Overview
Tour Description
Fifteen days is time to see Egypt properly. This private tour starts with Cairo’s pyramids, museums and old quarters, spends two days on the Mediterranean in Alexandria with a trip to El Alamein, and then gives you a full week on a 5-star Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, with flights to Abu Simbel and a day at Dendera and Abydos.
Highlights
- The Giza Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum and Saqqara
- The Egyptian Museum, the Hanging Church and the Mosque of Amr
- Alexandria: the catacombs, the Qaitbay Citadel, the Roman Theater and the Library
- The WWII battlefield and cemeteries of El Alamein
- 7 nights on a 5-star Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan
- Abu Simbel by air, a felucca ride and lunch in a Nubian village
- The temples of Dendera and Abydos
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Cairo
Your tour manager and driver meet you at Cairo International Airport and take you to your 5-star hotel, where they go through the trip with you. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight: 5-star hotel, Cairo.
Day 2: Giza Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum and Saqqara
You visit the Giza Pyramids, where the Great Pyramid rose 147 meters and was the tallest building on Earth for nearly 4,000 years, and the Sphinx, 73 meters long and carved from a single outcrop of rock. Then the Grand Egyptian Museum, and after lunch the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first monumental stone building in history.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Cairo.
Day 3: The Egyptian Museum, Coptic Cairo and the bazaar
You start at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, then visit the Hanging Church, built in the 5th century on the walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon, and the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque in Africa. You end the day shopping in Khan el-Khalili.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Cairo.
Day 4: To Alexandria: the catacombs and Qaitbay Citadel
You drive to Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean. You explore the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, a 2nd-century family tomb that blends Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, and the Qaitbay Citadel, built on the site of the ancient Pharos lighthouse.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Alexandria.
Day 5: Alexandria: the Roman Theater, Pompey's Pillar, the Library and Montaza
You visit the Roman Theater at Kom el-Dikka, with marble seats for some 800 people and mosaic floors, Pompey’s Pillar and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In the afternoon you walk in the gardens of Montaza Palace, the old royal summer residence, and stop at Stanley Bridge on the way back.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Alexandria.
Day 6: El Alamein and back to Cairo
You drive about 110 km west to El Alamein, scene of one of the turning points of the Second World War. You visit the military museum and the Commonwealth, German and Italian war cemeteries, then return to Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Cairo.
Day 7: Fly to Luxor, board the cruise, the West Bank
A morning flight takes you to Luxor, where your Egyptologist helps you board your 5-star cruise for the next seven nights. You then visit the Valley of the Kings, including the tomb of Tutankhamun and royal tombs such as those of Ramses, Horemheb and Merenptah, followed by the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise, Luxor.
Day 8: Karnak and sailing to Esna
You spend the morning at Karnak, the largest place of worship ever built, known in antiquity as Ipet-isut, “the most select of places”. The ship then sails to Esna.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise.
Day 9: Edfu and Kom Ombo
Day 10: Aswan: High Dam, Philae, a felucca and a Nubian village
Your Egyptologist takes you to the High Dam and Philae Temple. Then you sail around Elephantine Island in a traditional felucca and visit a Nubian village, where a local family serves you lunch.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise, Aswan.
Day 11: Abu Simbel by air
A short flight takes you to Abu Simbel, part of the UNESCO Nubian Monuments site that runs from here to Philae. Ramses II carved the two temples into the cliff in the 13th century BC. You fly back to Aswan and return to the ship.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise, Aswan.
Day 12: Sailing north via Esna
The ship sails back towards Luxor, past Edfu and through Esna, where you visit the Temple of Khnum. The rest of the day is free on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise.
Day 13: Dendera and Abydos
A private car takes you north to Dendera and the Temple of Hathor, and then to Abydos, center of the cult of Osiris, where tradition says his head was buried. Most ancient Egyptians hoped to make the pilgrimage here once in their lives. You return to the ship in the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Nile cruise, Luxor.
Day 14: Fly to Cairo and dinner in an Egyptian home
After breakfast you leave the ship and fly back to Cairo. Your last evening ends with dinner at the home of an Egyptian family.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner. Overnight: 5-star hotel, Cairo.
Day 15: Fly home
After breakfast we take you to the airport for your flight home.
Meals: Breakfast.
Included and Excluded
- Meet and assist on arrival and departure
- 5-star hotels in Cairo and Alexandria
- 7 nights on a 5-star deluxe Nile cruise
- Domestic flights Cairo to Luxor, Aswan to Abu Simbel and back, and Luxor to Cairo
- All sightseeing in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel
- English-speaking guide
- Entrance fees to all sites in the itinerary
- All transfers by air-conditioned vehicle
- Daily bottled water
- Porters where needed
- All taxes and service charges
- International flights and Egypt entry visa
- Tips
- Personal expenses
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.
Per Person
Per Person
Per Person
Per Person
Per Person
Tour Attractions
FAQs
How much does the 15-day Egypt tour cost?
It depends on group size: $12,000 per person for a solo traveler, $8,500 each for 2 to 3, $8,000 for 4 to 8, $7,500 for 9 to 15 and $6,000 for 16 or more.
Why a 7-night Nile cruise?
A week on the river lets you see every temple between Luxor and Aswan without rushing, plus Abu Simbel, Dendera and Abydos, which shorter cruises leave out.
How do we get to Abu Simbel?
By a short flight from Aswan, about 45 minutes each way, which saves the long desert drive.
Is two weeks too long for Egypt?
For a first visit, two weeks is ideal. It lets you add Alexandria and the less-visited temples without feeling hurried.
How many days do I need in Luxor?
Two full days covers both banks. Three or four days lets you add a balloon flight and day trips.
