Cairo day trip from Sharm el Sheikh: pyramids, museum and Sphinx

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/27

Duration16h–18h

GroupUp to 25

LanguagesEN · AR +5

PickupAt your hotel

Three pyramids, a sphinx carved from a limestone hill, and over 100,000 artifacts in a single day.

A full-day excursion from Sharm el Sheikh to Cairo by flight includes pickup from your hotel, a guided tour of either the Grand Egyptian Museum or the Ancient Egyptian Museum, lunch, visits to the Giza pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus, and the Great Sphinx, with return flights and transfers in air-conditioned vehicles. The guide speaks your choice of language and answers questions throughout. A Nile boat trip and visits to the Papyrus Museum or Essential Oils Factory are available as paid add-ons if time allows.

16h–18h

Step-by-step itinerary

Cairo Excursion and Sightseeing

Pick up from hotel at 4am
Meet Egyptological tour guide
Visit Grand Egyptian Museum or Ancient Egyptian Museum
Enjoy lunch
Visit pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinus
Explore the Great Sphinx and nearby temple
Optional visit to Papyrus Museum and Essential Oils Factory
Optional visit to Cairo Bazaar or Khan el-Khalili Market
Return to Sharm el Sheikh hotel

The Experience

You're picked up from your Sharm el Sheikh hotel around 4am for the flight to Cairo. Once you land, an air-conditioned vehicle takes you to the museum you selected during booking—either the Grand Egyptian Museum, the world's largest archaeological museum with over 100,000 artifacts, or the Ancient Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square. Your guide spends two hours walking you through the most important pieces, explaining the high-quality tomb goods and answering your questions. After lunch, the day shifts to the open air.

The pyramids of Giza come next: Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus, the last three standing. You explore the terrain on foot, or you can arrange to ride horseback or camel across the plateau. The tour ends at the Great Sphinx, the largest and most preserved sphinx in existence—a human head on a lion's body, carved from the limestone hill that once supplied stone for the Cheops pyramid. The scale of both the pyramids and the sphinx becomes real only when you stand in front of them.

On the return to Sharm el Sheikh in the late evening, there's time to stop at Khan el-Khalili, the medieval Cairo bazaar recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, or at Cairo Festival City, a massive air-conditioned shopping mall with international brands and restaurants. You're back at your hotel after a 16- to 18-hour day. If you want a Nile felucca boat ride, that's a separate fee; the Papyrus Museum and Essential Oils Factory visits depend on how much daylight remains.

What’s included

Hotel pickup in Sharm el Sheikh and return transfer in an air-conditioned vehicle.
round-trip flights to Cairo.
admission to your chosen museum (Grand Egyptian Museum or Ancient Egyptian Museum).
lunch.
visits to the three Giza pyramids and the Great Sphinx.
a guide in your selected language.
three bottles of mineral water per person during the day tour.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Book Tour Egypt

Is this one for you?Book this if you're staying in Sharm el Sheikh and want pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Egyptian Museum in one day with early hotel pickup—choose the camel or horseback option at checkout if you prefer exploring Giza on animal rather than on foot.