10-Day Egypt Grand Tour: Cairo, Alexandria, Nile Cruise & Abu Simbel

Tour Overview

Data source: Memphis Tours — Egypt’s most comprehensive 10-day itinerary, adding Alexandria’s Greco-Roman heritage, Old Cairo’s religious sites, and the magnificent Abu Simbel temples to the classic Nile route.

Day 1: Arrival in Cairo

• Arrive at Cairo International Airport (CAI). Private transfer with your Egyptologist guide to your 4-star hotel with Pyramid views. Egypt’s capital is a magnificent chaos — 22 million people, 5,000 years of history stacked in layers, the Nile splitting the city like a vein of life through the desert. The first sight of the Great Pyramid from the highway is the shock you’ve been waiting for — it’s larger than you imagined, more real than any photograph could convey, and suddenly the ancient world doesn’t seem so distant
• Evening orientation walk in Zamalek — Cairo’s upscale island neighborhood in the middle of the Nile with leafy streets, art galleries, excellent restaurants, and a cosmopolitan atmosphere that feels like a different city from the frenetic energy of downtown. Zamalek was developed in the late 19th century as the “garden city” for Cairo’s European elite
• Welcome Dinner: On a Nile riverboat restaurant (optional) — the Cairo skyline sparkling on the water, live Arabic music, and a feast of Egyptian mezzes (hummus, baba ghanoush, tahini, stuffed vine leaves), grilled meats, and desserts. Try a glass of karkadeh (hibiscus tea) or sahlab (a warm milk drink with orchid root flour, cinnamon, and nuts — a winter comfort)

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Cairo (Giza).

Day 2: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx & Grand Egyptian Museum

• Full day at Giza. Morning at the Pyramids — the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. Your guide explains the evolution of pyramid building: from mastaba (flat-roofed tomb) to Step Pyramid (Saqqara, 27th century BC — the first large-scale stone building in human history, designed by the genius architect Imhotep who was later deified as the god of medicine) to the Bent Pyramid (Dahshur — a failed experiment where the angle had to be changed mid-construction) to the Red Pyramid (the first successful true pyramid) and finally the perfection of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This evolution represents humanity’s greatest architectural achievement in a single century (approximately 2650-2550 BC)
• The numbers: The Great Pyramid was built over roughly 20 years using 2.3 million blocks averaging 2.5 tons. Workers were not slaves (as Hollywood and Herodotus claimed) but skilled Egyptian laborers organized into competing teams, well-fed, and proud of their work — graffiti in the relieving chambers above the King’s Chamber includes team names like “The Friends of Khufu” and “The Drunkards of Menkaure.” The workforce peaked at approximately 25,000-30,000 during the Nile flood season when farming was impossible
• Explore all three pyramids (interior of one included, finest is Khafre’s — less crowded and more accessible than Khufu’s), the Sphinx (still mysterious — exactly when was it built, by whom, and whose face is it?), the Solar Boat Museum (Khufu’s 43m cedar wood boat, perfectly preserved in its pit for 4,500 years, reassembled without a single nail — the planks were sewn together with rope, and the wood was still solid), and the panorama viewpoints
• Lunch at a traditional restaurant with Pyramid views — koshari, grilled chicken, fresh bread, and the surreal experience of eating lunch while gazing at the Great Pyramid
• Afternoon at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) — the Tutankhamun collection, the colossal Ramesses II statue, the royal mummies (moving from the old Egyptian Museum to the GEM in a dramatic parade with full military honors in 2021 — the “Pharaohs’ Golden Parade”), and the architecture itself (the museum is oriented so that a line drawn from the main entrance through the atrium directly intersects the Great Pyramid 2km away)

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Cairo.

Day 3: Cairo — Old Cairo, Citadel & Khan el-Khalili

• Morning in Old Cairo (Coptic Cairo) — a quiet enclave of ancient churches, narrow alleys, and deep history that feels worlds away from modern Cairo. This area, originally a Roman fortress called Babylon-in-Egypt, became the center of Christian Egypt. Visit:
  • The Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa, 7th century) — suspended above a gatehouse of the Roman fortress, with a beautiful wooden ceiling designed to resemble Noah’s Ark, 13th-century ebony and ivory iconostasis, and 110 icons including the famous Coptic Mona Lisa (Virgin Mary with the Christ child)
  • Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus (Abu Serga, 4th-5th century) — built over a cave where, according to tradition, the Holy Family (Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus) sheltered during their flight into Egypt. The cave is accessible via steps below the altar — a pilgrimage site for the Coptic Church (which numbers about 10-15 million adherents, making Egypt one of the largest Christian populations in the Middle East)
  • Ben Ezra Synagogue (9th century, rebuilt 19th century) — the oldest surviving synagogue in Egypt, on the site where tradition says the infant Moses was found among the bulrushes. The famous Cairo Geniza — a treasure trove of over 300,000 medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered here in the 19th century — transformed scholars’ understanding of medieval Mediterranean life
• Midday visit to the Citadel of Saladin — the great medieval fortress built 1176-1183 by Salah ad-Din (Saladin), the Kurdish-born sultan who united the Muslim world and recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders. The Citadel was the seat of Egyptian government for nearly 700 years. The highlight: the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Alabaster Mosque, completed 1848), with its distinctive Ottoman-style architecture — massive central dome (52m high), twin minarets (84m, the tallest in Cairo), and alabaster-clad interior. The courtyard offers panoramic views over Islamic Cairo — a sea of minarets stretching to the horizon (Cairo is called the “City of a Thousand Minarets”)
• Afternoon at the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar — one of the world’s oldest and most famous markets, established in the 14th century as a caravanserai, now a labyrinth of narrow alleys filled with shops selling perfumes, spices, jewelry, lamps, papyrus, alabaster, leather goods, brassware, and everything imaginable. The essential Cairo experience: get deliberately lost, drink mint tea with a merchant (accepting tea creates a social obligation — you don’t have to buy, but you do have to be polite), practice your bargaining (start at one-third of the asking price, meet somewhere in the middle), and soak in the sensory overload — the smells of spices and perfumes, the calls of vendors, the glint of brass and gold, the smoke of shisha pipes
• Stop at Fishawy’s Coffeehouse — Cairo’s oldest and most famous café, operating continuously in the same alley for over 250 years (since 1773). Order an ahwa (Egyptian coffee — specify “sada” for no sugar, “mazboot” for medium, or “ziyada” for sweet), or a cup of karkadeh, and watch the theater of Khan el-Khalili unfold around you

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Cairo.

Day 4: Alexandria — The Pearl of the Mediterranean

• Morning drive from Cairo to Alexandria (approximately 2.5-3 hours via the desert highway). Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria was the greatest city of the Hellenistic world for nearly a millennium — home to the Pharos Lighthouse (one of the Seven Wonders), the Great Library (the largest repository of knowledge in the ancient world with an estimated 400,000-700,000 scrolls), and a fusion of Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and Jewish cultures that produced some of the greatest achievements of antiquity. The Alexandria you’ll see today is largely a 19th-20th century city built over its ancient predecessor (sea level rise and earthquakes have submerged much of the ancient city), but its Mediterranean charm, French and Italian-influenced architecture, and rich history make it a captivating day trip
• Visit the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa — a fascinating fusion of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman funerary art discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey fell through the ground. Descend the spiral staircase (originally used to lower bodies) into a three-level necropolis with banquet hall (where families held memorial feasts), the main tomb with statues that merge Egyptian and Greco-Roman styles (figures dressed as Roman soldiers but posed in Egyptian stances), and wall paintings depicting Egyptian deities alongside Greek mythological scenes — a testament to Alexandria’s extraordinary cultural fusion
• Pompey’s Pillar — despite the name (bestowed by Crusaders who mistakenly associated it with Pompey), this 27m granite column was erected in 297 AD in honor of Emperor Diocletian and is the largest Roman triumphal column outside Rome and Constantinople. The site also includes the remains of the Serapeum — Alexandria’s great temple to the syncretic god Serapis (explicitly invented by Ptolemy I to unite Greeks and Egyptians in worship of a single god combining aspects of Osiris and Zeus)
• Qaitbay Citadel — a 15th-century Mamluk fortress built on the exact site of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse (which stood for over 1,500 years until earthquakes toppled it in the 14th century — stones from the lighthouse were used to build the citadel). The fortress commands magnificent views over the Mediterranean — on clear days you can see the corniche stretching for miles. Underwater archaeology has revealed hundreds of massive stone blocks from the lighthouse and nearby ancient palaces, now accessible to divers (and some artifacts displayed in the Alexandria National Museum)
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina — the stunning modern revival of the ancient Library of Alexandria, opened in 2002. The building itself is an architectural icon: a massive tilted disc (160m diameter) emerging from the ground beside the Mediterranean, with exterior walls carved with characters from 120 different writing systems. The library holds shelf space for 8 million books (though currently about 2 million), museums, art galleries, a planetarium, and a manuscript restoration laboratory. The main reading room — a cascade of tiered levels under a glass-paneled roof that admits filtered sunlight — is one of the world’s most beautiful library spaces
• Lunch at a Mediterranean seafood restaurant — Alexandria is famous for its fresh seafood: grilled sea bass, calamari, shrimp, and sayadiya (fish with spiced rice, onions, and caramelized topping), enjoyed with a view of the Mediterranean
• Return to Cairo in the evening

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Cairo.

Day 5: Cairo → Aswan — Nubian Rhythms

• Morning flight from Cairo to Aswan (approximately 1.5 hours). Arrive in Egypt’s beautiful southern gateway and immediately feel the shift in atmosphere: the air is drier, the Nile bluer, the pace slower, and the Nubian character unmistakable
• Visit the Unfinished Obelisk — a massive obelisk abandoned in its granite quarry when a crack appeared during extraction. Had it been completed, it would have been the largest obelisk ever erected: 42m tall and nearly 1,200 tons. The quarry shows the remarkable technique used: workers pounded dolerite (a harder stone) balls against the granite to create trenches around the obelisk, then wooden wedges were inserted, soaked with water, and the expanding wood cracked the granite free. The discovery of cracks in the stone — and the subsequent abandonment after months of work — is a humbling reminder that even the ancient Egyptians’ greatest projects didn’t always succeed
• Philae Temple — the beautiful Temple of Isis on its island, rescued by UNESCO from the rising waters of Lake Nasser in one of history’s greatest archaeological rescue operations. The boat approach, the elegant Trajan’s Kiosk, the sounds of the Nile, and the temple’s exquisite reliefs (some still bearing traces of their original paint) make this one of Egypt’s most romantic sites
• Afternoon visit to a Nubian Village on the west bank. The Nubians are one of Africa’s oldest civilizations, with over 8,000 years of continuous culture along the Nile south of Aswan. Their traditional homes — painted in bright geometric patterns of blue, yellow, white, and red — are works of art in themselves. Learn about Nubian culture: the distinctive music (played on the oud and tambour), the matrilineal inheritance (in some villages, property passes through the mother’s line), and the profound connection to the Nile that defines Nubian identity. Many Nubians were displaced by the Aswan High Dam — their ancestral villages now lie beneath Lake Nasser
• Evening: Board your 5-star Nile cruise ship. Dinner on board as you contemplate three nights of sailing through the heart of ancient Egypt

Overnight on 5-star Nile cruise in Aswan. Full board.

Day 6: Abu Simbel — Ramesses the Great Returns

• Early morning flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel (approximately 45 minutes) — far more comfortable than the 3+ hour desert road convoy. This is one of Egypt’s most awe-inspiring sites: two temples carved from a sandstone mountain by Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC), the longest-ruling and most prolific builder among the pharaohs. Ramesses reigned for 67 years, outlived many of his children, fathered over 100 offspring, and commissioned more monuments and statues than any other pharaoh — including Abu Simbel, his greatest statement
• The Great Temple facade: four colossal 20m seated statues of Ramesses II — his mother Tuya, his wife Nefertari, and his children carved much smaller at his feet. Above the entrance, a row of baboons (sacred to Thoth, god of wisdom) greet the rising sun. Inside, the temple extends 60m into the mountain, with eight massive pillars carved as Ramesses in the guise of Osiris (god of the afterlife), reliefs of Ramesses’ military prowess — prominently the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites (1274 BC, the largest chariot battle in history with over 5,000 chariots) — and the sanctuary at the deepest point, where four seated figures (Ptah, Amun-Re, the deified Ramesses, and Re-Horakhty) sit in eternal darkness, illuminated by the sun only on February 22 and October 22
• The Small Temple — dedicated to Hathor (goddess of love, music, and beauty) and Queen Nefertari. It is exceptionally rare for a pharaoh to build a temple honoring his queen to this degree, and the facade — six standing statues, four of Ramesses and two of Nefertari, all at equal scale (unusual because queens were typically shown smaller than pharaohs) — is Ramesses’ greatest monument to love. Inside, Nefertari is depicted performing rituals alongside the pharaoh, another mark of her extraordinary status
• The relocation story (1964-1968) is as impressive as the original construction. Both temples were cut into 1,036 blocks (weighing 20-30 tons each), moved 65m higher and 200m inland, and reassembled inside an artificial mountain. The entire temple is now encased in a massive concrete dome disguised as the natural rock hill — a feat of modern engineering that rivals the ancient one
• Fly back to Aswan. The cruise ship begins sailing north. Afternoon on the sundeck watching the timeless scenes of the Nile Valley: water buffalo cooling in the river, fishermen casting circular nets, date palms and sugar cane, the distinctive silhouette of the felucca sail against the desert sky

Overnight on 5-star Nile cruise. Full board.

Day 7: Kom Ombo & Edfu — Gods of the Nile

• Morning visit to the Temple of Kom Ombo — the double temple dedicated to Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder. The perfectly symmetrical design, the surgical instruments relief, the Nilometer, and the mummified crocodiles in the attached museum. The temple sits on a bend in the Nile where crocodiles once basked in large numbers — making it a particularly appropriate location for Sobek’s cult
• Afternoon at the Temple of Horus at Edfu — Egypt’s best-preserved temple. Buried under sand for nearly 2,000 years (Auguste Mariette, the great French Egyptologist, literally dug through 12 meters of debris to find it in the 1860s — local houses were built on top of the buried temple), Edfu preserves every detail of Ptolemaic temple architecture: the massive pylon, the great court, the hypostyle halls, the sanctuary, and the surrounding corridors. The inscriptions include the full text of the “Building Texts” — detailing the mythological origins and construction of the temple — and the “Sacred Drama” depicting the eternal battle between Horus and Seth
• Cross the Esna Lock — the entertaining ritual of local vendors in rowboats throwing merchandise up to the ship deck
• Evening arrival in Luxor. The illuminated Luxor Temple glimpsed from the river at night — its columns reflected in the dark water — is unforgettable

Overnight on 5-star Nile cruise in Luxor. Full board.

Day 8: Luxor West Bank — City of the Dead

• Morning exploration of the West Bank: Valley of the Kings (three tombs included, additional tickets for Tutankhamun, Seti I, or Ramesses V/VI), the magnificent Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri (the female pharaoh’s architectural masterpiece, seamlessly integrated into the Theban cliffs), and the Colossi of Memnon (the two 18m giants that are all that remain of Amenhotep III’s colossal mortuary temple)
• Optional afternoon: Valley of the Queens with Nefertari’s tomb (the Sistine Chapel of ancient Egypt — the most beautiful tomb paintings in existence, vivid after 3,200 years, limited to 150 visitors per day at an additional cost of approximately US$80, worth every cent for the privilege of seeing the most exquisite ancient art you’ll ever witness), or Deir el-Medina (Workers’ Village), or the Ramesseum (Ramesses II’s mortuary temple with the fallen colossus that inspired Shelley’s “Ozymandias”: “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”)
• Optional early morning hot air balloon ride (book the day before) — drifting over the West Bank at sunrise, the Valley of the Kings below, the Nile ribboning through green fields, the temples and villages emerging from the morning mist. One of the world’s great balloon experiences

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Luxor.

Day 9: Karnak Temple & Luxor Temple — The East Bank

• Morning at Karnak Temple — the largest religious complex ever built, constructed and expanded by 30+ pharaohs over 1,500 years. The Great Hypostyle Hall (134 columns, 21m high, setting for scenes in “Death on the Nile” and “The Spy Who Loved Me”), Hatshepsut’s obelisk, the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, the Sacred Lake, the scarab statue. Take your time — Karnak rewards wandering, and the details (cartouches, hieroglyphs, traces of paint, graffiti from travelers millennia ago, the statue of Ramesses II with his daughter Bent’anta standing at his feet) are as fascinating as the monumental scale
• Reliefs show the Opet Festival — the most important annual celebration in ancient Thebes, lasting up to 27 days, when the statues of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu were carried from Karnak to Luxor Temple along the Avenue of Sphinxes (2.7km long, recently restored and partially reopened). The festival was a time of celebration, feasting, and redistribution — temple bakeries produced thousands of loaves and jugs of beer daily for the crowds
• Afternoon at Luxor Temple — particularly beautiful in late afternoon light when the sandstone glows gold. The temple’s history is written in its layers: Ramesses II’s pylon with reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh, the shrine of Alexander the Great, Roman plaster frescoes in one chamber (the temple was used as a Roman fortress), the Abu Haggag Mosque built inside and above the temple. Luxor Temple is the only major Egyptian temple where you can stand inside and still feel it as part of a living city — the traffic of modern Luxor flows past the entrance, and the mosque continues to function for Friday prayers
• Farewell Dinner: At a traditional Egyptian restaurant with Nile views. The feast: mezzes to start (hummus, baba ghanoush, tahini, pickled vegetables), fresh baladi bread, grilled meats (kofta, shish taouk, lamb chops), molokhia, mahshi, and basbousa with mint tea. Follow with shisha and the view of the Nile by night — feluccas, their sails like white wings in the moonlight, cruise ships strung with lights, and the eternal river flowing as it has flowed for millennia

Overnight at 4-star hotel in Luxor.

Day 10: Departure from Luxor

• Breakfast at the hotel. Depending on flight time, a final exploration: walk the Luxor Corniche, visit the small but excellent Luxor Museum (the mummies of Ramesses I and Ahmose I, and the beautiful statue of Thutmose III — the “Napoleon of Egypt” who expanded the empire to its greatest extent), or pick up final treasures in the Luxor Souk — spices, perfumes, alabaster, and a gold cartouche with your name in hieroglyphs
• Transfer to Luxor International Airport (LXR) for your short flight to Cairo and connecting international departure. As your plane rises over the Nile Valley, the thin green ribbon of the river through the desert, the checkerboard of fields, and the ancient monuments scattered across the landscape will be your final image of Egypt
• “Ma’a salama” — go in peace, and may the Nile’s blessings go with you. As the ancient Egyptians believed, to have journeyed in this land is to be forever changed by it

Depart from Luxor. End of tour.

Price Includes

• 9 nights accommodation: 4-star Cairo (4 nights), 5-star Nile cruise (3 nights), 4-star Luxor (2 nights)
• Domestic flights: Cairo → Aswan, Aswan → Abu Simbel (round trip), Luxor → Cairo
• Private airport transfers and private transportation throughout
• Daily breakfast, full board on Nile cruise
• Private English-speaking Egyptologist guide
• All entrance fees to sites mentioned in itinerary
• Alexandria day trip with private guide and vehicle
• Old Cairo (Coptic Cairo) tour
• Nubian Village visit

Price Excludes

• International flights to/from Cairo
• Egypt entry visa (US$25, available on arrival for most nationalities)
• Optional tomb tickets (Tutankhamun, Seti I, Nefertari)
• Hot air balloon ride in Luxor (approximately US$100-120 per person)
• Optional Sound & Light Show at Giza
• Tips for guide, drivers, and cruise staff
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses, beverages