Some journeys never go out of fashion. Our Egypt classic tours follow the route travelers have taken since the first Nile steamers, and there is a reason it has never been improved on: Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan hold the densest concentration of standing ancient monuments anywhere on earth. What has changed is not the route. It is how comfortably you can travel it.
You start in Cairo, at the foot of the Great Pyramids of Giza and in front of the Sphinx that has watched over them for four and a half thousand years. A short drive away, the Grand Egyptian Museum now holds the complete Tutankhamun collection, golden funerary mask included. It has left the old Tahrir museum, so this is where you go to see it.
Then the journey moves south. In Luxor you cross the river to the Valley of the Kings and stand inside tombs cut for the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, then walk the hypostyle hall at Karnak, the largest temple complex in the world. In Aswan you sail out to Philae Temple on Agilkia Island, where UNESCO moved it block by block to save it from the water rising behind the dam.
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An Egypt classic tour covers the country’s core historical circuit: Cairo and Giza in the north, then Luxor and Aswan in the south, usually linked by a Nile cruise or a domestic flight. It is the itinerary most first-time visitors are looking for, and it runs anywhere from six days to three weeks depending on what you add to it.
Every classic itinerary includes the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor temples, and Philae Temple on Agilkia Island. Cruise itineraries add Edfu and Kom Ombo. Longer tours can take in Abu Simbel, Alexandria, Saqqara and Memphis, or a Red Sea stay.
Seven to ten days suits most travellers. Six or seven days covers Cairo plus Luxor and Aswan at a brisk pace. Eight to eleven days gives you Cairo, a full Nile cruise leg and time for Abu Simbel or the Red Sea. Twelve days and over adds Alexandria, the Western Desert, or simply a slower rhythm throughout.
On most of them, yes. Cruise legs run three nights sailing north from Aswan to Luxor, four nights sailing south from Luxor to Aswan, or seven nights for the round trip, calling at Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way. If you would rather not sail, every route can be run as a land tour using domestic flights between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan.
Tours under seven days are private, with your own Egyptologist guide, driver and vehicle. Tours of seven days and over run as small groups capped at 16 travellers, and a private version is available on request. The 7 Day Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Tour is private as standard.
Accommodation, a licensed Egyptologist guide on every sightseeing day, all entrance fees to the sites named in your itinerary, private air-conditioned transport, domestic flights where the itinerary specifies them, meals as listed, and all taxes and service charges. Our representative meets you inside the arrivals terminal with a signboard and helps with passport and visa formalities. International flights, the entry visa, drinks, optional excursions and tipping are not included.
You choose from six tiers. Egyptian hotel licensing is more generous than the European and American systems, so we publish both labels rather than the flattering one. Bronze is roughly a Western 2.5-star (Egyptian 3-star); Silver about a Western 3-star (Egyptian 4-star); Gold carries Egypt’s “5-star standard” license and compares to a Western 3.5-star; Platinum is Egypt’s “5-star deluxe” license and compares to a Western 4-star; Diamond is roughly a Western 4.5-star; and Elite is a genuine 5-star. Nile cruise ships follow the same approach: Standard is a 3.5-star equivalent, Deluxe a 4-star, Ultra Deluxe a 4.5-star and Luxury a true 5-star.
Most nationalities can buy a visa on arrival at Egyptian airports for $30, paid in cash. An e-visa is also available in advance. Your final itinerary confirms which applies to your passport, and our representative assists with the formalities at the airport either way.
The single supplement is 70% of the twin-share rate, and it applies across all our tours and cruises. One thing to know if you are drawn to a dahabiya: those cabins are too narrow for a third bed, so they sail twin or single only.
There are two scales, depending on whether your package includes domestic flights. Without flights: under 6 travel free, ages 6 to 11 pay 50%, and 12 and over pay the adult rate. With domestic flights: ages 0 to 2 pay 30%, 3 to 5 pay 40%, 6 to 11 pay 50%, and 12 and over pay the adult rate. The difference is the airline ticket, which we buy at the carrier’s own child rates.
Cancellation charges start at 15% of the tour price and rise as the departure date approaches, reaching 90% between 14 and 8 days before arrival. The full ladder is set out on our Terms & Conditions page. We recommend travel insurance on every booking.
October to April gives the most comfortable sightseeing weather and is the busiest season. May and September are hotter but noticeably quieter and cheaper. June to August is genuinely hot in Luxor and Aswan, which is workable if you start at dawn and rest through the afternoon, and that is exactly how our summer itineraries are built.
Licensed Egyptologist guides, on every day of sightseeing. Egypt Best Vacations is itself owned and run by a qualified Egyptologist, so guides are chosen by someone who knows the difference between reciting dates and explaining a site.
Yes, and most guests do. Add Abu Simbel, Alexandria, Saqqara and Memphis, Siwa Oasis, the White Desert or a Red Sea stay; change your hotel tier or cruise ship; stretch or compress the pace. Send us your dates and the shape you want and we will price it.
Yes. Egypt receives millions of visitors every year and the tourist circuit is well established and well policed. You will have our representative at the airport, a driver on every transfer, a guide at every site, and a local contact number for the whole trip.
Because you are booking directly with a licensed Egyptian operator run by a working Egyptologist in Luxor, rather than through an overseas reseller adding a margin. That means honest hotel ratings, guides we know personally, prices without a middle layer, and someone in the same time zone as your trip when you need them. We have won the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award three years running 2024, 2025 and 2026.