Cairo, Aswan & Nile Cruise: Pyramids, Valley of Kings, Flights

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.58 (89 reviews) 79% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/12

Duration8d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · AR +5

PickupAt your hotel

From Cairo’s pyramids to Luxor’s tombs by river and sky

You’ll wake up in Cairo with pyramids outside your window, then fly south for days drifting along the Nile past ancient temples and quiet villages. With a private guide handling every detail—from museum tickets to hotel pickups—you’ll have space to soak up stories (and sunlight), taste real Egyptian tea, and wander through tombs that feel almost untouched by time.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and airport assistance

Arrive at Cairo International Airport
Meet representatives and complete formalities
Meet Egyptologist guide and tour briefing

Day 2 — Pyramids and Egyptian Museum tour

Breakfast at hotel
Visit the Pyramids of Giza
Optional lunch and local drinks break
Drive to El Tahrir Square
Visit the Egyptian Museum
Return to hotel for overnight

Day 3 — Fly to Aswan and Nile cruise start

Fly to Aswan and meet assistance
Embark Nile Cruise before lunch
Visit the Unfinished Obelisk
Visit the Aswan High Dam
Optional excursion to Temple of Philae

Day 4 — Abu Simbel optional and sail Kom Ombo

Optional tour to Abu Simbel Temple
Drive back to Aswan
Sail to Kom Ombo
Visit Kom Ombo Temple
Sail to Edfu

Day 5 — Edfu Temple visit and sail Luxor

Arrive early at Edfu
Visit Temple of Edfu
Sail and enjoy lunch on board
Arrive Luxor
Optional visit to Luxor Temple or walking tour

Day 6 — West Bank Luxor sightseeing

Breakfast and check out from cruise
Visit Valley of the Kings
Visit Temple of Hatshepsut
See Colossi of Memnon
Optional visit to Karnak Temple
Flight to Cairo or overnight in Luxor

Day 7 — Fly back to Cairo

Breakfast at hotel or cruise
Transfer to Luxor International Airport
Fly to Cairo
Transfer to hotel in Cairo for overnight

Day 8 — Departure from Cairo

Breakfast at hotel
Transfer to Cairo International Airport
Fly home

The Experience

The first thing I remember is the sound—Cairo traffic outside my hotel window, all horns and voices before breakfast. Our guide, Ahmed, met us in the lobby with this easy smile and a story about his grandmother’s favorite tea. He handed us sweet black tea (the kind that sticks to your teeth) before we even saw the Giza Pyramids. Standing there, sand in my shoes and camels snorting behind me, I tried to take one of those classic pyramid photos but kept laughing because my finger blocked half the frame. Ahmed didn’t mind—he just showed me how to say “shukran” properly (I still can’t roll the ‘r’ right).

The Egyptian Museum was next—cool inside but packed with school kids and this faint scent of old paper and dust. There’s something strange about seeing Tutankhamun’s mask after years of textbooks; it feels smaller than you’d think but somehow heavier too. We flew south after that (the flight is short, maybe an hour?) and landed in Aswan where the air felt different—drier, almost humming with heat. The Nile cruise ship was waiting for us like some floating hotel from another era. My cabin had a tiny balcony; at night I’d lean out and listen to water slap against the hull while distant music drifted over from shore.

Days on the river blurred together in a good way. We stopped at Kom Ombo Temple just as sunset hit—the stone glowed orange and our guide explained how Sobek was both feared and worshipped here. I touched one wall (probably not allowed) and it was warm from the sun. There were kids selling postcards by the dock; one tried to trade me a scarab for my baseball cap. In Luxor, we crossed early to the West Bank—the Valley of the Kings is quieter than I expected, almost hushed except for our footsteps echoing down painted corridors. The tombs are so deep you lose track of time underground.

I still think about Hatshepsut’s temple—those columns rising out of desert cliffs—and how our group fell silent for once just looking up at them. Lunches were always something simple: grilled chicken or falafel on deck with strong coffee after (no Wi-Fi on board, which forced us all to actually talk). By the end I felt sunburned and dusty but weirdly at home among strangers who started as fellow travelers and ended up as friends—or at least breakfast companions who shared sunscreen.

What’s included

Your journey includes airport transfers at any hour, all domestic flights between Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, four nights’ accommodation in comfortable hotels with breakfast in Cairo plus three nights aboard a 5-star Nile cruise ship with full board meals each day. A private Egyptologist guide leads every major site visit from Giza Pyramids to Valley of the Kings—and yes, lunch stops are built into most days so you never go hungry along the way.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Explore plus Holidays