12 Days Egypt Highlights: Cairo, Alexandria, Nile Cruise & Aswan

Why travellers choose this trip

Your route

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1
   Day 1 · CairoArrival in Cairo

   Arrival. A guide takes you through arrivals and into the private air-conditioned vehicle waiting outside. You check in at your hotel in Cairo.

   Rest of the day. Rest, and your guide confirms the pick-up time for day 2. No meals are included today. Your luggage travels with you in the vehicle.

   • ReceptionMeet and assist at the airport
   • Pick-upPrivate transfer to your hotel
   • MealsNone included

   Overnight in Cairo
2. 2
   Day 2 · CairoThe pyramids of Giza

   Morning. After breakfast, your private Egyptologist guide and driver take you to the plateau. It has three pyramids from the Fourth Dynasty, built between about 2600 and 2500 BC, and the Great Sphinx. The whole morning goes on them, with entrance fees included.

   Afternoon. Lunch is not included, so your guide helps you choose a place. Your guide helps you decide whether to take a camel ride, which is an optional extra and is not included. Bottled water is provided in the vehicle, and the driver takes you back to the hotel.

   Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Cairo. Tomorrow is Saqqara and Memphis, and your guide confirms the pick-up time.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast

   Overnight in Cairo
3. 3
   Day 3 · CairoSaqqara and Memphis

   Morning. After breakfast, your guide and driver take you about 30 km south of Cairo to Saqqara, which served as the burial ground for Memphis. You enter the Step Pyramid area, planned by Imhotep, and stand at the base of the pyramid of Unas, whose chambers carry the oldest Pyramid Texts. Entrance fees are included.

   Afternoon. Then comes Memphis itself, with your guide. Lunch is not included, and the guide helps you choose a place. The driver then takes you back to the hotel in Cairo.

   Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Cairo. Tomorrow you visit the museum and then drive to Alexandria, so pack tonight.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast

   Overnight in Cairo
4. 4
   Day 4 · AlexandriaGrand Egyptian Museum, then Alexandria

   Morning. After breakfast and check-out, the museum visit comes first, around 2 km from the pyramids. The Tutankhamun collection there has 5,398 pieces, and your guide leads you through it. Entrance fees are included.

   Afternoon. Lunch is not included, so your guide helps you choose a place. After lunch you drive about 220 km to Alexandria in the private vehicle, with your luggage on board, and check in at your hotel. Bottled water is provided in the vehicle.

   Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Alexandria. The evening is free by the sea.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast

   Overnight in Alexandria
5. 5
   Day 5 · AlexandriaAlexandria

   Morning. After breakfast, your guide and driver take you out into the city. Alexander the Great founded the city in 331 BC. The Qaitbay Citadel, built in 1477, occupies the exact site of the Pharos lighthouse. Entrance fees are included.

   Afternoon. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina opened in 2002 and has shelf space for eight million books. Lunch is not included, and your guide helps you choose a place. The driver then takes you back to the hotel.

   Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Alexandria. Tomorrow you return to Cairo and fly south.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast

   Overnight in Alexandria
6. 6
   Day 6 · LuxorBack to Cairo, fly to Luxor

   Morning. After breakfast and check-out, the car takes you back to Cairo, and you fly south to Luxor, about 1 hour. We set the flight time when we book so that the drive from Alexandria is not rushed.

   Afternoon. In Luxor a driver takes you to the hotel and you check in. Luxor Temple follows with your guide if the arrival time allows. Lunch is not included.

   Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Luxor. Tomorrow is Karnak and the west bank, and you board the ship in the late afternoon.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast

   Overnight in Luxor
7. 7
   Day 7 · LuxorKarnak and the west bank, board the ship

   Morning. After breakfast and check-out, Karnak comes first, with its 134 columns in the Hypostyle Hall. Your guide leads the visit, with entrance fees included.

   Afternoon. You cross the river to the Valley of the Kings and to Hatshepsut's terraces. The standard entrance fees are included; the extra-ticket tombs (Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses VI) are paid separately. Lunch is not included, and the guide helps you choose a place. In the late afternoon you check in on the ship, and your luggage goes with you in the vehicle.

   Evening. Dinner is served on board, and you sleep in your cabin on the ship. Your guide confirms tomorrow's visit to Edfu.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast, Dinner

   Overnight on the ship
8. 8
   Day 8 · EdfuEdfu

   Morning. After breakfast on board, the ship sails south overnight, and the day's walk is at Edfu. The Horus temple was begun on 23 August 237 BC under Ptolemy III. Your guide points out the sanctuary at the back. Entrance fees are included.

   Afternoon. Lunch is served on board as part of the full board, and the ship continues south. Your guide reads the walls with you.

   Evening. Dinner is served on board as part of the full board, and you sleep in your cabin on the ship. Your guide confirms tomorrow's visit to Kom Ombo.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsNone included

   Overnight on the ship
9. 9
   Day 9 · Kom OmboKom Ombo

   Morning. After breakfast on board, you go ashore with your guide into the double temple at Kom Ombo, built under the Ptolemies. Entrance fees are included. Your guide explains that it serves two gods, Sobek and Harwer, with a passage and sanctuary for each.

   Afternoon. After lunch on board, the ship carries on to Aswan, 50 km to the south, as the light drops.

   Evening. Dinner is served on board as part of the full board, and you sleep in your cabin on the ship. Your guide confirms the plan for the days ahead: cabins are vacated by 8:00.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsNone included

   Overnight on the ship
10. 10
    Day 10 · AswanPhilae and the High Dam

    Morning. After breakfast on board, Philae is the first outing of the day, by boat with your guide. Entrance fees are included.

    Afternoon. After lunch on board, the Aswan High Dam is the next stop. It runs 3,830 m along its crest and holds back Lake Nasser. The last night on board follows.

    Evening. Dinner is served on board as part of the full board, and you sleep in your cabin on the ship. Your guide confirms tomorrow's disembarkation: cabins are vacated by 8:00.

    • GuideYour private guide
    • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
    • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
    • MealsNone included

    Overnight on the ship
11. 11
    Day 11 · AswanLeave the ship; Elephantine Island

    Morning. After breakfast on board, cabins must be vacated by 8:00. You cross to Elephantine Island by boat and walk through it with your guide.

    Afternoon. Your luggage goes to the hotel in the private vehicle, and you check in to a hotel in Aswan. Lunch is not included, and your guide helps you choose places to eat.

    Evening. Dinner is not included, and your guide is glad to suggest places to eat near the hotel. You sleep at your hotel in Aswan. Tomorrow you fly to Cairo, and your guide confirms the airport pick-up time.

    • GuideYour private guide
    • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
    • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
    • MealsBreakfast

    Overnight in Aswan
12. 12
    Day 12 · CairoFly to Cairo, departure

    Departure. After breakfast and check-out, your driver takes you to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo, which is a short domestic one. A guide meets you at the airport in Cairo for the transfer to the departure terminal. Lunch and dinner are not included. Your guide confirms the pick-up time the evening before. Your luggage stays with you in the private vehicle at each transfer. We choose the departure to suit your international flight and confirm it when we book.

    • Drop-offPrivate transfer to the airport or station
    • GuideYour private guide
    • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
    • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
    • MealsBreakfast

    Departure

How much does this 12-day trip cost?

In US dollars, per person, for a private trip. The price in your written quote, made for your dates and group, is the one that counts. International flights are not included. Choose a hotel level in the booking box to see the total for your group.

Where you’ll stay

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