aswan rather than a whole spare day. If it matters to you, say so when you enquire so the flight home is not booked over it.

Is eight days long enough for Egypt?+

For Cairo and the Nile, yes, and this is the most common length for exactly that reason. Three nights in Cairo cover Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, four nights on the boat cover Luxor to Aswan. What it does not leave room for is the Red Sea, the desert, or a second Cairo day for Islamic and Coptic Cairo.

How much walking is there?+

More than most people expect, though none of it is difficult. Giza, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings are long walks over uneven ground with very little shade, and a tomb usually means a ramp down and back up. There is no climbing or scrambling, which is why this is graded easy, but a sightseeing day here is several hours on your feet in the heat.

What is not included?+

International flights, your Egypt visa, extra meals and drinks, optional tours including Abu Simbel, tipping, and additional entry tickets. That last one catches people out: going inside one of the pyramids, or into the tomb of Tutankhamun, is a separate ticket bought at the gate.

How much should we budget for tipping?+

Tipping is excluded from the price and it is a real line in an Egypt budget rather than loose change. Reckon on US$10–15 per person per day for your guide and about US$5 for the driver, plus US$5–10 per person for each night on the boat, which goes into the communal crew box at the end. Carry small notes; getting change is a daily chore otherwise.

Official sources

Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.

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.

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$2,135 / per person

Or message us on WhatsApp.

Who’s travelling?

Cabins on the Nile boats are sold in pairs and children are priced differently, so who is coming changes the quote more than you would expect.

Adults

18 years and older

2

Children

0–17 years

0

No booking fee · Reply within 24 hours

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