North Africa
Egypt
The Pyramids, a Nile cruise, the temples of Luxor and Abu Simbel, and the Red Sea.
- Pyramids of Giza
- Luxor & the Valley of the Kings
- Nile cruise
- Abu Simbel
- Aswan
- Red Sea & Sinai
Egypt is the original bucket-list trip — five thousand years of pharaohs, gods and god-kings written across the desert. Start in Cairo at the last surviving wonder of the ancient world, the Pyramids of Giza, and the treasure-filled museums of the capital. Then follow the Nile south: the colossal temples of Karnak and Luxor, the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, a slow cruise past Edfu and Kom Ombo to Aswan, and the mountain-cut wonder of Abu Simbel. With more time, add Mediterranean Alexandria, the surreal White Desert, and the coral reefs and desert calm of the Red Sea and Sinai. It can be intense — and it is utterly unforgettable.
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The essentials: the Pyramids of Giza and Cairo, the temples and tombs of Luxor, and a Nile run down to Aswan and Abu Simbel.
Daily budget:≈ €45–95 / day
Comfortable hotels, a good Nile cruise, domestic flights, private guides and the main site tickets.
Day by day
- 1
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali atop Cairo's Citadel.© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 Getting there: Fly into Cairo (CAI); transfer to your hotel
Arrive in Cairo, the sprawling, frenetic heart of Egypt. Ease in gently: climb to the Citadel of Saladin for the great Mosque of Muhammad Ali and a panorama over the city's thousand minarets, then dip into the lantern-lit lanes of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar for mint tea and your first taste of Cairo's glorious chaos.
Cairo hits all your senses at once — car horns, calls to prayer, sizzling street food, the dust of ages — a city of twenty-odd million that never quite stops. It's overwhelming and magnificent, and there's nowhere on earth quite like it.
Our take
Stay in Giza for pyramid views or central Zamalek for a calmer base. Use Uber or Careem to beat the traffic and taxi haggling, and keep small notes for the constant tipping.
Highlights
- ✦ Citadel & Muhammad Ali Mosque
- ✦ Khan el-Khalili bazaar
- 2
The Great Pyramids of Giza on the edge of Cairo.© Mona Hassan Abo-Abda · CC BY-SA 4.0 
The Great Sphinx guarding the Giza plateau.© Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 The big day. Stand before the Pyramids of Giza — the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Khufu and its companions, the only surviving wonder of the ancient world — and the enigmatic Great Sphinx crouched below. In the afternoon, dive into the Egyptian Museum (or the vast new Grand Egyptian Museum) for the golden treasures of Tutankhamun.
No photo prepares you for the sheer scale — these mountains of stone, each block taller than you, raised by hand four and a half millennia ago. To stand at the foot of the Great Pyramid, the desert at your back and the Sphinx staring down the ages, is to feel history open up beneath your feet.
Our take
Go early to beat the heat and crowds, hire a guide to make sense of it, and be politely firm with the camel and souvenir touts. The viewpoint south of the complex gives the classic all-three-pyramids photo.
Highlights
- ✦ Great Pyramid of Khufu
- ✦ The Great Sphinx
- ✦ Egyptian Museum
- 3
The vast hypostyle hall of Karnak.© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Luxor Temple floodlit after dark.© Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 Getting there: Fly Cairo → Luxor (about 1h)
Fly south to Luxor, ancient Thebes, where the Nile's East Bank holds two of the world's great temples. Explore the staggering Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, and its forest of giant columns, then return after dark to the floodlit Luxor Temple, glowing gold against the night.
Walking into the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak — 134 colossal columns soaring overhead, papyrus capitals lost in shadow — you feel as small as the ancient worshippers must have. By night, Luxor Temple is pure theatre, its obelisk and statues lit against the dark.
Our take
Do Karnak in the cooler morning and save Luxor Temple for after sunset, when it's lit and far more atmospheric. A guide brings the carvings and hieroglyphs to life.
Highlights
- ✦ Karnak Temple
- ✦ Luxor Temple by night
- 4
The royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings.© Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 
The terraced temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 Cross to the West Bank, the land of the dead, for the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs including Tutankhamun were buried in deep, vividly painted rock-cut tombs. Add the elegant terraced temple of Hatshepsut, carved into the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari, and the towering Colossi of Memnon standing guard over the plain.
Descending into a tomb in the Valley of the Kings — the corridor sinking into the rock, the walls ablaze with painted gods and hieroglyphs as fresh as the day they were made — is to step straight into the ancient Egyptians' vision of the afterlife. It's spellbinding.
Our take
Your ticket covers three tombs; Tutankhamun's and Seti I's cost extra but are worth it. Go at opening time — the valley becomes an oven by midday. A sunrise hot-air balloon over the West Bank is the magical optional add-on.
Highlights
- ✦ Valley of the Kings
- ✦ Temple of Hatshepsut
- ✦ Colossi of Memnon
- 5
The remarkably preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu.© Marc Ryckaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 
A cruise boat gliding along the Nile.© Marc Ryckaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 Getting there: Nile cruise or road Luxor → Aswan, stopping at Edfu & Kom Ombo
Travel south along the Nile towards Aswan — ideally aboard a cruise boat — stopping at the magnificently preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most complete temple in Egypt, and the unusual riverside double temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon Horus.
There's no better way to see Egypt than from the deck of a Nile boat — palm-fringed banks sliding past, feluccas leaning in the wind, village life unchanged for centuries, the temples appearing one by one out of the green ribbon between the deserts.
Our take
A two-to-three night Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan is the trip's highlight for many — book a decent boat. Short on time? You can also do these temples by road in a long day.
Highlights
- ✦ Temple of Horus, Edfu
- ✦ Kom Ombo
- ✦ Nile cruising
- 6
The colossal temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel.© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 
The island Temple of Isis at Philae.© Marc Ryckaert · CC BY 3.0 From Aswan, make the early pilgrimage to Abu Simbel, where Ramesses II carved four 20-metre colossi of himself into a mountainside — famously moved block by block to save it from the rising Nile. Back in Aswan, visit the romantic island Temple of Philae and sail the bluest stretch of the Nile by felucca at sunset.
The first sight of Abu Simbel's four giant Ramesses, glowing in the early sun above Lake Nasser, is jaw-dropping — and the fact that the entire temple was sawn apart and rebuilt higher up in the 1960s only adds to the wonder. Aswan, meanwhile, is the Nile at its loveliest and most serene.
Our take
Abu Simbel is a long pre-dawn drive or a short flight from Aswan — most people find it absolutely worth it. A sunset felucca and a Nubian village visit are Aswan's gentle, lovely highlights.
Highlights
- ✦ Abu Simbel
- ✦ Temple of Philae
- ✦ Felucca at sunset
- 7
Heading home... already planning the next trip.© Tobias1984 · CC BY-SA 3.0 Getting there: Fly home from Aswan or Cairo
A final Nile morning, then the flight out (usually via Cairo). Want more? The 15-day route keeps going — to Mediterranean Alexandria, the ancient sites around Cairo at Saqqara and Dahshur, and the coral reefs of the Red Sea.
A week in Egypt is a whirlwind through five thousand years — pyramids, temples, painted tombs and the timeless Nile — that leaves you awestruck and, almost certainly, already planning to come back for the rest.
Our take
Carry Egyptian cotton, a papyrus or some spices as souvenirs, and keep small notes for end-of-trip tips. Leave plenty of buffer for connections via Cairo.
Highlights
- ✦ Last morning on the Nile
- ✦ Fly home
Where to stay
The best neighbourhood to base yourself in each area, by budget. We point you to the right zone — then you pick and book the place that fits.
Cairo
- Backpacker · Downtown
- Budget hotels and hostels in the lively centre, near the Egyptian Museum and the Nile.
- Mid-range · Zamalek
- Leafy Nile island district with boutique hotels, cafés and a calmer feel.
- Comfort · Giza (pyramid view)
- Luxury hotels with rooms and rooftops looking straight at the Pyramids.
Luxor
- Backpacker · East Bank (town)
- Cheap hotels near the souk, corniche and Luxor Temple.
- Mid-range · East Bank / Nile-side
- Comfortable riverfront hotels with pools and Nile views.
- Comfort · Nile-side / West Bank
- Historic grand hotels and quiet West Bank boutique retreats.
Aswan
- Backpacker · Town / Nubian village
- Budget hotels in town or a colourful Nubian guesthouse across the river.
- Mid-range · Nile-side
- Riverside hotels with views of the feluccas and Elephantine Island.
- Comfort · Nile islands
- Legendary grand hotels and island resorts on the world's most beautiful stretch of river.
Red Sea (Hurghada)
- Backpacker · El Dahar (old town)
- Cheap hotels in the old town, away from the big resort strips.
- Mid-range · Beachfront resorts
- All-inclusive beach resorts with house reefs and dive centres.
- Comfort · El Gouna / Sahl Hasheesh
- Upscale resort towns with smart hotels, marinas and quieter beaches.
Sinai (Dahab)
- Backpacker · Assalah / waterfront
- Cheap dive-camp rooms and hostels along the laid-back seafront.
- Mid-range · Lagoon / Mashraba
- Comfortable hotels and dive resorts near the lagoon and town.
- Comfort · Sharm el-Sheikh
- Five-star resorts and spas at nearby Sharm el-Sheikh, with top diving.
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At a glance
Best time to go
The cool season from October to April is by far the best time — warm, sunny days ideal for the temples and the desert, and bearable temperatures in Upper Egypt. Summer (June–August) is brutally hot in Luxor and Aswan, often topping 40°C, though the Red Sea coast stays appealing for diving much of the year. December–February is peak season around the sites.
Currency
EGP (Egyptian pound, £E)
Language
Arabic (Egyptian Arabic) is the language. English is widely spoken in tourism, with some French and German at the resorts, but a few words of Arabic — "shukran" (thank you), "salam alaikum" (hello) — are warmly received.
Visa & entry
Most nationalities need a tourist visa, available as an e-Visa online before you travel or on arrival at the airports (commonly a 30-day single entry, around US$25). Some package travellers to Red Sea resorts get a free limited entry stamp. Always confirm the current rules for your nationality on the official e-Visa portal.
Daily budget
Egypt is good value, though a Nile cruise, internal flights and site tickets add up. Plan roughly €40–90 per person per day for comfortable hotels, a cruise, guides and transport; backpackers spend far less, and the country runs on tipping (baksheesh), so keep small notes handy. Figures are approximate.
Getting around
Domestic flights (EgyptAir) cover the big distances — Cairo to Luxor, Aswan and the Red Sea — quickly. Comfortable sleeper and day trains run down the Nile from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan, and a Nile cruise is the classic way to travel between Luxor and Aswan. In Cairo, use Uber or Careem rather than haggling for taxis. A licensed guide is well worth it at the major sites.
Safety
The main tourist areas — Cairo, the Nile Valley, the Red Sea resorts and South Sinai — are generally safe and heavily protected, but petty scams, persistent touts and pressure for tips are constant; be firm and good-humoured. Women travellers may face hassle. Traffic is chaotic. Some regions (North Sinai and remote Western Desert border zones) are off-limits, so always check your government's latest travel advice before and during your trip.
Connectivity
A local SIM (Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat or WE) is cheap with good coverage in the cities and along the Nile, or use a travel eSIM. Wi-Fi is common in hotels and on cruise boats, though it can be slow. Signal thins out in the deep desert.
What to pack — Egypt
Our recommended gear for this trip — country-specific picks first, then the travel essentials we never leave home without.
- 🧴High-SPF sunscreen→
- 🧣Scarf / cover-up (sun & mosques)→
- 🕶️Sun hat & sunglasses→
- 🔦Headtorch (tombs & desert camp)→
- 🔌Universal travel adapter→
- 🧳Packing cubes→
- 🔋Power bank→
- 🎒Packable daypack→
- 💧Filtered water bottle→
- ⛑️Travel first-aid kit→
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Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit Egypt? ＋
October to April is the best time — warm, sunny days ideal for the temples and desert. Summer (June–August) is brutally hot in Luxor and Aswan, often over 40°C, though the Red Sea stays good for diving most of the year. December–February is peak season at the major sites.
Do I need a visa for Egypt? ＋
Most nationalities do. The easiest options are the e-Visa online before you travel or a visa on arrival at the airports (commonly a 30-day single entry, around US$25). Always confirm the current rules for your nationality on the official e-Visa portal.
Is Egypt safe to travel in? ＋
The main tourist areas — Cairo, the Nile Valley, the Red Sea resorts and South Sinai — are generally safe and well protected, though scams, persistent touts and tip pressure are common, and women may face hassle. Some regions (North Sinai, remote Western Desert border zones) are off-limits, so always check your government's latest travel advice before and during your trip.
Should I do a Nile cruise? ＋
For most people, yes — a two-to-three night cruise between Luxor and Aswan is a trip highlight, taking in Edfu and Kom Ombo while you relax on deck. If you prefer, you can see the same temples by road and stay in hotels, but the cruise is the classic, atmospheric way to travel this stretch of the Nile.
Sources
Last reviewed on June 5, 2026Facts in this guide were checked against the following sources.
- Egypt Tourism Authority (official) — Destinations and travel basics
- Egypt e-Visa portal (official) — Visa & entry requirements
- Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities — Sites, tickets & opening hours
- UNESCO World Heritage — Egypt — Heritage sites (Giza, Thebes, Abu Mena)
⚠️ Prices, opening hours and transport times change — always verify the latest details before you travel.
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