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10 days · Nile & Red Sea
A Nile Cruise and Hurghada: a 10 day Egypt itinerary
Egypt in three parts: two days in Cairo, three nights sailing Aswan to Luxor, then three nights on the Red Sea with nothing scheduled. The temples first, the sea afterwards.
from US$2,310 / per person
- Length
- 10 days
- Pace
- Easy
- Type
- Nile & Red Sea
- Style
- Private
- Where
- Cairo
- From
- from US$2,310 pp
About this trip
What this 10 day Egypt itinerary is like
Egypt in three parts: two days in Cairo, three nights sailing Aswan to Luxor, then three nights on the Red Sea with nothing scheduled. The temples first, the sea afterwards.
This is a nile & red sea 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$2,310
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Flamenco Hotel or similar
- 3 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- MS Radamis II or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Hurghada
- Swiss Inn Resort Hurghada or similar
- 3 nights, full board, soft all-inclusive
Comfort
US$3,300
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir or similar
- 3 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Movenpick Royal Lily or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Hurghada
- Continental Hotel Hurghada or similar
- 3 nights, full board, soft all-inclusive
Luxury
US$4,215
per person, land only
- Cairo
- Four Seasons First Residence or similar
- 3 nights, breakfast
- Nile cruise
- Sonesta St. George Nile Cruise or similar
- 3 nights, full board
- Hurghada
- KaiSol Romance Resort or similar
- 3 nights, full board, soft all-inclusive
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 run through the itinerary and fix the pick-up times 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 run through the itinerary and fix the pick-up times 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 3Fly to Aswan and board
Collected from the hotel and flown south — the flight is in the price. Met at Aswan and taken aboard, then the Unfinished Obelisk in its quarry and the temple of Philae. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.Read the full day →
Collected from the hotel and flown south — the flight is in the price. Met at Aswan and taken aboard, then the Unfinished Obelisk in its quarry and the temple of Philae. Lunch, dinner and the night on board.
Day 4Kom Ombo and Edfu
Sail to Kom Ombo for the temple the two gods Sobek and Haroeris share, then on to Edfu — lunch on board first, then the temple of Horus. Full board on board.Read the full day →
Sail to Kom Ombo for the temple the two gods Sobek and Haroeris share, then on to Edfu — lunch on board first, then the temple of Horus. Full board on board.
Day 5Sail to Luxor and the West Bank
Breakfast as the boat comes into Luxor, then Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Full board on board.Read the full day →
Breakfast as the boat comes into Luxor, then Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Full board on board.
Day 6Karnak and Luxor, then drive to Hurghada
Breakfast aboard, off the boat, and the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Then the road east to Hurghada and your hotel. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional extra. Breakfast and dinner.Read the full day →
Breakfast aboard, off the boat, and the East Bank: Karnak and Luxor temples. Then the road east to Hurghada and your hotel. A hot air balloon over the West Bank is offered as an optional extra. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 7Free day in Hurghada
Nothing scheduled. The beach, the pool, or an optional excursion booked and paid locally. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.Read the full day →
Nothing scheduled. The beach, the pool, or an optional excursion booked and paid locally. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.
Day 8Free day in Hurghada
The same again. Two empty days is the point of this shape of trip, and after four temple days it reads better than it looks on paper. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.Read the full day →
The same again. Two empty days is the point of this shape of trip, and after four temple days it reads better than it looks on paper. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel.
- Day 9
Fly back to Cairo
A free morning, then the transfer to Hurghada airport for the flight to Cairo — that one is in the price too. Met on arrival and taken to your hotel. Breakfast only.Read the full day →
A free morning, then the transfer to Hurghada airport for the flight to Cairo — that one is in the price too. Met on arrival and taken to your hotel. Breakfast only.
Day 10Departure
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 10-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–Aswan and Hurghada–Cairo
- ✓The road transfer from Luxor to Hurghada
- ✓Nine nights as listed in the plan you choose: three in Cairo, three on the boat, three in Hurghada
- ✓All Cairo sightseeing as private tours
- ✓All sightseeing from the boat, shared with a small group of about 15 people
- ✓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 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
Is the Nile cruise private or a group?+
The Cairo touring is private — your party, your guide, your vehicle. The sightseeing off the boat at Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Luxor is shared with a small group of around 15 people. That is how the operator runs every boat, and it is the one shared part of the trip.
Are the domestic flights included?+
Yes. Cairo to Aswan on day 3 and Hurghada to Cairo on day 9 are both in the price. International flights into and out of Egypt are not, and neither is the entry visa.
How do we get from Luxor to Hurghada?+
By road on day 6, straight after Karnak and Luxor temples, and the transfer is included. It is a desert crossing rather than a scenic drive — most people sleep through it. You arrive at the hotel in time for dinner, which is why day 6 has breakfast and dinner but no lunch.
What is there to do in Hurghada?+
Days 7 and 8 have nothing planned and the hotel board is included, so you can genuinely do nothing. The operator flags optional excursions — diving, snorkelling, a desert trip — but none are booked or paid for in advance, and none are in the price.
Three nights on the boat — is that enough?+
It covers Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu and both banks at Luxor, which is the whole standard programme sailing north. Sailing Luxor to Aswan instead takes four nights and gives you a slower start, not more temples. If the river is the point of the trip rather than the sea, take the longer version.
What is not included in the price?+
International flights, the Egypt entry visa, tipping, drinks and extra meals, optional tours such as 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. Small notes are far more useful than large ones.
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$2,310 / per person
Or message us on WhatsApp.
10 days · Nile & Red Sea
from US$2,310 · per person