Egypt Itineraries
Twelve trip lengths from 2 to 14 days, compared side by side — what each one covers, what it misses, and what it really costs.
Open Egypt Itineraries
Free travel encyclopedia
Egypt Wikitravel — 102 guides to travelling Egypt
Everything we know about Egypt, written by the people who run the trips. Nine sections, no paywall, no sign-up — start with how many days you have and work outwards.
102guides across 9 sections
Oct – Aprthe season to travel
8 dayswhat most travellers need
2026prices and details current
The short answers
Egypt at a glance
The six things everyone asks before anything else. Each one links to the full guide.
Best time to go
October – April
Luxor and Aswan pass 40 °C from May to September.
How long you need
8 days
Cairo, a Nile cruise and Abu Simbel, without a rushed day.
What it costs
$320 – $1,850
Per person, from a 3-day Cairo break to a 14-day grand tour.
Is it safe
Yes, on the tourist route
The Nile valley and Red Sea are heavily policed and quiet.
Visa
e-Visa or on arrival
Most nationalities apply online before travelling.
Language
Arabic
English is widely spoken anywhere tourists go.
The wiki
Nine sections, 102 guides
Each section is a hub of its own with everything we have written on that subject. Pick the one that matches where you are in planning.
Nile Cruise Itineraries
The Luxor–Aswan route stop by stop, why 3 nights and 4 nights sail in opposite directions, and the 38 boats that run it.
Open Nile Cruise Itineraries
Cairo Attractions
Twenty places worth your time, grouped by district — Giza, Saqqara, the museums, Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo.
Open Cairo Attractions
Luxor Attractions
The world’s largest open-air museum, split across two banks — the temples on the east, the royal tombs on the west.
Open Luxor Attractions
Aswan Attractions
Where the Nile slows and Nubia begins — island temples, the High Dam, and the road to Abu Simbel.
Open Aswan Attractions
Alexandria Attractions
Egypt’s Mediterranean city — Greek, Roman and Ottoman rather than pharaonic, and a day trip from Cairo.
Open Alexandria Attractions
Ancient Egyptian History
The gods, the symbols and the pharaohs — the background that turns a pile of stones into something you can read.
Open Ancient Egyptian History
Oases & Deserts
The Western Desert — white chalk formations, salt lakes, hot springs and five oases most visitors never reach.
Open Oases & Deserts
Egypt Travel FAQs
Visas, safety, cost, packing, language and how many days you need — the practical questions, answered at length.
Open Egypt Travel FAQs
How to use this
Plan an Egypt trip in four steps
In this order. Doing it the other way round — picking places before deciding length — is how itineraries fall apart.
01
Decide how long
Trip length decides everything else — whether a Nile cruise fits, whether Abu Simbel is realistic, what it costs.
Compare 2 to 14 days
02
Pick the places
Cairo is a given. Then Luxor and Aswan by cruise or by land, and Alexandria or the Western Desert if you have the days.
Browse destinations
03
Choose your month
October to April is the season. The month you pick changes the pace of every day on the ground.
Best time to visit
04
Sort the practicalities
Visa, budget, packing, tipping and safety — the questions worth settling before you pay for anything.
Read the FAQs
Context
Facts about Egypt worth knowing before you go
Six numbers that make the sites make sense. There are plenty more in our full list of interesting facts about Egypt.
~4,500
years old
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, built around 2560 BC and the only surviving wonder of the ancient world.
~3,000
years of pharaohs
From the unification of Egypt to Cleopatra — longer than the gap between Cleopatra and today.
6,650 km
the Nile
Africa’s longest river. Almost every Egyptian lives within a few kilometres of it.
1822
hieroglyphs read again
Champollion decoded the script using the Rosetta Stone, after fourteen centuries of silence.
7
UNESCO World Heritage sites
Including Memphis and its necropolis, Ancient Thebes, Abu Mena and Saint Catherine.
95%
of Egypt is desert
The whole country lives on the green strip beside the river and its delta.
Read enough? Let us build the trip.
Everything in this wiki is free and stays free. When you want it turned into an actual itinerary with dates, hotels and a private Egyptologist, tell Maro what you have in mind — no pressure, no sales pitch.
Questions
Egypt travel — your questions answered
What is Egypt Wikitravel?
It is our free travel encyclopedia for Egypt — 102 guides written by our own Egyptologists and trip planners, organised into nine sections: itineraries, Nile cruises, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, ancient history, the oases and deserts, and practical travel FAQs. Everything is written from running trips in Egypt rather than compiled from other websites, and nothing on it is behind a form or a paywall.
When is the best time to visit Egypt?
October to April. November, December, February and March are the sweet spot — warm days, cool evenings and bearable temperatures at Luxor and Aswan, where summer regularly passes 40 °C. December and early January are peak season, so book several months ahead and expect crowds at the Valley of the Kings. Summer travel works if you shift sightseeing to early morning and keep afternoons for the boat or the pool.
How much does a trip to Egypt cost?
Our real 2026 prices run from $320 per person for a 3-day Cairo break to $1,850 for a 14-day grand tour with Alexandria and the Red Sea. The most common choice, an 8-day trip covering Cairo and a Nile cruise, is $1,205. Those figures include hotels, internal flights or the sleeper train, every entry fee, a private Egyptologist and all transfers. International flights are not included.
How many days do you need in Egypt?
Eight is the answer for most travellers — Cairo and the Pyramids, a three or four-night Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, and Abu Simbel, with no rushed day. Seven days is the shortest trip that still includes a real Nile cruise. Under five days you are visiting Cairo rather than Egypt, because there is no realistic way to reach Luxor and back in less.
Is Egypt safe to visit?
On the tourist route, yes. The Nile valley between Cairo and Aswan, the Red Sea resorts and Alexandria are heavily policed and see millions of visitors a year without incident. The usual travel sense applies — agree taxi fares in advance, expect persistent sellers at the big sites, and be firm rather than rude. Government advisories single out remote border areas and North Sinai, none of which are on a normal itinerary.
Do I need a visa for Egypt?
Most nationalities do, and the simplest route is the official e-Visa applied for online before you travel. Visa on arrival is also available to many passports at Egyptian airports. Requirements change by nationality, so check the current rules for your passport before booking flights — and if you book with us, we tell you what applies to you and when to apply.
Should I do a Nile cruise or travel by land?
Cruise, if your trip is seven days or longer. The temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo sit on the riverbank between Luxor and Aswan, so a cruise reaches them with no extra travel day and you unpack once. Three-night sailings run Aswan to Luxor and four-night sailings run Luxor to Aswan — the length decides the direction. On a trip of six days or fewer a cruise will not fit, and land travel is the right call.
Who writes these guides?
Magdy Fattouh writes the guides, working with our Egyptologist guides and trip planners in Cairo. Prices, timings and route details are checked against the tours we actually operate rather than taken from other travel sites, which is why you will occasionally find us telling you a site is skippable or that a shorter trip will not work.