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16 days · Classic Egypt
The grand tour of Egypt: a 16 day itinerary
Sixteen days and very little left out: Cairo, a flight to Aswan, three nights sailing down to Luxor, two more days of Luxor on land, three nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,910 / per person
- Length
- 16 days
- Pace
- Easy
- Type
- Classic Egypt
- Style
- Private
- Where
- Cairo
- From
- from US$3,910 pp
About this trip
What this 16 day Egypt itinerary is like
Sixteen days and very little left out: Cairo, a flight to Aswan, three nights sailing down to Luxor, two more days of Luxor on land, three nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for Saqqara and Dahshur.
This is a classic egypt route through Cairo · Aswan · Luxor · Hurghada, 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$3,910
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Flamenco Hotel or similar
- 6 nights, breakfast
- Aswan
- Citymax Hotel or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- MS Radamis II or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Luxor
- Iberotel Luxor or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Hurghada
- Swiss Inn Resort Hurghada or similar
- 3 nights, soft all-inclusive with breakfast, lunch and dinner
Comfort
US$5,190
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir or similar
- 6 nights, breakfast
- Aswan
- Tolip Aswan or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Movenpick Royal Lily or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Luxor
- Sonesta St. George Hotel or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Hurghada
- Continental Hotel Hurghada or similar
- 3 nights, soft all-inclusive with breakfast, lunch and dinner
Luxury
US$6,380
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Four Seasons First Residence or similar
- 6 nights, breakfast
- Aswan
- Mövenpick Elephantine Island or similar
- 1 night, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Sonesta St. George Nile Cruise or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Luxor
- Steigenberger Nile Palace or similar
- 2 nights, breakfast
- Hurghada
- KaiSol Romance Resort or similar
- 3 nights, soft all-inclusive with breakfast, lunch and dinner
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 Aswan: the quarries and Philae
Transfer to Cairo airport for the flight south, which is included. Met at Aswan and driven straight to the granite quarries and the Temple of Philae, with lunch at a local restaurant. Overnight at an Aswan hotel.Read the full day →
Transfer to Cairo airport for the flight south, which is included. Met at Aswan and driven straight to the granite quarries and the Temple of Philae, with lunch at a local restaurant. Overnight at an Aswan hotel.
Day 5Board the cruise at Aswan
Collected after breakfast and taken to the boat. Lunch, dinner and the night on board. Abu Simbel is offered today as an optional tour.Read the full day →
Collected after breakfast and taken to the boat. Lunch, dinner and the night on board. Abu Simbel is offered today as an optional tour.
Day 6Kom Ombo and Edfu
Sail to Kom Ombo for the temple shared between Sobek and Haeroris, then on to Edfu, lunch aboard, and the Temple of Horus. Dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →
Sail to Kom Ombo for the temple shared between Sobek and Haeroris, then on to Edfu, lunch aboard, and the Temple of Horus. Dinner and the night on board.
Day 7The West Bank at Luxor
Sail to Luxor, breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch, dinner and the last night on the river.Read the full day →
Sail to Luxor, breakfast on board, then the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch, dinner and the last night on the river.
Day 8Off the boat: Karnak and Luxor temples
Breakfast aboard, disembarkation, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Afterwards to a Luxor hotel for the night. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional tour.Read the full day →
Breakfast aboard, disembarkation, then the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Afterwards to a Luxor hotel for the night. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional tour.
Day 9Dendera 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 10The Queens, Medinet Habu, then the road to Hurghada
The Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum in the morning, with lunch at a local restaurant. Then the transfer from Luxor to Hurghada and your hotel on the coast, with dinner there.Read the full day →
The Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum in the morning, with lunch at a local restaurant. Then the transfer from Luxor to Hurghada and your hotel on the coast, with dinner there.
Day 11Free day in Hurghada
Nothing is scheduled. The beach, or one of the optional excursions sold locally at your own cost. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.Read the full day →
Nothing is scheduled. The beach, or one of the optional excursions sold locally at your own cost. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.
Day 12Free day in Hurghada
A second day with no touring in it, on the same arrangement: the beach or an optional excursion, and all three meals at the hotel.Read the full day →
A second day with no touring in it, on the same arrangement: the beach or an optional excursion, and all three meals at the hotel.
- Day 13
Free morning, then fly to Cairo
Breakfast and a morning to yourself, then the transfer to Hurghada airport. The flight back to Cairo is included; you are met on arrival and taken to your hotel.Read the full day →
Breakfast and a morning to yourself, then the transfer to Hurghada airport. The flight back to Cairo is included; you are met on arrival and taken to your hotel.
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.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.
Day 15National 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. Back to the hotel for the last night.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. Back to the hotel for the last night.
- Day 16
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 16-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 Aswan and Hurghada 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
- ✓The road transfer from Luxor to Hurghada
- ✓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 Abu Simbel and the Luxor balloon
- —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 three cruise nights is not: Kom Ombo, Edfu and the West Bank are run as excursions for the whole boat, so you see them with the rest of the cruise group. Luxor on days eight to ten is back on land.
Are domestic flights included?+
Yes, both: Cairo to Aswan on day four and Hurghada to Cairo on day thirteen. International flights into and out of Egypt are not included, and neither is the entry visa.
Why only three nights on the boat in a sixteen day trip?+
Because Luxor gets two more nights on land afterwards. The boat covers Kom Ombo, Edfu and the West Bank; the Luxor hotel then gives you Karnak, Dendera, Abydos, the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum at a pace no three night cruise fits in. It is a deliberate trade, and a sensible one.
How much walking is there?+
A lot in the first ten days, then none. Giza, the West Bank, Karnak, Dendera, Abydos and Dahshur are each a few hours on uneven ground in heat. Nothing is technical and the vehicle is never far away. The three Hurghada days carry no touring at all, and they land at exactly the point where most people need them.
What does the Hurghada hotel include?+
The operator describes it as soft all-inclusive with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Exactly which drinks that covers varies by hotel, so confirm it when you book rather than assuming an open bar. Meals away from the hotel and any excursion booked on the coast are your own cost.
What is not included in the price?+
International flights, the Egypt entry visa, extra meals and drinks, optional tours such as Abu Simbel on day five or the Luxor balloon on day eight, 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. Draw the cash before you board — the river is the one place you cannot fix a shortage.
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$3,910 / per person
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16 days · Classic Egypt
from US$3,910 · per person