This private Great Pyramid meditation tour is built around two sessions most visitors to Egypt never get. The first is two hours inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu with only your group, outside public opening hours, sitting in the red granite King’s Chamber at the heart of the last standing wonder of the ancient world. The second is two hours alone in the Temple of Isis at Philae, the island sanctuary where the old religion was still practised after the rest of Egypt had moved on.
Between the two, the pace is deliberately slow. You see Saqqara, the Red Pyramid at Dahshur and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, then fly to Luxor for Karnak, a full day at the Osireion of Abydos and the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, and the West Bank. From Luxor you sail south for four nights on a dahabiya, a traditional sailing boat with a quiet deck for morning and sunset practice, stopping at the temples of Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo. The journey ends in Aswan, where the second private session waits on the island of Philae. From Aswan, the journey also takes you south to Abu Simbel, the two rock-cut temples of Ramses II and Nefertari.
The tour runs as a small group of no more than 20 guests, which keeps the private sessions intimate and shares their cost fairly. Groups who want the tour entirely to themselves can book it privately. A licensed Egyptologist guide is with you at every site, so you go into each chamber knowing who built it, what was carved on its walls and what it meant to the people who first stood there.
Egypt Best Vacations is a licensed tour operator based in Luxor, founded by a professional Egyptologist, and a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winner in 2024, 2025 and 2026. We arrange the Ministry permits for both private sessions ourselves. See our other Egypt spiritual tours.
Your Egypt Best Vacations representative meets you inside the arrivals terminal at Cairo International Airport, holding a signboard with your name, and helps with passport and visa formalities. Transfer to your hotel in Giza, close to the pyramids.
In the evening the group meets for the first time. Your guide outlines the week ahead, and you have time to set your intentions for the two private sessions.
Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: None
Morning at Saqqara, where the Step Pyramid of Djoser was the first monument in the world built entirely of cut stone. Continue to Dahshur and the Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Khufu’s father. It is far quieter than Giza, and you can walk down its long passage into the corbelled chambers inside.
Savor your lunch at a local restaurant, then continue to the Grand Egyptian Museum, home to the complete treasure of Tutankhamun.
Breakfast. Overnight in Giza.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
In the morning your Egyptologist guide walks you across the Giza plateau: the three pyramids from outside, the Great Sphinx, and the granite valley temple of Khafre. Knowing how the Great Pyramid was planned, and what its chambers were for, changes how the session feels later in the day.
Then the reason you came. Outside public opening hours, at the time set by the Ministry permit, the Great Pyramid of Khufu opens for your group alone for two hours. You climb the Ascending Passage and the Grand Gallery to the King’s Chamber, built of red granite brought 800 kilometres down the Nile from Aswan, and have it entirely to yourselves for meditation, breathwork or silence.
Lunch at a local restaurant, then transfer to Cairo airport to fly to Luxor. Transfer from Luxor airport to your hotel in Luxor.
Overnight in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
An early start from your Luxor hotel for the drive north to Abydos, about three hours away. The Temple of Seti I holds some of the finest reliefs in Egypt and the King List of the pharaohs who ruled before him. Behind it lies the Osireion, a sunken hall of massive granite pillars built for the cult of Osiris, partly flooded by groundwater and one of the most atmospheric places in the country.
On the way back, you will have your lunch at a local restaurant, then continue to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, goddess of love, music and joy. Climb to the roof chapels where the rites of Osiris were performed, and see the zodiac carved into the ceiling.
Back in Luxor in the evening, and settle into your room. A long and rewarding day of about 11 hours.
Overnight in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Check out your hotel, then the morning on the West Bank. The standard ticket for the Valley of the Kings covers three tombs, and your guide picks the best three open that day. Continue to the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Hatshepsut began as regent for Thutmose III and went on to rule as a crowned king in full pharaonic regalia, with his regnal years still running alongside hers.
Board your dahabiya for lunch and settle into your cabin. As the light drops, continue to Luxor Temple, joined to Karnak by the Avenue of Sphinxes.
Overnight on board in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
After breakfast on board, your guide takes you to the Karnak Temple Complex, around 100 hectares of sanctuaries and the largest religious complex ever built, where the 134 columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall rise around you.
Back on board as the dahabiya sets sail south. The afternoon belongs to the river, and the boat passes through the Esna Lock.
Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
After breakfast, a horse-drawn carriage takes you to the Temple of Horus. Built between 237 and 57 BC, it is the most complete temple in Egypt, with its roof intact and the granite falcon still at the gate. Then, head back to your dahabiya to set sail to Kom Ombo.
Once the dahabiya reaches Kom Ombo, you will walk to Kom Ombo Temple. Here, the temple is split down its axis between Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, Horus the Elder. Next door, the Crocodile Museum holds mummified crocodiles recovered from the site. Then, set sail to Aswan.
Overnight on board in Aswan.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Drive south to Abu Simbel, about three hours by road. You arrive as the morning light reaches the four seated colossi of Ramses II on the façade of the Great Temple. Inside, your guide takes you through the halls to the sanctuary, then on to the smaller temple of Nefertari and Hathor. Both temples were cut into blocks and rebuilt 65 metres higher in the 1960s, when Lake Nasser rose behind the High Dam.
Drive back to your dahabiya in Aswan. Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Early in the morning, before the public arrives, a boat takes your group across to Agilkia Island and the Temple of Isis at Philae. You have the temple to yourselves for two hours. Philae was the last working temple of the ancient Egyptian religion: the final hieroglyphic inscription anywhere in Egypt was carved here in AD 394, and Isis was still worshipped on the island for more than a century after that.
Disembark the dahabiya and transfer to Aswan airport to fly back to Cairo. Transfer from Cairo airport to your hotel in Cairo for the final night in Egypt.
Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast
After breakfast at the hotel, we transfer you to Cairo airport for final departure.
Meals: Breakfast
| Accommodation | Triple | Twin | Single |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (5-star standard hotels, Western 3.5 stars) | $3,000 | $3,500 | $5,250 |
| Platinum (5-star deluxe hotels, Western 4 stars) | $3,700 | $4,700 | $7,000 |
| Diamond (5-star ultra deluxe hotels, Western 4.5 stars) | $4,700 | $5,800 | $8,700 |
| Elite (5-star luxury hotels, Western 5 stars) | $6,500 | $7,800 | $11,700 |
Prices are per person for a group of 8 to 20 guests and include both private sessions, their Ministry permits and Abu Simbel. Smaller groups and fully private departures are quoted on request.
During peak season (the Christmas, New Year and Easter holidays), prices are 30% higher than those shown above.
