Our 7 day Cairo and Hurghada Christmas tour gives you the two Egypts most people want at Christmas: two days among the monuments of Cairo with an Egyptologist, then four nights of winter sun on the Red Sea with nothing on the schedule. You land in Cairo, stand in front of the Great Pyramid, walk the Tutankhamun galleries of the Grand Egyptian Museum, explore Coptic and Islamic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, then fly to Hurghada for Christmas by the sea at an all-inclusive resort.
The sightseeing is guided by a licensed Egyptologist, the Cairo hotel and the Hurghada resort are yours to choose at Gold or Platinum level, and the free days are exactly that: free. Snorkel a coral reef on Christmas morning, take a desert safari at sunset, or do nothing at all beside the pool. Hurghada in late December averages 22–24°C by day with a sea still warm enough to swim.
This is the 7 day Pyramids and Red Sea Christmas vacation in its simplest form: one internal flight, two hotels, no early starts after day 3.
Our Egypt Best Vacations representative meets you inside the arrivals terminal at Cairo International Airport with a signboard, assists with the visa and passport formalities, and transfers you by private air-conditioned vehicle to your Cairo hotel. The rest of the day is free to settle in.
Overnight: Cairo
Meals Plan: No Meals Included
After breakfast your Egyptologist takes you to the Giza Plateau. You visit the three pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, stop at the panoramic viewpoint over the whole plateau, and walk down to the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple of Khafre. Entry into the Great Pyramid itself is optional and ticketed separately.
After lunch at a local restaurant you continue to the Grand Egyptian Museum, a few minutes from the plateau. Your guide leads you past the colossus of Ramesses II in the atrium, up the Grand Staircase and into the Tutankhamun galleries, where the boy king’s complete burial treasure is shown together for the first time since its discovery. Return to your hotel in the late afternoon.
Overnight: Cairo.
Meals Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Check out after breakfast and drive to Old Cairo. In the Coptic quarter you visit the Hanging Church, built above the gate towers of the Roman fortress of Babylon, the Church of Abu Serga, associated with the Holy Family’s stay in Egypt, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. It is a fitting stop in Christmas week: Egypt’s Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January, and the churches are dressed for the season.
Continue to the Citadel of Saladin, founded in 1176, and the Alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali on its summit, with a view across the whole city. After lunch, explore the lanes of Khan el-Khalili, the bazaar that has traded on the same site since the 14th century.
In the evening, transfer to Cairo Airport for the one-hour flight to Hurghada, where you are met and driven to your Red Sea resort. Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Hurghada.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
A day at leisure at your all-inclusive resort. Optional Hurghada day tours can be arranged on request: snorkelling or diving on the offshore reefs, a glass-bottom boat or submarine trip, a boat day to Giftun Island, or a quad-bike or jeep safari into the Eastern Desert for sunset with a Bedouin dinner.
Overnight: Hurghada.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Another free day. If your dates fall on 25 December, most resorts lay on a Christmas dinner and entertainment; ask us if you would like to reserve a table.
Overnight: Hurghada.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (all-inclusive)
Your last full day on the Red Sea, free to spend as you wish.
Overnight: Hurghada.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (all-inclusive)
After breakfast, transfer to Hurghada International Airport for your flight home. Or to fly to Cairo airport for your flight home.
Meals Plan: Breakfast Only
