Overview
Tour Description
Fifteen days is enough to see Egypt properly and still have time to enjoy it. This private luxury grand tour combines the big three — Cairo, Luxor and Aswan — with Alexandria on the Mediterranean, a 5-star Nile cruise, Abu Simbel by air, and four days on the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh, including a desert dinner with Bedouin hosts and a private yacht day to the reefs of Tiran Island.
The pace is deliberate. Big sightseeing days are followed by slower ones, and the last two days in Cairo are kept light so you go home rested rather than exhausted. Your own Egyptologist guides you on every sightseeing day, and our team handles every flight, transfer and check-in.
Highlights
- The Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and the Grand Egyptian Museum
- Coptic and Islamic Cairo, the Museum of Islamic Art and Abdeen Palace
- A private day in Alexandria: the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, Qaitbay Citadel and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
- A 5-star Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, with Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae
- Abu Simbel by plane, so no 7-hour return drive
- Sharm El Sheikh: beach time, a Bedouin desert dinner and a private yacht to Tiran and White Island
Learn more about the sites: Pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Abu Simbel.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Cairo
Our team meets you at Cairo International Airport, helps with your visa and luggage and drives you to your 5-star hotel. Your tour manager runs through the itinerary with you, and the rest of the day is yours to rest.
Overnight: Cairo
Day 2: Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and the Grand Egyptian Museum
Begin at the Giza plateau as it opens: the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, the panorama viewpoint and the Great Sphinx beside Khafre’s Valley Temple. After lunch, spend the afternoon at the Grand Egyptian Museum with Tutankhamun’s complete treasure and the colossal Ramses II in the Grand Hall.
Meals: breakfast, lunch · Overnight: Cairo
Day 3: Old Cairo – the Egyptian Museum, Coptic and Islamic Cairo
Visit the original Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, opened in 1902 and still packed with statues and treasures. Continue to Coptic Cairo for the Hanging Church, built on top of a gate of the Roman Babylon Fortress, and the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque in Egypt and in Africa, founded in AD 641. End the day in the lanes of Khan el-Khalili.
Meals: breakfast, lunch · Overnight: Cairo
Day 4: Alexandria – Catacombs, Qaitbay Citadel and the Library
Drive north to Alexandria, Egypt’s city on the Mediterranean. Go underground at the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, a 2nd-century tomb that mixes Egyptian, Greek and Roman styles. See the Qaitbay Citadel, built in the 1470s on the site of the ancient Lighthouse, and the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Seafood lunch by the water.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Alexandria
Day 5: Fly to Luxor – Board Your Nile Cruise and the Valley of the Kings
Fly from Cairo to Luxor, where your guide meets you and takes you to your 5-star Nile cruise. After check-in, cross to the west bank for the Valley of the Kings, where you enter several painted royal tombs, including that of Ramses IX.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Nile cruise
Day 6: Karnak Temple – Sail to Esna
Spend the morning at Karnak: the Avenue of Sphinxes, the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 columns, the obelisks of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I and the Sacred Lake. Back on board for lunch as the ship sails south through the Esna lock.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Nile cruise
Day 7: Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples
Visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best-preserved temple in Egypt. Sail on to Kom Ombo for the double temple of Sobek and Horus, lit up after dark, then continue towards Aswan.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Nile cruise
Day 8: Aswan – High Dam, Felucca Sail and Nubian Village
See the Aswan High Dam and the view over Lake Nasser, then sail by traditional felucca around Elephantine Island. In the afternoon, visit a Nubian village, where a local family serves a home-cooked lunch.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Nile cruise
Day 9: Abu Simbel by Air – Fly to Sharm El Sheikh
Fly from Aswan to Abu Simbel for a private visit to the twin temples of Ramses II and Nefertari, rescued from Lake Nasser in the 1960s. Your Egyptologist explains the temples outside, as guides are not allowed to talk inside. Later, take your connecting flight to Sharm El Sheikh and check in to the Four Seasons Resort.
Meals: breakfast · Overnight: Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Day 10: Red Sea Beach Day
A free day to do exactly as much or as little as you want: the resort’s pools and private beach, snorkeling on the house reef, or a spa treatment. In the evening, dinner by the water at Farsha Café, one of Sharm’s best-loved spots.
Meals: breakfast, dinner · Overnight: Sharm El Sheikh
Day 11: Sinai Desert Safari and Bedouin Dinner
In the late afternoon, a private 4×4 takes you into the Sinai mountains as the rocks turn red and gold at sunset. Dinner is at a Bedouin camp set up just for you: bread baked on hot stones, grilled meats, lentil soup and sweet tea around the fire under a sky full of stars.
Meals: breakfast, dinner · Overnight: Sharm El Sheikh
Day 12: Private Yacht to Tiran and White Island
Board a private yacht with just your group and crew and head for Tiran Island and the Ras Nasrani area. Snorkel or dive over some of the most colorful reefs in the Red Sea and walk on White Island, a bright sandbar surrounded by turquoise water. Fresh seafood lunch on board.
Meals: breakfast, lunch · Overnight: Sharm El Sheikh
Day 13: Fly to Cairo – Free Afternoon
Fly back to Cairo and spend the rest of the day as you like: shopping in Khan el-Khalili, coffee in Zamalek or a walk along the Nile. In the evening, a farewell dinner at Sequoia overlooking the river.
Meals: breakfast, dinner · Overnight: Cairo
Day 14: Museum of Islamic Art and Abdeen Palace
A gentle last day at two places most tourists miss: the Museum of Islamic Art, with a superb collection of metalwork, ceramics and manuscripts, and Abdeen Palace, home of Egypt’s last kings, with its throne room and chandeliered halls.
Meals: breakfast · Overnight: Cairo
Day 15: Departure
Transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight home, with our team assisting you through check-in.
Meals: breakfast
Included and Excluded
- Meet and assist at all airports in Egypt
- 5 nights in a 5-star hotel in Cairo and 1 night in Alexandria
- 4 nights on a 5-star Nile cruise, full board
- 4 nights at the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
- Domestic flights as listed in the itinerary, including Abu Simbel by air
- Private Egyptologist guide on all sightseeing days
- Desert safari with Bedouin dinner and a private yacht day to Tiran Island
- Entrance fees to all sites in the itinerary
- All transfers in private air-conditioned vehicles
- Meals as listed in the itinerary
- All taxes and service charges
- International flights and Egypt entry visa
- Meals not listed, drinks and personal expenses
- Optional activities
- Tips for guides, drivers and crew
Prices:
What will it cost you?
Prices per person change with the season and how many of you travel. Set yours and see the real number — no email needed.
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Note:
All hotels and Nile cruises on the itinerary are ultra-luxury 5 stars.
Tour Attractions
FAQs
Which places does the 15-day luxury tour cover?
Cairo and Giza, Alexandria, Luxor, the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, Abu Simbel and Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea.
Is Abu Simbel included?
Yes, by plane from Aswan, with a private guided visit of both temples.
Can I change the beach part of the trip?
Yes. We can replace Sharm El Sheikh with El Gouna, Hurghada or Marsa Alam, or shorten the beach stay to add more time in Luxor.
Is the tour private?
Yes. Guides, vehicles and the yacht day are private to your group. The Nile cruise ship is shared with other passengers.
What is included in a luxury tour?
VIP airport service, private guides and vehicles, 5-star hotels, a deluxe cruise or dahabiya, and internal flights.
