North Africa
Egypt tour packagesFive thousand years, one river
The pyramids at Giza, the temples of Upper Egypt and the stretch of Nile between Aswan and Luxor that carries most of what you came to see.
About Egypt
A country you travel by river
Egypt is the trip people mean when they say they want to see something genuinely old. The pyramids at Giza were already more than a thousand years old when Tutankhamun was buried, and they stand at the edge of a working suburb rather than out in empty desert — which is the detail almost nobody is prepared for.
Cairo is where you start, and two days is the honest minimum: Giza and the Sphinx on one, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and its Royal Mummies Hall on the other, with an afternoon left over for Khan El Khalili, the fourteenth-century Mamluk market that still functions as the city's shopping street.
But most of what you have come for is upriver. The temples at Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Karnak and Luxor, and the tombs cut into the hills of the west bank, all sit on a short stretch of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor. The oldest way to cover it is still the best one: three nights on a boat, with the sites arriving in the order the river presents them and no packing between hotels.
The alternative is worth stating plainly, because it is the choice most people actually have to make. Doing the same route by air and road, sleeping in hotels at Aswan and Luxor, buys you larger rooms, a swimming pool and two full days on the west bank instead of one. It costs you the river. We sell both, and the itineraries below are laid out so you can see exactly what changes.
North of Cairo, Alexandria is a different country — Greek and Roman rather than pharaonic, built along a Mediterranean corniche, with catacombs cut three storeys into the rock and a fort standing where the Pharos lighthouse once did. It works as a long day trip and, on one itinerary here, as an overnight.
And then there is the Red Sea. Sharm El Sheikh is a ninety-minute hop from Cairo and the standard way to end a trip that has been heavy on early starts and hot afternoons: two nights of doing nothing, on some of the clearest water in the region.
What to see
What Egypt asks you to make time for
Giza at opening, before the coaches. The Royal Mummies Hall in Cairo. Philae on its island at Aswan, and Abu Simbel at the end of a four-o'clock convoy. Karnak in the late afternoon. Three royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. And a long stretch of river in between, watched from the deck.
LandmarkPyramids of Giza and the SphinxThe last of the seven wonders still standing, built around 2500 BC. Go at opening; the light is better and the plateau is briefly quiet.
CultureKarnak and Luxor TemplesTwo thousand years of pharaohs adding to the same complex at Karnak, and Luxor Temple at the other end of the avenue of sphinxes.
CultureValley of the KingsRock-cut tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs on the west bank. A standard ticket covers three; Hatshepsut's temple and the Colossi of Memnon are the same morning.
LandmarkAbu SimbelRamses II carved both temples into the cliff. Reached on a fixed convoy leaving Aswan at four in the morning, and worth every minute of it.
NatureSailing Aswan to LuxorThree nights covering Kom Ombo, Edfu and the west bank, with the temples arriving in the order the river gives them and nothing to repack.
BeachSharm El Sheikh and the Red SeaNinety minutes from Cairo, and the usual way to finish. Reef diving and glass-bottom boats at Ras Mohamed, or two days of doing nothing at all.Cinematic Egypt holidays
Egypt CinemaTrip experiences
Ready-made trips
Trips we already run in Egypt
Each one is operated with a private vehicle and an English-speaking guide, and each is a starting point — we rebuild the days around your dates and who is travelling.
Classic cityCairo and AlexandriaFour nights between Cairo and Alexandria — Giza, the Royal Mummies Hall, the Roman catacombs, and a Nile dinner cruise to finish.FromAED 3,166pp4 nights / 5 days · Cairo → AlexandriaDay by dayMulti-cityCairo and the Nile CruiseThree nights in Cairo, then three sailing Aswan to Luxor — Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu and the Valley of the Kings.FromAED 5,421pp7 nights / 8 days · Cairo → Aswan → LuxorDay by dayMulti-cityCairo, Aswan and LuxorThe Upper Egypt route done from hotels rather than a boat — Cairo, Alexandria, Abu Simbel, and two full days at Luxor.FromAED 5,135pp7 nights / 8 days · Cairo → Aswan → LuxorDay by dayMulti-cityCairo, the Sleeper Train and the NileCairo and Alexandria, the overnight sleeper train south to Aswan, then three nights cruising down to Luxor.FromAED 5,557pp7 nights / 8 days · Cairo → Aswan → LuxorDay by day
Multi-cityThe Nile and the Red SeaThe full Nile run — Cairo, the sleeper train, three nights cruising to Luxor — then two nights on the Red Sea at Sharm El Sheikh.FromAED 6,604pp9 nights / 10 days · Cairo → Aswan → Luxor → Sharm El SheikhDay by dayPrices shown are the lowest hotel line of each trip. Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included.
Why go
What Egypt does better than anywhere else
Nowhere else puts this much of the ancient world within a week, and nowhere else lets you travel between it by boat. Egypt rewards an early alarm and a slow afternoon in equal measure — which is exactly the shape a filmed trip wants.
- 01
Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx
The last of the seven wonders still standing, built around 2500 BC. Go at opening; the light is better and the plateau is briefly quiet.
- 02
Karnak and Luxor Temples
Two thousand years of pharaohs adding to the same complex at Karnak, and Luxor Temple at the other end of the avenue of sphinxes.
- 03
Valley of the Kings
Rock-cut tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs on the west bank. A standard ticket covers three; Hatshepsut's temple and the Colossi of Memnon are the same morning.
- 04
Abu Simbel
Ramses II carved both temples into the cliff. Reached on a fixed convoy leaving Aswan at four in the morning, and worth every minute of it.
Practical
Planning your visit
- Best time to visit
- October to April, when Luxor and Aswan are comfortable to walk around. June to August is punishing in Upper Egypt, regularly above 40°C, and the sites are best done at first light or not at all. The Red Sea works year-round.
- Getting there
- 3h 45m non-stop to Cairo (CAI)
- Currency
- Egyptian Pound (EGP)
- Languages
- Arabic; English widely spoken in hotels and at the main sites
- Time zone
- EET (UTC+2), UTC+3 in summer — 1 to 2 hours behind the UAE
- Entry requirements
- Requirements vary by passport and UAE residence visa status. We confirm current entry rules and handle the application as part of your package.
Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.
Gallery
Egypt in frames
Questions
Before you book
Do you offer Egypt tour packages from Dubai?
Yes. Cairo is 3h 45m non-stop, and five itineraries are listed on this page, from four nights in Cairo and Alexandria to a nine-night run that finishes on the Red Sea. Each one is planned privately rather than sold as a fixed departure, so the hotels, the touring days and the pace can all move.
Is a Nile cruise better than staying in hotels at Aswan and Luxor?
It depends what you want. The cruise covers Kom Ombo and Edfu, which are hard to reach otherwise, and you unpack once for three nights. Hotels at Aswan and Luxor give you bigger rooms, a pool and two full days on the west bank instead of one, but you make the same journey by road. We publish both versions here so the difference is visible before you choose.
When should UAE residents travel to Egypt?
October to April. Luxor and Aswan sit in the desert and regularly pass 40°C between June and August, which turns the Valley of the Kings into an endurance exercise. The Eid and winter school holidays fall inside the good window, so they book out early — and the operator charges a peak supplement from 22 December to 5 January.
How many days do we need for Egypt?
Four nights covers Cairo and Alexandria properly and nothing else. Seven is the number that works: three in Cairo, then the Nile between Aswan and Luxor. Nine lets you add two nights at Sharm El Sheikh at the end, which most people are glad of after a week of early starts.
Do UAE residents need a visa for Egypt?
It depends on your passport and your UAE residency status, and the rules change. The Egypt entry visa is quoted at USD 33 per person and is not included in the package. Our visa desk confirms the current position for each traveller and handles the application before you fly.
Can you add the Red Sea or a hot air balloon over Luxor?
Both. One of the itineraries here already ends with two nights at Sharm El Sheikh, and the Sharm excursions — desert safari, glass-bottom boat, the boat trip to Ras Mohamed — are quoted separately by the operator. The balloon over Luxor is a 4am pick-up and is priced as an optional extra at USD 115 per person.
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