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9 days · Classic Egypt
A Nile cruise and two days in Cairo: a 9 day Egypt itinerary
The standard Cairo and Nile cruise route with the day most itineraries cut: a second Cairo day at the end for the Royal Mummies, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo.
from US$2,385 / per person
- Length
- 9 days
- Pace
- Easy
- Type
- Classic Egypt
- Style
- Private
- Where
- Cairo
- From
- from US$2,385 pp
About this trip
What this 9 day Egypt itinerary is like
The standard Cairo and Nile cruise route with the day most itineraries cut: a second Cairo day at the end for the Royal Mummies, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo.
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$2,385
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Flamenco Hotel or similar
- 4 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- MS Radamis II or similar
- 4 nights, full board
Comfort
US$3,435
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir or similar
- 4 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Movenpick Royal Lily or similar
- 4 nights, full board
Luxury
US$4,600
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Four Seasons First Residence or similar
- 4 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 international airport by your tour leader, taken to the hotel and walked through the plan for the trip, 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 trip, including the pick-up time for each day. Nothing else is scheduled.
- Day 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 3Fly 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 4The 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 5Edfu 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 6Aswan
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 7Back 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 8The Mummies, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo
The day the shorter itineraries do not have. The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Royal Mummies Hall, then the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster mosque of Mohamed Ali. Lunch at a local restaurant, then Coptic Cairo — the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.Read the full day →
The day the shorter itineraries do not have. The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Royal Mummies Hall, then the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster mosque of Mohamed Ali. Lunch at a local restaurant, then Coptic Cairo — the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Day 9Departure
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 9-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
- ✓Eight nights: four 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 shared with the rest of the cruise group
- ✓English-speaking guide on your tours
- ✓Bottled water in the vehicle during touring
- ✓Breakfast daily from day 2, lunch on both Cairo sightseeing days, 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
What does the ninth day actually buy you?+
A second full Cairo day at the end, on day 8. That is the Royal Mummies Hall at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the Citadel of Saladin with the Mohamed Ali mosque, and Coptic Cairo with the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. On the eight-day version that day does not exist and you fly home instead.
Is the Nile cruise private or a group?+
It is split, and the operator is clear about it. Both Cairo days are private tours with your own guide and driver. The sightseeing from the boat is shared with the rest of the cruise group. If you want the temples along the river 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. Say so when you enquire, so the flight back to Cairo is not booked over it.
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 the Cairo day on day 8 is another several hours on your feet.
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.
- 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$2,385 / per person
Or message us on WhatsApp.
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Travel style
9 days · Classic Egypt
from US$2,385 · per person